THE LAND AND THE LABOURERS.

"Co-operation seems to me fully to deserve all the enthusiasm which

has

gathered about it. . . . If it is successful it will work a beneficent, social, and
economic revolution of the widest scope—a revolution moreover so conducted as
to leave no heritage of suffering and no aggravation of bitterness behind."—Bishop
Lightfoot.
" I am one of those who like to see a great variety in the size of holdings, especially
a liberal proportion of small or moderate holdings. . . .

I have always regretted

the tendency, in some cases almost a mania, for absorbing small holdings by consolidation. . . .

I trust the distress may produce, among other good fruit, a return to

a better balanced judgment about the size of farms. . . . Nor can I abandon the
hope of an era when we shall see a great extension of fruit, vegetable, and even flower
culture, as part of our agricultural system, with an increased demand for more
labour."—Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone,

M.P.,

" Letter

to Mr, Joseph

Arch.:'

THE

LAND

AND

THE

LABOURERS.
A
FACTS AND
FARMING

RECORD

OF

EXPERIMENTS

AND CO-OPERATIVE

IN

COTTAGE

AGRICULTURE.

CHARLES WILLIAM STUBBS, M.A.,
VICAR

OF

GRANBOROUGH,

AUTHOR

OF

"VILLAGE

POLITICS,"

ETC.

LONDON:
W. S W A N S O N N E N S C H E I N
PATERNOSTER SQ.
1884.

& CO.,

333
St93l
cop. 1

P R E F A C E .

T H E two quotations which I have placed opposite the title-page of this book—one from an
address by the Bishop of Durham to the Cooperative Congress at Newcastle, and the other
from a letter by the Prime Minister to .Mr,
Joseph Arch—sufficiently indicate, I think, the
purpose which I have mainly in view in the
publication of the following pages.
In the prospect of early Land Legislation,
this expression of Mr. Gladstone's opinion with
regard to the merits of

Small

Farming in

England is most important, and is indeed likely
to meet with frequent quotation, during the discussions of the next Parliamentary sessions, by
those Land Reformers, to whom, like myself, a
radical revision of the

English

Land

Laws

PREFACE.

VI

seems mainly desirable in the interest of the
labouring population, whose

gradual divorce

from the soil and consequent

pauperisation

during the last century and a half has been
the parent of some of the most lamentable and
mischievous of existing social evils.
It will be evident, however, that the following
pages are not intended to support the view of
those who anticipate as a result of such legislation the general establishment of a system of
Peasant Proprietary in England, much less of
those who are now advocating with so much
vigour and enthusiasm what is termed

Land

Nationalisation, without sufficient care, however, as it appears to me, on the part of its
supporters to define accurately which of the
three utterly antagonistic schemes—(1) Compensatory, (2) Confiscatory, or even (3) Collectivist—they

understand

sounding phrase.

by that

very high-

A radical revolution in the

English Land System I do without doubt most
earnestly desire to see; but I trust that it
will be a revolution such as that anticipated

PREFA

CE.

vn

by Bishop Lightfoot, " beneficent, social, and
economic," by which, among other good results,
the rural labourer and cottage farmer shall in
adopting co-operative institutions be able to
secure for himself all the advantages of Peasant
Proprietary without any of its corresponding
evils.

CONTENTS.
PAGE
T H E LAND A N D T H E L A B O U R E R S
H I S T O R Y O F T H E ALLOTMENT
T H E CLERGY A S GLEBE
C O r O P E R A T I V E SMALL

.

SYSTEM

LANDLORDS

FARMING

33
47
56
63

AN I R I S H E X P E R I M E N T .
T H E N E W SYSTEMITES

11

.

80

LESSONS O F T H E R A L A H I N E

EXPERIMENT

94

C O - O P E R A T I V E F A R M S A T ASSINGTON, ETC,

107

AN E X P E R I M E N T I N CUMBERLAND

.

123

SOME E X P E R I M E N T S IN GERMANY

.

A COLLIERS' c a w

A CO-OPERATIVE COW CLUB IN
APPENDIX I.

.

APPENDIX II.

.

137
148

CLUB

.
.

.
.

BUCKS

158

.

175
181

PEASANT FARMERS
AND

CO-OPERATIVE AGRICULTURE.

C H A P T E R I.
THE LAND AND THE

LABOURERS.

"You tell me you have improved the land, but what have
you done with the labourers ? "—SISMONDI.
" Much food is in the tillage of the poor, but there is that
is destroyed for want of judgment."—PROV. xiii. 23.
" We are told that the first effort of the state in agricultural
matters should be to increase the produce of the land. I
firmly deny that. I quite admit that it is an important thing
to increase the produce of the land, but it is not the most
important. It is not so important as maintaining in happiness
and respectability a large class of our fellow subjects."—
LORD SALISBURY: Speech atHitchin,

Dec. jth, 1882.

years' work as a country parson in a
Buckinghamshire village have forced upon me
two very definite conclusions. They are these:
I. That of the many urgent social problems
with which at the present moment Englishmen
TWELVE

12

THE LAND

AND

THE

LABOURERS.

are confronted, there are few whose solution is
not largely dependent upon such a revision of
the English Land System, as shall permanently
raise the social and economic condition of the
English rural labourer.
II. That any permanent elevation of the
rural labourer's standard of comfort s is impossible, unless there can be effected either (a)
a great increase in the proportion of small
agricultural holdings in England ; or (6) the
adoption of some system of agriculture, probably co-operative, which shall once more
make it economically advisable to increase
largely the amount of English labour applied
to English land.
It will be my object in the following pages
to justify these two conclusions.
In the present chapter, however, I desire to
do two things—(a) to give a record of certain
facts, with regard to the cultivation of small
holdings by rural labourers, which have come"
under my own immediate observation during
the last few years ; and (b) to call attention to
certain deductions which it seems to me may
be fairly drawn from these facts.
And, first, as to the facts.

THE LAND

AND

THE

Economic Results of Small

LABOURERS.

n

Husbandry.

At the close of the year 1873, I divided a
portion of my glebe land (22 acres) into halfacre allotments among my labouring parishioners, at an annual rental of 66^. an acre. I
have retained two lots, that is to say, an acre
of this ground, in my own hands. I have
worked it on exactly the same method of
husbandry as that of the remaining allotments.
That is to say, being heavy clay land, not over
well drained, but sloping for the most part to
the south and west, the kind of crops we grow
are wheat, beans, oats, potatoes, mangold
wurzel, carrots, garden vegetables, and so
forth.
Now, being interested in collecting
what facts I could as to the results to be gained
from small as opposed to large culture, I have
kept accurate accounts during some years of
the outgoings and incomings on my one-acre
farm, and what has been my result? In the
last six years of agricultural depression, my net
profit on the acre, after allowing fully for rent and
taxes, seed, labour, and manure, has been £3 8s.
Let me give in a tabulated form an abstract
of my balance sheets from 1878-1883.

H

THE
Year.
1878
1879
1880
1881
1882
1883

LAND

AND

Outgoings.
£ s. d.
10 0 6
13 18 6
11 18 3
12 7 5
12 3 4
12 13 4

£n

1

THE

LABOURERS.

Incomin gs£ s. d.
16 6 0

Net Profit.
^

<*

J.

1
6
1

0

6 5 6
1 2 6

6

3

8

3

0.

13 15
17 4

0

3 13
1 11
4 11

7
8
2

20 12

8

15
15
16

4

^93

i4

6
0

^

Average annual capital employed per acre
(outgoings)
; £ i 2 3s. 6^d.
Average Annual Incomings .
.
.
. ^ 1 5 12s. ^d.
Average net profit or something like 28 per
cent, on the capital invested .
.
, ^ 3 Ss. g^d.

It may be perhaps useful to give the full
balance sheet for a fairly typical year. I will
take 1881,, because in that year one of the
leading agriculturists in my neighbourhood,
Mr. W. Smith of Woolston, did me the honour
to criticise publicly my results, and I can thus
give his criticism and my reply.
Here is the Balance Sheet for 1881 :—
Outgoings.
Wages of Labour
Seed, etc.
.
Manure .
.
Rent and taxes.

.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.

£ s.
. 6 7
. 1 3
. 1 10
. 3 6
£™

d.
9
8
o
0

i7 5

.

THE

LAND

AND

THE

LABOURERS.

15

Incomings.
£ s. d.
Wheat, 5 sacks .
.
.
.
. 5 0 0
Potatoes—55 bushels at 2s. .
.
. 5 10 o
Twelve bushels damaged potatoes, sold
for pigs .
.
.
.
.
. 0 6 0
Wurzels, 30 cwt, Carrots, 3 cwt. .
. 115 o
Beans, 5 bushels .
.
.
.
. 1 0 0
Straw (one ton) .
.
.
.
. 2 10 o
16 1 o
12 7 5
Net profit per acre

.

A Farmer* s

.

.

£3 13 7

Criticism.

And here is Mr. Smith's criticism :—
"There are a few, items very questionable.
Take
potatoes, said to have been sold at 2s. per bushel. Why,
I bought fine potatoes last autumn at is. 6d., and the
market has been clogged ever since. Now take straw at
£2 10s. Why, I bought a lot last autumn, delivered home
at £2.
Now look to manure ; bought £1 10s. for beans
and roots, including potatoes. Half his land that must get
manured to keep on under such a cropping would need
10 tons of London dung yearly, which at 6s. 6d. per ton
at the railway station would cost quite 8s. per ton on the
land, or ^ 4 for the half-acre. These three items corrected
stand thus—

16

THE

LAND

AND

THE

LABOURERS.

£ s.
From 55 bush, of potatoes at 6d. .
. 1 7
From 1 ton straw .
.
.
.
. o 10
Extra for manure .
.
.
.
2 10
Now I must put in interest of money
on ; £ i 2 .
.
.
.
.
. o 12
Total

.

o

.

.

.

.

4 19 6
1 5 11

.

.

.

•

3 x3 7

Loss
Mr. Stubbs's balance

d.
6
o
o

Mr. Stubbs must show a better Balance Sheet, or it is of no
use for him to come out to show us how to farm. We
cannot all buy cheap dung, neither can we all sell dear
potatoes or dear straw, and tenants' capital ought to bear
interest."

T h e following was my reply :—
" In the first place let me say at once that of course
I am quite prepared to allow that my Balance Sheet would
be valueless as an example of average results if it can be
proved that I am farming under exceptionally favourable
circumstance of purchase or sale. But this is a contention
which it seems to me Mr. Smith has singularly failed in
proving. H e asserts, it is true, that I have sold my potatoes
too dear and bought my dung too cheap. But where is
the proof of this ? I put down my potatoes at 2s. a bushel.
Mr. Smith says that I ought to have put them down at
is. 6d. Why ? Because he bought potatoes at that price
last autumn. But I was giving the results of my farming,
not of his. And I contend that 2s. was a fair "times
price " about here for potatoes of my sort last Michaelmas

THE LAND

AND

THE

LABOURERS.

I know several labourers at any rate who sold their potato
crop from the same field at 2s. 6d. a bushel, and more than
one who got 3s. But for my part I do not argue from that
that they were exceptionally lucky in their sale. I only
suppose that my tenants were a little better tradesmen than
their landlord, were more successful, in fact, in acting up to
that business maxim of selling in as dear a market as you
can and buying in as cheap an one, which I suppose from
his argument Mr. Smith does not accept.
" S o again as to straw. Mr. Smith says a ton of my straw
is not worth £2 10s. because he can buy straw, delivered
home, at ^ 2 .
" In reply I would say that not only did I get that value
for it, but I knew that my purchaser was giving the same
price elsewhere, and that other of my labouring tenants sold
their straw at the same price, to be fetched away, to the
regular dealer, and therefore, I suppose, to be sold again
at a profit. Moreover one of my tenants, who has only
just threshed his corn, has been lucky enough to sell it at
^ 3 10s. And then Mr. Smith must know very well that
allotment straw is straw, and not straw, couch grass, and
thistles.
"Then, again, as to manure. Mr. Smith says / w a n t ten
loads of London dung at £4. to keep my land in good
heart. I reply, why in the world should I buy ten loads of
London dung at ^ 4 , when I can get ten loads of Granborough dung at half that price with as good results ?
" By the way, on this question of manure I should much
like to ask Mr. Smith, who I am told is a practical man,
two practical questions.
" I. If he considers ten tons of London dung the fair
allowance per acre for farming land once a year, what does
he think of the farming operations of his neighbours here2

18

THE LAND

AND

THE

LABOURERS.

abouts, whose land, I venture to assert, seldom gets more
than five loads to the acre, once in three or even four
years ? and
" I I . What is the special agricultural advantage of the
large dung heaps by the roadside, which I so continually
see left subject to the action of wind and rain for weeks,
with all the best of the ammoniac liquid, assisted by neatly
cut channels, draining away for the fertilisation of the weed
crop of the nearest ditch ?
" I remember to have read somewhere in an Agricultural
Gazette that the waste in farmyard manure in England was
equal in value to another rental of the land. When I see
the wealth of these roadside dung heaps so unintelligently
squandered away, I confess I am not surprised to hear it.
" Lastly, as to interest on capital. That may no doubt be
a fair point. At any rate I will concede the I2J"., or even
the 13s. yd., if he likes, and put my net profit at only ^ 3
per acre, especially if in return he will do me the favour
of stating the exact economic reason why tenants' capital
should bear interest at five per cent, over and above the
fair wages of its superintendence and the net profit on its
use."

T h e criticism of practical men is always
valuable, and so I was glad to get Mr. Smith's
letter. Whether my reply was satisfactory I
must leave my readers to judge for themselves.
T h e following remarks, however, made by two
other of my critics last year, were not quite so
easy to answer as those of Mr. Smith, but are
none the less characteristic. T h e first remark

THE LAND

AND

THE

LABOURERS.

was made by the son of a farmer (I am glad to
think no parishioner of mine) to the man who
is good enough to act as bailiff to my one-acre
farm—" Why ! what a fool you be, John, to let
your parson get anything off his land ! " And
the second remark was made to myself by an
ingenuous member of the capitalist class—" By
Jove, Vicar, what a good plan this of yours is
to raise the rents of the land ! "
There is another fact, however, that is worth
attention in the above Balance Sheet. It will
be observed that the produce of wheat upon
the half-acre was 5 sacks, that is to say, at the
rate of 40 bushels or 5 quarters to the acre.
On the page of the account book from which
the Balance Sheet is copied, I observe that I
have made the following notes :—
" I n this* year John Norman grew 9 quarters
of oats on his allotment (1 acre) ; and William
Tompkins having a dispute with a farmer as to
the likelihood of yield of wheat on his allotment,
agreed to give the farmer everything over
7 quarters that was threshed out. On measurement at harvest he had to pay the farmer
1 bushel of wheat. In other words, his yield of
wheat from 1 acre was 57 bushels." It will be

20

THE LAND

AND

THE

LABOURERS.

interesting, I think, to compare these figures
with one or two well-known standard results.
I will give them a tabulated form :—
Produce of wheat per statute acre in bushels.

•

!

Farmer's average in Granborough
.
.
English average
French average .
.
.
.
.
.
American maximum
.
.
.
.
Mr. Lawes' (high scientific farming) average .
Allotment average in Granborough
.
.
Mr. Lawes' maximum
Allotment maximum (W. Tompkins) .
.
English maximum

25
26
13
19
36
40
55
57
60

This contrast in point of yield between their
own allotments and their masters' fields does
not fail, of course, to strike the men. There is
a field in this parish which was held some time
ago by a farmer at a rental of 11^. an acre.
H e gave it up because he could do nothing
with it. u It was," as he said, "completely
wore out." For this field the labourers now
give £\ an acre. But they think they do
badly if they do not get the allotment average
given above, of 40 bushels of wheat to the
acre, while the farmer is satisfied with 25
bushels at most. When one remembers, too,
that in very many cases the rent given by the

THE LAND

AND THE

LABOURERS.

farmer is little more than half that given by the
labourer, can we be surprised that the labourer
and the farmer differ very widely as to the true
cause of the agricultural depression of the last
few years ? And that leads me to the first
deduction which I venture to draw from the
foregoing facts. It is this. That one chief
and much overlooked element in the agricultural
depression of the last few years has been the
labour-starving of the land on the part of the
farmers.
T h e sequence of events in this neighbourhood, at any rate, is not difficult to trace. The
agricultural labourers' agitation of ten years ago,
under the leadership of Mr. Arch, succeeded
in raising the wages from 12^. to 15^. a week.
The farmers protested that they could not afford
to pay the extra wage. They were not able,
however, to resist the pressure of the Union,
but were compelled to give the extra 3*9. a week.
But they avenged themselves, as they thought,
by employing less men. At first the plan seemed
every way excellent.
A farmer employing
10 men, knocked off 4, and thus saved £2 8s.
per week on his labour bill. T o the remaining
6 men he gave the extra wage of 3^., or an

22

THE LAND

AND

THE

LABOURERS.

increase of 18^. on his weekly labour bill. T h e
net gain per week to the farmer in money was
thus 30^*., and his net loss in men was 3
labourers. But the money was in his pockety
and the men were out of sight. This was all
very well for the farmer ; but how about the
land ? " Ay, there's the rub!" It was starved
for lack of labour. Then came the wet years,
when more than ever labour was needed. But
the labour was not now to be had. It had
been driven out of the country. T h e census of
1881 showed a large decrease in the population
of all the villages in Buckinghamshire. T h e
land got fouler and fouler, and the natural
result followed. I know of a field of 4 acres on
one farm in this parish, which in old days used
to bear fair crops, which gave a total yield last
year of 22 bushels of wheat, or a little over
5 bushels to the acre. During the whole of
these years, however, under exactly similar
conditions of weather, the labourers' allotments
prospered, with a net result, as we have seen
in one case at any rate, of nearly 28 per cent,
on the capital invested.
So much for my first deduction. But there
are others. F o r example, with regard to the

THE LAND

AND

THE LABOURERS.

23

advantages of small holdings, to my mind
three things at any rate are clear.
First, that the possession of a small holding
of land adds very largely indeed to the annual
income of the rural labourer.
Secondly, that small proprietorship, or even
tenancy of the soil, exercises a very beneficial
influence upon the moral character of the agricultural labourer.
And, thirdly, that the system of large allotments or small holdings is worthy of extension
for national reasons, as tending to restore that
lost balance of property in the soil which is so
necessary a factor in the civil policy of any
soundly constituted state. Let me say a word
or two on each of these points.
Economic Results of Small

Husbandry.

That the occupation of an allotment of land,
if only say half an acre in extent, adds very
materially to the annual income of the rural
labourer, the figures which I have given above
I hope conclusively prove. Incidentally, moreover, this fact suggests-a solution to one of the
most difficult problems which the rural reformer
has to face. I mean the Cottage Question.

24

THE LAND

AND

Labourers

THE

LABOURERS.

Cottages,

When Sir James Chettam in George Eliot's
" Middlemarch" takes objection to Miss
Brooke's generous schemes for cottage building
on the ground that labourers can never afford
to pay a rent sufficient to return a fair interest
on the capital invested, and yet amiably allows
that " perhaps after all the work may be worth
doing," we are, most of us, I suppose, ready to
give some sympathy to the impetuous outburst
of Dorothea's indignation when she cried—
' ' W o r t h doing! Yes, indeed, I think that we
deserve to be beaten out of our beautiful houses
with a scourge of small cords—all of us who let
tenants live in such sties as we see round us."
But after all Sir James Chettam is only
typical of his class.
" T h a t good cottages
cannot be built to pay," is the common burden
of all the squires. T h e echo of it we have all
heard in Lord Salisbury's recent article in
The National Review on " T h e Housing of
Labourers," where he states that two-thirds
only of the cost of cottage building can be
regarded as a commercial investment, the
remaining third must be regarded as a charity

THE

LAND

AND

THE LABOURERS.

25

and benevolence on the part of the landlord.
And the squires, I believe, are in the main
right. Good cottages, apart from charity, are
impossible for the labourer without increased
wages. But there is one consideration on this
point I would venture to make.
Might not the landlord himself do something
towards increasing the wages by insisting upon
the higher rent ? As the farmer has already
found the increased labour bill of the last few
years a severe strain upon his capital, a still
further increase would only be possible by a
corresponding reduction in farm rent. As,
however, the landowner in this case would
recoup himself for the loss in farm rent by a
corresponding gain in cottage rent, it does seem
a little strange that so obvious an economic
adjustment should not long ere this have been
made, at least by those landlords who have so
far recognized the responsibilities of property
as to provide efficient cottage accommodation
on their estates. Their omission to do so I
suppose is in reality a part of that reluctance,
still so common in the rural districts, to take
any step which would seem to substitute in
rural class relationships the principles of com-

26

THE LAND

AND

THE

LABOURERS.

mercial justice for those of feudal beneficence.
Is it not time, however, that some protest
should be made against an economic arrangement which in effect compels the farmer to pay
to the landlord what is in reality due to the
labourer, in order not to interfere, on the one
hand, with that luxury of paternal protection
which an improving landlord at present gains
by being enabled to grant at somebody else's
expense to the agricultural labourers on his
estate efficient cottages below cost price, and,
on the other, with the argument, so convenient
to those landlords who have no desire to house
their labourers wTell, that " cottage-building
does not pay " ?
There remains, however, the method, suggested by the results attainable on successful
allotment farming given above, by which, as it
appears to me at any rate, cottage property
even at the present rate of wages can be made
to return a fair interest on the capital invested.
Let the landlord grant to every cottage
tenant an allotment of land of not less than one
acre. A cottager who cdnnot afford to pay 2s.
a week for a cottage only, can well afford to
pay 3^. 6d. or 4^., or even more, for the same

2HE LAND

AND

THE LABOURERS.

2j

cottage' with an acre of land attached. It is
my contention, therefore, as the second deduction I would desire to draw from facts, that
although a cottage without land, cannot, under
present conditions, be built to pay, a cottage
with land can.
Moral Results of Small

Holdings.

T h e cottage question leads, of course, directly
to moral considerations.
For how, I would ask (and I think here I
have a right to put the question from my
experience as a country parson),—how under
such physical conditions as those which I find
surrounding me in my daily work among my
labouring parishioners—where, to put the matter
as briefly as possible, in a village of fifty cottages
we have only three with more than two bedrooms, and seventeen with only one—is it
possible for me to expect from my parishioners
any approach to that " p u r e religion breathing
household laws," which it is yet my duty as
their pastor to endeavour to inculcate ? How,
with mere huts for homes, can the distinctively
home virtues find any room for growth, parental
love, filial obedience, household thrift, cleanli-

28

THE LAND

AND

THE

LABOURERS.

ness, modesty, chastity, self-respect, purity, and
simplicity of heart ? Can I honestly ascribe
the meagre growth of these virtues among my
people solely to failure of individual will, or
must I not rather trace them to circumstances
of life and sleep so degrading as to leave no
moral room for their growth ? What provision
can there be under such conditions of home
life, not only for the three essentials of physical
life, pure air, pure water, pure food, but also
for the three essentials of spiritual life, " admiration, hope, and love " ?
But again, look at the moral results of the
occupation of land by the rural labourer from
another point of view, namely, its influence on
the promotion of thrift. And here I would
desire to lay stress upon a principle which it
appears to me is too much overlooked by those
who are always preaching thrift to working
people. It is this,—There is a stronger motive
to save created by the desire of investment in
the present than by the desire of insurance
against the future. In other words, we shall
be more sure of success in any attempt to
encourage thrift and frugality among labouring
people, if we can show them any means of

THE LAND

AND

THE LABOURERS.

29

lucrative investment, open to those of them
who will exercise self-denial and economy, than
if we were merely to point out to them the
advantages of insuring against the probable
misfortunes of the future.
It is not of course, I need hardly say, that I
would discourage such efforts at insurance—far
from it. Penny banks, medical and sick clubs,
provident dispensaries, clothing clubs, life insurance societies—all these of course it is our
duty, by all the means in our power, to encourage. These are indeed the "working plant,"
so to speak, of every well-ordered parish.
But I still desire to press home this principle,
that we cannot afford to neglect that greatest
of incentives to thrift which is created by the
opportunity of direct present investment of
savings.
And that opportunity may, I am sure, best
be found for the rural labourer in the occupation and cultivation of land.
I know nothing, at any rate, which fires the
imagination of the rural labourer more than does
that opportunity. T o my mind, it is the natural
starting-point in any successful scheme for the
depauperisation of the labouring population. ,

30

THE LAND

AND

THE

LABOURERS.

After all, remember land is the most natural
savings bank of the agricultural labourer. It
is a bank which he understands. H e is familiar
with its working. H e knows something of its
system of deposits, its method of exchange, the
nature of its reserve fund, of its risks, of the
rates of interest which it offers, the value of its
securities.
Mr. Cobden, in a letter republished by Mr.
Bright not long ago in the Times, in fact sums
up this side of the question in these words :
" Looking at the moral aspect of the question
alone, no one will deny the advantages which
the possession of landed property must confer
upon a man or a body of men—that it imparts
a higher sense of independence and security,
greater self-respect, and supplies stronger
motives for industry, frugality, and forethought,
than any other kind of property." Mr. Cobden's remarks refer, of course, especially to the
continental system of peasant proprietorship ;
but they apply also, though not perhaps to an
equal extent, to the English system of allotment tenancy. In the first report of the Royal
Commissioners on Agricultural Employment in
1867, ample evidence will be found in confirma-

THE LAND

AND

THE

LABOURERS.

tion of the statement that the occupation of
land influences most beneficially the moral
character of the labourers.
Social Results of Small

Holdings.

But there is also a most important social
side to this question. At present the allotment system is in fact the only means that has
as yet been adopted to check that gradual
alienation of the rural labourers from the soil of
England which has been going on during the
last century and a half, with, I venture to say,
such mischievous social results. There is no
man, I am sure, who has any care for the past
or the future of his country, who can read any
of the summaries of the Domesday Books,
published a few years back, without mourning
over the decadence and the national extinction
of the independent class of small holders. Our
tenant farmers, whatever their industrial value,
do but ill-bridge over the social chasm between
the landowner and the labourer. " What is to
be the future land system of England ? " is the
question that in reality faces us. How shall
we answer it ?
W e stand, in fact, at the parting of the

32

THE

LAND

AND

THE

LABOURERS.

ways. On the one side we have the advocates
of Individualism, on the other we have the advocates of Nationalism. In New Zealand, I think
I should be a Nationalist, for there the nationalisation of the land might be possible as well as
wise. In England the-scheme, as it appears
to me, would be neither wise nor possible
short at least of civil war, and here therefore
I can be a supporter of neither the drastic
proposals of Mr. Henry George, nor the milder
plans of Mr. Russell Wallace. But I can be
an Individualist none the more. In economic
questions I must still give the first place to
moral considerations. In the eyes of God, I
cannot forget that society exists not merely to
further the accumulation of capital, but for the
sake of the well-being and the happiness of the
individuals who compose it. In considering,
therefore, the possible future of the English
land system, it is not only of the produce of
the land or the profits of landowners that I am
thinking. T h e well-being of the people is not
of less importance than the wealth of the collective body. By the system of adding field to
field, much has no doubt been gained by the
state. But has nothing been lost ? The gain

THE LAND

AND

THE

LABOURERS.

may be measured by roods and perches, by
pounds and by shillings and by pence. But
with what measure shall we measure the loss ?
" You tell me you have improved the land,"
exclaimed Sismondi, " b u t what have you done
with the labourers ?" In the last resort, after
all, the question is not about wealth but about
men. O r if we must think of things from the
selfish point of view, consider this question.
In a short time we shall have enfranchised a
million of farm labourers. How are they to be
secured on the side of public order ?
A wide extension of proprietorship in the soil
is, I answer, the strongest bulwark of national
safety.
Those who talk about the danger
of Radical and Socialistic ideas, appear to
forget, that when a social commune was erected
in Paris in 1871, there were five million landowners in France ready to take the side of
public order, and to enforce the conservative
view with regard to the right of property.
Have we any such conservative safeguard in
England ? I venture to say that the seven
hundred and ten landowners who are proved
by the new Domesday Book to hold onequarter of the whole land of England, could
3

34

THE LAND

AND

THE

LABOURERS,

not stand for one moment against the breath of
revolution. I have no desire to be an alarmist.
But I do most solemnly believe that the concentration of land in large estates among a
small number of families, and the consequent
accentuation of the contrast between the rich
and the poor, is full of danger for the future,
and is, in fact, a direct provocative of social
revolution. Latifundia perdidere Italiam, was
the verdict of the historian Pliny on the
ancient Empire of Rome. God grant that it
may not be the verdict of some future historian
on the fall of Imperial England !

C H A P T E R II.
HISTORY

OF THE ALLOTMENT

SYSTEM.

li
Se l'aratro h a il vomero d'argento, la v a n g a h a la punta
d'oro " {Though the plough
has a silver share, the sftade
has a golden edge).—Italian
Proverb.
" As long as the connexion of the peasantry with the land
was unbroken, E n g l a n d was perfectly free from every symptom
of p a u p e r i s m . " — W . T, THORNTON.
" T h e question in the last resort is not about wealth, but
about m e n . " — A D O L F S A M T E R :
Social-Lehre.

As far back as the first year of this century a
gold medal was offered by the Board of Agriculture to the person " who shall explain in the
most satisfactory manner the best means of rendering the allotment system as general throughout the kingdom as circumstances will admit,"
which the Board asserts to be a "great national
object." During the early years of the century
" T h e Society for Bettering the Condition of the
Poor"—among the earliest members of which
was Mr. Wilberforce—urged, in their annual
reports, the advantage of attaching suitable
allotments to cottages, as one of the means by

$6 HISTORY

OF THE ALLOTMENT

SYSTEM.

which the agricultural labourers would be improved both physically and morally. In the
years immediately succeeding the peace of 1815,
when the necessity for Poor Law Reform became so evident, the allotment system became
a prominent subject with all social reformers.
Mr. Cobbett, in his " Rural Rides," notices, in
the year 1821, the benefit to the labourers of
the good gardens which he observed in several
parts of England, especially in the southern
counties. " There," he says, " you.see that most
interesting of all objects, that which is such an
honour to England, and that which distinguishes
it from all the rest of the world, namely those
neatly kept and productive little gardens round
the labourers' homes, which are seldom unornamented with more or less of flowers. W e have
only to look at these gardens to know what sort
of people English labourers are." In 1827, a
witness, examined by a select committee of the
House of Commons on emigration, stated : " I
could load the committee with information as
to the importance of the cottagers renting a
portion of land with their cottages ; it keeps
them buoyant, and it keeps them
industrious"
And he enforces his opinion of the duty of

HISTORY

OF THE

ALLOTMENT

SYSTEM. T>7

placing such land freely within their reach, on
the ground, that " since 1760 they had lost
about 4,000,000 acres of common, which they
had formerly the privilege of using for their
pigs, geese, and a variety of other things."
Action

of

Legislature.

In 1819 an Act of Parliament was passed
empowering the churchwardens and overseers
of any parish to purchase or take on lease any
suitable portion of land, and to let such portion
of land " to any poor and industrious inhabitant
of the parish," to be occupied and cultivated on
his own account. In 1831-32, further Acts of
Parliament were passed, either amending or
extending the provisions of the Act of 1815.
T h e effect of these Acts of Parliament, and
the strong opinion expressed by the Poor Law
Commissioners in 1834, " that the immediate
advantage of allotments is so great that if there
wTere no other mode of supplying them, we
think it would be worth while, as a temporary
measure, to propose some general plan for providing them,' , was to extend greatly the allotment system throughout the country. A select
committee of the House of Commons, sitting in

38 HISTORY

OF THE ALLOTATENT

SYSTEM.

1843, reported that " t h e tenancy of land under
the garden allotment system is a powerful means
of bettering the condition of those classes who
depend for their livelihood upon their manual
labour," and they added the important opinion
that " its benefits are not obtained at the expense of any other class, nor accompanied by
any corresponding disadvantage." Two years
after this very favourable report of the select
committee, Mr. Cowper, in introducing a Bill to
' Promote the letting of field gardens to the
labouring poor/' stated that, " I t appeared from
history that before the land of England was
brought fully into cultivation, almost all cottagers
had land for tillage. All those above the condition of serfs had land in their own occupation,
and, in addition to that, had common right over
the waste lands. . . . H e believed that previous
to the 16th century all the peasantry drew
portions, of their maintenance from the soil.
Since 1800, no fewer than 2,000 Inclosure Acts
had passed. T h e amount of acreage was not
set forth in the returns, but it must form no
inconsiderable'portion of the land of the country.
T h e consolidation of small farms, so extensively
adopted during the war with France, had con-

HISTORY

OF THE ALLOTMENT

SYSTEM.

39

tributed to deprive the labouring man of his
opportunities of holding land. T h e giving up
the tenure of leases on lives also had the same
tendency. T h e result of the combined causes
was that, until the allotment system was revived,
the English labourer was severed from all connexion with the land. . . . What he particularly
valued in the system of allotments was the
moral effect on the holder. T h e management
of a garden was an important ingredient in his
happiness. It was just the amusement which
suited the labourer, and for which he was suited.
This amusement was elevating in its tendencies;
and many idle, careless, lawless individuals
would be converted into steady, sober, industrious men, by having the means of harmless,
rational, and profitable employment."
This Bill, however, though it succeeded in
passing the House of Commons, and was read a
second time in the House of Lords, was finally
allowed to drop, Mr. Cowper expressing it as
his opinion that notwithstanding all that had
been done, he believed a generation might be
expected to pass away before there would be
a general allotment of garden ground for
labourers.

40 HISTORY

OF THE ALLOTMENT

SYSTEM,

Considerably more than a generation has
passed away since that expectation was uttered,
and still allotments of a proper size are far from
being general.
Unfortunately there is no
means of accurately gauging the number of
acres that has been so allotted. The Royal
Commissioners on Agricultural Employment in
1868 estimate, however, that out of 320,855
acres, enclosed since 1845, an< ^ over which,
common rights being unstinted, the general
Inclosure Act of that year required that fair compensation should be made to the labouring poor
by means of public allotments, only 2,119 acres
were so assigned. Commenting upon this fact,
the Commissioners state that this very inadequate
precaution to secure the rights of the smaller
commoners affords the greater reason why the
owmers of those inclosed lands should take care
that the labouring poor should be in possession
of field allotments of suitable size ; and further
suggest that an annual return should be made
by the officers of the Inland Revenue Department, by which it would be possible to ascertain
how far the allotment system is carried out, and
the average under that mode of cultivation
" corresponds with, or falls short of the quantity

HISTORY

OF THE ALLOTMENT

SYSTEM,

41

necessary to afford that desirable accommodation
and resource, in ample measure, to the labourers
in agriculture."
Four years, however, after the publication of
this Report by the Royal Commissioners, that
great movement, under the leadership of Joseph
Arch, began, which has done so much for the
future of the English agricultural labourer. Not
the least of the benefits which it has won for him
has been the Allotment Extension Act, passed
last year. T h e history of that measure is both
interesting and instructive. I am indebted for
the following account of it to my friend Mr
Howard Evans, who was in fact the real authoi
of the Act. In the early years of the agitation,
Mr. Evans had himself seen in the various
parts of the country which he visited as a delegate of the Union, how greatly such an Act was
needed. Here, however, are his own words.
I quote with his permission from an unpublished
paper:—
" Let me pay honour where honour is due. This question
was first stirred by Mr. Theodore Dodd, the son of an
Oxfordshire clergyman. Under the signature of * Equitas '
Mr. Dodd wrote in the Labourers' organ a series of articles
on the local rights of farm labourers, which were afterwards
widely circulated in a separate pamphlet. To the honour

42 HISTORY

OF THE

ALLOTMENT

SYSTEM.

of some old-fashioned clergyman, Mr. Dodd pointed out that
the men might elect a labourer as churchwarden if they
chose, and in several cases this was actually done, though
in one instance we had to serve a mandamus upon the
Archdeacon before he would admit the labourer to office.
Mr. Dodd called attention to the Act of William IV., which
provided that fresh allotments should be let out to the
labourers as gardens, and to the duty of the local authorities to put this Act in force. H e held that the words of
the Act applied not merely to fresh allotments under
enclosure awards, but to all local charity lands. As many
of the men had no allotments at all, and many others were
allowed as a great favour to rent very small plots at fancy
rents of from £ \ to £& an acre, there was much inquiry
about local charity lands. In almost every county the
District Secretaries of the Union obtained the county charity
reports, and the clamour for the possession of the charity
lands became general. In many cases applications were
made to the trustees of the lands, who invariably treated
these applications with indifference. Of course the next
step was to apply to the Chanty Commissioners. We were
not then so fully aware as we are now of the fact that the
Charity Commissioners delight in drawiag up schemes
which provide for the confiscation of the ancient charities of
the poor in order that the property may be devoted to the
benefit of the middle class. We did not want new schemes,
we only desired that the Charity Commissioners should construe the old Act of William IV. as liberally as possible,
and should use their influence with local charity trustees
to secure its more complete enforcement. It was a very
modest request, seeing that it would have injured nobody,
and would have been of considerable benefit to the
labourers; but the Charity Commissioners would not allow

HISTORY

OF THE ALLOTMENT

SYSTEM.

43

me to appear as the representative of the men, and utterlyrefused to put upon the Act a liberal construction. In one
or two cases, where we at length obtained an inquiry into
the whole of the local charities and a new scheme was
drawn up, we succeeded in making the transfer of the land
to the men a part of the scheme. I recollect one case
where there were only a few very small allotments at high
rents a mile away, while there were 20 acres of charity land
close to the men's own doors, which were let to the largest
farmer in the parish. A few months after the labourers
came into possession, I visited the village, and saw the men
at work on their allotments in the evening. Some of them
told me that their plots were as good as 3^. a week extra
wages to them.
" When the Charity Commissioners showed me the door,
the only course was to bring in a Bill which should make it
clear that our construction of the old Act was to be acted
on. I talked the matter over with Mr. Dodd, and then
consulted a friend of mine, a barrister in the Civil Service.
I explained to him that I wanted a Bill which would cover
all local charities,—an exception was afterwards made of
those left for church and educational purposes,—and he
drew a Bill on the lines indicated. I then went to Sir
Charles Dilke with the draft of the Bill, and he promised to
introduce it, if I would collect the information necessary for
making a speech in the House. I visited several counties
for that purpose. And here let me pay a tribute to that fine
old Tory gentleman, Mr. Henley, late member for this
county. I found on the borders of Bucks and Oxon a
number of allotments of good size, which had been let by
him to labourers for several years. The arrangement was
satisfactory to both parties, for although Mr. Henley let the
land at the low rent of 255-. an acre, it had been previously let

44 HISTORY

OF THE

ALLOTMENT

SYSTEM.

at not much more than half that amount. I saw the
collector's book, from which it appeared that the rents were
invariably paid. In other parishes I found miserably small
allotments let at rents of ^ 4 , ^ 6 , and ^ 8 an acre; in some
villages I found the people packed together as close as in
a London court, with no gardens at all. Sir Charles Dilke
was supplied with a number of cases where the Act was
badly needed, and in due time he moved the second reading
of the Bill. The Conservative Solicitor-General ridiculed the
measure, and Sir Charles Dilke only obtained ninety votes.
He re-introduced it a second time, with no better results,
and as farther progress was hopeless during the existence of
the late Parliament, the Bill was dropped. After the General
Election of 1880, Sir Charles Dilke became a member of
the Ministry, and Mr. Jesse Collings, one of the oldest
friends of the Union, took the matter up. The Bill passed
with a general chorus of approval from both sides of the
House of Commons, and the ex-Solicitor-General no longer
denounced it as ridiculous. The Bill then went up to the
Lords, who of course did their best to spoil it. It may be
that some ardent Conservative here may be inclined to say
tr>at I am just like Mr. Bright, who, as Lord Norton says,
cannot even make a speech on Temperance without girding
at the Lords. But I have good reason for the complaint.
I was so busy at the time that I did not watch what was going on ; but as soon as the Act was printed, I looked it over
and could hardly recognize my own child. It was as if a
Chinese Lord and a Red Indian Lord had acted as its fosterparents ; the one had cramped its feet with tight bandages,
the other had flattened its nose with a board. The sweet
simplicity of my Bill had disappeared, and the Lords had
done their best to make its operation as difficult as possible.
I had proposed to give the labourer a cheap and easy remedy
in the nearest county court by summoning the trustees to

HISTORY

OF THE

ALLOTMENT

SYSTEM.

45

show cause why the Act should not be put in force. At
the expense of the loss of a day's work, and an outlay of 2^.
or 3i\, the matter would have been settled. The Lords
struck out everything that referred to county court jurisdiction, and referred the aggrieved labourer to the Tite Barnacles
of that abominable Circumlocution Office at Gwdyr House.
The best of the joke was, that the Charity Commissioners
had actually opposed the Bill; and the very Bill which they
opposed they were called upon to administer. If these
gentlemen had done their duty to the poor seven years
ago, they would have made the Allotments Extension Act
unnecessary. I am afraid that they are not likely to do their
duty even now. Mr. Jesse Collings wrote me only a
few days ago, ' The real difficulty is with the Charity Commissioners, who are not friendly to this Act; they will have
to be fought seriously ere long.' The quantity of land
coming under the provisions of the Act amounts to nearly
a quarter of a million acres, but even now, owing to the
action of the Lords, we are left very much at the mercy of
the local trustees.
" The tricks resorted to by some of the trustees are
simply infamous. In some cases they have let the land on
a long lease so as to evade the Act, in others they have,
contrary to law, charged exorbitant rents; in others they
have, contrary to law, refused to let except to farm labourers,
and sometimes only to farm labourers who are househ o l d e r ; in others they have ignored the Act altogether;
in others they have illegally demanded half a year's rent in
advance. In some of these cases the men have appealed
to the Charity Commissioners in vain. So many complaints
have flowed in to Mr. Jesse Collings that he has been compelled to issue an appeal for assistance in enabling him to
start a temporary society called the Allotments P^xtension
Association, which he calculates will be able to force the

46 HISTORY

OF THE ALL0TMEN1

SYSTEM.

hands of the Chanty Commissioners and advise the men in
the various parishes, so that in two or three years the Act
shall be generally enforced."

In conclusion it may perhaps be useful to
give the main provisions of the Act :—
Section A. All Trustees . . . of lands vested . . . for
the benefit of the poor of any parish
" (i) Shall set apart for the purpose of this Act such field
or other portion of the said lands as is most suitable, as
regards distance or otherwise, for allotments, and give public
notice, in manner directed by the Schedule of this Act, of
the field or portion so set apart, specifying the situation and
extent thereof, and the rent per acre or rod which they are
ready to accept for the same when let in allotments, and the
times and places at which applications for allotments are to
be made.
" (3) If the whole of the field or the portion so set apart
is let in allotments, the Trustees shall proceed, as soon as they
have power so to do, to set apart another field or portion of
their lands for the purpose of this Act, and give public notice
thereof as directed by this section, and so on until the whole
of their lands are let in allotments, or no applications are
received for further allotments.
" (5) If any of the said lands shall be found to lie at an
inconvenient distance from the residences of any cottagers or
labourers, it shall be lawful for the Trustees,to let such lands,
or any part thereof, for the best rent that can be procured
for the same, and to hire in lieu thereof for the purposes of
this Act other land more favourably situated for allotments
to the poor of the parish or place for whose benefit such
lands are held in trust."

CHAPTER
THE
11

CLERGY

AS

GLEBE

III.
LANDLORDS,

Parson do preach a n d tell me to pray,
A n d to think of our work, and not ask more pay ;
And to follow plough-share, a n d never think
Of crazy cottage and ditch stuffs' stink—
T h a t Doctor do say breeds a g e r a n d chills,
Or worse than that, the fever that kills —
A n d a'bids me pay my way like a man,
W h e t h e r I c a n ' t or whether I can ;
A n d as I h ' a n t beef, to be thankful for bread,
A n d bless the Lord it a i n ' t turmuts instead ;
A n d never envy the farmer's pig,
For all a'lies warm, a n d is fed so big,
While the missus a n d little 'uns grows t h a t thin,
You may count their bones underneath t h a r skin ;
I ' m to call all I gits the ' chastening rod,'
A n d look up to my betters a n d then t h a n k G o d . "
PuncJt.

IN the concluding sentence of the first chapter
I ventured to speak of the Social Destination
of Property.
This is a doctrine which it
has often seemed to me to be specially
incumbent upon the clergy of Christ to
practise as well as preach. W e country clergy,
at any rate, ought not to forget that we are, in

48

THE CLERGY AS GLEBE

LANDLORDS.

the majority of cases, if not landlords, at least
landholders. Our numbers are estimated, I
believe, at something like 1,200 in England
alone. W e represent, in fact, probably considerably more than one-fourth of the resident
landowners of the country. W e have then, it
seems to me, a special duty with regard to this
relation. Can we do nothing then, I would
ask, in our character of Glebe Landlords, to
mitigate one at least of the great evils arising
from absorption of small holdings ? Would it
not be possible for us to use the property of
which we are trustees in such a way that we
should once more be able to set before the
rural labourer "that one attainable point of
hope," without which I venture to say all plans
for his welfare, whether social, economic, or
religious, will be in vain ? T h e root virtues of
a manly character—self-reliance, self-help, independence, ambition—will never grow in the
hard soil of a day labourer's life, unless they be
first watered from the perennial spring of
hope. T o transpose the old proverb, " While
there is hope there is life." Let us find a
means of implanting this principle in the bosom
of the agricultural labourer, and we may succeed

THE CLERGY AS GLEBE LANDLORDS.

49

in changing even the dull grey monotony of his
existence into one of—
"Life, full life,
Full flowered, full fruited, reared from homely earth,
Rooted in duty, and through long calm years
Bearing its load of healthful energies,
Stretching its arms on all sides, fed with dews
Of cheerful sacrifice and clouds of care."

Let me indicate briefly, then, three practical
directions in which I think it is open for the
clergy to do something in this matter :—
Apportionment

of Glebe

Allotments.

In the first place, I should consider that
where allotments of sufficient size do not already
exist, it is the duty of the holder of the Glebe
to divide a portion of that land, with the
object of accepting his labouring parishioners
as tenants. If I may venture to quote my own
experience, I am sure he will find few acts
of his parochial administration upon which he
will look back with more sincere and unmixed
satisfaction.
It will be necessary, of course,
to protect himself by proper rules and precautions.
But, after all, no rules or precautions are so
important as the precaution of securing in the
4

50

THE CLERGY AS GLEBE

LANDLORDS.

first place a good state of feeling between
parson and men.
Village

Parliaments.

I may perhaps be allowed to mention here
one means of securing this, which I have myself
found of the very greatest use ? When I first
thought, some years ago, of dividing my Glebe
land among the labourers, I happened to hear
of certain experiments in co-operative farming
which were being carried out at Blennerhasset,
in Cumberland, by a brother of Sir Wilfrid
Lawson. One feature in his scheme struck me
as extremely original. H e was in the habit of
periodically assembling all the workers on his
farms, for general purposes of consultation, in
a sort of open council, which afterwards came
to be knowrn as the Village Parliament. T h e
idea of inviting miscellaneous criticism in this
way was certainly droll, but it is not perhaps,
after all, so foolish as it looks. At any rate,
as a result, I determined to invite my labouring parishioners to meet at my house once a
week, to talk over questions of agricultural economy. For several years we were accustomed
to meet, during the winter months, at my house

THE CLERGY AS GLEBE LANDLORDS.

51

in this way. In the first instance, the proposed
division of the Glebe land suggested to us
plenty of topics for conversation. Subsequently
subjects for discussion were found in such books
as Mr. Brassey's " Work and Wages/' Thornton on "Labour " and " Peasant Proprietorship/
Kinnaird Edwards' " Rural Economy," Holy*
oake's " History of Co-operation," and Mr
William Lawson's " Ten Years of Gentleman
Farming," passages from which I was accustomed to read to them.
I do not know whether the labourers have
learnt very much from me, but I can honestly
say that I have learnt very much from them.
Again, there is another possible way in which
perhaps, the country clergy might help the rural
labourers.
Improved System of Small
Husbandry.
Mr. Gladstone, in a very admirable speech on
garden cultivation, which he delivered some
years ago at Hawarden, drew attention to one
important method by which he considered that
the cultivators of the soil in this country might
very materially improve their position. H e repeated that advice in a speech to the electors of

52

THE CLERGY AS GLEBE

LANDLORDS.

Midlothian during his celebrated campaign in
1880. After describing the peasant properties of
France, he asks, " What do these peasant properties mean ? They mean the small cultivation, that is to say, the cultivation of superior
articles on a small scale—cultivation of flowers,
cultivation of trees, cultivation of shrubs, and
cultivation of fruits of every kind—all that, in
fact, which rises above the ordinary character
of farming production, and rather approaches
that of gardening/' And he goes on to express
a belief that a " great deal more attention will
have to be given than heretofore to the production of fruits, vegetables, and flowers, of
all that variety of objects which are sure to find
a market in a rich and wealthy country like
this, but which have been confined almost exclusively to garden production."*
* See also on this point a most excellent pamphlet, full of
sound practical advice, on " Market Gardening for Farmers/'
by Mr. Charles Whitehead, of Maidstone, reprinted from the
Mark Lane Express: " If the conditions of soil and climate
are generally favourable for the successful production of
vegetables, what has prevented farmers, and what does
prevent farmers, from going into the business ? Chiefly, it
must be answered, the conservatism which clings so tightly
to them, and binds them to old customs and the traditions

THE CLERGY AS GLEBE LANDLORDS.

53

Now, there is no doubt, I should imagine,
that the system of husbandry generally in vogue
on labourers' allotments might be very advantageously improved in this direction. Probably
no use to which the soil can be put is more
profitable than that of market gardening. Unfortunately any attempt at improvement in this
direction, except, of course, in the vicinity of
large towns, is usually considered to be useless,
owing to the want of convenient markets.
Now, ought this to be an insuperable difficulty ?
In these days surely, when the railway system
penetrates into almost every corner of the
of mediaeval methods; a conservatism, by the way, which
has been somewhat modified of late by the action of foreign
competition, and by the falling away of the scales from
many eyes." Contrast with this " conservatism " of English
farmers the "go-ahead" character of these same foreign
competitors, as reported by Mr. Sewell Read and Mr. Pell
to the Agricultural Interests Commission two years ago : " It
is pleasing to notice the willingness, it may be even called
ready eagerness, with which the American farmers welcome
all things new. Any novelty, however revolutionary to
existing plans and ideas, is sure to find admirers, and may
expect a fair trial. The rapidity with which new systems
of daily management have spread would astonish many
English farmers, who, especially in dairy districts, are proverbially slow to change."

54

THE

CLERGY

AS

GLEBE

LANDLORDS.

kingdom, the question of markets is, after all,
merely a question of organization^
Co-operative Distribution

of Garden

Produce.

I would venture to suggest, therefore, that
the question of the distribution of the produce
of garden allotments offers a most admirable
opening for the application of the co-operative
principle. Would it not be possible in many
cases, I would ask, to associate the allotment
tenants in some form of co-operative society,
which should have for its object, not perhaps,
in the first instance, the working of the allotments in common, but for making such arrangements with the Railway Companies as should
enable them to get within reach of the best
markets for the distribution of their produce ?
W e are only at the very beginning, as it
appears to me, of the application of the principle
of co-operation to agriculture. If the country
clergy will but endeavour to help their labouring parishioners to apply the principles of
* A very practical comment on this statement will be
found in the account of the new market opened by the
Great Eastern Railway, given at page 155, Appendix. Cf.
also Mr. Whitehead's pamphlet mentioned above, p. 52.

THE CLERGY AS GLEBE LANDLORDS.

55

co-operation to the conditions of rural life, I
venture to think that not only will there be
few acts of their parochial administration upon
which they will be able to look back with more
sincere and unmixed satisfaction, but there will
be few also in which, in the light of another
world, they will seem to themselves to have
been more directly " feeding the flock of Christ
committed to their care." The story of selfdenying enthusiasm and noble endeavour,
which I shall endeavour to tell in the following
chapters, will, I hope, do something to show how
co-operation rightly understood is but the
endeavour to realise in economic life the^ social
ideal of Christianity.

CHAPTER
CO-OPERATIVE

SMALL

IV.
FARMING.

" Without attempting to predict the exact phases through
which co-operation will pass, it can scarcely be doubted that
the principle is so well adapted to agriculture, that it is certain
some day to be applied to that particular branch of industry
with the most beneficial results. . . . The progress towards
co-operative agriculture will no doubt be slow and gradual.
The labourers will have to advance towards it by many preliminary steps."—RT. H O N . H E N R Y FAWCETT, M.P.

IT is always a matter of some surprise to those
who make a study of the history of Co-operation,
that so little progress should have been made
in the application of the co-operative principle to
agriculture,—a surprise which is only increased
when it is remembered, on the one hand, that
the earliest form of landed tenure was that of
agricultural association through community of
land, and, on the other, that in few undertakings would the conditions of co-operative
success seem to be more conspicuously present
than in that of farming. When, therefore, in
reading of the vast development of co-operative
enterprise in England during the last half-

CO-OPERATIVE

SMALL

FARMING.

57

century, we find that the number of cooperators has increased from 28 in the year
1844 to 526,000 in the year 1880, and that the
capital invested during that period has increased
from ^ 2 8 to very nearly ,£6,000,000, it does
seem very discouraging to those who have been
inclined to regard co-operation as a possible
regenerating force in modern economic society,
to find that, in connection with the agricultural
classes at any rate, who above all are in such
need of social and economic improvement, cooperative enterprise should seem to have made
hardly any headway at all during the last fifty
years.
From time to time, co-operators themselves
become alive to the fact as conveying somewhat of a reproach to their energy and faith.
At both the last annual Co-operative Congresses, prominent expression was given to
this feeling. At Oxford last year, a very able
and suggestive paper was read on this subject
by Mr. Kitchin of Christ Church, now Dean
of Winchester, in which, after showing how,
in his opinion, co-operation might best grapple
with the chief problems of farming, after indicating the unusual facilities for the work, and

58

CO-OPERATIVE

SMALL

FARMING.

the specially bright hopes of success in it, he
concluded by commending the subject with its
far-reaching consequences to the mature judgment of those who had already proved their
courage and administrative ability by bringing
co-operative organizations to so successful an
issue.
This paper was fully discussed at the time,
and was afterwards, by resolution of the Congress, referred to the consideration of the district
conferences. T h e reports of these discussions
have from time to time appeared in the pages
of the Co-operative News, and have no doubt
served to create considerable inquiry on the
part of working co-operators as to the possibilities of co-operative agriculture.
In the concluding remarks of his inaugural
address at this year's Co-operative Congress at
Edinburgh, the President, the Right Hon. W.
E. Baxter, M.P., again insisted upon the importance of co-operators giving their attention
to the subject of co-operative agriculture.
It is my object, however, in the present pages
to press the importance of this subject, not only
upon the general attention of co-operators, but
also, as far as I may be able, upon the special

CO-OPERATIVE

SMALL

FARMING.

59

attention of agricultural labourers, who would
themselves evidently be the class most especially
benefited by the success of co-operative enterprise in this direction.
I am well aware of course that the backward condition of the rural labourer, as compared with other sections of the labour class,
has often been advanced as- one of the chief
difficulties in the way of the successful application of the associative principle to agriculture,
and it is true, no doubt, that his narrow school
and social education does unfit the agricultural
labourer to some extent for co-operative work.
At the same time this is hardly a reason, as it
seems to me, why co-operators, at any rate,
who are generally somewhat proud of claiming
that their movement is one quite as much
for the promotion of the general well-being as
for the protection of individual interests, should
hesitate to encourage co-operative enterprise
among agricultural labourers. If it is indeed
the want of a wider social organization which
has mainly stood in the way of the extension
of the principles of co-operation to agriculture,
a true appreciation of the value of the cooperative faith would certainly seem to suggest

60

CO-OPERATIVE

SMALL

FARMING.

that some organised effort should be made to
meet that want. A co-operative faith implies
a co-operative propaganda.
Indeed, for my own part, I cannot but think
that such propaganda is a first necessity before
any reality can belong to the discussion of large
schemes for the establishment of co-operative
farms, such as that, for example, suggested in
the otherwise admirable paper of the Dean of
Winchester.
That the energy and enterprise which has
made the success of some of the great distributive societies in the north of England is
equal also to the organization of a successful
co-operative farm, I have no difficulty in believing. As Dean Kitchin truly says, " Cooperators have shown by the business capacity
of their organizations that the directive power
is already there." I cannot, however, quite so
readily as he appears to do, bring myself to
believe that " t h e adaptation of this ability to
the management of land is a mere matter of
detail." It is a matter of detail, no doubt, but
of detail which, if the farm is to be anything
further than a Joint-stock association, must
depend very largely upon the spirit in which

CO-OPERATIVE

SMALL

FARMING.

61

the working labourers of the farm are able to
appreciate and intelligently to carry out the
principle of co-operation.
For this reason, therefore, I cannot but think
that to propose in the first instance the organization of large co-operative farms, worked
with the capital and " engineered " (to use a
convenient American phrase) by the business
managers of some of the larger existing cooperative societies, is in reality to begin at
the wrong end, and, moreover, entirely ignores
the lesson which the history of co-operation
ought' to teach.
T h e enormous success of
distributive co-operation has been built up,
it should never be forgotten, from very small
beginnings, and has been a matter of slow and
gradual growth.
So also in all probability
must it be with agriculture, if co-operative
farming is to be equally successful.
The
twenty-eight "poor labourers'' of Rochdale
will have no doubt their agricultural after-types.
For this reason, therefore, it seems to me
every way better that those who are desirous
of seeing the development of co-operative
agriculture, should confine themselves for the
present, at any rate, rather to the propagation

62

CO-OPERATIVE

SMALL

FARMING.

of co-operative truths among the rural classes,
and the encouragement of such efforts on the
part of the labourers themselves, however
humble they may be, which would seem to be
the natural and spontaneous result of such
propaganda.
In the following chapters I have endeavoured
to give as plain and simple an account as I could
of some of the more interesting and remarkable
experiments in co-operative farming, which
seem to me at all likely to furnish useful
material, either by way of warning or of
encouragement, for such a propaganda as that
I have indicated.

CHAPTER
AN

IRISH

V.

EXPERIMENT.

" Siouan-wang, t h e King of Tshi, said to M e n g - t s e u , ' I have
been told that the p a r k of the King W e n g - w a n g was seven
leagues in circumference; was t h a t the case ? ' Meng-tseu
answered respectfully, ' History tells us so.' The King said,
' If so, was not its extent excessive ? ' Meng-tseu answered,
' T h e people considered it too small.' T h e King said, ' M y
insignificance h a s a p a r k only four leagues in circumference,
a n d the people consider it too large ; whence this difference ?'
Meng-tseu answered, ' T h e p a r k of king Weng-W T ang contained
all these leagues; but as the King h a d his p a r k in common with
the people, the people thought it small. W a s that wonderful ?
I, your servant, when I was about to cross the frontier, took
care to inform myself of what was especially forbidden in your
kingdom, before I dared to venture further. Your servant
learnt t h a t there was within your line of customs a p a r k four
leagues round, a n d t h a t the m a n who killed a s t a g there was
punished with death, a s if he h a d killed a man. So t h a t there
is an actual pit of death of four leagues in circumference
opened in the heart of your kingdom. T h e people think that
park too great. I s t h a t wonderful ? ' "—CONFUCIUS.

O F all the social experiments that have yet
been made in the direction of applying the
principle of Associated Labour to the occupancy and tillage of the soil, the Co-operative
Farm established fifty years ago by an Irish

64

AN

IRISH

EXPERIMENT.

landlord, Mr. Vandeleur, at Ralahine, in county
Clare, is by far the most interesting and
instructive.
A Romance in Facts and

Figures.

T h e story of this successful and suggestive
experiment at one time attracted much attention
from both economists and politicians in this
and other countries, and, had it not been
for the premature collapse of the undertaking,
from a cause personal to the landlord, and in
no sense affecting the principle or merits of
the scheme, would no doubt have become
a standing example of the great possibilities
that lie open for Co-operative Small Farming
in the future.
T h e story has lately been
retold by Mr. E. T. Craig, the organiser and
first secretary of the association, an old man
now, in a little book entitled, " T h e History of
Ralahine and Co-operative Farming." It is
published by Triibner and Co., price two
shillings. I can strongly recommend it as a
book of the greatest value not only to the cooperator, who will find it full of wise thought
and noble sentiment on the subject of Associated Labour, but also to the perplexed

AN IRISH

EXPERIMENT,

&5

politician who is seeking some solution to the
many problems, social, agrarian, political, which
are summed up for him in the one phrase,
" T h e Irish Question/' T h e book, moreover,
is not only most instructive, it is deeply interesting. " If ever there was a romance in
facts and figures,"—truly enough says the Spectator,—"it is the story of Ralahine, a fairy tale
of political economy, by one who had been an
eye-witness of its reality."
Ireland

Fifty

Years ago,

Ireland we have all long known as a fit
realm enough for romance, but our direful experience of the last few years may well have
taught us to think that any romance there can
possibly be to tell about Irish land must be one
in which the bright pages would stand out
against a very dark background indeed. And
we shall not be wrong in such surmise. Fifty
years ago, however, the background was even
blacker than it is to-day. Look at this picture,
which Mr. Craig draws of the state of Ireland
and the Irish in the year 1830, when he first
began to organize the Ralahine scheme :—
" The population of Ireland amounted to about seven

5

66

AN IRISH

EXPERIMENT,

and a half millions. Poverty is marvellously prolific, even
when want grows faster than food. Land in Ireland available for tillage is limited, and as it forms the basis of
existence, it becomes an object of great vital importance to
obtain it, and hence competition had raised its value while
it reduced the wages of labour and the means of subsistence.
The food of the peasantry consisted chiefly of potatoes. In
the south and west the crops had failed. To add to the
evil, large landlords had begun to evict their tenants, and to
reduce small holdings, while, owing to the want of capital
and of confidence, tillage lands were converted into grazing
farms, on which a herdsman and boy could supersede some
twenty labourers and ploughmen. The rents of con-acre
were both enormous and unfair, from the fact that the poor
tenant supplied the manure for the potato crop, while the
landlords took the benefit in the grain crop subsequently
sown. Rents were demanded at ^ 8 , ; £ i o , and in some
cases at ^ 1 4 per acre. If the tenant could raise a sufficient
crop of potatoes to pay the rent and sustain his family, he
considered himself fortunate. In many cases the crops
were taken to the market attended by the agents, and the
proceeds handed to them in payment of rent, while the
slave of toil returned home empty-handed, with the galling
knowledge that the fruits of his labour were taken by
another, who was perhaps the representative of an absentee.
In bad seasons, famine soon became prevalent. The
labourer and his family under such circumstances were
doomed to want and starvation. Peace and order were
impossible. Coercion Bills, Arms Bills, an armed Police
Force of 30,000 men, and a large proportion of the British
Army "might make a solitude, but that would not make
peace, order, and contentment.
Under the conditions
indicated, many perished in silence, while thousands, alike

AN IRISH

EXPERIMENT.

6j

ignorant of the causes of their misery and of the remedy,
banded together in the vain hope of finding a cure for their
sorrows by striking terror into the great landlords, their
agents, and the Government. They saw no way of life and
existence for them, save through the meshes of crime and
the bloody portals of force, violence, and murder. "

Similar evidence to that of Mr. Craig is
furnished by the " Annual Register" of 1831,
which bears testimony to the severity of the
social crisis through which Ireland was then
passing :—
" The peasantry marched in bands through the counties,
demanding reduction of rents and increase of wages, and
threatening destruction to the magistrates and gentry who
should disobey or endeavour to resist. . . . The serving of
threatening notices, the levelling of walls, the driving off of
cattle, the beating of herdsmen, the compulsory removal of
tenants, the levying of contributions in money, the robbery
of dwelling-houses, the reckless commission of murder, were
driving the better classes of inhabitants to desert their
houses and seek refuge in some other quarter."

Force no Remedy.
Such, then, was the dark and unpromising
background upon which the first bright pages
of the Ralahine Romance had to be written.
While other landlords were flying in terror
from this scene of outrage, murder, and law-

6S

AN IRISH

EXPERIMENT.

lessness, far exceeding in extent and violence
anything of recent occurrence, and leaving the
armed police and the English soldiers to cope
with men upon whose hearts
"Famine had written fiend,"

there was one Irish landlord at least brave
enough to face the storm, and in faith that
" force was no remedy " had the courage to set
himself calmly to the task of seeing how far
the principles of co-operation, which he had
learnt from the great English Socialist, Robert
Owen, would go towards a solution, on his own
estate at any rate, of the Irish Land Question.
The Ralahine

Farm.

T h e scene of the new social experiment was
admirably adapted for the purpose. Ralahine
consisted of 618 acres, about one-half o£ which
was under tillage, with suitable farm buildings,
and situated between the two main roads from
Limerick to Ennis. A bog of sixty-three acres
supplied fuel. A lake on the borders of the
estate gave a constant and available supply
of water power, and a small stream flowing
from it gave eight-horse power to a thrashing

AN

IRISH

EXPERIMENT.

69

mill, a skutch and saw mill, a lathe, and so
forth.
A fall of twenty-horse power was
available at a short distance, when required
for manufacturing purposes.
A large building was erected by Mr. Vandeleur, 30 feet by 15 feet, which should be suitable for a common dining-hall, with a room of
the same size above, available for lectures,
reading-room, or classes. Close to them he
built a store-room, with a dormitory above. A
few yards from and at right angles to the large
rooms he put in course of erection six good
cottages. Several hundred yards away stood
the old castle of Ralahine, with lofty square
tower and arched floors, capable of being
temporarily adapted for the accommodation of
those whom Mr. Vandeleur hoped to unite in
his new system of mutual co-operation.
The actual site for the proposed Co-operative
Farm was in fact all that could be wished—fair
soil of sufficient extent, good water-power,
abundance of cheap fuel, extensive buildings,
hard roads, nearness to two market towns.
Irish
But

ideas of

what of the

Co-operation,

proposed

co-operators ?

70

AN

IRISH

EXPERIMENT.

That they could not have been very different
from the rest of their fellows, of whom I have
just written, the following incident will, I
think, sufficiently show
Mr. Vandeleur's last steward had been somewhat despotic, harsh, and severe in his treatment of the labourers on the estate. A reaper
on one hot harvest day had paused from his
work to get a drink of water from his can,
whereupon the steward kicked it over, declaring
that he would not have water there as an
excuse for the reapers wasting their time.
Similar acts of harshness roused a spirit of
revenge. A midnight meeting was held in
Cratloe Wood. The steward was condemned
to death. Lots were drawn as to who was to
do the foul deed. A few nights afterwards, in
the presence of his wife, to whom he had only
been married three months, he was shot dead
as he was bolting his door.
T h e assassin
escaped, and was never brought to justice.
Not very promising materials, one would
think, out of which to form ideal co-operators.
At least their present idea of associative labour
was of a somewhat ghastly type !
At any rate it must be allowed that he must

AN IRISH

EXPERIMENT.

71

have been a bold man who, with such a possible fate before him, was ready to undertake the
task of endeavouring to organize these ci-devant
" Whiteboys " and " Terry-Alts " into a civilised community of co-operative farmers.
A Lancashire

Lad.

Such a helper, however, Mr. Vandeleur was
fortunate enough to find in Mr. Craig, a man
not only, as we may well suppose, of rare pluck
and courage, but one capable also of bringing
practical skill, foresight, and perseverance to
the intelligent application of those principles of
co-operation in which he believed so enthusiastically. H e was a native of Lancashire, one
of those " Lancashire lads," in fact, of whom
he exclaimed soon afterwards—when on his
first visit to Limerick he saw the neglected state
of the river Shannon, one of the noblest rivers
in the British Isles, with its splendid natural
resources for water carriage, so typically left
undeveloped by the Irish because, as they said,
they were waiting for " Government help "—
" Some Lancashire lads I know would have
made short and cursory work of waiting for
Government. * Hang the Government! W h y

72

AN IRISH EXPERIMENT.

wait for them ? Let us co-op. and do the work
ourselves !' " Lancashire was already beginning in those days to take that lead in the
development of co-operative enterprise among
the working classes which she has ever since
so nobly retained (I see by the returns lately
published in the Congress Report that there
are in that county this year 159,478 members
of registered co-operative societies, doing business to an amount of over eight millions, with
a net profit of ,£597,434), and which makes
one hope that in this respect, even more
perhaps than in some others, Lord Derby's
words may be true—" What Lancashire thinks
to-day England will think to-morrow."
A short tour through the part of Ireland
where the experiment was to be tried, with the
object of studying the character and condition of
the people with whom he would shortly have
to deal, soon brought Mr. Craig to Lord
Bacon's opinion—"To allay sedition we must
allay the makers of it."
" T h e conclusions to which the relations of
the labourer to the land and the fruits of his
toil led me were that the causes at work were
social and agrarian, as well as political, and that

AN IRISH EXPERIMENT.

73

social amelioration, and a share in the net profits, if any, after paying rent and the interest
of capital, would realise a gr^at change at once
in the spirit and ameliorate the condition of the
people."
Mr. Craig lost no time in preparing a draft
of the constitution and laws of the proposed
association founded on these principles. This,
after being approved by Mr. Vandeleur, was
submitted to the members and signed. N o
alterations wTere found necessary during the
experiment. Want of space prevents me from
quoting in full the whole document. I give,
however, sufficient, I think, to judge of the
essential features of the scheme, and one or two
of the more characteristic rules :—
LAWS

OF T H E RALAHINE

AGRICULTURAL

AND MANU-

FACTURING CO-OPERATIVE ASSOCIATION.

Preamble.
The objects of this Association are :—
I. The acquisition of a common capital.
II. The mutual assurance of its members against the evils
of poverty, sickness, infirmity, and old age.
I I I . The attainment of a greater share of the comforts
of life than the working class now possess.
IV. The mental and moral improvement of its adult
members.
V. The education of their children.

74

AN

IRISH

EXPERIMENT.

Basis of the Society, &c.
i. For the attainment of the foregoing objects the persons
who have signed these rules agree to associate together, and
to rent the lands, building, manufactories, machinery, etc.,
of Ralahine, from Mr. John Scott Vandeleur, according to
" agreement," and they each of them, jointly and severally,
bind themselves to obey the following rules, and to use
every means in their power to cause them to be observed.
2. That all the stock, implements of husbandry, and
other property belong to and are the property of Mr.
Vandeleur until the society accumulate sufficient to pay for
them; they then become the joint property of the society.
*

*

%

*

Production.
9. We engage that whatever talents we may individually
possess, whether mental or muscular, agricultural, manufacturing, or scientific, shall be directed to the benefit of all,
as well by their immediate exercise in all necessary occupations as by communicating our knowledge to each other,
and particularly to the young,
10. That as far as can be reduced to practice each
individual shall assist in agricultural operations, particularly
in harvest, it being fully understood that no individual is to
act as steward, but all are to work.
11. That all the youths, male or female, do engage to
learn some useful trade, together with agriculture and
gardening, between the ages of 9 and 17.
12. That the committee meet every evening, to arrange
the business for the following day.
*
#
%
*
15. That no member be expected to perform any service
or work but such as is agreeable to his or her feelings, or

AN IRISH EXPERIMENT.

75

they are able to perform ; but if any member thinks that
any other member is not usefully employing his or her time,
it is his or her duty to report it to the committee, whose
duty it will be to bring that member's conduct before a
general meeting, who shall have power, if necessary, to
expel that useless member.
*
*
*
*
Education and Formation of Character,
26. That each individual shall enjoy perfect liberty of
conscience and freedom in the expression of opinions and
in religious worship.
27. That we each observe the utmost kindness, forbearance, and charity for all who may differ from us in opinions.
29, That no gaming of any kind be practised by any
member of the society.
31. That no spirituous liquors of any kind, tobacco, or
snuff be kept in the store or on the premises.
*
*
#
%
Government, etc,
37. That the society be governed and its business transacted by a committee of nine members, to be chosen halfyearly by ballot, by all the adult male and female members.
41. That there be a general weekly meeting of the
society; that the treasurer's accounts be audited by the
committee and read over to the society; that " the Suggestion Book " be also read at this meeting.

A memorandum of agreement was also drawn
up between Mr. Vandeleur and Mr. Craig and
three other members of the Association, defining the conditions and terms of the letting of

76

AN IRISH EXPERIMENT.

the farm, and making provision for increasing
the rate of wages and dividing profits in the
event of the experiment being brought to a
successful issue. T h e arrangement was in brief
this. T h e farm was let by Mr. Vandeleur at a
fixed rent, to be paid in fixed quantities of farm
produce, which, at the prices ruling in 1830-31,
would bring ^ 9 0 0 , which included interest on
buildings, machinery, and live stock provided
by Mr. Vandeleur. The rent alone was £joo.
As the farm consisted of 618 acres, only 268
of which wefe under tillage, this rent was a
very high one—a fact which was acknowledged
by the landlord. All profits, after payment of
rent and interest, belonged to the members,
divisible at the end of the year, if desired.
It will be seen that the method of paying
the rent (I quote again Mr. Craig's own words)
differed from the old and accustomed methods.
T h e prices ruling the Limerick markets in
1830-31 were taken as standard prices during
the existence of the Association, for the six
articles in which rent was paid, and it was felt
to be just, and gave satisfaction to both landlord and tenants. If the produce of the farm
had increased, or say doubled temporarily i by

AN

IRISH

EXPERIMENT.

77

the effect of an exceptional season, or permanently by improvements on the part of the
members, the Society would have appropriated
the difference.
In the case of permanent
improvements, the landlord would of course
have been benefited by an increased value of
the property. In either case the increase would
have arisen from causes beyond the control and
quite independently of the landlord. It would
have arisen either from increased industry, care,
and skill, improved mode of tillage, increase of
the acreage under cultivation, or from an
unusually favourable action of nature's laws,
effecting a greater absorption of the various
elements of the earth and the atmosphere,
which go to form plant life. T h e proprietor
would not have supplied this extra industry,
these improved methods or extra forces in
nature's laws. . . . Under the arrangement
made with the proprieter, the society had the
full benefit of the skill, industry, and enterprise
of its members, and had the advantage of good
seasons; while, on the other hand, the landlord
reaped the advantage of any advance in market
prices which in course of time would result
from increased demand.
Had the Society

78

AN

IRISH

EXPERIMENT.

neglected the proper cultivation of the land, it
would have risked having no surplus to divide
among the members, and have been liable to
risk the loss of its occupancy.
The Old and the New

System.

Such then in effect are the main features
of the Ralahine Scheme. T h e principles (as
enunciated above by Mr. Craig) upon which
" T h e New System," as it soon came to be
generally called, was to be worked, will doubtless strike many of my readers as practically
condemned in advance by the fact that they
are entirely contrary to all the recorded canons
of orthodox Political Economy.
Well, I am
very sorry—I cannot help it ; but I am tempted
to say, " So much the worse for the orthodox
Political Economy." Like many other forms
of orthodoxy, the stress of nineteenth century
human needs and life may have to teach even
the " Science of Wealth " some new dogmas—
among the chief of which I trust will be this,
" I n the last resort the question is not about
wealth but about men."
What the relations of the landlord, the tenant
farmer, and the labourer, both in Ireland and

AN

IRISH

EXPERIMENT.

79

elsewhere, under the " old system " of competitive selfishness, have been, all the world knows.
What those relations might become for landlord, tenant farmer, and labourer, both in
Ireland and elsewhere, under the "new system"
of mutual co-operation, the issue of the Ralahine
scheme, may, I trust, demonstrate.

C H A P T E R VI.
THE NEW

SYSTEMITES.

" Of old things all are over old,
Of good things none are good enough ;
Let's try if we can help to mould
A happier world of better stuff."

" the Lancashire lad who had come
to teach Irish labourers how to co-op. and
do for themselves," by no means found everything plain sailing, we may well suppose, when
he set himself to put into operation the
scheme of co-operation which I described in the
last chapter.
T h e labourers on the estate
were discontented, moody, and suspicious, and
at first Mr. Craig's appearance among them
only tended to increase their want of confidence. They regarded him merely as a " new
steward." H e was a stranger, moreover, and
a " Sassenach."
" Being the only Saxon in that part of
Ireland," he says, " and arriving while the
people were in a state of wild frenzy of
M R . CRAIG,

THE NEW

SYSTEMITES.

81

indignation against their forced exclusion from
the soil, they naturally Concluded that as
traditionally all Sassenachs were incapable of
dealing fairly and justly towards Irishmen, I
should secretly sympathise with the landlords
and the police authorities.
Their prejudices
and suspicions led them to suspect me as likely
to betray them by obtaining the name of the
man who had murdered the steward."
Irish

Humour.

On one occasion he was cautioned not to
return to his lodgings by the same road as that
by which he left if detained after sunset. On
another, he was struck with a stone ; and on yet
another, he was presented with a sketch of a
skull and cross-bones and a rudely-drawn coffin,
with an intimation that they intended to put
him to bed under the "daisy-quilt." Altogether
he had a somewhat unpleasant time of it. But
he never lost heart ; he had faith in the principles of the " new system " which he had come
to establish, and he was not to be disheartened
at the outset by difficulties and obstacles which
he had partly foreseen.
H e set himself accordingly to study the
6

82

THE NEW

SYSTEMITES.

character of the people in order that he might
learn how to help them. H e was not long in
discovering that there was much that was very
lovable about the Irish people.
" Kindly sympathy, tenderness, and hospitality, " he says, " are marked characteristics of
the native Irish. On entering the cabins of
the district I found the manners of the people
naturally easy at receiving a stranger.
In
England if a person enters a house or a cottage
where he is unknown he is received with a
stare of surprise and a scrutinizing gaze- of
doubt before he feels at ease. In the south of
Ireland if the stranger goes into a cabin wThere
he is unknown, he will be received with 'Caed
mille failthe'—a 'hundred thousand welcomes,'
or ' God save you kindly,' in return for the
salutation of ' God save all here.' "
Mr. Craig's desire to return these kindly
greetings in the same language in which they
were uttered almost led him on one occasion
into a somewhat unpleasant experience of the
truth of the old adage that—
" A little learning is a dangerous thing."

H e had requested one of the more intelligent

THE NEW SYSTEMITES.

83

of the Ralahine labourers to teach him the true
Irish form of salutation in answer to the kindly
wayside * greeting of " God be with you," and
was instructed by his humorous, but as the
sequel turned out rather malicious tutor to
reply, " Tharah ma dhoel!"
Here is an
account of the incident—
" When a stranger addressed me with ' Dea vaha,' I replied
' Tharah ma dhoel!' If another said, ' Peace be with you,'
I still replied, ' Tharah ma dhoel!' I observed that my
civilities had a somewhat puzzling effect on the passers by
the way. It occurred to me that I was too hurried or too
indistinct. My next experiment, however, was a critical one.
The wayfarer was a tall, sturdy son of the soil, with a longtailed frieze coat, who carried a stout blackthorn stick or
shillelah. He gave the usual civil recognition, and I promptly
replied—' Tharah ma dhoel! ' My reply seemed electricalThe fellow stood stock still, and by a clever jerk he threw his
shillelah up in the air and caught it in the middle, and then
giving it a twirl, he said—' Say that agin, say that agin, and
I'll lay ye in the turf-pit!' "

After this experience Mr. Craig thought it
well to get a literal English translation of his
Irish salutation, and finding that " Tharah ma
dhoel!" in Irish means " Go to the devil! " he
wisely changed his tutor for one less clever but
more frank.

84

THE NEW

SYSTEMITES.

Progress of the

Association.

During this time the various buildings before
mentioned were rapidly approaching completion.
On the ist of November, 1831, everything was
ready for a start. Accordingly the whole of
the labourers and artizans on the estate and
some living in the immediate neighbourhood
were assembled, to the number of about forty,
and the scheme of the proposed Association
was fully explained.
Mr. Craig, however,
perceiving some uneasiness of feeling on the
very threshold as to who were to compose the
society, and believing that he himself was still
regarded with suspicion by some, proposed that
the election of the members and the officers
of the Association should be by the ballot of
the men themselves. This plan was adopted.
From that moment the success of the scheme
may be said to have been assured.
T h e numbers admitted at this first ballot
were :—•
Adult single men
Married men
^Single women .
Married women

.
.
.

.

Total .

.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.

21
7
—
5
7

28

—

.

.

12

40

THE NEW SYSTEMITES.

85

Orphans under 17 years of age—
Boys
Girls
Infants

.

.

.

.

.

.

^

4
3
5
—

Total (with adults)

.

12

52

T h e total number afterwards increased to 81.
Ralahine awakens Hope,
In less than two months from this time the
Association was in complete and satisfactory
working order, and the comfort, freedom, and
industry of the members soon began to attract
general attention not only in county Clare, but
in the whole of that part of Ireland. T h e "new
system" was the talk of the people at their
places of meeting far and wide. It was hoped
that other landlords would imitate the excellent
example of Mr. Vandeleur, especially as his
example was one profitable to himself as well a!s
calculated to produce peace and contentment in
disturbed Ireland. It was this feeling and the
evident wish for the continued success of Ralahine that caused the murders and agrarian
outrages to cease in that part of the country.
They did not occur again on the Ralahine
property for more than thirty years afterwards

86

THE NEW

SYSTEMITES.

T h e " old system/' however, has again produced
the old fruits, and under the Coercion Act of
1881 county Clare once more became a proclaimed district.
T h e following testimony to the success of
the undertaking was given by Mr. Finch in
evidence before a Commission of the House
of Commons in 1834 :—
" I saw an agricultural institution in Ireland last year in
county Clare, all the arrangements and laws of which are so
excellent, and point out so clearly the certain means of removing immediately the ignorance, mendicity, pauperism,
drunkenness, and crime that exist in both countries, without
any extra outlay of capital or interference with existing
institutions, that I am determined to devote a considerable
portion of my time to the promulgation of them* They are
most important to landholders."

A fair idea of the method and operations of
the Society will be gained from the following
statistics :—
ABSTRACT

OF

LABOUR
JANUARY

SHEET
14,

FOR W E E K

ENDING

1832,

Farm.
£ s.
Carting out and mixing compost manure
1 1
Ploughing in Granapan and Calf Field . o 13
Washing and steaming potatoes .
. 0 6
Threshing & preparing wheat for market 0 1 8
Conveying wheat to Limerick
.
. o 10
Pulling and drawing in turnips .
. 0 8

d.
6
4
0
o
8
0

THE NEW SYSTEMITES.

^

ABSTRACT OF LABOUR SHEET (continued)

* £

s.

d.

o 9
o 16
o 7
o 4
o 5
o 5
o 3
o 2
o 2
o 4
o 8

o
o
4
8
o
o

7

Trenching in wheat
.
.
.
.
Attending and foddering cattle .
Carpenter's labour on farm .
Smith's ditto
Herding stock
Dairy
Manufacturing wool into frieze ,
Poultry
.
.
.
.
.
.
Sundries to farm
.
.
.
.
Attending and feeding pigs .
Superintendence, education, and accounts

4

2

o
o
o
o
o
o
o

2

6
o.
8

2

6
o
o
o

Family.
Attending dining-rooms
Steaming potatoes and other vegetables
. Attendance on dormitories .
Sewing and repairing beds .
Washing clothes
Infant schoolmistress .
.
.
.
Sundries to family
.
.
.
.

2
I

O IO

5 o
2

6

I

2

o i5

8

o
o
o

Improvements.
Carpenter's labour
Smith's ditto
.
Attending Slater
Storekeepers
.
Clerk of Accounts

.

.
.

.
.

.
.

Total

0

6

8
a
o
o
8

2

.

4

4

IO

9
2

b 16

.

.

.

.

£™

4 2

88

THE NEW

SYSTEMITES.

By reference to the ledger account of the
same week it appears that the consumption of
produce for the entire community (50 adults
and 17 children) was for that week as follows:—
Potatoes, 243 stone .
.
Milk, 202 quarts
.
.
Butter, 13 j i b .
.
.
Mutton, 9J lb
Eggs, 32
Fuel
Lodgings for single members and
Cottages for married ditto

£ s. d.
. 2 0 6
. o 16 10
. 0 9 2
0 3 2
0 0 8
o o 7!
rent of
.
. 0 1 0 0
.
.
.

4 °
Balance for clothing, etc., and for savings 6
£™

Results of the

'

1T

i

3

2J

4

2

Experiment.

Thus it appears that the payments made for
labour during this week amounted to ^ 1 0 4s. 2d.,
but owing to the superiority of the associative
arrangements over the isolated and competitive
system, the Association had a market on the
spot for a considerable proportion of their own
produce, and thus returned to the store for
articles consumed nearly one-half of the drafts

THE NEW

SYSTEMITES.

89

of the members, on account of labour, which
were on the same scale as the wages of the
neighbourhood (farm labourers, 8d. per day ;
ploughmen, having care of two horses, lod. ;
herdsmen, is. ; blacksmiths, is. A^d. ; carpenters,
is. 4.d. ; women field labourers, $d.). There
thus remained a sum in the hands of the fifty
labourers of £6 2 s. ^d. for clothing and other
expenditure and savings. Roughly speaking,
therefore, it will be seen from a comparison of
these statistics that the annual income of a
member of the Ralahine Association, which at
the ordinary rate of wages in the district would
only amount to a little over £\o, was increased
to something like ^"16, or more than 50 per
cent., by the adoption of the co-operative principle. T o these material advantages we must
add the great social and moral advantages
which arose from the arrangements of the
Associated Home. As already stated, there
was a common dining hall, 30 ft. by 15 ft., for
th^ accommodation of the single members, and
such of the married as preferred public to
private meals, thus saving the labour of cooking
in their cottages. Over these rooms were two
large dormitories for the girls and unmarried

90

2HE NEW

SYSTEMITES.

women.
One of the women had charge of
and kept the dormitories in order, and another
attended to the committee, lecture, and diningrooms. T h e washing and cooking being done
in proper places away from the dwellings, and
the children taken care of in the schools, the
married women were enabled to perform their
day's labour for the Society and to keep their
cottages clean and neat with very little labour.
As to the sanitary result of this mode of life, it
is a remarkable fact that during the entire existence of the Ralahine Association there was not
a single day's illness among the members,
although great numbers outside the community
suffered from fever, whilst the mortality from
cholera in Limerick and the neighbourhood was
very great. Much, however, as one is tempted
to linger on these various benefits, natural and
social, which were the direct result of the cooperative principle, I must hasten the story to
a conclusion.
T h e last act before the final
catastrophe is thus summed up by Mr. Craig :—
" The members were full of satisfaction with the present
and hopeful as to the future. The harvest was a splendid
one. The new (reclaimed) land of twenty acres had yielded
an ample return for their extra labour, which had been the

THE NEW

SYSTEMITES.

91

means of adding to our tillage land without increasing the
rent. Six new dwellings had been erected by our own
labour. It was also expected that the anticipated surplus
would add twopence a day to the wages of labourers receiving 8d.y and one penny to women's wages, being an addition
of one-fourth in one case and one-fifth in the other. These
advantages were in addition to those secured by wages,
such as a second suit of Sunday clothes, while their children
were clothed, fed, and well educated out of the common
fund of the Society, and all of them had labour notes in
reserve. Beyond these acquisitions and advantages the
Association had, by their combined labour and care, produced and delivered to the landlord, as rent and interest,
for the land, stock, buildings, and machinery, the following
quantities of produce :—

£
46,400 stones of wheat at is. 6d. per stone
3,840 stones of barley at 10^. per stone
480 stones of oats at lod. per stone
70 cwt. of beef at 40s. per cwt.
.
30 cwt. of pork at 40s. per cwt.
10 cwt. of butter at 80s. per cwt. .

. 480
. 160
20

. 140

.

66

.

40

^900

"These great results had been realised within three
years at Ralahine, and others, with the right men, might
follow our example. Leaders and organisers, sufficiently
enlightened as to the principles involved in the new system
or science of society, with all the higher 'resources of
civilization,' could call into existence similar associations
in a short time, and establish them in every county of
Ireland, and what a wondrous change would be seen in the

92

THE NEW SYSTEMITES.

green isle of the ocean ! As it has been truly said, if our
system had been allowed to continue, its example might
have helped to make Ireland a paradise of peace."

The Final

Catastrophe.

Just at the moment, however, when th$
experiment had become successful beyond all
expectation, all the high hopes for the future of
the little community were suddenly dashed to
the ground by the startling intelligence of their
founder's absolute ruin and bankruptcy. Mr.
Vandeleur, it appears, though a high-minded
and benevolent man, was disastrously addicted
to gambling. At his club in Dublin he indulged
this passion to the extent of sacrificing to it
everything he possessed in the world. H i s
total ruin fell on the happy society of Cooperators at Ralahine with the effect of a
thunderbolt. A distant relative of Mr. Vandeleur, a banker at Limerick, through some
technical point in the law, took advantage of
the President's position, in connection with the
Society as a manufacturing association and a
trading store, to obtain a fiat of bankruptcy
against the estate.
As to the co-operative
members of the Association themselves—
" The world was not theirs, nor the world's law."

THE NEW

SYSTEMITES.

93

Mr. Gladstone's Land Bill, with its recognition of the justice of tenant-right, was still in
the far future. The members were held to
be common labourers, with no rights or claims
for improvements, as all they had created and
added to the estate belonged to the landlord
and his creditors. T h e original " agreement "
was treated by the lawyers as so much waste
paper. In the eye of the law, I suppose, they
were right. But it was robbery nevertheless !
T h e members had paid their rent, yet they
were remorselessly evicted.
They had no
remedy. Ruin came upon them suddenly, and
social co-operation at Ralahine was at an end.
Short-lived, however, as was this Irish experiment, it has put on record a valuable
experience as to the possible results of the
application of the co-operative principles to
agriculture, some of the lessons of which, both
by way of warning and encouragement, I shall
endeavour to summarise in the next chapter.

C H A P T E R VII.
LESSONS

OF 7HE RALAHINE

EXPERIMENT.

" If each to each be all he can,
A very God is man to man."
C^CILIUS.

are one or two questions, mainly,
perhaps, in the tone of objection, which will,
I think, naturally suggest themselves to any
practical man who may have taken the trouble
to follow the story of the remarkable success,
both social and economical, of the Co-operative
Farm established by Mr. Vandeleur at Ralahine.
T h e first and most obvious question will, I
think, be this :—If, as you say, the adoption
of the new principle of profit-sharing on the
part of Labour with Capital on the Ralahine
estate was found to work such wonders, not
only with regard to the productive results of the
farm, but also with regard to the social relations
both of the labourers with one another and with
their landlord, how does it come about that
THERE

1HE

RALAHINE

EXPERIMENT

95

during the fifty years that have elapsed since
then no Irish landlord has been either publicspirited enough or far-seeing enough to follow
Mr. Vandeleur's lead ?
Agricultural

Conservatism.

I am afraid the answer to that question which
commends itself to my mind is not one which is
very complimentary to the Irish landlord. For
I cannot help feeling that the chief reason why
the "new system" should have been so little
productive of other experiments in the same
direction is to be found simply in the fact that
it was a new system that was proposed for imitation. After all, perhaps, it is well to remember
that it is not only landlords, either in Ireland or
elsewhere, who dislike " n e w methods."* T h e
* The following extract from the evidence of Mr. Rowlandson (the Liberal tenant-farmer candidate for the North
Riding last .year) before the Duke of Richmond's Commission will be interesting in this connection.
u
' If you consider that an objectionable system, why do
you not change it in regard to your own tenant, to whom
you are in the relation of a landlord ? '—' I should be very
glad to do so as soon as a general system of that kind is
adopted/
" * If it is right and proper and fair to the people of the
neighbourhood, wThy should you wait until it is the general

96

THE RALAHINE

EXPERIMENT.

fact is that most of us are by nature the childdren of custom—constitutional conservatives by
heredity. Liberalism, after all, the desire for
improvement and progress, is evidently a " state
of grace," and a state of grace moreover which
rural environment seems especially unsuited to
foster or encourage. Not, of course, that I would
for a moment seem to imply that every territorial
Conservative is quite so hopeless in this respect
as the old squire of whom George Eliot tells us,
whose whole political and economical creed was
summed up in the words " Whatever is, is bad,
and any change is likely to be worse ;" but at
the same time one cannot help feeling that
few things are so disturbing to the rural mind
as criticism of the old customs, and that, quite
apart from the question as to whether the
customs criticised are good or bad. T h e sort
system of the neighbourhood?'—'I suppose that if I adopted
a system like that in the neighbourhood, I should be something like a black sheep among the flock, but I should be
quite willing to adopt it if it were generally adopted throughout the neighbourhood.'
' " B u t why is it necessary to adopt it generally in the
neighbourhood, and not in every individual case ?'—* Your
Grace will be aware that there is always an aversion to a
person adopting a new principle, especially in a small and
simple case like mine.' "

THE RALAHINE

EXPERIMENT.

97

of hesitation expressed in the lines of Clough
is, I take it, a far too common attitude of mind
in this respect—
" Old things need not be therefore true,
O brother men, nor yet the new ;
Ah, still awhile the old thought retain,
And yet consider it again/'

If, however, I can only hope that the story I
have endeavoured to relate would induce even
one or two of my readers to "consider" this old
experiment at Ralahine " again," I shall be
amply satisfied.
There are two other questions of a practical
character that are likely to occur.
I. It may be said, still mainly by way of
objection, " Is this so-called 'new system'
anything more than a device for transferring
wealth from one body of men to another, from
the landlord, that is to say, to. the labourer, and
thereby enriching the latter at the expense
of the former, by the simple expedient of
depriving him of a portion of his legitimate,
earnings to distribute it amongst his employes ?"
T o this I would reply, Certainly not! Thm
principle of Participation in Profits is by no
7

98

THE RALAHINE

EXPERIMENT.

means a mere philanthropic device for transferring the property of the rich to the poor,
but is, in fact, a method spontaneously capable
of realising additional profits, and thereby of
actually creating the fund which it proposes to
divide.
This point is important. Let me adduce one
or two reasons and facts in its support.
Stimulus

of Profit-sharing

Principle.

And, first, there is no more common assertion
I think it will be generally acknowledged, on
the part of the farmers when discussing the
capabilities of the agricultural labourer, than
this—that the same man, in his employer's field
and in his own garden or allotment, presents
two surprisingly different standards of activity.
No doubt the assertion is true ; but the reason
is obvious. In the former case there is the
deadening certainty that no additional effort
will bring additional wage ; and in the second
case there is the enlivening hope that every
stroke of efficient labour will bring with it its
appropriate reward.
Hence it is plain that
fixed wages tend to produce a minimum
standard of work, whereas the stimulus of

THE RALAHINE

EXPERIMENT.

personal interest as inevitably tends to a
maximum standard.
Now the principle of
profit-sharing adopted at Ralahine manifestly
supplied such a stimulus. Take this fact in
illustration of the argument. A certain visitor
to Ralahine on one occasion happened to find
one of the members of the Association at work
and alone, under the following circumstances:—
The watercourse which supplied the power
for the threshing machine, as it left the lake
on the estate, passed under the old mail road
from Limerick to Ennis, and near the tunnel
the masonry had given way and obstructed the
flow of the stream. T h e visitor was surprised
to find one of the members standing up to his
middle in the water, repairing the wall, and
entered into conversation with him to the
following effect:—
Visitor, Are you working by yourself?
Member. Yes, sir.
V. Where is your steward ?
M. W e have no steward.
V. Who sent you, then, to this kind of work ?
M. The committee.
V. What committee ? Who are the committee ?

ioo

THE RALAHINE

EXPERIMENT

M Some of the members, sir
V What members do you mean ?
M, The members of the New System—
ploughmen and labourers.
The fact was, as another of the labourers
once said to Mr. Finch, another visitor to the
establishment, " W e formerly had no interest
either in doing a great deal of work, doing
it well, or in suggesting improvements, as all
the advantage and all the praise were given to
a tyrannical taskmaster, for his attention and
watchfulness. W e were looked upon merely
as machines, and his business was to keep us
in motion; for this reason it took the time of
three or four of us to watch him, and when he
was fairly out of sight, you may depend we
did not hurt ourselves with too much labour.
But now that our interest and our duty are
made to be the same we do not need any
steward at all."
Here then is the answer to that first question
Improved work, spontaneously given, brings
with it, in general, increased production, better
quality, less waste and diminution in the cost
of superintendence. This means, of course,
enhanced profits. T h e principle of participa-

THE RALAHINE

EXPERIMENT.

101

tion thus rests on a firm economical basis—viz.,
the creation by the more efficient labour called
forth under its influence of new profits which
do not accrue under remuneration by fixed
wages only.
II. Can agricultural labourers be induced
by the prospect which participation offers to
put forth the sustained exertions necessary to
secure its benefits ?
T h e two last chapters have already in effect
answered this question. I may add, however,
this additional testimony from Mr. Craig :—
" A t harvest-time the whole Society would voluntarily
work longer than the time specified, and I have seen the
whole body occasionally at these seasons act with such
energy and accomplish such great results by their united
exertions that each and all seemed as if fired by a wild,
enthusiastic determination to achieve some glorious enterprise—and that, too, without any additional stimulant
administered to them in the shape of any pecuniary
reward."

Lessons of

Encouragement.

So much then by way of reply to possible
objections. As to the lessons of encouragement
to be learnt from this experiment, they may, I
think, be briefly summarised as follows :—
T. Increased Stability of Relations between

102

THE RALAHINE EXPERIMENT,

Capital and Labour.—The verdict of the Ralahine labourers themselves on this head was
given in a testimonial to Mr. Craig at the close
of the undertaking. They wrote :—
"We, the undersigned, have experienced for the last
two years contentment, peace, and happiness under the
arrangements introduced by Mr. Vandeleur and Mr. C. T..
Craig. At the commencement we were opposed to the
plans proposed by them ; but, on their introduction, we
found our condition improved, our wants more regularly
attended to, and our feelings towards each other were at
once entirely changed from jealousy, hatred, and revenge,
to confidence, friendship, and forbearance."

2. The Beneficial Educational
Effects of
Corporate Opinion.—In illustration of this point
let me give two brief quotations from Mr.
Craig's book :—" The weekly meetings had the happy result of interesting
the members in the proceedings of the committee and in
the success of the new system. The views of the committee recorded and read from the ' Suggestion Book'
were discussed, and the practical value of certain methods
of dealing with the land were also discussed, and formed
an excellent basis for the educational training of the people
and the formation of correct notions and higher phases of
character than is possible with the usual isolated methods.
" There were at first two or three fellows inclined to be
idle, and they were cured in the way wild elephants are
tamed. The committee who knew their characters fixed

THE RALAHINE

EXPERIMENT.

10

their labour, and appointed one of these idlers to work
between two others who were industrious—at digging, for
instance ; he was obliged to keep up with them, or he
became the subject of laughter and ridicule to the whole
society. This was what no man co dd stand."

3. The Preservation
ance of Waste:—

of Property

and avoid-

"During the winter of 1832, a hunted fox crossed the
mill water-course near the rickyard, and took across the
orchard, and over a 70-acre field of wheat in the highest
tilth of any land upon the estate. The mounted huntsmen,
—young squires, farmers, and tradesmen,—to keep well up
with the hounds on the wheat-field, would have to pass
through the farmyard, but they found that by a sudden
and mutual impulse the large high gates of the farmyard
had been locked against them by the 'new systemites'.*
Many of the huntsmen seemed perfectly astounded at the
daring and ' impudence' of these men.* The incident
shows that the new system had converted these once indifferent or careless servants into prudent conservators of the
property under their care."

Again continues Mr. Craig :—
" Before the Society was established the labourers con
ceived their own interest opposed to that of their employers,
and would attend to nothing beyond their appointments
for the passing moments. . . . They conceived it to be
their interest to encourage clandestinely the destruction of
property, believing that it would create a greater demand
for their labour. But after the Society commenced this
order of things was reversed. A single potato was by

io 4

THE RALAHINE

EXPERIMENT.

many of them reluctantly wasted, for they found that the
conservation of property was the saving of their own labour.
Thus the same faculty of mind—self-interest—produced
opposite results when surrounded by opposite controlling
circumstances."

4. The refining Power of the Principle
Social
Sympathy:—

of

" A report reached Ralahine that the crops of a poor
widow, who had lost her husband by fever or cholera,
would be lost in consequence of the death of him who had
sown but was not there to reap, and the absence of means
to pay for reapers. On the Sunday following all the young
men of the community took their sickles and cheerfully
travelled to the desolate home, cut the poor widow's wheat,
and harvested her crop free of all cost. This benevolence
was shown in other similar cases. H a d the members been
in an isolated position they could not have done this
generous work of charity, and it serves to illustrate the
refining and elevating tendency of the principle of social
sympathy arising and co-extending with the humanising
influence of the new system."

5. Encouragement
of thrift by the direct
provision in the present of a lucrative investment for savings.
6. Consequent decrease of pauperism.
7. Increase of the true spirit of manly independence and self-respect, owing to the consciousness on the part of the participating
workman
that he is no longer regarded as a mere pro-

THE RALAHINE

EXPERIMENT

105

ductive machine, but as a human being having
aims and interests identical in kind with those
of his employer.
8. Direct advantages to the consuming public
in the increase of genuine work and upright
dealing, which is always the result of the corporate as opposed to the competitive spirit of
trade workmanship.
Quotations in illustration of all these considerations might easily be given from Mr.
Craig's pages.
9. The direct promotion of true religion, inasmuch as a syste7n which takes for its rootdoctrine—:" Society exists only for the sake of
the individtials who compose it, not merely to
further the accumulation of capital"—and
for
its watchword, " Human progress and well-being
through self-sacrifice and association," cannot
but be doing something to realise on earth that
" Kingdom of God and His righteousness" which
Christ came to reveal
" Co-operation will teach men that God's
moral law is as irrevocable as His physical
law—that it is not the law of 'living by
getting,' whose motto is ' Every man for himself,' but that it is the law of 'living by

106

THE RALAHINE

EXPERIMENT.

giving,' whose motto is, ' Each for all, and all
for each,' and that enlightened self-interest can
be attained only by the path of self-sacrifice.
In a word, it will teach them that the Sermon
on the Mount is not Utopian, but that its
Divine command is true to the very letter,
' Give, and it shall be given unto you ; good
measure, pressed down, and shaken together,
and running over, shall men give into your
bosom.' The golden rule alone will bring the
golden age, and the Lord's Prayer will become
a reality when we see men uniting to give
generally to those around them the advantages
which they seek to secure personally for themselves. This simple rule will bring the Reign
of Righteousness ; daily bread will be secured
to the daily toiler ; God's Kingdom will come
as we His children learn to develop it, and
His Will be done on earth even as it is done
in Heaven, when we learn to obey it."*
* Lecture by Miss Mary Hart on " Ralahine. ;

C H A P T E R VIII.
THE

CO-OPERATIVE FARMS AT
ASSINGTON
AND
BRAMTON-BRYANT

" T r u e wealth, as Carlyle somewhere says, consists in the
abundance, not of the things which you possess, but of those
which you take an interest in, and there are few English
villages in which the raw material of such wealth does not
abound for owners of the soil, capable of taking as much
pride in the men as in the cattle that help to till it, and
willing to learn from Mr. Gurdon one of the ways in which,
with little trouble and no risk, the material may be suitably
fashioned."—W. T. THORNTON : On Labour.

A YEAR or two before the commencement
of the experiment at Ralahine, and fourteen
years before the first enrolment of the Rochdale Pioneers, Mr. Gurdon, of Assington
Hall, in Suffolk, came to conceive the idea
of establishing a Co-operative Farm on his
estate.
During the fifty years which have
elapsed since that time, the story of the
Assington Co-operative Farms has often been
told. Mr. Gurdon himself gave an account of
them at the Social Science Congress at York
in 1864, which is published in the " Transac-

108

CO-OPERATIVE

FARMS,

ETC.

tions" of the Association for that year.
Perhaps, however, the fullest and most interesting narrative is that given by the present
Bishop of Manchester, in his Report, as
assistant commissioner, on the Agricultural
Commission in 1867.
I cannot do better, I
am sure, than quote his words in full :—
" In the year 1830, fourteen years, therefore, before the
commencement of the enterprise of the Rochdale Pioneers,
which has attained such gigantic proportions, the idea
suggested itself to a Suffolk squire that he would attempt
to apply, by way of experiment, the principle of co-operation or co-partnership to a farm. Selecting 60 acres of
land of medium quality, furnished with a rough but not
unsuitable homestead, he formed his little company of
shareholders, all of them taken from the class of farm
labourers, to which he gave the name of The Assington
Co-operative Agricultural Society. The number of the
original shareholders was 15, who put ^ 3 a-piece into the
concern, by way of subscribed capital; the landlord, to
give his bantling a chance of life, liberally advanced to the
co-operators the sum of ^ 4 0 0 , without interest, on loan.*
The society has grown and prospered. The occupation
has been increased from 60 acres to 130 ; the number of
shareholders has been enlarged from 15 to 21. The
present value of the shares, as the bailiff told me, is ' all of
£50.'
All years have not been equally remunerative, but
* The capital was below the ordinary estimate per acre ;
but seems to have been sufficient to keep the land in good
heart and cultivate it profitably.

CO-OPERATIVE

FARMS,

ETC.

109

there has not been one since the concern started without
some little matter to divide. The company have repaid
the landlord all the borrowed money, and all the stock and
implements on the farm are now their own. The stock
consists of six horses, four cows, n o sheep, and from 30
to 40 pigs. The rent of the land is ^ 2 0 0 a year, the
company paying tithe, rates, and taxes. The farm is held
on a fourteen years' lease, which is on the point of being
renewed. The land is farmed on the four-course system of
husbandry, and ordinarily employs five men and two or
three boys. The members are not bound to work upon
the farm, which, indeed, could not find employment for all;
but it is understood, though there is no rule to the effect,
that if a co-operator is out of work elsewhere, he has a
claim to employment before any other man. When a
co-operator works on the farm, he is paid wages at the
usual rate ; and if he were not an efficient labourer, there
would be no scruple about discharging him. The affairs
of the concern are managed by a committee of four, but
the practical direction of the farm rests with the bailiff,
himself a co-operator, but employed as a servant of the
company, and paid is. per week above the usual rate of
day wages. Some of the members of the committee cannot
read or write. Two fresh members are elected in rotation
every year; and though want of scholarship would not exclude him, yet if a man were not thought sufficiently intelligent for the business he would have to discharge, he would
be refused when his turn came. All the voting is by ballot.
No member is allowed more than one share ; only labourers
of the parish are eligible for membership; and if a man
goes to live three miles away from the parish, he must
dispose of his share. As long as he remains a member, he
must, by the rules of the society, be a member also of the

no

CO-OPERATIVE

FARMS,

ETC.

Stoke and Melford Benefit Club. A member can sell his
share, with the landlord's and committee's approval. When
a fresh member is admitted, he pays £$ down, and the
remainder of the current value of the shares by successive
instalments. The landlord chose the original members, and
claims to have the approval of new members; but he does
not interfere with the company, as regards the cultivation
of the land, more than he would with any other tenant.
The premises are required to be kept in repair by the
tenants, the landlord finding rough materials. They are to
be insured in the amount of ^ 5 0 0 , and every twelve years
the farm is revalued. A member, falling into difficulties,
can have a loan advanced to him up to half the current
value of his share; a privilege, however, I was informed,
which has rarely been used.
The annual profits are
divided equally among the shareholders.
Among the
members are four widows, one of whom has four small
children; they do what they can for themselves, and up to
the present time have been able to maintain themselves by
their work and the dividend on their shares, without the
aid of parochial relief. Indeed, the guardians would disallow
relief in the case of any person possessed of property of
the amount represented by the value of a share, so that the
scheme has a direct tendency to diminish pauperism.
" T h e first experiment apparently succeeded so well,
that in 1854 Mr. Gurdon was tempted to try a second, and
started the ' Assington Co-operative Agricultural Association. ' The new concern began with 70 acres of land, and
36 members, each subscribing £$ 10s. by way of capital.
Again, the liberality of the landlord was taxed to supplement this inadequate amount of capital by a loan, without
interest, of ^ 4 0 0 . The company has so far prospered
that, though the times have been somewhat hard with them

CO-OPERATIVE

FARMS,

ETC.

in

in consequence of the burden of this debt (which is now,
however, wholly repaid), and the taking in and stocking a
considerable accession of land, their present condition is
as follows :—they now occupy 212 acres, at a yearly rent of
^ 3 2 5 , the company paying tithe, rates, and taxes, which
amount to about ^ 5 0 a year.
The company is entirely
out of debt; the stock of the farm is valued at ^ 1 , 2 0 0 ;
the original ^ 3 \os. shares would sell freely for ^ 3 0 .
There has not yet been anything worth speaking of in the
way of profits to divide ; and what has generally been
distributed has been some article in kind, as a ton of coals,
or something of the sort, to each shareholder; but the
members are satisfied with the state of things, and the
prospects of the concern are bright in the future. All the
members but six are of the class of farm labourers ; the six
excepted ones are a miller, a blacksmith, a shoemaker, a
wheelwright, and two carpenters. Female labour is only
employed at weeding time, or for a job of stone-picking;
and at present there are only three boys working on the
farm, one of ten, the second of fourteen, the third of sixteen
years of age.
" T h e societies are not yet incorporated, but intend to
be. The squire, I believe, has ceased for some years to
be resident at Assington ; so that the success of the two
experiments may fairly be set down, not to any sentimental
fondling on his part, but to the sound principles on which
they were based, and the prudent management by which
they have been conducted. The only exceptional advantage which the societies have enjoyed, as they do not
appear to be at all favoured in the matter of rent, was in
the landlord's original loan, in both cases now paid off,
to enable them to stock their farms.
" I paid a visit to Assington, to see the phenomena with

ii2

CO-OPERATIVE

FARMS,

ETC.

my own eyes. I gathered the information, which I have
summarized in the preceding paragraphs, from Mr. Hedges,
a large occupier in the parish, and churchwarden, and
from the two bailiffs, John Crisell and John Marshall,
upon the co-operative farms.
Judging as well as I
could judge from appearances, I have no hesitation in
saying that the experiment has been an eminent success,
and that it is an experiment well worth trying in other
localities.*
" The only objections of any force taken to it were that
of Mr. Hedges, that if the system became general, it would
extinguish the tenant-farmer class; and that of Mr. Maud,
that the tenant-farmer class being extinguished, there would
be a chasm in our social, and particularly in our parochial,
system that it would be difficult to throw a bridge over.
But these objections, though theoretically forcible, may be
practically disregarded. It is not likely that the small* It is an experiment as it seems to me that many
a clergyman might find it advantageous, both to himself
and to his parish, to try upon his glebe. I read recently
an interesting paper addressed to the Newbury Farmers'
Club by Mr. F. W. Everett, in which the writer lamented,
on economical and social grounds, the disappearance of
small farms, meaning by " small farms " holdings between
the size of 50 and 250 acres. H e considered that many
articles of daily consumption, requiring close personal
attention, such as poultry and stock, were produced more
successfully on small farms than on large ones. The cooperative system would encourage the reappearance of
small farms, without the reappearance of a class that neither
did themselves nor any one else much good, the class of
small farmers.

CO-OPERATIVE

FARMS,

ETC.

"3

farm system will ever become general, or the capitalist
tenant farmer be displaced by a body of co-operators little
if anything above the rank or intelligence of labouring men.
No landlord would retrace the steps of the last half century,
and break up his estate again into a number of small holdings. I think it very questionable if these co-operators
would be able to manage a larger business than they are
at present conducting. I am not at all the more assured
of the performance and solidity of the great Rochdale
enterprise because I am told that there is invested in it,
in one form or another, a capital of several hundred
thousand pounds. Concerns may become too unwieldy
to be manageable, too gigantic to be safe. The very
success of the Assington experiment appears to me to be
due, in part, to the moderate limits within which it has
been carried on.
" Mr. Maud, though thinking that the drawbacks of the
system outweigh its benefits, enumerates among these latter
some very considerable items. It attaches, he says, the
labourer to his parish, in fact, to the soil. It counteracts
the drain of which farmers so loudly complain; that is,
of their best men into other employments supposed to be
more remunerative.
It is a decided help, Mr. Maud
allows, to the labourer in a pecuniary point of view; and
if widely adopted, would greatly diminish poor-rates—i.e.,
pauperism ; and, with pauperism, crime.
" T o these admitted advantages may be added others.
At the same time that the system displaces no labour, the
co-operative farms employing no more hands than if they
were occupied by a single tenant, it diffuses among a much
larger number of the population an interest in the soil, and
with that, an interest in the prosperity and stability of the
country. In these revolutionary days, the tendency of the

8

ii4

CO-OPERATIVE

FARMS,

ETC.

system is decidedly anti-revolutionary. The co-operator is
a man who knows and feels that he has something to lose.
And not only so, but the system increases that honest
spirit of independence and self-respect which I am sure is
as necessary in the lowest class as in the highest to rescue
it from degradation. Mr. Maud says that it has not yet
done much for education ; but I think it, infallibly, will do.
It is hardly conceivable that a system which has such a
direct tendency to develop the sense of personal interest,
should not at the same time develop a desire of knowledge,
which may be called the correlative of the sense of personal
interest. It is the poor drudge, to whom to-morrow is as
to-day, without prospect and without hope, who is content
to remain in his ignorance."

Unfortunately the societies have never been
registered under the Provident Societies Act,
and as they have never published an Annual
Balance Sheet, reliable information as to their
financial position has not been forthcoming. I
have on several occasions made an effort to
procure such information, and have failed. All
that it was possible to discover was that of late
years, at any rate, No. i Farm was continuing
successfully to pay its way, while it was remarked that No. 2 Farm was feeling the strain
of the bad seasons of the last few years. T h e
truth of that rumour has been made evident by
the Letter of Appeal which has just been issued

CO-OPERATIVE

FARMS,

ETC.

115

by the Guild of Co-operators. T h e following
is the substance of that Letter:—
" At the Local Conference of Co-operative Societies in
the Colchester District, held at Harwich on the 2nd instant,
a Report on one of the well-known CO-OPERATIVE FARMS

AT ASSINGTON (Suffolk), known as the ' Severals and Knotts
Farm,'' was submitted; and after a long discussion, the
following Resolutions were unanimously adopted :—
" * Resolved, that the facts now stated show that the
" No. 2 " Farm at iVssington would probably regain its
former prosperity if sufficient capital were provided by the
Co-operative Societies, especially those in the neighbouring
Counties,—and if those Societies supplemented the custom
provided by the general market'
" ' Resolved, thereupon, that a Deputation be sent to the
Societies, inquiring what help in Capital and Custom those
Societies would contribute if a new Society were noiv formed to
carry on the Farm in question.
"' Resolved, that " the Guild of Co-operators," which has
for some time past inquired into all the circumstances of
the Farm, be entrusted with the duty of carrying the
preceding Resolutions into effect'
" W e are therefore instructed by the Guild Executive
Committee to bring this subject to the notice of Cooperative Societies in Suffolk, Essex, and neighbouring
Counties, in order that their respective Committees may
consider the following facts, and decide whether it is desirable that a Society should be formed to carry on the ' Severals
and Knotts Farm,' and, if so, what capital and what custom
can be contributed by the existing: Distributive Societies.
" T h e Farm in question^ together with the other in its
immediate vicinity;—' the No. 1 Farm/ have been carried

u6

CO-OPERATIVE

FARMS,

ETC.

on since the years 1829 and 1850 respectively by two Cooperative Associations of labourers, and have been repeatedly
mentioned in the works of Economists and in the writings
of social reformers generally. Their success in the hands
of Agricultural Labourers, united in co-operation, has been
referred to as a remarkable proof of what can be done in
agricultural production so conducted.
" The two Associations not only paid off the wThole of the
capital advanced to them, including the value of the stock,
but for many years paid a regular money dividend. Indeed,
the profits were supposed to be so good as to indispose the
members to admit new Associates. Their superior comfort
and well-being were generally a subject of remark, and the
present Vicar of Assington has borne testimony to the social
and moral influence of these Associations on the inhabitants
generally.
" I n conse<pence, however (1) of the long series of
disastrous years which have ruined hundreds of farmers ;
(2) in consequence of inadequate capital* for replenishing
the farm with fresh stock, for making improvements, and for
rearing cattlet and sheep, working a dairy, etc.; and (3) in
consequence, perhaps, of defective management, recently,
the No. 2 Farm has now to be wound up. There is, however, enough to pay all debts, including the Landlord's
Rent, and to leave a considerable surplus. It must also
be borne in mind, that the other Farm continues to pay
its way, and is in good condition. J
* No reserve fund was formed, and profits were all paid
away.
t Thus manure will be provided by the working of the
farm, instead of being imported, as at present.
J I should myself venture to add, " A n d (4), perhaps the

CO-OPERATIVE

FARMS,

ETC.

117

" Now the question has arisen whether it is not desirable
that a new Society shoidd be constituted to carry on this
Farm. Much has been said as to the importance of Cooperation being applied to- Agriculture, in order to raise the
condition of labourers and to enable distributive Societies
to obtain Farm produce direct from the producer. Indeed,
Co-operators have to justify their claims to be able to
apply Co-operatioii successfully to this form of Industry as
well as to all others.
" W e submit the facts connected with the Farm in
question.
4
'It comprises 223 acres of land, consisting of a rather
heavy soil, for the most part, some of it well adapted for
cereals and root-crops, and some for pasturage. It is stated
that mutton can well be supplied, vegetables and dairy
produce, as well as the crops hitherto raised.
" The Farm is four miles from the Railway Station at
Bares.
" The rent is ^ 2 6 8 , being 24s. an acre (which is 8s. an
acre less than what was formerly paid).
" The Landlord would be willing to grant to a Registered
Society a lease of seven or fourteen years.
" H e will impose no restrictions and conditions as to the
mode of farming ; an obviously important advantage.
" He will make no reservation as to rabbits, giving unrestricted permission for their destruction (excepting during
'closed time,' when the birds are nesting). This is an
advantage not possessed in the past, when loss was very
great from this cause.
most important consideration of all, in consequence of there
being no regulation that the labourers on the farm should
also be shareholders of the Association."

n8

CO-OPERATIVE

FARMS,

E7C.

" The farm is fairly well stocked, even at present; and
there is a supply of agricultural machinery, houses, stables,
etc.
" It is considered that, with a capital of ^ 2 , 5 0 0 , the
farm could be placed in excellent condition, and its prosperity assured, by extending and improving production, by
increasing the number of cows and horses, by rearing
mutton, by establishing a dairy, and by securing first-rate
management.
" If a new Society were formed, a large number of the
present farmers would become members and give their long
practical experience; whereas, on the other hand, the
representatives of existing distributive Societies would bring
a wider experience, better business habits, and fresh energy.
The open market would be supplemented, to some extent,
by the demands of those Societies for vegetables and grain,
for milk, butter, eggs, fowl, mutton, bacon, and other
articles.
" Of course the question of the extent to which Societies
can supply themselves from the Farm must depend on
their distance and the cost of carriage. They might at once
set on foot inquiries as to this point, and place themselves
in correspondence with the secretary of the No. 2 Farm
Association, Mr. Pollard, who attended the recent conference
at Harwich, and gave some useful information.
" The general question of forming a new Society will have
to be looked at from several aspects :
1. " The importance to the progress of the movement
generally, that co-operative Agriculture should gradually
be tried under conditions as favourable as possible, and the
importance of avoiding the discouragement which would
result from total abandonment of the Assington Farm.
2. " T h e question whether this particular Farm is likely

CO-OPERATIVE

FARMS,

ETC.

119

from its character, its position, and the special circumstances, to give fair guarantees for success as an investment.
3. " What are the advantages which the existing Societies
would derive from supplying themselves with produce in
this case, direct from the producers, who would be identified
with them as closely as possible.
" A few details may be added, as enabling the Societies
to determine what course they will take.
" Mr. Pollard believes that the present members would
take up shares (which would probably be of the value of
£1 each) to the extent of £soo'> which would leave only
^ 2 , 0 0 0 to be raised by Societies and individual members
in adjoining and other Counties.
" The present Association proposes to wind up by selling
everything on the farm by auction and paying all liabilities
from the proceeds. The new Society, if formed, could
purchase at the sale such articles as were in good condition ;
obtaining at other sales (at Michaelmas) further requirements.
" In addition to the rent, tithes and rates of all kinds
amount to £$2 per annum, which sum, with the rent,
makes a total of ^ 3 1 8 . It should be observed, however,
that the present rent is not high, and is eight shillings an
acre less than what the members paid in their prosperous
years.
" The Landlord is willing to treat with a new Society,
and Mr. E. V. Neale has prepared Rules for one. Societies
which are situated too far to avail themselves of the farm
produce might, nevertheless, be willing to take shares in
the Society formed to carry on the undertaking.
" The Guild Council heartily recommend the proposal to
form a Society for carrying on this Farm to the best consideration of Co-operative Societies and their members."

CO-OPERATIVE

FARMS,

A Co-operative Farm in

ETC.

Herefordshire.

T h e account of another unsuccessful attempt
at direct Co-operative Farming in England I
may also perhaps conveniently give here. It
is that of the Brampton-Bryant Farm, established by Mr. Walter Morrison in 1873. T h e
following is an extract from a letter which
Mr. Morrison *was good enough to write to
me on the subject:—
" I was led to make the experiment somewhat by accident. I heard, in 1872, of the formation in North Herefordshire of an Agricultural Labourers' Union : this was long
before Mr. Arch was heard of, and I may observe in passing,
that it was very successful. Its funds were small, but they
were carefully and honestly administered. There were no
extravagant expenses of management, the salaries were
ridiculously small, and until the health of the Secretary,
Thomas Strange, the soul of the Union, broke down from
sheer hard work, it flourished. Wages rose greatly,—the
funds were chiefly used in removing surplus labourers to
the North,—and though the farmers naturally dislike the
movement, there was no strike, and it was not discredited
by the spiteful abuse of squires, parsons, and farmers, which
have disgraced other organizations. I learned that its
leaders were men who had accumulated sums up to the
amount of ; £ i o o in the Savings Banks, in a district where
the wages were nine and ten shillings a week. In July of
that year I paid a visit to the Co-operative Farms at
Assington, with the Hon. and Rev. J. W. Leigh, who had

CO-OPERATIVE

FARMS,

ETC.

121

been starting a Co-operative Store in his village. He told
me of a small farm which was on sale near Leintwardine,
which was the head-quarters of the Herefordshire Labourers7
Union. The farm was half arable and half grass, contained 148 acres, and was let for ^ 1 4 0 a year. I went
down to see the farm, and to form some idea of the capabilities of the leading men of the Union. I was very much
pleased with them, and so having purchased the farm, I
sent over three of the Union Leaders to spend a few days
at Assington. They came back in a state of great enthusiasm about Co-operative Farming. The result was, the
formation of a Society, whose rules I forward with this. In
March 1873, they entered upon the occupation of the
farm at the old rent. There were then twenty-seven members, with a capital of ^ 5 1 0 .
In October 1873, the
members were twenty-nine in number, with a capital of
£662.
Of this sum ^ 4 6 7 were contributed by twenty
labourers or artizans living near, and ; £ 195 by nine friends
of mine, who were interested in the experiment. When we
wound up the Society in 1879, t n e I ' a r m having been given
up on March 25th, 1879, the share capital was ^ 8 0 8 , and
the number of members, I think, thirty-one. At the time
of our start, all stock and implements were at a very high
price, while they were at their lowest price when we had to
sell them off. This must be allowed for in estimating the
financial result; but no dividend was ever earned during
the tenancy, though at the end of the first year the Committee credited each member with five per cent, interest,
without, however, paying out any cash on account of the
dividend aforesaid, and I found this supposititious dividend
entered in the books, so there it remained; and when we
wound up and sold off our assets, we found that with the
help of rather a liberal estimate of what was due from me

122

CO-OPERATIVE

FARMS,

ETC.

on account of tenant right, which I gave to them, as I have
for many years to my other tenants, there was just enough
to pay nineteen shillings in the pound, which, with the
shilling in the pound improperly credited to the capital as
mentioned above, really was a distribution of twenty shillings
in the pound."

The causes of the failure Mr. Morrison considers to have been moral, not economical The
labourers were unsuccessful in finding the right
man as manager. They tried two. The first
was not honest, and drank. T h e second was
perfectly honest, but lacked energy and administrative power. Altogether, it is evident that
the labourers at Brampton-Bryant were not
quite ripe for the movement

C H A P T E R IX.
AN EXPERIMENT

IN

CUMBERLAND.

" Never was landlord more sagacious, inventive, genial,
or liberal—or changeable, not in his general purpose, but in
his methods. Had he been less paternal, and taught his
people the art of self-help, he had been a great benefactor."
—G. J. HOLYOAKE : History of Co-operation.

I F the story of the Co-operative Farming experiment at Ralahine in Ireland, related in
the chapters v.—vii. might rightly enough be
called " a romance in facts and figures," I fear
some readers at any rate may be inclined to
think that the experiment of which I desire now
to give a brief account will rather merit the title
of burlesque comedy or even screaming farce.
Certainly the book in which the story is told is
one of the queerest books about farming on
record.
The title of the work " T e n Years of Gentleman Farming at Blennerhasset, with Co-operative Objects," gives no fair idea of its contents.
For certainly there never was before, and

124

AN EXPERIMENT

IN

CUMBERLAND,

probably never will be again, either such gentleman farming or such co-operation. T h e account
of the origin of the experiment given by Mr.
Lawson—a brother of Sir Wilfrid, the wit of
teetotalism—is itself characterised by a degree
of moral candour, which is certainly as refreshing
as it is uncommon. " Trained as a shooter of
animals," he says, " a hunter of Cumberland
beasts with hounds, and a trapper of vermin, I
found myself in the spring of 1861, in my twentyfifth year, without an occupation, without many
acquaintances, except among the poor, whom
I had learnt to despise because they spoke bad
grammar and took their coats off to work ; and
without the reputation of having been successful
in any undertaking except that of the mastership
and huntsmanship of my brother's foxhounds."
Riding up to London at this time, he somehow
hears of Mr. Mechi's celebrated farm at Tiptree,
visits it, becomes enthusiastic for the Tiptree
system, and, after endeavouring in vain to
impress on his father and his practical men the
many and great advantages of Alderman Mechi's
system of farming over the old jog-trot one,
accepts the offer of one of his father's vacant
farms to experiment upon as he chose. " Had

AN

EXPERIMENT

IN CUMBERLAND.

125

I been differently circumstanced," he says, "my
ignorance of farming might have seemed a great
objection ; but it seemed to me then to be of
the never-go-into-the-water-till-you-know-howto-swim kind ; besides, any one could carry on
what he understood, while it would require
sortie cleverness to carry on what one did not
understand."
Zeal without Knowledge. •
Accordingly he diligently set about testing
the quality of the soil ; spent several weeks in
travelling for agricultural information ; engaged
his father's coachman as head man—not then
having appreciated the shrewd advice of Mr.
Stephen, in his " Book of the Farm," that
while honesty is an important qualification for a
shepherd, knowledge of a shepherd's business is
even more so ;—bought a steam plough at a
cost of ^ 8 2 5 , and ten tons of low-priced guano
from a cheap dealer in the neighbourhood, and
then finally fell in with an intelligent agricultural engineer, who told him he had made three
great mistakes already—the steam plough, the
cheap guano, and, worst of all, the coachmanfarmer. " H o w profusely I laid out money—

126

AN

EXPERIMENT

IN

CUMBERLAND.

pulling down miles of old fences, making thousands of yards of good new roads, draining the
land five feet deep and ten yards apart, and
taking thousands of tons of stones out of the
ground ; how during several years I bought and
fed animals and sold them at a loss ; how I
deceived myself and was deceived by others in
various ways—can be sufficiently well imagined
without being described." However, the whole
experiment in the minutest detail of failure or
success is most carefully and elaborately described in the book, from its commencement, in
May 1861, down to the moment when after his
farm buildings had been burnt down, and it
became finally clear to him that his " farming
was very far from being remunerative, or from
giving prospect of becoming so," he sold his
farm to his brother in August 1871.
It must not be supposed, however, that even
under its business aspect the story is without
its value even to practical agriculturists. The
chapters on " Farming Losses," " Manufacturing Profits and Losses," " Shop-keeping and
other Ventures," " Varieties of Farm Cropping,"
" Field and Crop Balance Sheets," " Manures
and their Values," " F a r m Labour and its Cost,"

AN

EXPERIMENT

IN CUMBERLAND.

127

" Experiments on Grass Manuring," and " Field
Experiments on Potatoes," are all full of characteristic and suggestive information which cannot
fail to be instructive.
It is with the social aspect of the story, however, that I am more especially concerned.
From the first Mr. Lawson had determined
that the labourers on his farm should partake
directly in the profits. " In going about to get
information, I had found one great difficulty
common to good farmers (as well as to the
other sort), namely, the difficulty of dealing
with the labourer. . . . So I determined that my
farm should be a co-operative one. . . . Cooperation began gradually to take the leading
place in my mind, and soon became the chief
object in my life ; so that I did not so much
intend co-operation to serve the purpose of
farming, as farming to serve the purpose of
co-operation."
Accordingly he called his labourers together
and explained to them the meaning of Cooperation, told them something about what had
been done by Mr. Gurdon, in Suffolk, who as
long ago as 1831 had Jet a farm to thirty
labourers,, which had been ever since carried

128

AN EXPERIMENT

IN CUMBERLAND.

,

on successfully on Co-operative principles, and
finally gave them the opportunity of deciding
for themselves on the question,—" Is it desirable that the workers on the farm should be
direct partakers of its proceeds ?" by taking
their vote by ballot.
" Our voting urns were two bottles : one was
ticketed with the word ' Co-operation/ and the
other bore the inscription, i Every man for
himself.' What, then, was the result with
these eleven people ? Actually ten of them
voted for ' Every man for himself/ and only
one put into the Co-operative bottle ! " After
twice again trying the experiment of a vote,
to which not the labourers interested only, but
all the inhabitants of the village were nowinvited, Mr. Lawson, at last, in 1866, "offered
Co-operation to all comers," in the shape of
one-tenth of the profits for the workers. " I
felt/' he said, " that direct participation by the
labourer in the profits of the farm would be
an improvement upon the existing system of
paying him by regular wages only, and I kept
urging its desirability, in different ways, to
various people, for several years. I saw, ultimately, that the expediency of measures was

AN

EXPERIMENT

IN CUMBERLAND.

129

not always to be judged of by the number of
people voting for or against them, and that if
I approved of the principle of Partnership of
Industry, it was for me to introduce it, and let
it find its own value as the time went on."
In the Co-operator newspaper, in May 1866,
Mr. Lawson inserted the following letter :—
" L A B O U R E R S S H A R I N G O N E - T E N T H OF
PROFITS.
" T I T H E FOR THE TOILERS.
" BRAYTON, Carlisle, May

13th.

" DEAR S I R , — I enclose a card which I have circulated
among my workers. I have offered them one-tenth of my
profits, and thus hope to make their labour interested. I
began last week to issue tickets with wages ; these tickets
are to be given in on January 1st, 1867, when one-tenth of
the profits will be divided on them.
" I find that if, in paying, the paymaster forgets the
tickets, he is soon reminded by the workers. I cannot yet
see any improvement, but hope that the end of the year
will show some.
"• I remain, yours truly,
" W I L L I A M LAWSON."

The ticket was as follows :—>
"CO-OPERATIVE LABOUR.
"To MY WORKERS.
" I give tickets with wages, that you may obtain two

9

130

AN EXPERIMENT

IN

CUMBERLAND.

shillings out of every pound of profit, and thus have a
direct money interest in the success of the establishment.
" WILLIAM LAWSON."

Unfortunately, however, owing chiefly to
mismanagement in cattle, sheep, etc., there was
heavy loss on this year's operations, and consequently no dividend to the labourers.
In 1868, Mr. Lawson gave up the bonus on
labour idea, and offered to the public in general
all profits on his capital (which was about
,£54,000) over 2 J per cent, (the only interest
asked). These public profits, as they w$re
called, were not to be divided, but spent upon
public uses ; and a free school, reading room
and library, a village hospital, a Christmas
festival, etc., engrossed about £ 1 5 0 of them
during the year ; so that after Mr. Lawson's
2\ per cent, (about £1,330) and this £ 1 5 0 were
deducted, about £ 3 0 was left, and this, in
accordance with the resolution of two public
meetings, and with Mr. Lawson's assent, was
divided as a .bonus upon labour. Time, not
wTages, was the basis of division, so as to give
an equal share to the female workers. This
bonus gave about $%d. per week, or 10s. for
the nine months to those on full time. In

AN

EXPERIMENT

IN CUMBERLAND.

131

1869 Mr. Lawson again made the same offer,
but the profit again fell short of the 2 J per cent.
The Great Bonus

Year.

The year 1870, however, was more fortunate, and is still recollected at Blennerhasset
as " The great bonus year." T h e following
notice had been printed on cards distributed
among the labourers at the beginning of the
year :—
"To

MY WORKERS.

" I shall give as bonus to ordinary time-workers in proportion to time worked (exclusive of extra and overtime)
one quarter of this year's declared income arising from
my present capital, clear of all current expenses for public
good; but should such income exceed ^ i , o o o , I shall give
as bonus half its excess over ^ 5 0 0 .
".WILLIAM LAWSON."

The balance sheet for .that year of the whole
establishment showed a balance on the right
side of ,£1,715 4X, and it must be borne in
mind that no rent for the, farm or garden, nor
interest on the capital of the establishment, was
charged. Some departments of the establishment yielded a profit^ and others a loss, that
year ; but the net result, in figures, was a gain
of the above-mentioned ,£1,715 4^.

i32

AN EXPERIMENT

IN

CUMBERLAND.

Of this gain ^ 5 4 6 4s. J^d. was awarded
according to the above-mentioned announcement to the workers, as bonus on time, affording 4s. 2%d. per week to each person—man,
woman, or child—or ^ 1 0 19^. lid. to every
full-time worker during the year.
After the distribution of this large bonus it
was naturally expected that the business would
continue improving, and that 1871 would show
a good profit too. Much interest was therefore
taken in the " manifesto " to be issued for 1871,
and more public discussion and advice was
bestowed upon it than on any previous one.
T h e following is a copy of it as finally agreed
upon :—
THE BLENNERHASSET CO-OPERATIVE ESTABLISHMENT.
CAPITAL, ^ 3 2 , 7 8 0 4^. 8%d.

Approximate Investment of Funds, November 1st, 1870.
Assets.
415 a. 3r. 20p. of farming and gar£ s. d.
den land, farm buildings, machinery, and cottage property
. 30,900 o o
Shops and house property at Newcastle
.
.
.
.
.
600 o o
Farm and garden stock, crops, implements
5,554 1 i |
0

AN

EXPERIMENT

IN CUMBERLAND.

133

Assets (continued).
Two steam engines and plough
tackle
.
.
.
.
.
Manures on land
.
.
.
.
Sundry other property, Blennerhasset
.
. . .
American Investments
Invested at 4 per cent.
Invested in various Co-operative
Societies
.
.
.
.
Book debts
.
.
.
.
In the bank
.
.
.
.
Cash in hand
.
.
.
.

s.

£
1,300

d.

0

0

676 15

0

2

*h

75i
8/447
2,639

2

6

O

0

42

4

154
478
29

0

6
4

5M7I
Liabilities.
Mortgage on 393a. 29P.
.
. 18,000
Book debts
.
.
.
.
245
Bonus to workers for the year ending Nov. 1, 1870
.
.
.
546

2

10

10

0

18

6

o
25

4

7|

18,791 13
32,780 4

9f
8|

5^571 18

Balance net capital

0
9

6

NOTICE.—Of the declared income arising from the abovementioned capital, for the year ending Nov. ist, 1871, I
shall devote one-third to expenditure for the public good,
one-third to the payment of bonus to my time workers, and
one-third to my own use—the income to be declared and

134

AN EXPERIMENT

IN

CUMBERLAND.

the bonus paid before the end of 1871. N.B.—The bonus
is not payable to delinquents, nor is it transferable.
January

2ndy 1871.

End

WILLIAM LAWSON.

of the

Experiment.

Once more, however, the profits of the year
were nil, and no bonus to labour was possible.
In the same year Mr. Lawson sold the farm,
and the experiment came to an end.
It must be plain, I think, to any unbiassed
reader, that no conclusions either for or against
co-operative farming can really be drawn from
this experiment.
Evidently there was no
sufficient method in Mr. Lawson's co-operation
H e felt—what every Christian man should feel
—that his property was a great social trust; he
was extraordinarily benevolent and sincere,
superbly indifferent to Mrs. Grundy, but he was
also wanting in steadiness of will and purpose.
The Defects of Mr. Lawson s Co-operation.
T h e general result of his experiment is well
summed up by Mr. Glassbrook, who acted as
bailiff to the farm between February 1868
and the sale of the estate :—" Mr. Lawson's
views on co-operation, I think, are good and
sound^ and he has taken great interest in this

AN

EXPERIMENT

IN CUMBERLAND.

135

movement. H e would have done striking good
had he fully carried out the branches entered
upon ; but as soon as any new scheme was got
into working order it was laid aside ; and in
my opinion this was the main cause of Mr.
Lawson's non-success.
Mr. Lawson
cooperated with his workers very successfully,
all his offers to them being highly appreciated
and well wrought for; and the workers were
just beginning to have full confidence in their
employer when the establishment was broken
up. T h e class of workers on the farm was
quite a superior body, and well worthy of
co-operating with." A similar testimony is
borne by Mr. Holyoake in his " History of
Co-operation."
Though Mr. Lawson spent ,£30,000 on this
experiment, " it could hardly be said to be lost,
since at any point of his many experiments he
might have made money had he so minded.
But he proceeded on the plan of a man who
built one-storied houses, and as soon as he
found that they let at a paying rent, pulled
them down and built two-storied houses, and
when he found that they answered he demolished them and put up houses of three

136

AN EXPERIMENT

IN

CUMBERLAND.

stories, and no sooner were
occupied than he turned out
and pulled them down. What
the rapidity of his changes, for
as great as the generosity of

they profitably
the inhabitants
he lost was by
he had sagacity
his intentions."

C H A P T E R X.
SOME EXPERIMENTS

IN

GERMANY.

(i
A s wine a n d oil are imported to us from abroad, so must
ripe understanding a n d many civil virtues be imported into
our minds from foreign writings; we shall else miscarry still,
a n d come short in t h e attempts of any g r e a t enterprise."

—MILTON.

the many eccentric epitaphs that • are to
be met within churchyard annals, I should
suppose that none are more singular than one
which is to be found in the graveyard of a little
church in the Mecklenburg Highlands. It is
the inscription which has been graven, in
accordance with his own express desire, on the
tomb of a well-known German economist, J. H.
von Thuenen. T h e epitaph is as follows :—
AMONG

W = y APT
By this mathematical formula the economist
desired to express the principle that the natural
wages of labour, represented by the symbol W,
would, in any State uninfluenced by foreign

138

SOME

EXPERIMENTS

IN

GERMANY.

competition, be an exact mean between the cost
of the labourer's subsistence, represented by A,
and the value of his production, represented by
P. While accepting the dictum of Adam Smith,
and the older political economists, that " the
produce of labour constitutes the natural
recompense or wages of labour," Von Thuenen,
in following out the proportion of recompense
due to labour, when subjected to the combined
influence of capital, rent, and superintendence,
contended that the payment of labour reached
only its true level when placed on an equality
with capital. If the rate of wages sank to the
starvation point, owing to the action of competition, could that, he asked, be called the
natural rate of wages ? " T h e man," he contended, " who has passed his life in honest and
laborious activity till his old age, ought neither
to depend on the favour of his children nor on
the community.
An independent, care-free,
and easy old age is the natural recompense for
the incessant exertion of his days of health and
strength."
Industrial

Partnership.

It was with the view of putting his principle

SOME

EXPERIMENTS

IN GERMANY.

139

into practice that Von Thuenen, in the year
1848, established a system of industrial partnership with the labourers on his own estate of
Tellau, the continued success of which up to
the present time furnishes us with one of the
most instructive lessons to be drawn from the
history of co-operative enterprise. In the Cooperator newspaper of October 31st, 1868, Dr.
Brentano, the well-known author of " English
Guilds and Trades Unions," gave the following
account of Von Thuenen's experiment:—
" L o n g before the year 1848, it #as Thuenen's wish to
make an arrangement by which his labourers might participate in the profits of his estate ; but as it is not general in
Mecklenburg for proprietors to have such kindly feelings
towards their labourers, Thuenen dared not do it. The
movement in 1848, however, obliged every one of the
landed proprietors in Mecklenburg to make concessions to
their labourers; and though there was no movement on
Thuenen's estate—for he had always lived on such terms
with his labourers that there were none discontented—-he
thought the moment propitious for the purpose of carrying
into effect what he had so long desired. The arrangements
he made to give his workmen a share in the profits were
as follows :—
" If, after the deduction of certain expenses, the revenue
of the estate should be more than 5,500 thalers, to every
one of his labourers J per cent, of this surplus produce
should be credited. The average revenue of Tellau during

i4o

SOME

EXPERIMENTS

IN

GERMANY.

the fourteen years from 1833 to 1847 had been 7,500 thalers
(^£1,125). Thuenen calculated that the share of each
labourer would be 10 thalers (30J.) annually, if the revenue
of the estate should remain the same; and he pointed out
that if this revenue, in consequence of a better cultivation
of the soil, should be increased every year by 1,000
thalers (^150), the share of the labourer would not be
increased in the proportion of 75 : 85, but of 10 : 15. The
interest of the labourer, he thought by this arrangement,
would be most intimately connected with the increase of
production. The number of labourers to whom he gave
a share in the profits was twenty-one, and included amongst
them is even the man who watches at night."
Objects of Von Thuenen's Scheme.—" The end at which he
aimed by this arrangement he describes as follows :—
" 1. That the inhabitants of the village might immediately participate in the welfare, and also in the losses, of
the proprietor of the estate, and might form together with
him almost a family.
" 2. That the labourers might enjoy an income increasing continually and higher every year by the interest of their
capital.
" 3 . That before all, the labourer might be sure of a
happy old age, free from the cares of life; that after having
spent his strong manhood in toil and activity, he might not
starve in his latter years, when health and strength had
departed, that he might not live on the charity of others,
or as a burden to his children, but even be enabled to
bequeath something to them."
A Savings Bank.—" H e erected a Savings Bank for this
purpose. At Christmas the labourers' share in the year's
revenue of the estate is to be inscribed in their savings
book. For every thaler inscribed the proprietor of the

SOME

EXPERIMENTS

IN GERMANY,

141

estate has to pay one groschen interest, which is about four
and one-sixth per cent., and at Christmas the interest is to
be paid. The capital inscribed in the books of the savings
bank cannot be withdrawn until the proprietor of the share
has attained his sixtieth year. As soon as he has attained
this age, the capital shall beat his free disposal; if he should
die previously, his heirs are to get the amount standing to
his credit."

Successful

Results,

In a letter to Professor Boehmert, dated
25th May, 1877, the present proprietor of the
estate, the grandson of the original founder,
states that "the experiment has realised all the
requirements proposed and expected by his
grandfather.
It has attached the labourers
to his estate. It has secured for them an old
age free from care. It has diminished the poor
rate. It has established better and more harmonious relations between proprietor and
labourers. Some of the labourers had more
than £75 to their credit in the savings bank in
less than twenty years after the system was
introduced. Up till 1876, the labourer's share in
the profits had only three times fallen below the
£1 10s. which Thuenen calculated beforehand
it ought to reach, if the average revenue of the
estate remained what it had previously been.

142

SOME

EXPERIMENTS

IN

GERMANY.

Those three years were 1849, when it was
£1 Ss.y and two very exceptional years, 1866,
when it was only 4.S., and 1876, when it was
only 15^. In 1863 it was £7 10s., and in 1864
£7 15j., and it has averaged about £4. a year.
Herr Berthold Wobling, in a paper quoted
by Bohmert, says of these experiments :—
" These earnings have a special source of their own, viz.,
enhanced production due to the industry and care of the
labourers. Every practical farmer knows how imperfectly
agricultural work is done by hirelings of all sorts, and how
little what goes by the name of good superintendence is
able actually to effect in securing good execution of work.
The full effect of any work is brought about, not merely by
intensified exertion of muscular force, but also by zeal and
alertness of mind. Such an application of bodily and mental
forces is only to be obtained from one whose entire interests
are engaged. In fact, new springs of production are thus
opened, and it is this which gives to the system its high
agricultural importance. The labourer finds that his increased
incomings are relatively speaking more easily earned than
under fixed wages, because they include payment for carefulness as well as for efforts of brute force. A reciprocal influence
on the habits of the labourers will also not fail to show
itself.-; If they perceive that a successful result depends not
merely on muscular exertion, but also on sustained orderliness and attention, they will find it more and more their
interest to practise these virtues.
" The proprietor derives, independently of the pecuniary
result, many advantages from the half-profit system. He has

SOME

EXPERIMENTS

IN GERMANY.

143

perfectly trustworthy labourers, and each piece of work is
taken in hand at the proper moment. He is no longer
obliged to urge and drive, while fretting internally at the
many instances of neglect which he is powerless to prevent.
When his back is turned, he knows that his business is as
well attended as if he were directing it himself. H e can
dispense with all intermediaries, as no formal overseeing is
required. Nevertheless the position of the managing head
has grown in importance. He must show more than was
formerly necessary that his management is sound, and that
with regard to every department of his business he is firm
in the saddle, for he now has a responsibility towards his
associated labourers. He is more than ever bound to set
them an example of diligence, economy, and other virtues,
on the exercise of which the success of the whole undertaking depends. In short, the system demands a thoroughly
competent man."

Herr

Jahnke*s

Scheme.

In some respects perhaps even a more interesting experiment is that of Herr Jahnke, a
proprietor of Bredow, in Brandenburg.
" Struck with the distress of the agricultural labourers in
the years 1871 and 1872, he resolved to devise apian by
which each of his workmen should enjoy a menschen wiirdiges
Dasein (a life worthy of a man), and the way should be prepared for their ultimate independence. In 1872 he entered
into a contract with five labouring families to work his farm
for five years at half-profits. A regular deed of co-partnery
was drawn up. The proprietor hands over the land, the
steading, and the stock to the Company at a valuation, and

144

SOME

EXPERIMENTS

IN

GERMANY.

agrees to leave all His capital, amounting to ^ 7 5 0 , as a
burden on the business at 5 per cent, interest. He reserves
to himself, however, his dwelling house, garden, peat and
woodhouse, fruit trees and vineries, the unrestricted use of
the well, and liberty to take peat, wood, and game. For
other things he makes a special bargain with them. . . Herr
Jahnke is manager; buys, sells, keeps accounts, and gets
^"45 a year for doing so. . . The labourers receive a fine,
healthy, and commodious dwelling-house each, a bit of
garden ground, free peat and wood for their private use, and
in money wages the five collectively are to receive £2 12s. 6d.
a week in summer and £2 $s. in winter; or in other words
about £2$ a year each. . . . An annual balance sheet
is to be made up on the 10th April every year, and the
profits, after deducting expenses aforesaid, are to be equally
divided between the proprietor on the one hand, and the
five labourers on the other. . . .

As concerns the pecuniary results of the
enterprise, the net profits divided in the year
1872-3 were ^ 5 2 8 ; in 1873-4 they were ^ 4 8 8 ;
and in 1874-5 they were ^ 5 4 9 ; making an
average over the three years of ^"521. Of this
the proprietor received half, £260, and each of
the five labourers a tenth, ^ 5 2 . For the work
of himself and his wife each labourer had thus,
in addition to free house, garden, and .fuel,
£25 a year in weekly wages, and ^ 5 2 a year
in annual profits, or £jj in all.
Now ; according to Von der Goetz's Govern-

SOME EXPERIMENTS

IN GERMANY.

145

ment Report in 1875, the ordinary income of
agricultural labourers in Brandenburg was then
£$2 a year, and the highest paid agricultural
labour in all Germany amounted to no more
than ^"33 a year. It is clear, therefore, that
the system proved very advantageous to the
labourers, and Herr Jahnke says that it also
proved advantageous to the proprietor. H e
was never in want of labour, as he formerly
used to be, and the produce of the farm was
considerably increased. The work was better
done than it was before, and was much more
skilfully arranged. T h e men needed no superintendence. If one of the five thought to
scamp work, the other four remonstrated and
kept him to his duty. Jahnke says that though
in one sense he paid more for labour than he
did before, in another sense he paid less, for
the labour was more productive and was
attended with less waste and destruction.
A Lame and Impotent
In 1877
Jahnke did
which had
^4,500, for

Conclusion.

the contract expired, and Herr
not renew it, but sold his estate,
been valued five years before at
,£5,700. The experiment had been
10

146

SOME EXPERIMENTS

IN

GERMANY.

an entire success, he says, but he had made so
many enemies by it, especially among the class of
large landed proprietors, that he resolved to give
it up and sell his estate.
It is indeed a mean and impotent conclusion!
However, we may have some hope, I trust,
that on the English side of the German Ocean
at any rate, if only the profit-sharing principle
can be shown to be commercially advantageous
to both employer and employed, the system will
not fail, if once attempted, from mere want of
moral courage, as in the case of Herr Jahnke.
Social cowardice is not an unknown factor,
of course, in English country life, and may perhaps even for a time throw obstacles in the way
of the adoption of the co-partnery system in
agriculture; and yet, as I am glad to think, not
every English squire or landlord is afraid to
face the patriarch Job's question—" Do I fear
a great multitude, or does the contempt of
families terrify m e ? " (Job xxxi. 34).
For
already, as I write these words, proof comes
to me that in one English county, at any rate,
the system is not to go without fair trial. A
Warwickshire landlord, whose name I must
withhold for the present, sends to me the

SOME

EXPERIMENTS

IN GERMANY.

147

following notice which he has just circulated
among the labourers on his estate :—
" The Manor Farm*
" I agree to distribute among all labourers working on
the Manor Farm (under the conditions specified below)
60 percent, of the net profits of the farm. These net profits
to be calculated after deducting from the gross profits ^ 3 0 0
a year for rent, 4 per cent, on ^ 4 , 0 0 0 invested on the farm,
and the bailiff's percentage on dairy and poultry sales.
" This money will be divided at the end of every year in
proportion to the total amount of wages earned by each
labourer during the year.
" No labourer shall be entitled to receive auy share who
has not been working on the farm regularly for twelve
months at the time of distribution. If he is absent from
his work for a single day without permission from the
bailiff, he will forfeit his share.
" One-half of the money due to each labourer I shall
invest for him at the JPost Office Savings' Bank, and if he
withdraws it without my permission, he will forfeit his right
to any future share.
" T h i s agreement will come into force from November 1,
1882, so that the first distribution of profits (if there are;
any) will take place on November 1, 1883.:
" I reserve the right of cancelling this agreement at, a
year's notice."

CHAPTER
A COLLIERS'

XL
COW-CLUB.

" T h r o u g h smoke clouds rising thick and dun
As dust of battle o'er us,
Their white horns glisten in the sun
Like plumes and crests before us.
In our good drove, so sleek and fair,
No bones of leanness rattle ;
No tottering hide-bound ghosts are there,
Or P h a r a o h ' s evil cattle.
Each stately beeve bespeaks the h a n d
T h a t fed him unrepining ;
The fatness of a goodly land
In each dun hide is s h i n i n g . "
WHITTIER.

grass and some knowledge of stock
would seem to be the two indispensable prerequisites for successful cow-keeping, and
neither one nor the other would one have
expected from the nature of things to abound
in the neighbourhood of Newcastle.
Certainly
it does seem surprising that we should have to
go to the heart of the English coalfields to find
a successful instance of a Co-operative Dairy
Farm. And yet in the village of North Seaton
GREEN

A COLLIERS'

COW-CLUB.

149

there is a little band of resolute north country
colliers who have found time, in addition to their
regular work in the mines, not only to undertake the management of some thirty cows, but
actually to pay an annual dividend of over 7 per
cent, as a result of their enterprise in dairy farming.
The North

Seaton Co-operative
Society.

Farming

The North Se&ton Co-operative Farming
Society is in reality a Co-operative Cow Club,
established ten years ago, in the very heart of
the colliery district, by Northumberland pitmen.
I am indebted for the following interesting
account of the origin of the Society to my
friend Mr. J. Pringle, a member of the Club,
and until lately a working pitman in that
district :—
A Cow Club " down among the Coals."—" Eleven years
ago the colliery village of North Seaton, Northumberland,
had a severe visitation of fever. Sad havoc was played
among the little ones of the village. Almost all the children were more or less affected by this pestilent visitor.
The doctors emphatically impressed on the minds of
parents to give their children a better supply of milk—as
much as they could drink—and to have it pure. To attain
this there were many difficulties. Two chief ones—milk
was scarce, and its scarcity didn't warrant its quality. The

!5o

A COLLIERS'

COW-CLUB.

workmen of the village, as sound practical men, saw their
position, and their good common sense told them that if
they could get cows of their own they could have as much
pure milk as they needed. A meeting of the workpeople
of the village was called, and the question discussed, and it
was finally agreed to ' commence at once' with a Cooperative Dairy Company. It really began life in August
1872. Fifty-four people signified their intention to become
members, and a capital of ^ 8 4 10s. was raised on shares
of £1 each. The employers promised to let the cooperators have the land at the same price they themselves
were paying for it, and also promised to erect all the buildings at a mere nominal cost.
" Seven full-bred cows were got to commence with, but
one great difficulty at this early commencement was the
question of water. The men themselves sank a deep well,
but owing to the nature of the strata through which it was
sunk the water would not stay in the well, but leaked out.
It is even now a source of much trouble, so much so that
very often the owners of the collieries have to lend water for
the society, which is always done free. Hay, manure, etc.,
are all conveyed to and fro by the employers' horses and
carts free of cost, also the dairy man and woman are by the
Coal Company allowed house and coals free. At the end
of the first half-year a dividend of 10 per cent, per annum
was declared, when a call of 5^. per share was made, and
the number of members increased by 63, which made a
total of 117. The capital now increased to ^ 2 2 0 6s. 6d.
For three years the society each year paid a dividend of
10 per cent., while their number of cows had increased to 13.
" It was here imagined by the committee that ' half-breds '
would feed on the land at disposal better than ' full-breds.'
Accordingly the committee resolved to dispense with the

A COLLIERS'

COW-CLUB.

151

latter and purchase the former, which resolve was carried
into effect. * I think,' says my informant, ' this was a grave
mistake, as all our " half-breds " are being disposed of and
we are as fast as possible getting back " full-breds."'
"Since 1875 t n e dividend has averaged 7 per cent, per
annum. But even this dividend has been got under the
most trying difficulties—difficulties strong enough to break
down any ordinary enterprise of the kind. Each year the
society sustained the loss of a cow, and from '77 to '79 the
colliery was entirely 'laid in.' This caused large numbers
of workmen to leave the village, which diminished the
demand for milk. However, nothing daunted, the remaining members set to work and sought out new markets for
their milk. A market was got at a town four or five miles
away, to which town the society sent forty quarts daily.
This energetic step enabled the co-operators to tide over
the two years of the colliery's standing still with success.
When work recommenced in the village, the inhabitants
again took all the milk. To both members and nonmembers milk is sold at threepence per quart, pure milk.
The society has not a monopoly, as other milk vendors
come to the village.
" And now, amidst all the fearful depression of trade,
this noble little enterprise has held up its head and flourished,
notwithstanding the promoters of the Dairy Society were
pitmen. The great cause of success has been earnestness
and purity of purpose. If these qualities had not prevailed
to a great extent, you may depend that instead of now
numbering 108 members and owning ^ 2 2 2 18s., and 13
cows and other property, the North Seaton Dairy Society
would have been among the
" ' Little systems that have had their day,
Had their day and ceased to b e . ' "

152

A COLLIERS'

COW-CLUB.

T h e following is a copy of the nineteenth
half-yearly balance sheet issued last July :—
CASH ACCOUNT.

Receipts—J^une ^ot/i, 1882.
£
To Cash in hand
Milk money .
Cows sold
Calves sold

.
.
.

.
.
.
.
£77 2
6 0

s. d.

6
•

2

3i

170

5

si

83

2

<D

c

"

£2S9

9

9

Payments.
£ s. d.
By paid for cows
Provender
Manager's wages
Other wages .

83 13
i

£z2

19

2

4

•

•
c>

0

7i

8

3

0
JO

Printing and stationery
Railway carriage
.
Incidentals
Withdrawals .
Manure for fields
Committee's expenses
.
President
Treasurer and secretary .
.
Auditors .
.
Rent of room .
Balance in hand
•

J

0

12

0

3
4

6
4

0
1

2 5
8 10
1 6

6

0

10

0

3

IO

0

0

10

0

0

5

44 10

£*$9

9

2

7i

0

8*
9

A COLLIERS1

COW-CLUB.

*53

CAPITAL ACCOUNT.

Liabilities.

N

£

To members' claims
Reserve fund .
Rent of fields .
Balance of profits .

s.

222

15
26 17

•
.

d.

3

ni

£3°°

10

0

0

0

3

33
i7

*4

Assets.
By value of cows
Goods in stock
Fixed stock
Outstanding accounts
Balance in hand

£ s.
192 18

</.
0

9
8

9i

4 16
44 1 0

•

8*
8

45
12

£3°°

3

°i

**

PROFIT ACCOU N T .

To interest on ^ 2 2 0 15^. 3^. , at 5
per cent, per annum
Reserve fund .
Reduction of fixed stock .
• . •

£
5
7

s.
II

d.
4*
0

4

8

7l

£*1
£

0

O

s.

^.

17

0

O

^17

By balance of profits

0

o

°

?

When one reads an account like this, it
certainly does make one hope that the time is
not far distant when the labourers and cowmen

154

A COLLIERS'

COW-CLUB.

of the finest dairy districts in England may
learn to follow the example of the Northumbrian
colliers.
When one remembers, moreover, that we
have high medical authority for the statement,
that notwithstanding the higher wages and in
other respects the undoubtedly improved position of the rural labourer, his bodily physique
has steadily of late years deteriorated, owing
very greatly to the loss of milk as a regular
article of diet, one can well understand with
what manifold advantages, not merely economical, any system would be fraught which
would revive once more the custom of cowkeeping, at one time almost universal amongst
the English peasantry. It is altogether most
lamentable that at the present time large
numbers of the children of farm labourers
should be brought up scarcely ever tasting the
natural diet of childhood.
One is glad, however, to know that there are
parts of England where this subject is receiving
from the landlords that attention which is its
due, and where efforts have been successfully
made to introduce cow-keeping by the labourers,
I am indebted to Lord Tollemache, of Helm-

A COLLIERS'

COW-CLUB.

155

ingham, for a most interesting pamphlet on
this subject, by Mr. Henry Evershecl, reprinted
from the Royal Agricultural Society's Journal
for 1879. From that paper I gather that on
the Helmingham Estate cow-keeping by
labourers has been for several years eminently
successful, and entirely free from the drawbacks
which the opponents of peasant farming of any
kind are only too ready to discover and to
magnify into insuperable difficulties. This is
Mr. Evershed's report :—
" The Helmingham Estate lies in the middle of the
Cheshire dairy district. The farms average about 200 acres
each, and about three men—cowman, horseman, and labourer
—are employed on each. Nearly all the labourers, as well as
some of the small tradesmen on the estate, keep cows. There
are about 300 cottages; at the time of my visit 260 of the
cottagers were cow-keepers, and before the close of the year
seven others were to be added to their number. Any man
who finds himself in a position to keep a cow is enabled to
do so by an allotment of pasturage to his cottage. About
three acres suffice for the keeping of a cow, of which about
one acre is mown, one-quarter of an acre is in tillage, and
the rest is pasture. The rent of the land is the same as
that of the adjacent farming land. Generally speaking, the
three acres required for a cow are attached to the cottage,
but in some cases a pasture is set apart for cottagers' cows,
and 305". per cow is charged for grazing. The organization
of the system is perfect.. The butter is collected and

156

A COLLIERS'

COW-CLUB.

marketed by small dealers, residing generally on the estate
and being themselves cow-keepers."

T o this information may be added the testimony of Mr. Stephen Crawley, of Tarporley,
Lord Tollemache's agent:—
" The labourer has, comparatively speaking, a plentiful
board for his family, and at a cheap rate. He has his cow,
pig, and land to occupy his spare hours, which might otherwise be spent in the beerhouse. His family have an
opportunity from their infancy of taking part in the management of stock, and this is most necessary if they are to grow
up into thorough stockmen. The chief benefit derived by
the farmers is that when they have the nomination of tenants
of cow-keeping cottages, they can obtain the best and most
intelligent men, who, but for the advantages of a cow, would
drift into the large towns."

I regret that I am not able to give in extenso
the Rules of the excellent Cow Insurance Clubs
which form so important an element in the
success of the system. In his letter to myself
on this point, Lord Tollemache says—•" If you
do establish this system, which answers admirably, you ought to urge those who keep cows
to establish cow clubs. T h e system of begging
for assistance in case> of the death of a cow is
very objectionable indeed. As a proof of how
well these clubs answer, worked entirely by the

A COLLIER'S

COW-CLUB.

157

labourers themselves, I may tell you that I
never by any chance have an application for
assistance owing to the death of a cow."
Similar evidence to that given above concerning the Helmingham Estate has been
collected by Mr. Evershed from other parts of
the country. " Nowhere," he says, " have I
met with a single objector to the system of
cow-keeping by labourers among any persons
who are practically acquainted with the system,
though some have objected to it who have
never seen it."

C H A P T E R XII.
A CO- OPERA TIVE
i(

CO TV CL UB IN B UCKS.

Hi! diddle, diddle, the cat and the fiddle,
The cow jumped over the moon."

sixteen months ago there met in my library
at Granborough some score or so of agricultural
labourers, who had come together to see what
could be done towards fairly launching themselves as a society upon, to them, the unknown
seas of co-operative enterprise. I need hardly
say to those who know anything of the cautiousness, not to say wary stolidity of the Bucks
rural mind, that it had not been without a good
deal of effort, spread over a long period of time,
that this point had been reached. Ten years
ago, when I first began work in the county, I
did not then appreciate, as I trust I do now,
the fact that the stability of an institution is
very much in proportion to the slowness of its
growth to maturity, and so, in the inexperience
ABOUT

A CO-OPERATIVE

COW CLUB.

159

of those days, did not see that the step from
the conception of a good idea to its realisation
was not likely to be so short as I had imagined.
And such a good idea I thought I had in cooperation, as a principle to be applied, by
associated labourers, to the trade of cow-keeping
and small dairy-farming.
Co-operative

Dairy-Farming.

In the year 1872, in a lecture on " T h e Labour
Question" (then becoming a very burning*
question indeed, owing to the agitation of the
agricultural labourers, so nobly generalled by
Joseph Arch), and which was afterwards republished in my "Village Politics," I ventured to
make the following suggestion :—" Some application of the principle of 'co-operation, if
political economists tell us rightly, is sure to be
tried in the future in agriculture, as elsewhere.
Why, then, I would ask, should not the experiment be made in the direction of associations
among the labourers, not only for the purposes
of strike, or a forced rise in wages, but for purposes of direct production ? Would it not be
possible to establish in the agricultural districts,
such of them, at any rate, as are chiefly pastoral,

160

A CO-OPERATIVE

COW

CLUB.

societies organised upon co-operative, or, more
strictly speaking, joint-stock principles, by
which cow-keeping, dairy-farming, in fact, on
a small scale, might be successfully undertaken
by the associated labourers ? Such an experiment, if carried out with success, would certainly
be most valuable, as tending to develop habits
of self-reliance and self-government in village
communities. It is by experiment only that
the final and satisfactory solution of any problem is ultimately reached.
And for this
reason, if for no other, it appears to me the
experiment I have suggested is, at least, worthy
of trial."
Difficulties

of

Propagandism.

T h e same idea, with more detail, I continually
pressed upon my labouring parishioners, in
season and out of season, until I fear, to some
of them, " the Parson with Co-op. Cows on the
brain " became rather a bore than otherwise.
However, parsons, I suppose, get used to being
thought bores, and so I went on preaching.
My most opportune occasion for making cooperative converts was always in the winter
months, when I was accustomed to meet the

A CO-OPERATIVE

COW CLUB.

161

men for night-school work and talk about things
in general, and especially at the annual supper
of the tenants on my glebe allotments. Here,
by virtue of telling them such inspiring stories
as that of the Rochdale Pioneers, and how
" the famous Twenty-eight," beginning with
twopence a week subscriptions, commenced
business in 1844 with twenty-eight members and
£ 2 8 capital, had increased the following year
to seventy-four members, with £ 1 8 1 capital,
having made £ 2 2 profit on business done to
the extent of £ 7 1 0 ; and in 1876 to 8,892
members, with ,£254,000 capital, having made
£50,668 profit on business done to the extent
of ,£305,190, I occasionally succeeded in making a few converts, who, however, generally
" lapsed" (at any rate from any desire for
practical experiment) when the spring field
work put an end to winter talks.
Many a time I feared that all my preaching
was going to be in vain. I had not then, as I
said, learnt the lesson of the parable either of
the oak-tree or Jonah's gourd.
"Spell

it with an S."

In the early part of last year, however, I
11

162

A CO-OPERATIVE

COW

CLUB.

was lucky enough to persuade Miss Hart, whc
has been doing such good work lately for cooperation and the principle of participation ir
profits among the workmen's clubs of Londor
and elsewThere, by her lectures, on the Frencl:
house-painter Leclaire, and his scheme of cooperative industry, and on the Irish agricultural
co-operative estate at Ralahine, to come dowr
to Granborough to deliver to the labourers this
latter lecture. She had a crowded room anc
an enthusiastic audience, and the pathos anc
generous sentiment with which she told thai
story of noble effort and self-sacrificing endeavour, with, alas ! its too sad ending, fired theii
hearts with a desire to make trial of the new
principle. A committee of some half-dozen 01
so was chosen to draw up rules for the proposed
association, and after some unavoidable delay in
procuring the necessary Government Registration, the Society was fairly ready to be launched.
At the meeting to which I have already alluded,
it was found that there were some twenty-three
members ready to join as 10s. shareholders, but
who were not in a position to pay up at once
the whole amount. Some eight or nine pounds
for the present was, in fact, all that we could

A CO-OPERATIVE

COW CLUB.

163

command by way of capital. What was to be
done ? That would not buy even one co-op.
cow. A brilliant thought, however, struck one
of the men, worthy of the immortal " Spell it
with a wee, Sammy, spell it with a w e e ! " ' o f
the elder Weller. " Spell it with an S, sir,"
said one of the men—" spell it with an S ! "
And so we did. For Co-op. " C o w s " we wrote
Co-op. " Sows." On the 7th June the Granborough Co-operative Association fairly opened
business as the proprietor of two fine brood
sow pigs ; and, to cut a long story short, here
was I in October its proud President, just
returned home from my holiday, greeted almost
as I entered the village with the stirring news,
" Please, sir, the co-op. sows have got eighteen little pigs! "
The Poetry of

Co-operative

Pig-keeping.

Talk of co-operation and enthusiasm ! here's
co-operative enthusiasm indeed! A fortnight
ago the twenty-nine members of the society
could only be set down as the owners of scarcely
the fifteenth part of a pig between them, and
now each member may claim almost a pig
apiece. O wonderful dispensation of nature !

164

A CO-OPERATIVE

COW

CLUB.

0 beneficent principle of increase ! O glorious
virtues of. co-operation ! Talk of poetry. Why,
1 believe each of us at this crisis in our fortunes
felt himself a very Herrick ready to sing as
he did of the
" Plenty dropping hand
That soils my land,
And giv'st me for my bushel sown
Twice ten for one ;
Thou makest my teeming hen to lay
Her egg each day ;
Besides my healthful pigs to bear
Thrice nine each year,
The while the conduits of my kine
Run cream for wine."

The Prose of the Matter:
Regulations.

Rtdes

and

But to return to the prose of the matter.
T h e rules of the society, which is registered
under the Industrial and Provident Societies
Act, are divided into two sets—special and
general. T h e general rules, numbered i to 144,
are those published by the Central Board of
the Co-operative Union, and approved by the
Government Registrar. I should strongly recommend any proposing founders of village
co-operative societies to adopt these " Model

A CO-OPERATIVE

COW CLUB.

165

Rules " in their entirety. They may easily do
this, whatever the special objects of their society
may be, by means of special rules, which the
general secretary, Mr. E. V. Neale, will prepare
for them, if applied to at No. 2, City Buildings,
Corporation Street, Manchester. T h e general
rules are kept in stock, and sold at 2d. a copy,
for a book of fifty pages, so that a society may
get a hundred copies made up with its own
special rules for little more than £1.
The
special rules of the Granborough Co-operative
Association, Limited, were drawn up by myself,
in consultation with our committee of seven
labouring men, and were kindly revised by Mr.
Neale. They are as follows :—
Granborough Co-operative Society.—" I. General Rule 3.
—The name of this society is the Granborough Co-operative
Association, Limited.
" I I . General Rule 3.—The objects of the society are to
carry on the trades of cowkeepers and dairy farmers, and of
general dealers both wholesale and retail.
" I I I . General Rule 4.—The registered office of the society
shall be at the Parish Room, in the Vicarage of Granborough,
in the county of Buckingham.
" I V . General Rule 22.—The shares shall be of the
nominal value of ten shillings, of which four shillings shall
be paid on allotment, and the remainder by instalments of
not less than threepence per week.

166

A CO-OPERATIVE

COW

CLUB.

" V. General Rule 27.—No member shall hold more than
one hundred shares.
" V I . General Rules 34 and 35.—Repayment of shares.
These rules shall apply to all the transferable shares of the
society.
" V I I . General Rule 37.—No withdrawable shares shall
be allotted except on the resolution of a majority of
two-thirds of the members present at a special general
meeting.
" VIII. General Rule 68.—The Annual Meetings.—After
the first general meeting there shall be only one ordinary
business meeting in each year, which shall be held on the
first Monday in May.
" I X . General Rules 85, &6, and 101. The Committee
shall consist of the president, vice-president, treasurer, secretary, and five committee-men, of which nine members three
shall retire at each annual meeting.
" X. General Rule 93.—The Committee shall meet on
the first Monday evening in each month.
" X I . General Rule n o . — T h e seal of the society shall
have the device of a milking stool, with the motto molliter
tftulce.
" X I I . General Rules 127 and 141.—Application of
Profits.—The net profits of the society, after providing
for rent, rates, taxes, interest and redemption of loans,
insurance, and all expenses of management, shall be
apportioned by the annual meetings in the following
manner :—
(a) In forming a depreciation fund of ten per cent, on
all property of the society.
(b) In paying such dividend on all fully paid-up
shares as may be determined by each annual meeting.

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167

{c) In forming a " Public Good " Fund, to promote the
moral and intellectual welfare of the members, and
to disseminate a knowledge of the principles of the
co-operative faith.

Of the General Rules the following are those
which relate to the conditions of membership:—
" 9 . Payment on Application for Membership.—Every
person shall pay, on applying for admission, the sum of is.,
for which he shall receive a copy of the rules.
" 1 1 . Application by an Individual.—An application by
an individual may be made either in the form contained
in Rule 140 (given below), or by making such payment as
is required upon an application for admission, and the signature of a receipt for a copy of the rules in the form contained in the said rule, either by the applicant or on his
behalf.
" 12. How Applications shall be dealt with.—Every
application for admission shall be considered by the
committee at its first meeting after it is made, or so soon
thereafter as is practicable; and if it is approved, the
name of the applicant shall be entered on the list of
members and the register of shares hereinafter mentioned,
for , the number and description of shares required
to be held by the rules, or any larger number applied
for and allowed to be held thereby, upon such approval
and such confirmation thereof, if any, as the society may
direct.
" 13. Notice of Refusal or Admission.—Notice of the refusal of an application, or of the entry of the name of any
applicant on the list of members, signed by the secretary,
shall be sent to the applicant, at the address mentioned on

168

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COW

CLUB.

the form of application or receipt, within one week after
such refusal or entry is made.
" 14. Repayment of the Entrance Fee.—The sum paid
on an application for admission shall be repaid on demand to the person by whom or on whose behalf it
was or purports to have been paid, within one calendar
month after the date of the said notice in the cases following :—
(1) If the application is refused;
(2) If it is not granted within three calendar months after
the application ;
" (3) If it is based on a payment made on behalf of any
person without his authority.
" 1 4 0 . (1) Application for Admission by an Individual :
" (a) By Application for Shares—I, the undersigned,
hereby apply for
[transferable] shares in the abovenamed society, in respect of which I agree to make the payments required by the rules of the society, and otherwise to
be bound thereby.
" Signature of applicant, stating his address and occupation.''
"(b) By Payment for a Copy of Rules.—Received this day
a copy of the rules of the above-named society, for which I
have paid [on account of the undermentioned applicant] the
sum required to be paid on an application for admission to
the society.
1
'Signature as above, or if the payment is made by
any other person than the applicant, of this person,
stating the name, address, and occupation of the applicant"

Members of our society naturally had to put

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169

up with a good deal of mild chaff from the wTits
of the neighbourhood, which I am bound to
say they have hitherto borne with a very commendable degree of equanimity. Here is a
specimen, addressed to the President about
Christmas time.
Hi!

diddle,

diddle!

'"Well, Vicar, how does the cow-club get
on ? You have not turned the ' S ' into a * C '
yet, I hear.
But no doubt the club prefers
bacon rashers to roast beef for its Christmas
dinner. By-the-bye, as the Co-op. Cow still
seems ' up in the air,' I wonder you don't
change that very humble device of the milking
stool on your corporate seal. What do you
say, now, to the ' Cow that jumped over the
moon,' with the legend ' H i ! diddle, diddle!'
for a motto ? That would surely be more
ambitious and appropriate.
Well, good
morning! a merry Christmas to the Co-op.
piggies !"
Those may laugh who win. We did not
forget, luckily, that there has always been
subject for ridicule in the early chapters of the
history of all new social experiments, and that

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A CO-OPERATIVE

COW

CLUB.

the co-operative movement has been no exception to the rule.
When Robert Owen
opened the first Labour Exchange in London it
was an easy matter to laugh at " t h e greatest
philanthropist in the world, the correspondent of
all the monarchs of Europe," as a retail dealer
in pink-eyed potatoes, short dips, and treacle.
There was subject also for raillery, no doubt, in
the barrowful of provisions with which the Rochdale Pioneers first set up shop.
All the
"doffers" of Toad-lane were in a roar when this
humble stock-in-trade was first exposed to view.
But the Pioneers have the laugh on their side
now, when "the owd weaver's shop" has become
a large Central Store, " a commanding pile of
buildings which it takes an hour to walk
through," situated on the finest site in Rochdale,
overlooking the Town Hall and Parish Church,
with a turnover of ,£270,000 a year, and an
annual net profit of more than £"30,000.
And so we Granborough co-operators took
heart to face even worse troubles than nursery
rhyme banter. Not that we have any cause as
yet to lose heart. If our progress has not been
brilliant it has been steady. When we commenced business a little over sixteen months ago

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171

we had 23 members and a capital of £8.
In
1882 we had got to 44 members and a capital
of over ^ 3 0 . At our committee meeting on
November 29th we found upon balancing the
accounts for the half-year that we had made a
net profit of £5 js. nd.y on a total expenditure
of ;£i8 14^., or more than 25 per cent, on the
capital invested. These results we are disposed
to think were not unsatisfactory, and although
we are all still anxious to see Co-operative
Cows grazing in the Granborough meadows, our
present experience of pig-keeping you may be
sure is at any rate not likely to lessen our
respect for the co-operative virtues of that
" gintleman what pays the rent," as the Irish
say.*
An " ex- Irish Landlord" writes to the
Times:—"Mr.
Bright says, ' It is obvious to any one who knows anything
of these matters that capital employed in agriculture in any
country must be absolutely unprofitable to the cultivator if
he has to pay a rate of interest such as 24 per cent.' For
Mr. Bright's benefit I hope you will let the following story
appear, for the truth of which I can vouch. A clever little
Irishman, then a tenant of my own, told me that 2s. 6d. per
month was often charged as interest upon £ 1 sterling, and
said that he had himself borrowed £J on those terms—viz.,
150 per cent, per annum. ' H o w on earth, Johnny/ said I,
' did you do t h a t ? ' 'Well, your honour/ was his answer,

172

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CLUB.

Every one knows La Fontaine's story of little
Perette going to market to buy eggs. T h e
eggs are hatched into chickens. T h e chickens
produce a pig. In time the pig becomes a
calf, and the calf grows into a cow. It is this
dream of Perette that we Granborough cooperators hope to realize.*
Whether we shall succeed or not I cannot
say. But if we do not, then I trust some one
else will. For of this, at least, I am quite sure,
that even failure will not disprove the principle
of co-operation.
Conclusion.
Indeed, I venture to say, finally, that if
we are ever to succeed in raising the platform
of Industrial Morality, and healing what
is at present, I fear, the standing feud
between Capital and Labour, it must be by the
substitution of the principles of co-operative
' when I got the pound I bought a bhonnal (a little pig) for
15J. ; with the other 5^. I paid two months' interest, and
before the third month was out I sold my pig for ^ 3 , and
paid off the debt and interest, and had £1 17s. 6d. in my
pocket.'"
* "June ioth, 1883. Two heifers bought, ^ 2 1 10$."
—Extract from Books of the Society.

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173

faith for that spirit of competitive selfishness
which now forms the orthodox foundation of
economic science. T h e ideal of co-operation
is, indeed, a noble one, for it means " the transformation of human life, from a conflict of
classes struggling for opposite interests, to a
friendly rivalry in pursuit of a good common to
all : the elevation of the dignity of labour, a
new sense of security and independence in the
labouring class, and the conversion of each
human being's daily occupation into a school of
the social sympathies and the practical intelligence

APPENDIX I.
EXTRACT FROM THE EAST
TIMES,

ANGLIAN

DAILY

TUESDAY, D E C E M B E R 30TH, 1879.

" G A R D E N FARMING IN EASTERN COUNTIES.

" The opening of a new vegetable, root, and general
produce market at Stratford, in a densely populated part of
London, and yet within easy reach from every railway in
the Eastern Counties, renders garden farming a far more
important local industry than it has hitherto been considered.
Times are deeply depressed in the agricultural world, and
great interest therefore attaches to an enterprize which
affords a new opening for the capital and skill of the farmer
who does not look down upon market gardening simply as
the employment of the cottager. Hitherto the Eastern
Counties, though favourably situated, have done little in
this branch of cultivation, and vegetables sent to London
have been chiefly consigned to Spitalfields and Covent
Garden. The consequence has been, that the immense
population on the northern and eastern outskirts of London
l^ave been as unable to obtain vegetables fresh, or in any
quantity, as if there were no supplies sent up at all. The
population of Stratford alone, where the new market is
situated, is 120,000, and adjoining it are Bow, Bromley,
Stepney, Limehouse, Canning Town, West Ham, Woodford,
Forest Gate, Leytonstone, etc., containing in all a popula-

176

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I.

tion of fully 500,000. When the immense amount of vegetables required for this market alone is considered, and the
consequent almost unlimited demand borne in mind, it will
easily be understood that the scope for market garden farming is very large. The Great Eastern Railway Company
have erected the Stratford Market on land adjoining their
system, and were induced to take this course in consequence
of the belief that, if the -means of distribution were more
perfect, the cultivation of garden produce would become
more general. They have offered this branch of agriculture
further encouragement, by greatly reducing the rates of
carriage of garden produce to the Stratford Market from all
places on their line; and so well has it sold, both there and
in the old markets, that ten per cent, profit on the outlay
for cultivation is found to be a fair average.
" The Company look mainly for their profits to the large
amount of traffic which it is anticipated the market will
bring on to the rails, and have let their warehouses at a
merely nominal rent, while at the same time no charges
are payable by those who merely sell ex truck direct into
cart. The vegetables forwarded to the warehousemen for
sale have been put on the trucks at places in Lincolnshire,
Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Hertfordshire, and Essex, and up
to the present time, have reached a total of 200 tons per
week, in addition to which the salesmen have consigned
direct to customers a considerable quantity of produce. A
ready demand has been experienced for all that has been
sent to the market, and it is hoped that when farmers and
growers in the Eastern Counties become alive to the advantages of this branch of agriculture, and are aware of the
facilities offered for the disposal of vegetables of all kinds,
a greater supply will be sent up, as there is ample accommodation and demand for it.

APPENDIX

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177

" At the present time, large quantities of the commoner
vegetables, such as potatoes, turnips, onions, cabbages, etc.,
are grown in Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, and so far north as
Scotland, and sent up to the London markets, where, notwithstanding the cost of cartage to the station, railway
carriage, and dealers' commission, they are sold at profitable
prices. It is the fact that, given a piece of land not too
far from a railway station, properly managed, and within
90 miles of London, or other large centre of population, it
can be made to pay handsomely under a system of garden
cultivation, and the farmers of the Eastern Counties have
in this branch of agriculture one means of avoiding that
stagnation and depression which exists now because of the
failure of the crop which has been chiefly relied on for
profit.
" In considering the subject, it may be well to point out
a few of the leading items of expenditure, and the position
which the various products hold in the London market.
Potatoes, although a precarious crop by reason of their
liability to disease and sensitiveness to the extremes of
the weather, are yet found to make enough profit to encourage their growth in all parts of the country. Failure
has, in many cases, induced farmers to abandon them as
field crops, but inasmuch as they are one of the staple
•wants of the people everywhere, they cannot long remain in
disfavour.
A liberal application of manure under any
circumstances is necessary, if a full crop is to be obtained.
Farmyard dung, guano, and nitrate of soda are chiefly used,
and although the 'home supply' of the former is necessarily limited, what is lacking can be made up by stable and
cow-shed manure and garbage from the slaughter-houses of
London, which can be obtained at about &s. a ton, to
which of course has to be added the cost of railway carriage.
12

i78

APPENDIX

L

It may be taken as a basis that manure will cost ^ 1 5 an
acre, and to this must be added that of seed and labour.
Notwithstanding the quantities of potatoes that are brought
from abroad, fair samples make from ^"5 to £& a ton, and
eight tons per acre is a good crop. In the winter the price
advances to ; £ i o . White turnips will make 305. to 35^.
per ton in the London market, while carrots, which are
deservedly esteemed and sought after, make 30.?. to $os.
a ton. Although the latter roots are universally grown in
gardens, they have not as yet attained to general cultivation
as a field crop. There are certain practical difficulties connected with their culture on a large scale, but the precariousness in the growth of potatoes, turnips, and clover, and the
consequent necessity for a greater variety of green crops
both for men and cattle, entitle the carrot to increased
attention as a field crop. It is on sandy and light loamy
soils, and those of a peaty nature, that it is grown most
successfully, and under these circumstances 15 tons per
acre is an average crop, although with liberal manuring and
skilful cultivation double the weight is sometimes obtained.
Parsnips closely resemble carrots in culture and uses, but
they possess advantages over the latter in being successfully
grown on a much wider range of soils, and, unlike the
carrot, it rather prefers those in which clay predominates. It
appears to have received very little attention from cultivators, for it is not sent to the markets in quantities at all
reaching the demand for it. There is always a demand for
cabbages, and they are at present more generally cultivated
than anything else. They sell at 5^. 6d. to 6s, 6d. per tally
of five dozen, equal to about £60 per acre. Onions take
a great deal of care in their cultivation, but when landed in
the market will repay the outlay and toil necessary for their
successful growth. The gross returns on Lisbon onions is

APPENDIX

I.

179

between £60 and ^ 7 0 per acre, while an average amount
of over ^ 1 5 0 per acre has been made in three years upon
a large acreage of pickling onions in the neighbourhood of
London. Besides these crops, there are peas and beans
which can be successfully grown ; but there is much trouble
in connection with picking them where labour is not abundant, and for this reason they are often a cause of annoyance. The average crop of peas is about 150 bushels per
acre, and the average price obtained in the market is 2s.
per bushel, or ^"15 per acre. Coleworts are a good spring
crop, and a gross return of ^ 1 0 0 an acre m a y b e made
on them. Much profit may also be made out of the cultivation of celery, spinach, rhubarb, lettuces, beetroot, and
red cabbages for pickling, mint, sage, parsley, and other
herbs. The judges in the competition for the prizes offered
by the Royal Society of Agriculture for market garden
farms, state that by dint of putting this and that fact together, it was gathered that an average crop of radishes
sown between the celery would make at least ^ 2 8 per
acre, say 1,100 dozen bunches at 6d, per dozen; and the
celery planted in the rows between the beds of radishes
would make from ^ 5 0 to £60 per acre, taking an average
of seasons, say from 1,000 to 1,200 dozen bunches at 12s.
per dozen bunches. Again, take lettuces and celery together, an average crop of lettuces would be worth about
^ 3 0 per acre. Or a crop of coleworts and cabbages
grown with celery would be worth from ^ 2 5 to ^ 3 0 per
acre, plus the value of the celery crop ; so that even if the
expenses amounted to ^ 4 0 per acre, there would still be a
good margin of profit.
11
Market garden farming may require a large quantity
of labour, and be in consequence expensive to carry on,
tJut the returns are correspondingly large, and it has the

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APPENDIX

I.

further recommendation of increasing the demand for its
products as it becomes more widely extended, because it
will put the power to buy into the hands of men both in
towns and the country who have now barely the means of
existence. This fact puts on one side the argument that
if the practice of vegetable growing became more general,
a supply would be created greater than the demands of the
public warranted. It may be said that foreign competition
will outdo the English growers as the American supplies
have destroyed the profits on wheat cultivation; but the
perishable nature of vegetables gives the English growers
a decided advantage, while the cost of production and
the expense of freight will in all probability too heavily
handicap the foreign producers, and leave the English
cultivators a margin of profit. The carriage of vegetables
which are imported from France amounts to £4 a ton,
whilst the highest rate for an equal amount from any part
of the Great Eastern system to the metropolis-—that from
Peterborough—is but 16s. 6d. Those sent from other
countries, such as Holland, Belgium, and parts of Germany,
have not to pay such high freightage as the French ones,
but they do not arrive in such good condition in consequence of the greater length of the journey; and the bulky
and common vegetables, such as cabbages, turnips, and
coleworts, are seldom sent from abroad, while by adopting
some of the practices of foreigners for forcing—the bellglasses used in the north of France, for instance—the
markets could be well supplied early in the year. There
does not seem to be any reason why men with moderate
sized or small farms should not alternate ordinary crops
with those of vegetables, and thus multiply the sources of
their profit and increase their own and their country's
welfare."

APPENDIX II.
THE

FEARGUS O'CONNOR ALLOTMENTS
MINSTER LOVELL, IN O X F O R D S H I R E .

AT

I am indebted for the following report upon the present
condition of these allotments to my friend, Mr. T. Forster
Rolfe, of All Souls' College, Oxford, who, at my request,
kindly paid a visit to the estate last Christmas time. The
causes of the failure of the original allottees under the
O'Connor ballot are sufficiently evident from the first
sentence of the Report: " The men that came in the first
allotment were many of them ignorant of how to plant, it
being reported of one that he asked what he was to plant to
make bread; another sowed his turnips as thick as mustard
and cress, and refused to thin them because they looked so
flourishing; another wished to know how many bushels of
the same seed to sow to the acre.
" Its present condition,—Out of the eighty holdings at present, not more than si%are cultivated by their owners. The
present position of the occupiers is therefore principally
interesting from the point of view of the success of small
holdings when rented by agricultural labourers or very
small farmers. For it is not the case that every lot is held
by a separate tenant or occupier—not a few lying next each

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II.

other, or even a little distance off, are rented by the same
man, and some of the few that self-own the one lot, rent
other lots, and work them in connection with it.
" A man holding a four-acre lot has but little time to
give to other work, if he gets all the good that he can out
of his piece; still, on the other hand, such a holding will
not by itself find sufficient to occupy his whole time. A
three-acre lot, if anything, is worse than either of the other
two, for this reason, whereas a two-acre lot is pronounced
by the present occupiers to be far the most convenient
holding of the three, as a man can take pretty regular work
elsewhere, and, at the same time, find time to keep his own
piece in a thoroughly piofitable state of cultivation.
" Quality of the soil.—One of the most important considerations in the question of the Minster Loveli Estate, is
the varying nature of the soil: some lots have stone brash,
some clay, and some both together; if anything, the last
is the most advantageous when rented, as the rental is not
so high from the mixed character of the soil, whereas if the
season is unfavourable to one part, it is probably favourable to the other. Those with a clay soil are certainly the
least desirable.
" Produce. —The reason of this is, that the latter are the
most uncertain soils in their returns to the potato crops,
and this, as is natural in small holdings, is the most valuable article of production on the estate. Wheat and
barley are the other chief productions, roots also being
grown in small quantities for pigs (and here and there a
cow), carrots occasionally ; garden-stuff is grown just round
the house; black crops are sown occasionally.
I know
only of one case now in which a cow is kept, though many
attempted it at first. The man Jacobs who keeps it, in this
case, owns or rents altogether 15 acres, and therefore has

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II.

183

more opportunity of growing the proper stuff; with his
four acres he originally tried it, but had to give it up."
" Present Occupants.—The present occupants are a mixed
class,—one, a Mr. Radbon, is a baker with a pretty flourishing trade : he not merely bakes for himself, but also for
such other holders as choose to send their dough made up
to him, at the rate of \d. per loaf. Others are pork butchers,
some, as said above, by combining more than one lot, have
their whole time occupied at home, but the larger number
are those that work part of the time on their own lots,
part of the time on those of the larger holders, or on one of
the neighbouring large farms. It is worthy of note, that a
large farmer (a Mr. Clack), with his farm adjoining, uses
almost all his labour from off the estate and elsewhere.
The occupiers generally have no difficulty in obtaining
work from the fact of their being themselves small holders.
" T h e Union was at one time taken up by the present
occupants, but now I think has no supporters there, but, on
the contrary, there is rather a spirit of opposition to it.
" Morality.—Even within as short a space of time as ten
years ago, the O'Connorville had a bad name, and was
reported, though probably incorrectly, as not safe for passing through at night. That the original occupants were
doubtful characters, and rather light-fingered, there is no
doubt, for scarcely any man's property, a few years after its
formation, was reported to be safe unless under lock and
key; but this class has dwindled more and more away, till
within the last few years there is not one of them left.
Nealy every householder now is reported to attend either
Church or Chapel on the Sunday. The place is orderly at
night, the occupiers are quiet people, and generally seem
busily occupied with their land when at home.
" House Accommodation, etc.—-The house accommodation

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APPENDIX

II.

on the estate, as compared with that in modern labourers'
cottages, is not good, though probably, as compared with
those put up at the time of their erection, the cottages were
equally good, if not superior. The cottage is of one story
only, and oblong shaped, with three rooms—a sitting-room,
and two bed-rooms, and accommodation for scullery, etc.
" Buildings.—They all have pigsties at the back, varying
in number, and some a sort of barn, or building for putting
straw, sacks of corn, or anything i n ; some also have cart
hovels, etc.
"Influence of the Seasons.—The present season had a
greater effect upon the holders of the lots in Minster Lovell
than upon small holders of allotments in other parishes. So
much of the land being heavy, has influenced the potato,
and so, indirectly, the number of pigs kept and killed ; many
not even having the money this season to purchase pigs, as
they otherwise would have done, to eat up their waste stuff.
The most palmy days of the industrious holders were those
when a railway was not yet opened at Witney, and they
conveyed all their potatoes by cart to Cheltenham, a
distance of about 26 miles, where they found a well-paying
market for them; many more pigs also were kept at that
time than are now. The present, therefore, in one respect,
is a lj>ad time to judge of their general success, except in
the case of those holding them in their own right. Still
the case of a man named Norridge, originally a poor man
from near Woodstock, who has made his money by his own
lot, since purchased, and is now living on such money
without further work, proves, to a certain extent, what may
be done by them. Jacob, another man mentioned below,
did not come to Minster Lovell till the age of 30, and at
the age of about 55 owns 4 acres, and rents 11 more, with
two horses, cow, and other farming stock. The following

APPENDIX

II

185

statistics, therefore, must be taken for what they are
worth :—
"John Jacobs.—Four acres in own right, 11 rented at
^£31, 4 acres mixed land, 11 acres heavy clay, gave no
statistics, except that he had lost, at present, on the three
years that he had held the 11 acres.
"History.—At the age of 30, he took 2 acres in bad
condition, he kept this on for one year, when he took 2
more also in bad condition, and so kept on for three years,
when, in consequence of his rent being raised, he gave up
the last two, and kept on the other two for ten more years.
At last took four-acre lot on yearly tenure, at the end of
first year bought it (for ^ 3 5 0 ) . This is his present holding,
and is mixed land; gave up the two-acre lot, and put up
buildings, etc., on his own; went on with his own lot for
six years, making money on it. Three years ago took 11
acres of heavy land, on which he has lost since by the bad
season. This last land he has drained, his landlord supplying tiles. H e is also still, with the help of the same, putting
up buildings, and improving place gradually. Not withing the bad seasons, the land has been worked clean, though
taken to in a bad condition; employs• two boys of the age
of 14 and 17, keeps two cows and two horses.
" Jacobs' history is a most remarkable one, as given by
him in the Labourers^ Union Chronicle (November 21st,
1874). He was brought up at Old Weston, Hunts, as a
poor boy, in the hardest of circumstances. After much
knocking about, and marrying (according to his account)
to get a greater share of relief, he came to Minster Lovell,
where, as shown above, he has gradually thriven ever since.
H e is now a thoroughly hard-working man, always turning
his hand to something, His buildings are a picture of
neatness and ingenious construction; the stones were all

186

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II

chopped by himself, and put together by himself on his
own plan. The pigsties, especially, are perfect, and as
solid as if built by the best mason; one of the disadvantages
of the estates is a want of water for cattle, etc. Jacobs
has remedied this by turning the quarry, from which he
dug his stones, into a large reservoir for the drainage of
the land, lining it inside with cement. Jacobs' cottage is
the neatest that I have entered on the Estate: everything
is perfectly clean and put away in its right place. His wife
is like himself, neat and bustling, and always ready to see
you at the cottage when she knows you. Jacobs is by far
the most interesting and progressing of all on the Estate,
and is owned by all, except those jealous of him, to be by
far the best workman."