THE WORKING MAN; A Political and Social Advocate of the Rights of Labour, 39, MOORGATE STREET, CITY, Will, on comparison, prove very superior to any hitherto advertised. Webster Brothers Carriage paid on orders amounting to £2 to all parts of England; to £4 to Wales. PHILLIPS and CO.'S TEAS ARE THE BEST AND CHEAPEST. 8, KING WILLIAM STREET, CITY, LONDON. CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETIES SUPPLIED ON LOWEST WHOLESALE TERMS. THE HERALD OF PEACE. MANCHESTER CO-OPERA (New Series, Demy 4to.) A Monthly BUILDING COMPANY Periodical, being the official organ of the (Limited).-Established by the Building Peace Society; containing Original Essays, Operatives. Capital, £10,000, in shares of Foreign Intelligence, Reviews, Reports of £1 each. Shares payable at once, or by inMeetings, &c., connected with the Peace stalments of not less than 3d. per share per Movement at Home and Abroad. Price 2d.; week. Entrance fee, 1s. 3d, per share destamped for post, 3d. Sold at the Office and posit on allotment. Not less than two Depository, 19, New Broad-street, London. shares, or more than thirty, will be allotted to any individual shareholder. Liability of shareholders limited to the amount of their shares. THE WORKING MAN'S Tract No. 1, "Annals of Labour." Office, for the time being, 36, Windmillstreet, opposite the Theatre Royal. Communications to be addressed to the Secretary, William Campbell, 12, Mackworth-street, Hulme. LONDON: JOB CAUDWELL, 335, STRAND, W.C.; Every Co-operative Store in the Kingdom HOME, Manufactured by HARPER Twelvetrees, BROMLEY-BY-Bow, London, E. Harper Twelvetrees' Soap Powder, for cheap, easy, and expeditious washing. The cleansing properties of several pound of soap are contained in a few ounces of Soap Powder. Sold in Penny Packets, by Grocers, Oilmen, and Druggists. Harper Twelvetrees' Indigo Thumb Blue, Laundry Ball Blue, Soluble Blue Powder, and Liquid Indigo Blue, will be found preferable to any other Blues now made, for beautifying all kinds of Linen. Briggs' Australian Satin-Glazed Starch is recommended for its economical and stiffening properties, and the high finish it imparts. Harper Twelvetrees' Baking and Pastry Powder, for making Bread without Yeast, Puddings without Egg", and Pastry with half the usual quantity of Butter, is the strongest, purest, and best that can be made. Sold in 1d. and 2d. Packets. Harper Twelvetrees' Genuine Scotch Oatmeal, for Porridge, Oatmeal Pudding, and Oat Cake, is a strengthening food for youths, and for sufferers from Liver Complaints. Sold in Packets, at ld., 2d., and 4d. each. Use also Harper Twelvetrees' Pure Plumbago Black Lead; Harper Twelvetrees' British Furniture Cream; Harper Twelvetrees' Government Blacking; Harper Twelvetrees' Metal Polishing Powder; Harper Twelvetrees' Metallic Writing Ink; Harper Twelvetrees' Poisoned Wheat, for Mice and Sparrows; Harper Twelvetrees' Beetle Poison. Harper Twelvetrees' Washing Machine may be worked by a child, and will wash as many Clothes in a few hours, especially if used with "Harper Twelvetrees' Soap Powder," as a woman can wash in two days by the old method of hand-rubbing, besides doing the work better with half the Soap, Water, and Fuel. It is the cleanest, most simple, speedy, effective, and economical Machine ever invented; and the very thing long wanted for the Working Classes. Hundreds of these Machines are now 'in constant use in every part of the United Kingdom. Prices:£2; £2 10s.; £3 10s. Also a small size adapted for Nursery use, £1 is. Every Saturday, readably printed, price 1d., TH HE ELECTOR. A Paper for Advanced Political Reformers. The Advocate of Co-operation as the solution of the problem, How best to elevate the industrial classes. Correspondence to be addressed to the Editor, 46, Aldermanbury, London, E.C. WANTED, by a Co-operative Society in London, a MANAGER, who has been in a Co-operative Store. Good security and references required. Apply, by letter, to George Edgar, 13, Cambridge-street, Golden-square. Will appear shortly, Published by W. Tweedie, 337, Strand, W.C.; T Political, Social, and Literary Newspaper. Price Heywood, Manchester; Smart, Paternoster-row; and at the Office, 46, Aldermanbury, E.C. HE WEEKLY SENTINEL: Threehalfpence. To be obtained through all News Agents. London: Job Caudwell, 335, Strand, W.C. JC. FARN, Oxford-street, Eccles, Man- THE CO-OPERATOR, 1d. Monthly, • chester, is open to Engagements for Lectures on Co-operation. FOR Good, Cheap, and Fashionable CLOTHING, order from WM. TURNBULL, 39, Maddox-street, Regent-street, W.C. TURKISH BATHS, 335, STRAND and prevent disease, Mornings, 28.; Evenings, 1s. BRIXTON CO-OPERATIVE INDUSTRIAL PROVIDENT SOCIETY. 16 pp., royal 8vo. Edited by HENRY PITMAN. Published by F. Pitman, 20, Paternoster-row, London, E.C. THE Order of your Booksellers, or of Messrs. Holyoake, DE E COURCY'S ENAMEL.-No mixing! White, elegant, and durable. PRE WANTED & Thorough CO-OPERATOR, VENTS TOOTHACHE, arrests decay, averts im who understands the Grocery Business, as Store-paired beauty and digestion, and the agony of exkeeper for these Stores. Apply to the Secretary, Coffee- traction, and leaves the tooth as serviceable as in its house, Streatham, S. original development, 1s, Sold by all Chemists, THE WORKING MAN. CONTENTS. PAGE PAGE Co-operation in London................................... 113 | Mazzini's Views of Socialism. By G. Benefit Societies The Doctrines against Usury, and in favour of Co-operation. By John Robert Taylor To the Honourable the Commons of the On the Origin of Goverment and the 114 J. Holyoake 121 The Lever of Life: a Tale of Modern 116 Times. By Edmund Fry Our Co-operative Guide......... 126 133 140 119 Royal Colosseum .............................. 140 140 Co-operative News ........................... 129 CO-OPERATION IN LONDON. N the course of the past month the usual Meetings of Delegates have been held at the Office of the Working Man, on the first and third Wednesdays. The necessity of some such centralized action had struck at the same time the Co-operators of the East of London and those of the West, and they meet each in their respective districts on the same day. We are happy to say that negociations are on foot to bring those two conferences together, and to show that co-operation means union. The Delegates meeting at our office have, through their Secretary, Mr. Blitten, written to Mr. O'Shaughnessy, Secretary of the Delegates meeting at the Cripplegate Coffee House, offering to join them, or to open their ranks to them. But insisting on the necessity of being united; at the meeting of the 16th, Messrs. O'Shaughnessy and Stiles attended to state that there had not been any meeting since the letter had been received. We were od african ang highly pleased to see their earnest desire to bridge over any difficulty which might be found in the way, and to seek the promotion of some practical organization which might be of real service to the Co-operative body at large, and of the metropolis especially. If such a result can be brought about we shall feel it a sufficient reward for our unremitting exertions; and whenever the Co-operators do meet, they may depend upon the Working Man to encourage them to report their progress, and to do its best to promote good feeling amongst them. We are happy to see that they are beginning to be alive to the neces sity of having some organ in the metropolis. We extract from Mr. Blitten's letter to the East-end Delegates the following passages : "Last and not least we should an organ in London. The Working Man to spread our principles, report our proceedings there and at any local meetings, if required-an assistance likely to be of great service to the cause in London, as although we do not bind ourselves in any way to that journal, or is it in any way bound to us, still our own interests would cause us to assist its circulation while it reflected those interests." So long as Co-operation will mean the amelioration of the labouring man's position, and the gradual emancipation of the working man from its present state of bondage to ignorance, competition and misery, our friends may depend upon it the Working Man, at least, whilst it is under our direction, will serve them earnestly and heartily, but should any man or any body of men ever attempt to divert Co-operation from its rightful course, and delude it into that of selfishness, then they will find that the Working Man will not flinch from its duty of unmasking them, and showing to the world their hideous, envious faces. BENEFIT SOCIETIES. WE cannot help calling the attention of our readers to a painful subject, we say painful, because we never like to have to find fault with institutions intended to work for the good of the working classes we know too well how they have to contend against untold difficulties and trials but if, because they profess to be our friends, we must be careful in our criticisms, they, on the other hand, owe us on the first warning that there is some point which wants explanation, to come forward and leave nothing undone to help us in clearing it. Mutual, benefit, or friendly societies, ought to be encouraged by every true friend of the working man, inasmuch as they are designed to teach them economy and provident habits, inasmuch as they must bring them to feel the benefits of joint action, and are, therefore, like the stepping-stone to co-operation of a higher or more developed degree. But how can we expect that the first efforts at saving the hard earned pence of labour will endure, if the teachers and professors of economy are busy at wasting the moneys, with so much difficulty, accumulated and entrusted to their care? 7 We extract the following from the Morning Star and Dial : "To the working man, the few pence which he puts by out of his wages in order to guard against contingencies of sickness and death, of course represent a worth enormously superior to their intrinsic value. It is of the highest importance that he should be encouraged in provident habits; but this end can only be attained by showing him that he receives the full benefit of his economy. If he sees that half of his savings are wasted in an outlay obviously disproportioned to the result attained, and productive of no personal gain to himself, he naturally begins to doubt whether he might not as well spend the money himself as suffer others to spend it for him. Clearly, therefore, those who have a regard for the welfare of the humble should keep a watchful eye upon the doings of those societies in which they are invited to invest the little that remains to them after the satisfaction of their daily needs. It is by no means necessary that fraud should exist, or even appear probable, in order to establish a fit case for animadversion. Foolish prodigality, though less culpable in its character, is to the full as fatal in its practical results. "We have now before us copies of two different forms of half-yearly statements put forth by the Royal Liver Friendly Society, established at Liverpool, but having branches in all the principal towns of the United Kingdom. In one, which is designed for general circulation, the grants to members and the expenses of management are lumped together into one grand total, so that it is utterly impossible even to guess their relative proportions. In the other, which is intended for the perusal of members only, the various items are set forth in full detail. From this document it appears that in the six months ending June 29, 1861, the amount collected was £27,239 2s. 2d.—that the payments to members were £10,481 12s. 10d.-and that there remained for investment only £2,570 4s. 9d. What, then, may naturally be asked, became of the very large balance of £14,186 4s. 6d. In the first place, £6,074 11s. is set down as having been paid as commission on collection. This is just 25 per cent. on the amount, 10 per cent. being the commission for which other similar societies have the same work efficiently performed. Over and above this we find £8,116 13s. 6d.-about 33 per cent. on the amount taken-charged for expenses of management, which, under judicious regulation, ought not to exceed 7 per cent. It appears, therefore, that 58 per cent. of the funds is sweated away before they reach the hands of the cashier; or, in other words, that of every pound sterling subscribed to the Royal Liver Friendly Society, only 8s. 4d. remains available for the specific purpose for which it was established. Is it likely that the poor man can be encouraged to economise from his hard earnings in order that they may be thus lavishly frittered away, or that he will be content that out of every sovereign he saves 11s. 8d. shall be taken for collection and management, for which 3s. 6d. would be the reasonable charge? "But the Royal Liver Friendly Society is not the only body of the same character which is open to similar censure. An equally striking example of improvident waste is furnished by the Royal Victoria Legal Friendly Society." We heartily join the conclusion of the Star, that— "There can be no doubt that a searching investigation of the management and actual condition of societies of this class would be a substantial benefit to the working classes. We do not for a moment dream of imputing fraud in any of the instances to which we have referred, having no ground whatever for supposing that any has been perpetrated. But, practically speaking, it is a matter of indifference to the artizan whether his money is criminally embezzled or carelessly wasted; since in either case it is equally lost to him. The subject cannot be too widely ventilated, for each of these badly managed societies not only inflicts an actual and wholly unnecessary loss upon its humble members, but tends effectually to check those habits of prudence which it is above all things desirable to encourage among the industrial classes." Our contemporary affirms having received further information than that laid before the public, out of which it results that this society collected during the six months ending November 31st, 1861, £4,713 168. 2d., out of which £2,336 4s. have been absorbed in commissions and expenses of management. The balance-sheet of the Friend-in-Need Life Assurance and Sick Fund Friendly Society shows also that out of £32,170 6s. 8d. received during the year ending March 25th, 1861, the cost of management and commissions amounted to £8,529 28. 10d. For the clear understanding of our readers, we recapitulate the items above given: Royal Liver Friendly Society...... Royal Victoria Legal Friendly Society Expenses of management, 44 per cent. 26 per cent. We ask, then, for whose benefit these societies are organized;--is it for the subscribers, or for the officers and managers ? |