John Plummer

“ It did occur to them that there was a mode in which they could make themselves capitalists. Not, of course, individually, but by bringing their small means into a common fund, by forming a numerous partnership or joint-stock, they could, as it seemed to them, become their own employers, dispense with the agency of receivers of profit, and share amongst themselves the entire produce of their labour. ”

“ There is nothing more characteristic of the rapid development of our national industry and prosperity during the last few years, than the enormously increasing extent of our principal manufacturing towns. In every direction the daisied meadows, shady lanes, and rural walks, are being displaced by rows of semi-detached villas, tall prison-like factories, or acres of little box-shaped cottages. ”

“ No real lover of his kind can reflect on these silent but widely spread movements in town and country, without a feeling of relief that working men should have learned to economise their hard-earned wages, and to acquire habits of frugality, providence, and self-help, rather than become the victims of senseless and ruinous strikes, or addicted to wasting their time on the alehouse bench. ”

“ The sun has its spots, and the brightest sky its tiny clouds. So with the prosperity of our manufacturing towns. While the majority are speeding on the peaceful path of progress, one or two are sadly halting, and threatening to fall into the rear, if not to remain behind entirely. Of these, Macclesfield is one. ”

“ By inculcating the principles of self-government they are indirectly preparing the people for the exercise of a larger share of political power than that which they now possess; and by familiarising their members with the doctrines of economic science they are bringing about an amelioration of the numerous unhappy disputes which embitter the relations of labour and capital. ”

“ The poor fellows had been nearly ruined by a strike which had taken place in their trade, and were naturally somewhat weary of a policy which produced no other results to themselves than misery and starvation, without any compensating advantages. This led to some discussion on their part, during which the question of industrial organisation was mooted with success; and immediately afterwards was formed that remarkable association which has since attracted so much attention, under the name of “The Rochdale Equitable Pioneers’ Co-operative Society.” ”

“ There is nothing more provocative of melancholy than a visit to the deserted homes of the weavers, to stand amongst the rotting remains of the looms, and to mark the numerous evidences which still remain to testify to their general ability and taste. ”

“ Reared to the trade when children, they find themselves in their manhood unable to enter on any other with the smallest chance of obtaining a livelihood; at least, this is the case with the greater number; and so hundreds of them linger on in a state of semi-starvation. Nothing reveals more truthfully the condition of the Macclesfield weavers than the present depreciated value of cottage property. During the last twenty years, there have not been twenty houses built that would rent at 40l. ”

“ The present depression of the cotton-trade has severely tested the stability of these associations, not a few (including that of Rochdale) having to work “short time,” while several have had to close their doors, or, in one or two cases, to break up altogether; but there appears to exist a determination to make every possible sacrifice in the attempt to weather the terrible storm which has overtaken the unfortunate operatives of Lancashire. ”

“ Villages and hamlets find themselves annexed in the most summary fashion by the once insignificant towns, and converted into suburbs, the farmhouse giving way to the factory, while the railway goods station takes the place of the picturesque dairy. The utilitarian conquers the poetical and sentimental. ”

“ If the spread of co-operative societies produced no other results than these, they would be valuable as popular adjuncts in the social education of the masses, and it is both unwise and mischievous to criticise their proceedings in the narrow and restricted spirit of a false political economy. ”

“ The structure itself is very simple in design, being of triangular shape, with figures at the angles instead of the sides. This arrangement certainly mars the beauty of the cross when beheld from certain points of view, and hides much of the graceful and classical appearance of the statues ”

“ They no longer hope against hope. So long as the faintest chance remained of the resumption of the silk manufacture on its former extensive scale, they would have dragged on their miserable existence without making an effort to better their condition. ”

“ The establishment of co-operative cotton spinning and weaving associations has been considerably accelerated by the high rate of profits obtained previous to the outbreak of hostilities in America; and, as might be expected, Rochdale was one of the earliest, if not the first, in the field. ”

“ Well situated for a manufacturing seat, possessing ample communication, both by rail and canal, with other towns, and owning an abundance of cheap labour, together with many other advantages, somehow or another Macclesfield fails to attract capital. A site amid the bleak and mountainous regions of Yorkshire or Lancashire seems preferable to a town which is apparently doomed to industrial ruin. ”

“ The same influences which have had so large a share in forming the character of the Lancashire operative are busy at work amongst the semi-pauperised inhabitants of our rural towns and villages, and thereby preparing the way for a complete social, moral, and intellectual change in the habits of our rustic populations. ”

“ These establishments are conducted for the most part on the same principles as the provision stores, excepting that the workers take the place of the customers in the quarterly participation of profits, but of late there has been observable a tendency to act more on the joint-stock system pure et simple, and to pay the workers the current rate of wages, and no more, leaving the whole of the profits to be divided amongst the shareholders alone. ”

“ In this way many working men have acquired large sums, with very little risk or trouble; hence it is not surprising to find that these associations are rapidly increasing in number and popularity, or that the principles on which they are based should be applied to purposes of a more speculative nature, such as the formation of manufacturing companies. ”

“ With few exceptions, they are devoted to the establishment of provision stores, it having been ascertained that such concerns generally prove the most successful mode of investing the subscribed capital.
The mode of business, as generally conducted, is extremely simple. All transactions are for cash, no credit being allowed; and a simple but efficient system is adopted for the purpose of ascertaining and registering the amount of purchases made by each customer. The profits are divided quarterly, five per cent. ”

“ Those who have seen the effigy of the queen in Westminster Abbey, and compared it with those belonging to the Northampton and Geddington crosses, can scarcely have failed to observe the similarity of features which pervades them all. It is stated that Flaxman was of opinion that the statue of Eleanor in Westminster Abbey partook of the characteristics which distinguished the school of Pisano ”

“ This has given rise to much controversy and discussion on the part of those concerned, which curiously illustrates how the love of gain proves as insatiable in the case of the humble co-operative as in that of the wealthy millionaire. ”

“ Alban’s, Waltham, Cheap, and Westminster; those at Leighton Buzzard and elsewhere being merely ordinary market-crosses. Mr. Hartshorne, who has devoted much time and study to the investigation of the question respecting these monumental remains, furnishes many curious and exceedingly interesting details connected with the erection of these chaste and beautiful structures, of which only those at Geddington, Northampton, and Waltham are now remaining. A certain John de Bello was the builder, if not the architect, of the crosses at Northampton, Stony Stratford, Woburn, Dunstable, and St. ”