in darkest england and the way out-第32节

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eme；　acquire　a　double　share　of　usefulness。　　It　will　be　read　first　by　its　owner；　and　then　by　many　people　who　would　never　otherwise　see　it。

We　shall　establish　an　immense　second…hand　book　shop。　　All　the　best　books　that　come　into　our　hands　will　be　exposed　for　sale；　not　merely　at　our　central　depots；　but　on　the　barrows　of　our　peripatetic　colporteurs；　who　will　go　from　street　to　street　with　literature　which；　I　trust；　will　be　somewhat　superior　to　the　ordinary　pabulum　supplied　to　the　poor。　After　we　have　sold　all　we　could；　and　given　away　all　that　is　needed　to　public　institutions；　the　remainder　will　be　carried　down　to　our　great　Paper　Mill；　of　which　we　shall　speak　later；　in　connection　with　our　Farm　Colony。

The　Household　Salvage　Brigade　will　constitute　an　agency　capable　of　being　utilised　to　any　extent　for　the　distribution　of　parcels　newspapers；　&c。　　When　once　you　have　your　reliable　man　who　will　call　at　every　house　with　the　regularity　of　a　postman；　and　go　his　beat　with　the　punctuality　of　a　policeman；　you　can　do　great　things　with　him。　　I　do　not　need　to　elaborate　this　point。　　It　will　be　a　universal　Corps　of　Commissionaires；　created　for　the　service　of　the　public　and　in　the　interests　of　the　poor；　which　will　bring　us　into　direct　relations　with　every　family　in　London；　and　will　therefore　constitute　an　unequalled　medium　for　the　distribution　of　advertisements　and　the　collection　of　information。

It　does　not　require　a　very　fertile　imagination　to　see　that　when　such　a　house…to…house　visitation　is　regularly　established；　it　will　develop　in　all　directions；　and　working；　as　it　would；　in　connection　with　our　Anti…sweating　Shops　and　Industrial　Colony；　would　probably　soon　become　the　medium　for　negotiating　sundry　household　repairs；　from　a　broken　window　to　a　damaged　stocking。　　If　a　porter　were　wanted　to　move　furniture；　or　a　woman　wanted　to　do　charing；　or　some　one　to　clean　windows　or　any　other　odd　job；　the　ubiquitous　Servant　of　All　who　called　for　the　waste；　either　verbally　or　by　postcard；　would　receive　the　order；　and　whoever　was　wanted　would　appear　at　the　time　desired　without　any　further　trouble　on　the　part　of　the　householder。

One　word　as　to　the　cost。　　There　are　five　hundred　thousand　houses　in　the　Metropolitan　Police　district。　　To　supply　every　house　with　a　tub　and　a　sack　for　the　reception　of　waste　would　involve　an　initial　expenditure　which　could　not　possibly　be　less　than　one　shilling　a　house。　　So　huge　is　London；　and　so　enormous　the　numbers　with　which　we　shall　have　to　deal；　that　this　simple　preliminary　would　require　a　cost　of　#25；000。　Of　course　I　do　not　propose　to　begin　on　anything　like　such　a　vast　scale。　That　sum；　which　is　only　one　of　the　many　expenditures　involved；　will　serve　to　illustrate　the　extent　of　the　operations　which　the　Household　Salvage　Brigade　will　necessitate。　　The　enterprise　is　therefore　beyond　the　reach　of　any　but　a　great　and　powerful　organisation；　commanding　capital　and　able　to　secure　loyalty；　discipline；　and　willing　service。


CHAPTER　3。　　TO　THE　COUNTRY！THE　FARM　COLONY。

A　leave　on　one　side　for　a　moment　various　features　of　the　operations　which　will　be　indispensable　but　subsidiary　to　the　City　Colony；　such　as　the　Rescue　Homes　for　Lost　Women；　the　Retreats　for　Inebriates；　the　Homes　for　Discharged　Prisoners；　the　Enquiry　Office　for　the　Discovery　of　Lost　Friends　and　Relatives；　and　the　Advice　Bureau；　which　will；　in　time；　become　an　institution　that　will　be　invaluable　as　a　poor　man's　Tribune。　All　these　and　other　suggestions　for　saving　the　lost　and　helping　the　poor；　although　they　form　essential　elements　of　the　City　Colony；　will　be　better　dealt　with　after　I　have　explained　the　relation　which　the　Farm　Colony　will　occupy　to　the　City　Colony；　and　set　forth　the　way　in　which　the　former　will　act　as　a　feeder　to　the　Colony　Over　sea。

I　have　already　described　how　I　propose　to　deal；　in　the　first　case；　with　the　mass　of　surplus　labour　which　will　infallibly　accumulate　on　our　hands　as　soon　as　the　Shelters　are　more　extensively　established　and　in　good　working　order。　　But　I　fully　recognise　that　when　all　has　been　done　that　can　be　done　in　the　direction　of　disposing　of　the　unhired　men　and　women　of　the　town；　there　will　still　remain　many　whom　you　can　neither　employ　in　the　Household　Salvage　Brigade；　nor　for　whom　employers；　be　they　registered　never　so　carefully；　can　be　found。　　What；　then；　must　be　done　with　them？　　The　answer　to　that　question　seems　to　me　obvious。　They　must　go　upon　the　land！

The　land　is　the　source　of　all　food；　only　by　the　application　of　labour　can　the　land　be　made　fully　productive。　　There　is　any　amount　of　waste　land　in　the　world；　not　far　away　in　distant　Continents；　next　door　to　the　North　Pole；　but　here　at　our　very　doors。　　Have　you　ever　calculated；　for　instance；　the　square　miles　of　unused　land　which　fringe　the　sides　of　all　our　railroads？　　No　doubt　some　embankments　are　of　material　that　would　baffle　the　cultivating　skill　at　a　Chinese　or　the　careful　husbandry　of　a　Swiss　mountaineer；　but　these　are　exceptions。　　When　other　people　talk　of　reclaiming　Salisbury　Plain；　or　of　cultivating　the　bare　moorlands　of　the　bleak　North；　I　think　of　the　hundreds　of　square　miles　of　land　that　lie　in　long　ribbons　on　the　side　of　each　of　our　railways；　upon　which；　without　any　cost　for　cartage；　innumerable　tons　of　City　manure　could　be　shot　down；　and　the　crops　of　which　could　be　carried　at　once　to　the　nearest　market　without　any　but　the　initial　cost　of　heaping　into　convenient　trucks。　　These　railway　embankments　constitute　a　vast　estate；　capable　of　growing　fruit　enough　to　supply　all　the　jam　that　Crosse　and　Blackwell　ever　boiled。　　In　almost　every　county　in　England　are　vacant　farms；　and；　in　still　greater　numbers；　farms　but　a　quarter　cultivated；　which　only　need　the　application　of　an　industrious　population　working　with　due　incentive　to　produce　twice；　thrice；　and　four　times　as　much　as　they　yield　to…day。

I　am　aware　that　there　are　few　subjects　upon　which　there　are　such　fierce　controversies　as　the　possibilities　of　making　a　livelihood　out　of　small　holdings；　but　Irish　cottiers　do　it；　and　in　regions　infinitely　worse　adapted　for　the　purpose　than　our　Essex　corn　lands；　and　possessing　none　of　the　advantages　which　civilization　and　co…operation　place　at　the　command　of　an　intelligently　directed　body　of　husbandmen。　　Talk　about　the　land　not　being　worth　cultivating！　　Go　to　the　Swiss　Valleys　and　examine　for　yourself　the　miserable　patches　of　land；　hewed　out　as　it　were　from　the　heart　of　the　granite　mountains；　where　the　cottager　grows　his　crops　and　makes　a　livelihood。　　No　doubt　he　has　his　Alp；　where　his　cows　pasture　in　summer…time；　and　his　other　occupations　which　enable　him　to　supplement　the　scanty　yield　of　his　farm　garden　among　the　crags；　but　if　it　pays　the　Swiss　mountaineer　in　the　midst　of　the　eternal　snows；　far　removed　from　any　market；　to　cultivate　such　miserable　soil　in　the　brief　summer　of　the　high　Alps；　it　is　impossible　to　believe　that　Englishmen；　working　on　English　soil；　close　to　our　markets　and　enjoying　all　the　advantages　of　co…operation；　cannot　earn　their　daily　bread　by　their　daily　toil。　　The　soil　of　England　is　not　unkindly；　and　although　much　is　said　against　our　climate；　it　is；　as　Mr。　Russell　Lowell　observes；　after　a　lengthened　experience　of　many　countries　and　many　climes；　〃the　best　climate　in　the　whole　world　for　the　labouring　man。〃　There　are　more　days　in　the　English　year　on　which　a　man　can　work　out　of　doors　with　a　spade　with　comparative　comfort　than　in　any　other　country　under　heaven。　　I　do　not　say　that　men　will　make　a　fortune　out　of　the　land；　nor　do　I　pretend　that　we　can；　under　the　grey　English　skies；　hope　ever　to　vie　with　the　productiveness　of　the　Jersey　farms；　but　I　am　prepared　to　maintain　against　all　comers　that　it　is　possible　for　an　industrious　man　to　grow　his　rations；　provided　he　is　given　a　spade　with　which　to　dig　and　land　to　dig　in。　　Especially　will　this　be　the　case　with　intelligent　direction　and　the　advantages　of　co…operation。

Is　it　not　a　reasonable　supposition？　　It　always　seems　to　me　a　strange　thing　that　men　should　insist　that　you　must　first　transport　your　labourer　thousands　of　miles　to　a　desolate；　bleak　country　in　order　to　set　him　to　work　to　extract　a　livelihood　from　the　soil　when　hundreds　of　thousands　of　acres　lie　only　half　tilled　at　home　or　not　tilled　at　all。　Is　it　reasonable　to　think　that　you　can　only　begin　to　make　a　living　out　of　land　when　it　lies　several　thousand　miles　from　the　nearest　market；　and　thousands　of　miles　from　the　place　where　the　labourer　has　to　buy　his　tools　and　procure　all　the　necessaries　of　life　which　are　not　grown　on　the　spot？　　If　a　man　can　make　squatting　pay　on　the　prairies　or　in　Australia；　where　every　quarter　of　grain　which　he　produces　has　to　be　dragged　by　locomotives　across　the　railways　of　the　continent；　and　then　carried　by　steamers　across　the　wide　ocean；　can　he　not　equally　make　the　operation　at　least　sufficiently　profitable　to　keep　himself　alive　if　you　plant　him　with　the　same　soil　within　an　hour　by　rail　of　the　greatest　markets　in　the　world？

The　answer　to　this　is；　that　you　cannot　give　your　man　as　much　soil　as　he　has　on　the　prairies　or　in　the　Canadian　lumber　lands。　　This；　no　doubt；　is　true；　but　the　squatter　who　settles　in　the　Canadian　backwoods　does　not　clear　his　land　all　at　once。　　He　lives　on　a　small　portion　of　it；　and　goes　on　digging　and　delving　little　by　little；　until；　after