care and superintendence; by a moderate outlay of capital; and by an improved system of Agriculture.

The first object of the society was to raise subscriptions for the purchase of waste land. Twenty thousand persons put down their names for one penny a week, and an annual revenue was raised for the first experiment of 58331. With a portion of this money they purchased an estate of 1000 acres, the whole of which, with the exception of about 80 or 100 acres, was covered with stunted heather and mossy earth. A more unpromising subject for agricultural operations could scarcely have been selected; but the very bleakness and desolation of its surface, and its comparatively feeble powers of production, were the reasons that induced them to select it as a first attempt; justly conceiving, that if success should attend them under such unfavourable circumstances, they must undoubtedly succeed in more eligible situations.

In September, 1818, the buildings on the farm were commenced, and by the first of November they had erected a warehouse, a school, two manufacturing halls, and fifty-two farming cottages, each with seven acres of land attached, which were taken possession of by fifty-two families of destitute poor.

The principal regulations to which the colonists were subject, and which they entered into an agreement to observe, were as follow:-To obey the directions of the officers placed over them-to avoid everything approaching to insolence or immodesty-to practice cleanliness in themselves and children to attend the public service of God on Sundays and on other occasions-to refund gradually the expenses of the society in their establishment, viz. cattle, clothing, furniture, tools, &c.-to be responsible for damage done to any of these articles or to their cattle to perform the allotted portion of labour within a given time, or to forfeit a portion of wages; and to be present at the proper time for commencing labour under a similar penalty. No money or provisions to be received without a card, to be given when the appointed task was concluded. Food to be furnished by the society, till the land should produce sufficient for the support of the colonists.

The maximum expenses incurred in locating a family upon one of these colonial farms were as follow:

For two cows, or one cow and ten sheep

............

5 For seed of the first year, and the first cultivation of each farm 33 6 8

6 For advances in provisions during the first year

7 For other advances

.....

8 For flax and wool for manufacturing

9 For price of seven acres of uncultivated land

............

4 3 4

4 3 4

16 13 4

8 6 8

£141 13 4

The whole expenses are gradually repaid by the colonists in the course of sixteen years. The usual method of doing this is by paying to the society, in the first year, one half of the crop; in the second, one third; and afterwards an annual rent of 41, 38. 4d. There is also paid a certain rent for the cows, a certain proportion of their total earnings, and, if necessary, a certain deduction from their harvest. The yearly expenses of the colonists may be set down therefore pretty nearly as follow:

Ditto for cows

£ s. d.

8

.........

..........

4 3 4

0 16 8

..........

2 1 8

Expense of management by society's officers

Repayment of first advances for clothes, food, &c. furnished by

The smallest yearly produce from one of these cultivated farms of seven acres cannot be estimated at less than 431. 15s. (and some farms produce twice that value), and as each family may earn by field labour and domestic manufacture, for themselves or other inmates of the colony, 16l. 8s. 4d., besides attending to their own land, we shall have 607. 3s. 4d. net income of each family; there will remain, therefore, 217. 1s. 8d. net surplus.

We see, then, how easy it is for a colonial family, not only to repay in sixteen years to the society every sum which has been advanced to them, but also to accumulate considerable property.

There are other important advantages which the colonists may obtain, if they exhibit peculiar industry and good conduct, in the shape of medals, and other rewards; and to all the colonists is afforded the privilege, when they have liquidated the whole amount due from them to the society, of holding their respective farms with no other payment than the trifling sum annually, for rent, of 41. 3s. 4d.-The rest of the produce is their own. The buildings and land remain for ever the property of the society, and the colonists are in the same situation as tenants in this country.

The results of the plan in Holland were highly satisfactory. An eye witness who visited the first colony (Frederick's-Oord) in 1826, expresses himself thus:-"We noticed its condition with peculiar delight. The crops were luxuriant, the colonists healthful, and the houses comfortable. Several of the colonists had acquired considerable property. Many gardens were planted with currant, pear, and apple trees, and tastefully ornamented with flowers. Additional live stock, belonging to the colonists themselves, were frequently pointed out; and around not a few of the houses lay webs of linen bleaching, which had been wove on their own account, by persons who, only four years before, were among the outcasts of society. The families found at dinner had quite the appearance of wealthy peasants; and, from the quantity and quality of the food before them, might have been considered not inferior to the smaller tenantry of this country." And nothing can exceed the improvement in the morals of the colonists. Many of them were truly, before their arrival, "outcasts of society;" but out of the vast number of 30,000, it had been unnecessary, during the first six years of their establishment, to deliver any to the civil judge, except in one instance of a man for stealing turf. heartfelt piety (says a clergyman of one of the colonies) is rapidly increasing." Their attention to their religious duties was excellent, and no complaint had been made against any one of the colonists by the inhabitants of the neighbouring villages.

"Real and

The state of the society's funds is also highly satisfactory. Besides the augmented value of their estates, they have paid off a large proportion of the borrowed money, and have the surest prospect of being able to repay the whole within the sixteen years for which it was lent.

The establishment of Frederick's-Oord still continues to be prosperous, and is thus described by a gentleman who recently visited it :

"The colony is situated on the confines of Drenthe and Friezland, in a distant and desolate part of Holland, but deserves much notice from being the first and largest establishment of its kind for indigent poor, and from having occupied more than any other the attention and examination of the Dutch people. I took up my abode in the colony at a clean and comfortable inn, established chiefly for visitors. A small picturesque wood of oak and fir-trees forms the centre of this vast agricultural village, entirely occupied by those who would in England be called paupers. On visiting the part first inhabited, I found a number of small neatly built cottages, uniform as to size, shape, and position, each standing separate, and having adjoining between five and six statute acres, occupied by grass, barley, rye, and potatoes, in small partitions, without hedges or other fences, but merely separations of narrow raised paths, the cattle being fed in the house. Besides the farm attached to each dwelling house, and cultivated according to the direction of a skilful superintendant,

there is a garden for each family entirely at their own disposal. It was generally filled with vegetables, and embellished with flowers. On walking to the boundaries of the cultivated district, I examined the nature of the soil which had been thus reclaimed, and in a few years undergone such a complete metamorphosis. In its natural state it was as poor and as destitute of vegetation as can be conceived, consisting of a surface of heath and mossy earth, resting on a substratum of sand. An English common or Irish bog is apparently a paradise of fertility, in comparison with the sterile heath which has been partially converted to a state of high production by labour, vigilance, and a fortunate system of culture, under the care of a benevolent association. The grand secret of rendering the land fertile appeared to be in their peculiar mode of providing immense quantities of manure the moving power in agriculture; and this I found was done by always feeding the cattle in the house, or rather in the barn behind it, and bedding them with plenty of thin dry turf.

"The inhabitants whom I met were well clothed, healthy, and cheerful, and I was more than once invited to enter and examine the cottages, with which the occupants seemed highly satisfied; and so far from the strict discipline of the establishment having produced anything dull or slavish in their character, they appeared to me more lively and energetic than any of their Dutch brethren I had met with before. The interior of the cottages was most comfortably arranged, and fitted up with all the requisites for cookery and cleanliness. Clocks, prints, and other humble ornaments, were not uncommon. Adjoining to every dwelling house was a barn occupied by a cow and pigs, in separate partitions, and also by a heap of turf, and another of potatoes. The most cautious investigation has been exercised to discover the best method of enabling the poor to supply their own wants in every point, however trifling, though I might mention some instances which would draw forth a smile. A family of paupers arrives at the colony, destitute of the most common necessaries of life, perhaps having been for a long period unemployed and uneducated, and without hope as to future melioration. In one hour after their arrival, the said family is housed and clothed, supplied with food and furniture, with a garden, pigs, and cow, support in case of sickness, education for children, with certain rewards for labour, and a prospect, ultimately, of independence."

Such being the happy results attending these philanthropic exertions of the Dutch, let us consider how far we may hope for success by the adoption of a similar plan in our own country. From an estimate laid before Parliament in May, 1827, it appears that in Great Britain alone are nearly three millions and a half acres of waste land, fit for cultivation ;-in Ireland nearly five millions: altogether in England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, fifteen millions of acres of land, stated to be as good on the average as any now in cultivation; besides about an equal quantity which is considered unprofitable, or incapable of much improvement. That we have an enormous amount of capital in the market is universally acknowledged. By the reports of the Emigration Committee of the House of Commons, the cost of the expatriation of a pauper family consisting of five persons, to colonize America, is estimated at 607. Now when it is considered that the money thus expended is lost to the empireto commerce, or revenue-it will be apparent that if we have within our power the means of advantageously occupying our labour and capital at home, it is wholly at variance with every established principle of sound policy to encourage any extensive scheme of emigration.

It is therefore Resolved―

That a society be established, and be entitled the "United Kingdom Agricultural Employment Institution."

VOL. II.-Sept. 1832.

L

That the object of this institution be, to provide productive employment for the unoccupied portion of the population of the United Kingdom, and by enabling our industrious labourers to assist themselves, to contribute to replace that important branch of the community, the Ancient Yeomanry or Small Farmer.

It is in contemplation to commence operations as soon as subscriptions &c. are received to the amount of 5000l., and a general meeting is designed to be held when a sufficient number of names have been entered.*

BENJAMIN WILLS, Hon. Sec.

32, Sackville Street.

TWELFTH ANNUAL REPORT OF HIS MAJESTY'S COMMISSIONERS FOR BUILDING CHURCHES.

In their last Report, his Majesty's Commissioners stated, that 168 churches and chapels had been at that time completed; in which accommodation had been provided for 231,367 persons, including 128,082 free seats for the use of the poor.

They have now to state, that twenty churches and chapels have since been completed at the following places: viz.-At Cleckheaton, p. of Birstal, Yorkshire; p. of St. Philip and Jacob, Bristol; Worcester-square, Bath; p. of St. Michael, Coventry; at East Stonehouse, Devonshire; at Highgate, Middlesex; at Brighouse, p. of Halifax, Yorkshire; in the town of Halifax, Yorkshire; on Saffron-hill, p. of St. Andrew, Holborn, Middlesex; at Wordsley, p. of Kingswinford, Staffordshire; at Sydenham, p. of Lewisham, Kent; in the p. of Lyncombe and Widcombe, Somersetshire; in Travis-street, Manchester, Lancashire; at Paddington, Middlesex; at Todmorden, p. of Rochdale, Lancashire; at Abersychan, p. of Trevethin, Monmouthshire; at Ulverstone, Lancashire; at Toxteth Park, p. of Walton-on-the-hill, Lancashire; at Pemberton, p. of Wigan, Lancashire; and at Tunstal, p. of Wolstanton, Staffordshire. In these twenty churches and chapels accommodation has been provided for 26,361 persons, including 14,039 free seats for the poor. Thus, on the whole, 188 churches and chapels have now been completed, and therein a total provision has been made for 257,728 persons, including 142,121 free seats, for the use of the poor, the number of sittings being estimated according to a scale laid down by his Majesty's Commissioners.

Nineteen churches and chapels are building at the following places: viz.At Aberystwith, Cardiganshire; at Nineveh, p. of St. Martin, Birmingham, Warwickshire; at Tockholes, p. of Blackburn, Lancashire; in the p. of St. George, Bloomsbury, Middlesex; at Cheshunt, Hertfordshire; in Sharp'ssquare, p. of St. James, Clerkenwell, Middlesex; at Great Yarmouth, Norfolk; at Hetton-le-Hole, p. of Hoghton-le-Spring, Durham; at Hebden Bridge, p. of Halifax, Yorkshire; at Benwell, p. of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Northumberland; at Wuerdle, p. of Rochdale, Lancashire; in the p. of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Middlesex; at Shelton, and at Lane end, p. of Stoke-upon-Trent, Staffordshire; at Hyde, p. of Stockport, Cheshire; at Stratford, p. of West Ham, Essex; at Croft, p. of Winwick, Lancashire; at Wrockwardine Wood, p. of Wrockwardine, Salop; and at Haigh, p. of Wigan, Lancashire.

The same account of Frederick's-Oord has been sent to the Magazine with an account of another institution of the same name as this, but having different bankers and treasurer, and with some different regulations. Are these two stages of the same society, or two different ones? If different, in the next Number their plans of management shall be detailed, as they differ in nothing else. Whether taking waste land into cultivation is desirable at present is another question.-ED.

Plans have been approved for eight other churches and chapels, to be built at the following places: viz.-At Tredegar, p. of Bedwelty, Monmouthshire; at Crosstones, p. of Halifax, Yorkshire; in the town of Liverpool, Lancashire; at Bollington, p. of Prestbury, Lancashire; at Norbury, p. of Stockport, Cheshire; at Spotland, p. of Rochdale, Lancashire; at Tynemouth, Northumberland; and in Edward's Garden, p. of Walcot, Bath. The buildings in these cases will be commenced as soon as the conveyances of the sites shall have been obtained, and contracts entered into for the performance of the works.

That they have proposed to make grants in aid of building churches and chapels at the following eleven places: viz.-At Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire; in the p. of St. Mary, Dover, Kent; at Dawley, Salop; at Oldbury, p. of Hales Owen, Salop; in the neighbourhood of Gray's-inn-lane, p. of St. Andrew, Holborn, Middlesex; at Newtown, Montgomeryshire; at Tong, p. of Prestwich, Lancashire; in the parishes of Stepney, St. Luke, Old-street, St. George-in-the-East, and St. Giles-in-the-Fields, in Middlesex; the plans for which have not yet been laid before the Board.

Since the last Report, the p. of St. Luke, Chelsea, in Middlesex, has been divided into two distinct and separate parishes, under the provisions of the 16 sec. of the Act of the 58 Geo. III., c. 45; and district parishes have been formed, under the 21 sec. of the same Act, for the chapels at Morley and Gildersome, p. of Batley, Yorkshire; in the p. of St. Mary, Carlisle; at Kirkstall, p. of Leeds, Yorkshire; at Gornal and Coseley, p. of Sedgeley, Staffordshire; and at Tonbridge Wells, p. of Tonbridge, Kent.

His Majesty's Commissioners have, since their last Report, and without any aid from the Parliamentary Fund, afforded, or expressed their willingness to afford, facilities for obtaining additional burial grounds for the parishes of Ashton-under-Lyme, Lancashire; Charlton Kings, Gloucestershire; Sidmouth, Devonshire; Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire; Tormoham, Devonshire; and Welshpool, Montgomeryshire; and also for obtaining sites for new churches and chapels, in the parishes of Lowestoft, Suffolk; and Wantage, Berkshire. The exchequer bills which have been issued to this day, amount to 1,440,000. Church Commissioners' Office, 24th July, 1832.

FROM THE THIRD REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONERS APPOINTED TO INQUIRE INTO THE LAW OF REAL PROPERTY.

WITH respect to Church Property, the recommendations of the Commissioners are very important, and their views on the subject cannot be better explained than in their own words :

After much deliberation, we have come to the conclusion, that a statute of limitations for the Church would be beneficial.

In all proposed improvements in the law, property is to be respected, and we feel not only that the property of the Church should be held quite as inviolable as that belonging to individuals, but that the public interest is concerned in preventing encroachments on rights which were conferred for the public good. We think it desirable that there should be a final settlement between the Church and the laity, upon the basis of present enjoyments, but so as not to give sanction on either side to any recent usurpation which has not acquired the semblance of established right. This plan we consider will most nearly reconcile strict right with the interests of all parties.

The rule Nullum tempus occurrit ecclesiæ,' while it has worked much vexation and prejudice to the laity, has by no means proportionably enriched

the Church.

As to the individual members of the ecclesiastical bodies, we believe that the attempts to revive ancient claims, with whatever success they have been