M. LOUIS BLANC ON CO-OPERATION.

(From the Glasgow Herald, October 11.)

Last night M. Louis Blanc delivered a lecture on " Co-operation," in the City Hall, at the request of a deputation, of the working men of the city. About 1600 people were present.

M. Louis Blanc, on rising, was received with loud applause. He began his lecture by characterising the attempt at realising among the working classes the principle of co-operative association as one of the most practical and permanent results of the Revolution of 1848 in France. After giving some account of the intellectual agitation in which such a principle originated, he said—Where then was the remedy to be found? It was suggested, as a transitory mode of progress, that the workmen should try to protect themselves by a kind of social insurance, combined with the stimulus of personal interest. The object to be aimed at was, not only to improve the material condition of the labourer, but to raise him through self-dependence to the dignity of man. The road to it was to be sought in a judicious and gradual, development of the co-operative principle. The workmen in every large town, and more especially in Paris, were deeply imbued with the ideas, and almost panting for their application, when the revolution of 1848 broke out. The expediency of establishing co-operative associations was then talked of everywhere, and owing to the additional impulse given by the " Government Labour Commission," established in the Luxemburg, under my presidency, hundreds of workmen were enabled to carry into practice a system which was meant to convert the mere hired labourer into a working partner. Unfortunately the co-operative associations had to contend at the very outset with a very serious difficulty. There were implements of labour to procure, there was raw material to purchase. Could the capital requisite be raised out of the savings of the associates ? A commercial crisis of uncommon magnitude had brought the people to the verge of starvation. Were loans likely to be obtained from private individuals ? Credit was then at the lowest ebb. Moreover, could any one expect to find capitalists ready to invest their money in a new experiment of this sort ? Nothing, therefore, remained but the benevolent interference of the State ; and the question arose whether the State—that is, society acting as a whole—should not aid in bringing the system into operation by means of such a loan, to be repaid with interest, as might be required to enable the workmen, after a reasonable time, to become self-supporting.

I am perfectly aware that public opinion in this country is in general adverse to governmental interference, and I, for one, think that this aversion is perfectly right, so far as it refers to that kind of Government interference that tends either to check or to control, in matters of private interests, the free agency of individuals. Moreover, it must be borne in mind that the circumstances under which France at this moment was labouring were of a most exceptional character ; that the commercial world was a prey to a crisis arising out of causes of long duration ; and that the situation was such as to induce even manufacturers to demand the momentary intervention of the State for the protection of industry, as is proved by many a letter which was then addressed to me, and which I have in my possession.

This being well understood, was the co-operative principle one of those objects with which a Government, a good Government, may be called upon to meddle for, the benefit of the community at large? To this question Mr. John Stewart Mill gives the following answer in his admirable and powerful paper, " Defence of the French Revolution of 1848 :"—"It really seems a perfectly just demand that the Government should aid with its funds to a reasonable extent in bringing into operation industrial communities, on the Socialist principle. It ought to do so, even if it could be certain beforehand that the attempt would fail ; because the operatives themselves cannot possibly be persuaded of this except by trial ; because they will not be persuaded of it till everything possible has been done to make the trial successful ; and because a national experiment of the kind, by the high moral qualities there would be elicited in the endeavours to make it succeed, and by the instruction that would result from its failure, would be an equivalent for the expenditure of many millions on any of the things which are commonly called popular education."

However, the French advocates of the "let alone'' doctrine did not take the same view of the case with Mr. Mill. In their opinion it was no business of the Government to interfere in any such matters. Against emulation, considered in itself, we have not a word to say ; but emulation to exist needs not be coupled with fierce antagonism, and spur the activity of some through the destruction of their fellows. Emulation would lose none of its incentives in a system calculated to give free scope to personal interest, whilst making it concordant with the interest of the whole. "What is it, after all, we want ? That the State should be everything, should do everything, should substitute its action in the industrial world for the exertions of individuals? Nothing of the sort. We solicit merely a moderate public grant of money to a determined number of co-operative associations of work-men; nor do we desire it to be a " charitable donation," but a "loan," secured by mortgage on the establishment to , which it will be advanced, under stipulations resulting from the deliberations and vote of Parliament.

These were the ideas which had taken possession of the people's mind in all the principal manufacturing towns of France, and more especially in Paris, when the Revolution of 1848 broke out; and it is easily conceivable that to the working classes a revolution with no attempt at reforms, involving the question of labour would have been a bitter mockery. In fact, no sooner was the Provisional Government installed, than the people were clamorous for the immediate creation of a special public department provided with the means of carrying out, in reference to the question of labour, such measures as might be deemed most urgent and practical.

As early as the 28th of February, that is, before the blood had been washed away which had stained the barricades, an immense army of working men was seen ranged as it were, in order of battle before the Town Hall, where the members of the Provisional Government had just assembled. I shall never forget the impression made upon us by the stern, still respectful attitude of the people. Over them waved innumerable banners bearing the words, "Ministère du travail," "Department of labour," and, without delay, they sent in a deputation requesting that a public department of labour should be established. It is my firm conviction that a world of calamities—namely, the insurrection, of June would have been averted, had this popular request been complied with, and I insisted that it should be. The majority of my colleagues were of a different opinion. What was required, and what the people demanded, was a " Ministerial Department," having at its disposal offices, agents, funds, administrative machinery, means of application, resources for action. Well, instead of this, the majority of the Provisional Government thought it sufficient to institute a "Labour Commission," charged with discussing and elaborating all social problems, thus indefinitely postponing the practical measures which the necessity of meeting without delay a most formidable crisis imperiously demanded.

The lecturer, after repudiating any connection with the national workshops, which had been established in opposition to his views, and had nothing to do with the co-operative societies, said,—Whilst my adversaries were busily employed in squandering away the public funds, by setting up at the Champ de Mars their so-called national workshops, the most studious, enlightened, and influential portion of the working classes were gathering at the Luxembourg around me and my colleague, Albert, a workman himself, for the sake of finding, if possible, a short practical way to the realisation of the co-operative system, which we considered as the best means of offering useful employment to so many operatives, who were then out of work in Paris. Nothing could be more urgent than to give a peaceful direction to their activity in those stormy days ; nothing could be more urgent than to ease them from starvation, and to save society from the awful effects of their despair.

But how ? The plan was to form in some of the most important branches of industry a co-operative society composed of a determined number, of skilled labourers called upon to work for their own profits, with a view to a joint benefit; that is with all the stimulation of personal interest applied to the pursuit of a common object, the State lending them a moderate amount of money, to be repaid, according to certain stipulations. Unhappily, no funds had been placed at my disposal fur any such purpose, and it, must be known that, during all my tenure of power, I did not receive a single farthing. (Cheers.)

The following were the circumstances which, in spite of this, enabled me to help forward the co-operative principle : In the first place, the Provisional Government having passed a decree incorporating citizens of every class into the National Guard, and providing that uniforms should be furnished at the public expense to all persons too poor to buy them for themselves, I prevailed upon my colleages to entrust the order of the uniform of the National Guard to a co-operative association of tailors. In the second place, the imprisonment for debt having been abolished, and the prison of Clichy, which had unto that moment been the debtors' prison, I took care that it should be handed over to the said co-operative society of tailors for their use. Two thousand journeymen tailors then out of employment, being thus provided—if not with money, at least with raw material and premises —were installed and set to work, immediately under the direction of one of them named Berard, a man possessed of rare and commanding qualities.

Now, it is important to remark, that the conduct of the journeymen tailors at Clichy was, throughout, of the most commendable character. A sum of eleven thousand francs they had borrowed from the master tailors was promptly repaid. The order they had received was completed in due time. In fine, all the engagements they had contracted were scrupulously fulfilled; and, what deserves special notice, is the example they set to their brethren as men, as citizens and as Christians. Among them was no favouritism. Each man's place was assigned to him by election. Every employment was considered as carrying greater obligations with it ; so that one of the most touching and profound maxims found there its full application, the first among them being really the servant of all. Of the excellent spirit which pervaded their Co-operative Association I might give numerous instances,were I not compelled to compress a very comprehensive subject in very small compass. One day a great number of women, occupied in embroidery, presented themselves at Clichy, making offer to work for it at a certain price, comparatively high. Immediately after, the men engaged in the same trade, not aware of the step taken by the women, came and proposed to furnish similar work on lower terms. The Clichy Association knowing how injurious to morality were the results of extreme poverty and want of employment among women, did not for a moment decline the more advantageous of the two offers, so as to secure occupation to the weaker sex.

The second association established by the Luxembourg was that of the saddlers. The Provisional Government having prohibited all persons fed and lodged at the expense of the State from bringing their produce into the market to compete with that of the working classes, I took the advantage of this to cause the order for saddlery, which used to be executed at the military establishment at Saumur, to be partially transferred to a number of saddlers in Paris, who were thus enabled to form a co-operative association. Their principles of action were exactly the same with those of Clichy, and when I left Paris in August, 1848, they were getting on most prosperously. The order for the clothing of the National Guard gave rise to the Spinners' Association, in favour of which I obtained from the Mayor of Paris an order for 100,000 pair of epaulettes.

Thus was this great movement initiated ; and such was its importance, that after a few months the number of kindred institutions amounted in Paris to more than 100, belonging to all kinds of trades. Nor is this to be accounted for by the assistance which a republican government might be supposed to have given to the working associations. No. In fact, the majority of the National Assembly had no desire to promote social reforms, composed as it was of Orleanists and Republicans, belonging to the old school of political economy. It is true that in 1848, under the influence, not yet subdued, of the ideas proclaimed at the Luxembourg, it was decreed that a little more than £100,000 should be spent in helping-forward the co-operative association ; but that money had been granted too reluctantly not to be systematically misapplied. It was put almost exclusively to the use of such associations as were found ready, to deviate from the general path, and to sacrifice,the common aim to selfish purposes.
How difficult it was for pennyless work-men to unite into self-organised co-operative societies hardly requires to be dwelt upon. However, I cannot help mentioning a few facts, which, I trust, will appear to you. highly curious and interesting. The Co-operative Association of Piano Makers, for example, having no money to begin business, succeeded in establishing itself by making an agreement with bakers, butchers, tailors, &c, all of whom engaged to supply beforehand the associates with bread, meat, and clothes to the amount of the price of pianos sold to them for their wives or daughters by the association. In reference to the Association of Cooks, the general poverty in this occupation was so great that the founders of one of these establishments were obliged in order to purchase the provisions necessary for the day of opening, to pawn their watches, their trinkets; nay, the greater part of their wearing apparel,

With such impediments thrown in their way, had the co-operative associations failed, could any conclusion have been fairly drawn in condemnation of their principle ? But here the experiment, so far from being a failure, was attended with more success than could possibly be anticipated. At the end of 1849 there were in Paris no less than forty associations of cooks in a flourishing condition, doing business to the amount of one hundred thousand pounds a year. In April, 1851, the Co-operative Association of Tailors, first established in,the Old Debtors' Prison of Clichy, had realised a fund of nearly £3000, and opened a range of large, well-lighted and ventilated shops and work-rooms in the Fauburg St. Denis. Immediately after the establishment of the Association of File-Cutters in the year 1848, the increase of business was such that they were obliged to set up in the Fauburg St. Germain a first supplemental workshop. So great was the success of the co-operative associations in Paris, before the power had fallen into the hands of a political party bent on destroying them, that in some quarters of the town their pay tickets, which were cashed at the end of every month, used to pass current among the trades-people, thus serving a double purpose of currency and advertisement.

As to the competency of operators to work for themselves, it was then proved in various remarkable ways. At the Exhibition of Industry in Paris, the Association of File Cutters obtained a silver medal for the unrivalled excellence of their work. Some in this audience may possibly remember the magnificent book case which attracted so much attention in the French department of the Great Exhibition of 1851. Well, this masterpiece which obtained the silver medal, had been sent by the Co-operative Association of Cabinet makers. Nor is it uninteresting to remark that the design of this beautiful work of art was not furnished by one person, but was developed by the practical suggestion of all the members.

Great was also the success of this application of the co-operative scheme in a moral point of view, as it served to elicit and to rouse moral qualities of the highest order, earnestness of purpose, devotion to the common cause of self denial.

There were many failures, however, but it is important to remark, that the cause of these failures was in most cases of a political character. The very fact of the co-operative associations deriving their origin from the Revolution of 1848, and being composed of men who gratefully remembered it, was, in the eyes of the adverse party, an unpardonable sin. No sooner had this party got the mastery, and took possession of the Government, than the co-operative associations were harassed in every imaginable way. It was argued against them that they were, or might become, nests for conspirators. They were subjected to the incessant interference of the police. The reactionary press, in order to ruin their credit and to shake the confidence of their customers, did not shrink from the infamous trick of announcing the downfall of even the most prosperous of them.

At that period I lived in exile in London. Some members of the co-operative societies in Paris having written to me about the course to be pursued, my answer was that it was desirable the various co-operative societies should, instead of remaining isolated, unite and try to form a conjunct mass under the direction of a central committee, having for, its object to investigate the great question of production and distribution, to help forward the mutual intercourse between associations for the exchange of produce, the loans, advances of money, tenders, bills of exchange, &c. ; finally, to occupy themselves with opening up outlets to their produce by means of exportation.

Pursuant to these suggestions, a committee was formed of twenty-three members, and took the title of " Union of Associations," and began to act as a central body, and in a short time succeeded in exercising the most extensive and beneficial influence. I need not observe that an organisation of this kind was amenable to none of the objections commonly urged against the combinations of workmen to keep up wages ; it does not aim at obtaining higher wages than the rate fixed by the inexorable law of " demand and supply ;" it rested on no compulsory action ; it had absolutely nothing offensive ; it implied no systematic cessation of labour, nor was it calculated to injure the public, the employers, or the labourers—it was for the work-men composing the co-operative societies—a means of protecting themselves by a reciprocal assistance without doing harm to anything or any body. What do you think the Government did ? Judging it impossible to find fault with the Union of the Associations from an industrial point of view, it was not ashamed to charge the members of the committee with being directors, in disguise, of a secret political society; and although there was not a shadow of proof in support of this charge, a political prosecution was instituted against the manager of the committee, namely, against M. Delbrouch, the most able of them—a prosecution which led to his imprisonment and to the ruin of his undertaking. From this you may judge of the nature of the weapons which were made use of against the co-operative societies. If many have failed, this was the chief cause of their failure. However, the co-operative principle has proved too vivacious to be killed. There are at present in France many co-operative societies, the success of which is in curious disproportion to the bareness of means with which they started, and which are in a most thriving condition—those, namely, of the piano makers, arm chair makers, jewellers, last makers, tinmen, blacksmiths, spectacle makers, lanthorn makers, wheel-wrights, brush makers, machine makers, engravers, masons.

M. Louis Blanc concluded his lecture by some details regarding the co-operative society of masons. (The lecture was received with frequent applause.)

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