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35
great mass of workmen's dwellings within the scope of the
operations of philanthropic associations.
The Artizans' Dwellings Association is a model in the footsteps
oi which, doubtless, others would follow. Standing
between the owner and occupier, this Company makes an
arrangement by which the occupier may become his own
freeholder upon the payment of the capital amount.
The payment of that sum is spread over a term of years.
The recipient of an average weekly wage, by the exercise
of prudence and thrift, may in a limited number of years
become the landlord of his holding.
Were the obstacles removed that now stand in the way
of the purchase in the rural district of farm or allotment,
the prospective advantage of proprietorship, however small
be the holding, would retain upon the soil many who now
look towards the town with the hope of alleviating their
condition.
The industry of the peasant expended in healthful occupation
upon his own plot would render the earth fruitful in
a degree before unknown, and would stock the market with
articles of consumption which now must be purchased from
the foreigner; at the same time a harvest of muscle and
sinew would be in process of cultivation that in times of peace
would be a source of wealth, and in times of war a national
defence.
In parts of France, Belgium, and other Continental
countries on account of the distribution of the population,
and the numberless small freeholds scattered throughout
the length and breadth of the country; manufacture may
be conducted on a large scale in places many miles removed
from the town. Labour in a sufficient quantity may be
drawn from within an area of no great dimensions,
and contiguous to the place of employment. The
necessaries of life in a country of peasant proprietors
are obtainable at a small cost. The labourer or mechanic,
in consequence, is content with a low scale of wages.