Chapter 145: Owen’s Speech
Chapter 145: Owen’s Speech
Today’s Hyde Park was more than a little different from the days of old.
The speakers who had purposely rushed early in the morning had looked with resentment to the area under a maple tree, which was a lectern improvised from a dozen or so wooden crates.
But even though they were full of complaints, they still had to keep a bellyful of them inside.
Because everyone knows that the speaker who visited Hyde Park today is one of the most influential social activists in the whole of Great Britain, the owner of the New Lanark factory, the founder of the New Harmony Commune, the advocate of underage education, the important initiator of the campaign to reduce working hours and the working day, and at the same time, is a series of leaders of the British workers’ movement and a staunch supporter of the reform of Parliament! –Mr. Robert Owen.
Despite the early hour, the Speaker’s Corner was already filled with hundreds of people today.
The majority of the audience are workers from all over London, holding up pro-Owen billboards, shouting their demands under the leadership of trade union leaders, and spontaneously maintaining order in the room.
The rest of the audience included both factory owners and potential parliamentary candidates.
The factory owners had come to hear Mr. Owen’s speech in order to learn from his experience in factory management; after all, as everyone knew, Mr. Owen’s New Lanark factory had been one of the top annual producers in its industry for many years.
The fact that in a factory where the average working hours were only 10 hours, the output per worker was higher than in most factories where the average working hours were 15 hours, a phenomenon that almost defied the common sense of the factory owners, had long been noticed in their community.
And the young men who aspire to run for Congress intend to emulate Owen’s oratory skills. After all, these days, it’s not often that an orator can cause a traffic jam with a single speech.
Outside Hyde Park, Scotland Yard police officers were in place, keeping a safe distance from the audience so as not to provoke them into excessive confrontation.
The Greater London Police Authority is always on the alert for such situations, and Commissioner Rowan had even given the latest Home Office order at an earlier regular meeting – the closer we get to the General Election, the more cautious we have to be with social activists like Robert Owen.
Of course, the reason why the Ministry of the Interior issued such an order is not entirely for public security reasons, of course, they also have some personal feelings.
If a mass incident were to break out before the election, it would be too much for the dying Wellington Cabinet to bear.
So rather than caring about what Robert Owen was going to say, Arthur, who was on plainclothes duty, was responsible for making sure that order was maintained, so that both Mr. Owen and the audience could end the speech peacefully and without incident.
Arthur glanced around, slightly lowering his own large brimmed hat, and asked at Tom, who was also in civilian clothes beside him, “Is everyone accounted for?”
Tom looked a little nervous, and he also knew that if he exposed his identity on such an occasion, getting a severe beating would be considered light.
He replied back in a low voice, “It’s pretty much the same as what we estimated before, most of the audience is organized by the labor unions. According to the information sent back by our informants in various workers’ associations, the London Textile Workers’ Association has 147 people, the London Dockers’ Association has 112 people, the London Construction Workers’ General Association has 133 people, and there are also some scattered small associations that add up to almost 300 people. The rest, for the most part, are just a few who have come over on a whim to join in the fun, and they shouldn’t be able to make any big waves.”
Arthur nodded slightly, “Keep an eye on a few big associations, after all, no one knows if there are any inside that have been bribed by the Whigs and purposely come over to cause trouble. But according to the temperament of the Whigs, they most likely won’t send anyone to Mr. Owen’s speech site. After all, most of the factory owners are on their side, and with Mr. Owen’s claims right there, the two definitely won’t be able to talk.”
No sooner had Arthur spoken than he heard a sudden thunder of applause all around him, and every man reddened his face with all his strength, almost as if he didn’t care if he clapped his hand off.
“Good morning, public friends!”
A middle-aged gentleman with gray hair stood on the podium wearing a black suit coat.
His eyes swept across the stage and he spoke enthusiastically, “I’m glad to see my worker friends here, and I’m also glad to see all of you factory owner friends who have provided countless jobs for society. Still, if you all want to learn from my factory management experience, then remember the following words.
I am sure that all of you have experienced the benefits of solidly constructed, well-designed, and perfectly manufactured machines in the course of your long-term manufacturing operations. If good maintenance is given to inanimate machines, it can still increase productivity. If you were to devote the same amount of energy to caring for the living workers, who are far more marvelously constructed than the machines, would there be anything you could not accomplish?
Shorten the working hours, build spacious dormitories, green the factory environment, and establish some amateur clubs for the workers. Also, remember not to employ young children, but to give them a proper education in their skills. If they get a good education, are you still worried that you won’t have enough high-level skilled workers to hire in the future?”
As soon as Owen’s words were finished, another round of cheers rang out from the stage. Owen raised his arms and shouted, “I didn’t come here today to satisfy boredom and useless vanity. I have come before you all to accomplish a solemn and extremely important task. What I value is not to win everyone’s favor or future fame.
The sole motive which governs my action is the desire to see you and all my fellow-citizens everywhere actually enjoying the great abundance of happiness which nature has given us to enjoy. This is my lifelong and unshakeable wish.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland now suffers more from misery, poverty and wretchedness than it has actually suffered for many centuries!
Never before in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland have there been so many conditions which would relieve the whole people of such misery, degradation and danger!
From 1781 to 1830, the consumption of cotton for our textile industry increased fiftyfold.
Already in 1820 we produced 40% of the world’s pig iron and 75% of the world’s coal, yet have the rapidly soaring economic figures benefited our great British public?
Our rulers have yet to come up with any sensible way of providing relief once and for all to the thousands who are struggling in poverty.
Those in power have failed to use the power and practical knowledge at hand to marshal the country’s surplus conditions to free the people from the ignorance and wickedness that are the source of all existing evils.
I have often said that a nation can never be rich and powerful if it supports a large portion of its laboring class in idle poverty or in unnecessary work.
A nation in which taverns abound and the temptations of open gambling are abundant, is bound to become imbecilic and useless, or to do evil, to commit crimes, and to endanger others.
This necessitates the use of coercion and the application of severe, cruel and unfair punishments, followed by discontent, resentment and every kind of revolt by the people against those in power.
A government that permits and condones the existence of all vices, evils and incentives to criminal behavior, while it talks about religion, the improvement of the living conditions of the poor and the working classes, and the enhancement of their morals, is simply mocking the people for their lack of common sense.
Such actions and statements are the most tedious and foolish ways of deceiving the public. The public is no longer deceived by such words and actions, and in the future this kind of flawed and meaningless nonsense will deceive no one.
To allow such conditions to persist while hoping for national progress is as foolish and visionless as waiting for the ocean to dry up when you see the rivers of the world running to the ocean day and night!
It’s time we made a change, the corrupt politics of the constituencies, the vote-buying operations of the MPs, we’ve had enough of their behind-the-scenes dealings!
If they don’t give us professional skills education against child labor and underage children, we will elect our own MPs to fight for it!
If they don’t give us regular rest days and 10-hour maximum working hours, we’ll elect our own MPs to fight for it!
If they don’t give us relief for unemployed workers and a reasonable wage payment mechanism, we’ll elect our own legislators to fight for it!”
As Owen shouted this, out of nowhere came the cry, “Down with Wellington! Down with the Tories!”
This roar instantly ignited the mood of the workers in the room, who held up banners and repeated the slogan with righteous indignation.
“Down with Wellington, overthrow the Tories!!!”
I don’t know who took the lead, but the hot-blooded audience poured out of Hyde Park in a brainstorm, and the Scotland Yard officers were taken aback by the sight of them.
They hurriedly drew the civilized weapons at their waist and subconsciously wanted to strike, but when recalling the orders from the Home Office, they finally suppressed the urge to do so.
Under the urgent command of the two Scotland Yard police inspectors, the officers followed in groups of three or five on both sides of the crowd and went with them.
Arthur looked up at the direction in which the out-of-control crowd had left and couldn’t help but slap his forehead, “Damn! They shouldn’t really be planning to go find trouble with the Duke of Wellington, right?”
(End of chapter)