THE NEWEST UTOPIANS. A SOCIALISTIC EXPERIMENT.

Otago Witness, Issue 2429, 3 October 1900, Page 69

THE NEWEST UTOPIANS. A SOCIALISTIC EXPERIMENT.

(By Dixoenis.)

The other day there arrived at Wellington a batch of immigrants owning a rather singular, if still brief, history. The party alluded to is the first of four similar groups, three of ■which are even now on the sea en route for the colony. The pioneer detachment is composed of about 41 young men, a few young, married women, and some children. It is expected that the entire party will muster a total of 150 individuals, and this somewhat singulargroup of would-be colonists owes its genesis to the publication of some four or five articles of the fairy-tale sort in the Clarion newspaper, of London, by a Mr William llanstead, a farmer, now, or lately, of Cheshire, England. Dissatisfied, nunarently, with farming prospects in England, Mr Ranstead visitad New Zealand, and as so often happens ■with visitors to our adopted land, his coming, seeing, and being conquered followed in rapid sequence. No one could read his articled and fail to perceive that the writer is an enthusiast, if not also a visionary, and, as. emanating from a man engaged in practical farming, the most singular feature of his papers is their conspicuous lack of anything whatever in the way of practical suggestion. But for the fact that he quotes in its entirety Mr A. E. Adams's versified rhapsody " Maoriland : My Mother," it might be permissible to set Mr Ranptead down as being, like his illustrious precursor Robert Burns, a poet first and a faremer a good long way afterwards. PootSj however, rarely quote from their fel-low-poets, and Mr Ranstead should also remember that though Maoriland may be a very good mother, it is also a pretty stern father.

ITrom numerous passages m his " New Zealand Notes" in the Clnrion it i" at any rate very apparent that Mr llanstead must have allowed his feelings to very largely supplant his judgment in this particular instance, and this with possible results that may prove to be far from conducive to the increase of his own peace of mind. How, in my opinion, this seems to be inevitable will become manifest to any one reading cercain passages to be found quoted below. First, however, let mo say that the already arrived section of immigrants has bson derived from almost every class of worker save that which works at "tilling the land. This fact is 1 most significant in view of the immediate aim, which is to acquire and woik a large block (" iOOO acrej or more") of farm land, and to build and carry on cheese and butter factories, pig-feeding, etc., in addition to ordinary farming. These processes are to be conducted on more or less co-opera-tive, Socialistic, and Individualistic lines. The originator of the scheme applies the&e terms with approval, only drawing the line at the suggestion that his ideal community may be fitly described as a communistic one. It is not my intention to go over these articles in full detail. To do so is quite unnecessary, and would be very tedious. Suffice it to say that by deducting from them all of poetry and plausibility, but a vvofully thin film of probability is left behind. It may bo that "most of the felk>v>s . , , mil woik

on farms for some time, and then take up land on their own account." And it is to be hoped that " if thoy start with the determination to get out of the nit, and will work hard and save their money, in eighteen months 1 or so they should have gained considerable experience and have cuved at lea->t £60." Seeing that two years' labour of many such as compose this pioneer party can readily be procured for just about £6-0. sterling, and that plenty such arc refuted at lower rates, we nrust allow full virtue to the "if" and " or so" of the above quoted sentence.

It is all so beautifully clear that, as on a good map, one can .=ec the whole scheme of the thing at a glance. But a a it if with the map, so it too oitcn is w ith the fcheme. When in each cpse you find pleasant tints in the portrayal you'are very apt io find rough ground and pitfalls in the reality. The idea that after having worked for 18 months and happily sa^-ed £60, each man k to dritl off by himself, is strongly deprecated. Instead of that the temporarily clisimite'l group id to meet once more, not again to porl. but to form itj ro-operative vilbge settlement, " cut up in block, of van-ing s.'zs» to suit the requirei< ents of the villager*." Tlie land i*- to be held on perpetuil lea^c, while the happy tenant, free from terror of " assoeiplipns and committees " finds himself in an inner arcady of social co-operative individualism. Plainly, evoti this is no true goal, being but the foundation upon which is to be reared the social fabric ot these latter-day Utopian". The village settlement being acquirad, '"the formation of a co-operative society would rt about the fust t^ing to be done." This is to be on the usual joint stock basis, and thefirst investment of united capital would be for " building materials in quantities, to that each :aan would me able to erect his house at the lowest possible cost." Then comes ful scope for^ practically productive essays "Suppose, Mr IRanstcad say o . 'wego in for dairying. There are several good reasons why this kind of farming should be adopted Dairvinc- bungs in an immediate return. From tiie first w one there is an income of some kind. It is not like having to wait from one harvest to another. In the rsorth Island the winters aic so mild that cattle are left out of doors all the year round. This simplifies the woik a gcod deal. Cowr- arc cheap , and a man wilh small capital can begin at once. I was ofter ßcl splendid cows in full n-.Jk for £6 each Iho same class of cows used to cost me -"Id m Cheshire. At an auction sale good cows were sold for £2 and a call for Is ! ' 1 have quoted that pas-a<;c because it gives a better idea ol the writer's way of putting the matter thr.n could reidily bo conveyed otherwise. The fallacy involved in his illustrative instance will be clear to all, good cows at dirt cheap prices being evidences of quite other conditions than those he wishes to indicate. Of course Mr Raiictead may know a great deal about cows, and still hive very hazy_ v lews upon human nature and upon economics also.

He goes on to enlarge upon co-operative buter-making upon scientific principles, declaring thai " wherever a factory is built tiie land adjoining instantly rises in value." "Our society would erect a butter factory and buy all the milk the villagers would hsve for dis-pos-sl. It would also buy their poultry, eggs, bpcon, honey, etc., and in marketing large quantities of produce would get better prices than the individuals world where each sent his small lots. It would save the villagers carriage on -their parcels, and relieve them of the' worry of finding a market for their produce. ' "This seems simple enough, and with careful management s-hould be very profitable to all concerned. The store would provide us with everything we had to buy, and buy from us everything we had to sell." Of a verity the whole thing does seem '"simple enougn, though not exactly in the way that the originator of this fair scheme imagines it. It is, m fact, too staggeringly sireple for me to be other than thoroughly convinced of its utter futility, and I am sorry for it. but certain, that this group of would-be organised colonist* will soon find out for themselves the actual truth of what is here suggested. Up till this stage the work ot building the settlement and getting it ii.to working" trim is supposed to be done by single men, who, however, after things 'had "settled a bit would " welcome tho-je married people^ and their children who want to go out now," but who have w isely taken thought and stayed at home. " The society could build cottages in readiness for new-comers, and charge a rent until the occupier could buy tliem. Directly they arrived from England they could set to work and ' earn a cash return the first week.' There would be house.-: ready for them to walk into, with land allotted, and, if funds* permitted, the society might hire out cows, making a charge as in the case of house rent. Personally, I have no wish whatever to throw cold water upon any scheme by wav of which betterment of life is sought after, but honesty compels me to express the belief that nif-ny, if not all, of this "Clarion party" will soon, alas ! find themseive« in totally different relation* to colonial life than those they have fondly looked forward to occupying. The unbroken plains, " dotted with farmhouses, orchards, fields of waving corn, luxurious meaclowa, plantations of troes, and winding rivers," are all here, but the assumption that a heterogneoup br.nd of artisans, colliers, labourers, drapers' assistants, butchers, clerks, etc., can hope to gam possession of a block comprising "3000 acres or so" of such a roady-made Paradise, md make a successful essiy in the co-operative working of it, is too optimi«tie by a long way. It is the old story — given your hare you may have your <-oup ; but in this instance I fear the hare will prove very hard to catch. The Government has no such land, and even though it had it lacks power to dispose of it to a syndicate. There are tracts of bush land which might posibly be available, but it is quite certain that any such tract would prove far from being the fat Canaan so guilelessly looked forward to by Mr William Ranstead and his numerous disciples.

The projected village, it is suggested, might be built in the form of a square, so that country lite may be " robbed of what is to most people a real hardship." The cottages, " surrounded by their fruit and vegetable gardens," would be comparatively clo^e together, "to that after the day's work was donp one should not have far to -ualk for our pocial evening, our debating or mtisicnl society, our church or reading room." It is truly arcadian, but Mr Ranstead characteristically leaves out of his account all mention of the not always harmless, but always necessary, back yard.

There is a great deal more all in the same vein, but considerations of space forbid my dealing with it ,<-avo cursorily. It is not surprising to hoar that a goodly number ol people hay c written to me vvho would bo glad to join a village community of this kind." I F'hould like rarely to have the chance of doing it myself, for what irf our brief span of existence but a, blind groping after an ideal life that seems ever within reach, but for ever remains beyond it? Of tho^e who wish to join this modem arcady "one is a lecturer on bee-keeping; another is an expert in raising poultry by meuba-

tion; another is a violinist, and lead? an amateur orchestra; others are wood-carrer?, ironworker^, cabinelmakeis, artists, photographers, bookbinders."' It has ever been so ; the fir^t arti=t was a far-away prehistoric -avage, who saw the futility of goino on in the same dull round of hunting-, fishing, etc., pursued by his fellows, and who preferred to stay by the camp fire scratching drawings on bone a and honii and twanging gut-strings lor the amusement of the children and women. Derided and contemned by his comrade-! of more active habit, he probably had a good deal to put up with. Jtiis means of subsistence would be a variable quantity, consisting of what he could get Hi return for his artistic efforts, and the artistic individual oi the prespnt day is just a similar kind of chap, and gets his living m much the same way. It is pathetic in its way how this cla=s always wishes '■" to lne m the country in a climate which i<, more dependable than that at Home, and they will be content with a simple life and homely fare if they can be certain of always getting- it, and are not any longer haunted by the dread ot being some day out oi work without having been able to make provision lor bad times. Mr Ranstead admits that "cautious people" may say that his, scheme involves an " meal which others have tried to realise, but which has a 7a 7 ways ended in failure." He says" this experiment Js simple enough," that " it i^ just gathering togclh'T into tLe same neighbourhood people of kindred tastes. ' In no s-ense communistic, there is to be " full play for individual" eftort " : there is to be cooperation, kindness, and good will, ai.d such othsj desirable attributes of existence as will most powerfully tend to "bring about that condition of life which wo Socialists are stiivmg after." It may freely be granted that, as the writer contends, we gain m many ways by association, but that men and women will be "" freed irom . . . anxiety for the future" by this particu'ar experiment or any similar one appears to me to be simply incredible. It should, perh.ipe, be mentioned that m the last ol Mr Ranstead's t-rticles he quotes a letter from the chief clerk, Department of Labour, Wellington, in the course of which that official *says he is " very sorry to ray that the prognostications of Mr Rar.stead . . have come true, and that the Slate farm has now been handed over to the Agricultural department, in order to form a dairy school and college," that, therefore, he could not promise members of the party any employment on that place, such as they had been former 1 y assured of. He adds the consoling lemark " that any man who is willing and ablo to work should have no difficulty m '•etting employment if he hustles around for ft." That is true, and no doubt a proportion of the party are making the venture in tae reasonable enough hope of bettering themselve, ultimately. With such an aim 1 think no" one need ciuarrel, but I think all reason-able-minded persons will admit that my remarks give a fdir rendering of Mr Ranstead s proposals, as the scheme or programme ot tbe party as buc-h.'