投资 · 创业者自述
塞缪尔·斯迈尔斯:节俭·摘录 234
塞缪尔·斯迈尔斯《节俭》· Thrift · 投资
It has been said that Freehold Land Societies, which were established for political objects, had the effect of weaning men from political reform. They were first started in Birmingham, for the purpose of enabling men to buy land, and divide it into forty-shilling freeholds, so that the owners might become electors and vote against the corn-laws. The corn-laws have been done away with; but the holders of freehold land still exist, though many of them have ceased to be politicians. "Mr. Arthur Ryland informs me," said Mr. Holyoake, in a recent paper on Building Societies, "that in Birmingham, numbers of persons under the influence of these societies have forsaken patriotism for profits. And I know both co-operators and Chartists who were loud-mouthed for social and political reform, who now care no more for it than a Whig government; and decline to attend a public meeting on a fine night, while they would crawl like the serpent in Eden, through a gutter in a storm, after a good security. They have tasted land, and the gravel has got into their souls."
出处:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/14418
定位:Excerpt 234 · 核对日期:2026-10-19 · 核验:短摘录
白话
有人说,自由土地协会本来是为政治目的设立的,结果却让人不再热衷政治改革。这个协会最初在伯明翰成立,帮人买地并分割成四十先令的自由地产,使业主获得选举权,以便投票反对谷物法。谷物法废除后,这些自由地产持有者还在,但许多人不再关心政治。霍利约克引用赖兰先生的话说,伯明翰许多人受这些协会影响,从爱国转向了逐利;他认识的一些合作者和宪章派,过去大声疾呼社会和政治改革,现在却漠不关心,好天气不肯去开会,暴风雨里却像蛇一样爬过阴沟去追一个好担保。他们尝到了土地的甜头,砾石钻进了灵魂。
上下文
自由土地协会19世纪40年代在英国兴起,通过分割土地让工人获得选举权,以推动废除谷物法。谷物法1846年废除后,协会政治动力减弱。
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