PREFACE THE following Letters were written to Mr. Thomas Dixon, a working corkcutter of Sunderland,' during the agitation for Reform in the spring of the present year. They contain, in the plainest terms I could use, the substance of what I then desired to say to our English workmen, which was briefly this:-"The reform you desire may give you more influence in Parliament; but your influence there will of course be useless to you,-perhaps worse than useless, -until you have wisely made up your minds what you wish Parliament to do for you; and when you have made up your minds about that, you will find, not only that you can do it for yourselves, without the intervention of Parliament; but that eventually nobody but yourselves can do it. And to help you, as far as one of your old friends may, in so making up your minds, such and such things are what it seems to me you should ask for, and, moreover, strive for with your heart and might." The letters now published relate only to one division of the laws which I desired to recommend to the consideration of our operatives,-those, namely, bearing upon honesty of work, and honesty of exchange. I hope in the course of next year that I may be able to complete the second part of the series, [I could not; but Fors Clavigera is now (1872) answering the same end :] which will relate to the possible comforts and wholesome laws, of familiar household life, and the share which a labouring nation may attain in the skill, and the treasures, of the higher arts. 1 [For particulars about Mr. Dixon, see the Introduction; above, pp. lxxviii.— lxxix.] 2 [The square brackets with the words they contain were thus added by the author in 1872.] The letters are republished as they were written, with, here and there, correction of a phrase, and omission of one or two passages of merely personal or temporary interest; the headings only are added, in order to give the reader some clue to the general aim of necessarily desultory discussion; and the portions of Mr. Dixon's letters in reply, referred to in the text, are added in the Appendix, and will be found well deserving of attention. DENMARK HILL, December 14, 1867. TIME AND TIDE, BY WEARE AND TYNE LETTERI The two kinds of Co-operation.—In its highest sense it MY DEAR FRIEND,1 DENMARK HILL, February 4, 1867. 1. You have now everything I have yet published on political economy; but there are several points in these books of mine which I intended to add notes to, and it seems little likely I shall get that soon done. So I think the best way of making up for the want of these is to write you a few simple letters, which you can read to other people, or send to be printed, if you like, in any of your journals where you think they may be useful. I especially want you, for one thing, to understand the 1 [The letter as originally printed opened as follows: "My dear D- I have sent you the four papers I wrote for Fraser's Magazine bound together; and you now have everything I have yet published on political economy. I told you I was writing something that would interest you; it was about strikes and co-operation; but I am too ill at present to do any serious work rightly, and the thing has come to a standstill, which I am sorry for; and, besides, there are several points in these books of mine which I intended to add notes to, and it seems little likely I shall get that done, either. So I think the best thing I can now do is to write you a few simple letters, which will not fret me as it does to write carefully. In one way or another I shall thus get what I want most to say said to you; then you can read it to other people, or send it to be printed, if you like, in any of your journals where you think it may be useful." The papers for Fraser's Magazine are now Munera Pulveris. "Something about strikes and co-operation" does not appear to have been published. For Ruskin's ill-health in 1867, see above, Introduction, p. lxxx.] |