The nearest towns to the establishment, of any note, are Hoogstraten and Tournhout; but on inquiry I could not find that any intercourse was maintained with them; and the country round offered no evidences of the existence of a thriving community in its centre, exercising an influence on its traffic or occupations. In the winter I should think the roads to the colonies scarcely practicable for any description of carriages.
From what I saw of the social condition of the colonists, I am disposed to insist much on the inexpediency of assembling, in an isolated position especially, a large community of paupers for this experiment.
Admitting the physical difficulties to have been much less than they are, and the prospect of pecuniary advantage much greater and more certain, the moral objections to the system would outweigh them. Without the example of the better conditions of society, there can be no hope of such a community gradually acquiring those qualities that would fit the members of it for a better condition. One or two families established in the neighbourhood of an orderly and industrious community would find the stimulus of shame, as well as emulation, acting on their moral qualities and exertions; but in the present case, where all are in a condition of equal debasement, both of those powerful stimuli are wanting. The reports of the progress of the Dutch free colonies up to the year 1828 are certainly encouraging; and as the same system has been adopted in the free colonies of Belgium as in Holland, and the experiment in both cases tried on similar soils, they might lead to the inference that some peculiar cause has operated in favour of the Dutch colonies, and against those of Belgium. Not having had an opportunity of visiting the Dutch colonies, I cannot offer an opinion on the subject; but reasoning from what I personally witnessed, I should be disposed to think, that either some greater encouragement has been granted in Holland, or some improvement of the system adopted; or that the habits, dispositions, and character of the Dutch fit them better for this experiment.
The same authorities that I have quoted in the case of these colonies, speak favourably also of the Belgian colonies up to the same period; and on the part of the latter experiment it may be asserted, that the unsettled state of the country since that period ought very much to qualify any condemnation of its principle. But notwithstanding this disadvantage (which is much less, I fear, than has been insisted on), there would still have remained evidences of the probable success of the experiment. Those evidences were not satisfactory to my mind; and I may further observe, that while the people in general recommended the colonies to foreigners as especially worthy of their notice, I do not remember meeting with one individual who could point out any specific results, and few who would distinctly assert that there was any increasing and permanent benefit to the community from them.
It is probable that unless some great change is made in the present system, the colonies will be ultimately abandoned, or merge into the establishments for compulsory labour: in other words, the society will become the farmers, and the present colonists merely agricultural labourers, differing only from the ordinary labourer, inasmuch as they will work under the penalty of being treated as vagabonds in case of contumacy.
The observations I have hitherto made apply only to the free colonies. In the mendicity or compulsory colonies, the poor are assembled in large establishments, and cultivate the ground, either by task or day labour, and attend the cattle, &c., under the direction of certain officers; it is, in fact, a species of agricultural workhouse.
The following is a Return of the compulsory establishment at Merxplas. (p. 20.)
| 1826. | 1827. | 1828. | 1829. | 1830. | 1831. | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present on the 1st January | 604 | 919 | 816 | 722 | 658 | 519 | ||||||
| Admitted during the year | 422 | 247 | 172 | 147 | 97 | 5 | ||||||
| Brought back from desertion | 6 | 25 | 12 | 23 | 27 | 18 | ||||||
| Born | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | .. | ||||||
| 1,037 | 1,194 | 1,003 | 895 | 783 | 542 | |||||||
| Enlarged | 7 | 159 | 135 | 116 | 82 | 18 | ||||||
| Deserted | 14 | 42 | 35 | 37 | 65 | 66 | ||||||
| Died | 91 | 166 | 104 | 37 | 81 | 23 | ||||||
| Entered the military service as volunteers | .. | .. | 2 | 39 | 28 | .. | ||||||
| Entered the militia | 4 | 9 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 3 | ||||||
| Brought before justice | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 | .. | ||||||
| 118 | 378 | 281 | 240 | 268 | 110 | |||||||
| Total, 31st Dec. | 919 | 816 | 722 | 655 | 515 | 432 | ||||||
The number of deaths is very striking. It amounts to 502 in six years, or 83⅔ per year, the average population during that time having consisted of 708 persons; so that the average annual mortality was nearly 12 per cent. The proportion of desertions appears also to have progressively increased, until in the last year 66 deserted out of 542.
On the whole the Belgian poor colonies appear to be valuable only as a warning.