CO-OPERATION.

Colonist, Volume II, Issue 176, 28 June 1859, Page 4

CO-OPERATION.

There has been some fear of a French invasion. The late Duke of Wellington revived a similar dread ten 3'ears ago, but the only French invasion was by Louis Phillipe, under the name of Mr. Smith, fleeing as a fugitive from the infuriated populace to seek an asylum on the shores of England, which never refuse refuge to the distressed.. However, about the beginning of the century an invasion by the first Napoleon appeared very imminent, and preparations on both sides of the channel were made for such an event. A couple of canny Newcastle housewives were then discussing the topic of the day—would the invasion occur, and wha,t would be its consequences ? At last one said to the other, "What is an- '*'evasion?'" "Oh!" replied the interrogated, " I'm ashamed- 0' you not to know what an evasion is. Why, woman, an.-evasion's an evasion, to be. sure." Th**! response was prompt —" Oh! Janet, I tak 'thee up,-npo,"' Now what more can be said than that co-operation is co-opera-tion'? It is familiar to every one; it is at work-on. the right hand and on the left, and every hour of the day. The word itself is composed .of; two Latin, terms — con and opitSi—to : work together; not necessarily in the same shop, but for a common end. Perhaps, a negative example may help to elucidate the subject.. Take man in a state of isolation;.a savage, naked, shivering in the stprrn or cowering under the shelter of a tree,—scared at the slightest sound,—in peril from beasts of prey, hostile tribes, or the ." palefaced" intruder. His life is one incessant anxiety, suffering, and toil; nearly the whole of his. time is consumed in search of a. precarious and scanty subsistence of the coarsest kind. That is a picture of man without co-operation. Now- for contrast take any day laborer living in this town. He is clothed in fabrics, the materials of which have been drawn •from every quarter of the world and worked up and conveyed to him by a host of hands. The history of his hat, if entered into minutely, would occupy a volume. The farmer raises him food: the butcher, the miller, and the baker, prepare it. His tea -comes from China: his sugar from the Indian islands. Thousands upon thousands are engaged ministering to his wants and comfort. Now, what constitutes the difference between the two cases? It is cooperation.

When we look at manufactures —from the preparation of raw materials to the "finished product—-how diversified and universal is co-operation, or, as it is termed, division of labor. Much machinery and hundreds of hands are employed in the manufacture of a watch, and a score in making pin. Those beautiful stereoscopic views in (France, Italy, and Switzerland, which stand out in all the solidity of nature, now pass through so many hands in the process of preparation that the elides can, be purchased for a trifle at any booksellers shop.

Look again at commerce. How by cooperation it ransacks the world for raw material; and distributes by a thousand agencies and channels the perfected article required; Co-partnerships are formed to carry into effect, what individuals could not accomplish.: Hence we have banks, and building societies, and insurance companiess, which compensate for loss of life or property. JCqr.Operatioh has spread a network of rail•■way over Britain, built the Great Eastern, laid the electric wire across the Atlantic, and girdled the globe with a steam navy. In -social life, mechanics' institutes, harmonic societies, and young men's christian associations, are all the creatures of cooperation. It built the Crystal Palace, and collected/into its courts contributions from every latitude.

Benevolent ;*and philanthropical efforts : -are .chiefly made in combination with others. Co-operation has built and sustained hospitals and infirmaries, houses of ■refope, -and homes for the distressed and destitute, lit relieved the famished in Ire'lafid; sent, nurses , and comforts to the Crimea; helped the sufferers from the inundations in France, and raised, a munificent Indian-Fund.

And in its highest form, ; . what has cooperation done in the Christian church during the last eighty years ? It has sent missionaries to every clime—from the frozen snows of Greenland to the burning sands of India; and it has translated the truth of God into a hundred tongues. The New Testament is a little book—it' only; costs fburpehce-; but it is a moral .lever, which lifts up the nations that use it to'life and happiness. \ Of course there may be combination arid co-Operation :for bad purposes, but. those who believe the Bible know who has said, e< thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil,'' and that "though hand join in hand the wicked shall not pass .unpunished." The condition of our common humanity requires co-operation*, it is necessary to its full' development V its roots are deep down in human nature. The bee-con-structs its.cell, the beaver builds, and the spider weaves as they have done from the< beginning, but man has a capacity for indefinite .progression in science .and art.Our grandfathers would not have believ-d the marvels of the rail, steamship, and telegraph; and if during this century the world, has received a wonderful impetus, we may expect it will pass on with increased velocity rather than that it will come to a dead stand as if the ultimate attainable has been reached. We are also social beings, and Cowper finely says:— 'Man in society is like a flower Blown in its native hed: 'tis thero alone His faculties, expanded in full bloom, Shine out; there only reach their proper use. But man, associated and leagued with man By regal warrant, or self-joined t>y bond for interest sake, or swarming into classes Beneath one head, for purposes of war, Like flowers selected from the rest, and bound And bundled close to fill some crowded vase, Fades rapidly, and, by compression' marr'd, Contracts defilement not to he endured.

A i distinguishing characteristic of cooperation is that it is voluntary. Cheops could sacrifice millions to build his pyra-

mid by coercion; -taut works more-wonder-ful can be accomplished now by co-opera-tion, and in an incredibly shorter time. The tubular bridge did not take long to construct and fit. To sum up in a few words —Co-operation is like the mfghty engine which brings from' the bowels of the earth the coal it consumes, and the water it converts into steam, while it provides fuel for the world at large. So right co-operation generates a motive power for itself, and turns it to account for the benefit of man.