". . . In the present aspect of Emigration, which is happily going in the direction of colonization, the best thing is the village system. Suppose 50 families, all landed proprietors, formed a village with the land round them & sufficient land for playgrounds in all time to come, how much stronger & better would be such an organization, than detached settlers! Each village would become a town, as in the United States, with its School, Chapel, roads, bridges, Institutes.
". . . Every sensible scheme for colonization--i.e., placing the people on the land in agricultural groups, with all the means of education & religion--must meet with approval. And if you succeed in establishing one such group to work successfully, it would be of immense service.
"In all probability, had France such an outlet for the energies of her working men as that of founding new lands & nations, we should hear of no more Communes. And the horrible, thrice horrible, events of the last week, to which the world's life time afford no parallel, might have been spared.
"The Friendly Societies might take up this question & help members to emigrate who cannot find work. . . ."
With--A small group of documents formerly belonging to William Hartley relating to his work as a member of the clergy at Nipissing in Ontario, Canada. Together 5 pages, 4to or smaller. Circa 1897.
Interest in colonization societies has existed in North America since before the founding of the United States, usually with the aim of relocating Native Americans or African-Americans. In the United Kingdom during the late 19th century, a similar movement arose to help the urban poor relocate to a British colony in the hope of providing an opportunity to do productive farm work. The Hartley Emigration and Colonization Society was one such group, founded in England in 1870 to assist in establishing a settlement in Ontario, Canada.