William Lawson (1836–1916) was an English agriculturalist and pioneer co-operator. Lawson owned an experimental farm in Cumberland between the years 1862 and 1872.
Early life William Lawson was born at Brayton, Aspatria, in Cumberland in 1836. Together with other members of his family, he received his education at home, where he later declared: "I learned as little as possible." His parents, Sir Wilfrid and Caroline Lawson, he remarked, "were more anxious that their children should be happy and good than that they should be learned and great."Lawson and Hunter (1874), p.14 However, the children did acquire considerable learning; and at least one member later became great. In his youth, Lawson travelled extensively throughout Europe and the Middle East. At home, he took an active role in field sports, where he managed the Cumberland Foxhounds for his brother, who had acquired some hounds from the famous pack belonging to John Peel. In 1861, he became a vegetarian, and gave up hunting and shooting, which he henceforth called ‘barbarous sports’. Later he recalled: "I found himself in my 25th year, without an occupation, without many acquaintances, except amongst the poor, whom I had not learned to despise because they spoke bad grammar and took their coats off to work."
Seeking for a worthwhile occupation, he packed his saddlebags, mounted a pony at his father's gate, and set off for London, to experience his own ‘rural rides’. The journey via Caldbeck, Penrith, Appleby, Leeds, Sheffield, Chatsworth, Nottingham, Leamington, Oxford and Uxbridge took thirty-three days. During his travels, he visited old acquaintances and made many new ones. He visited steel works at Sheffield and lace manufacturers in Nottingham. As a member of a rural community, he took a particular interest in agricultural matters and noted in his journal that the highest wages earned by farm labourers was two shillings and eight pence (13p) per day. Upon his arrival in London, he learned of Alderman Mechi's experimental farm at Tiptree Hall, Kelvedon, Essex, and sought to visit it. Mechi's modern methods, his technique of irrigation using liquid manure, his advanced sowing procedures and the novelty of housing livestock on boards above the ground left a memorable impression. Upon his return, he tried to convince his father to adopt modern scientific solutions. Although his father preferred the traditional methods, he allowed his son to experiment on a farm in his own right.The West Cumberland Times 2 September 1916 In 1863 Lawson and George Moore of Whitehall, Mealsgate invited Mechi to explain his methods to an invited audience of fifty practical farmers.The Carlisle Journal 18 September 1863
Agriculturalist In his autobiographical journal, ‘Ten Years of Gentleman Farming’,Lawson and Hunter (1874) published in 1874, Lawson humorously alluded to his three big mistakes; the purchase of a steam plough; the procurement of low priced guano; and the elevation of his father's coachmen to the position of headman. All of these occurred upon his possession of Blennerhasset Farm in 1862; an estate his father had previously purchased for the sum of £17,000. The estate comprised , and incorporated a water wheel, a group of cottages, and a number of derelict farm buildings. In the weeks before assuming control of the farm Lawson travelled extensively throughout Britain seeking agricultural advice, visiting many good farms and farming districts; particularly those that applied ‘model farming’ techniques. Lawson began a programme of improvement. He bought an additional of land. He changed the title to the ‘Model Farm’, then to Mechi, and later back to the Blennerhasset Farm. He removed miles of unwanted fences, thousands of tons of stone, constructed miles of new roads, and drained the waterlogged land. Besides the farming scheme, he also established a market garden, artificial manure works, a laboratory, a free library, a free school, a gas works, a medical dispensary and several grocery stores. He also contracted the steam cultivator, and founded a flax business.
Co-operator Following conversations with the farming fraternity, Lawson began to formulate a procedure for dealing with the difficulties of managing the farm labourers. It occurred to him that the best way of overcoming these obstacles was to make the labourer a direct partaker of the farm profits. He became acquainted with the ways of Sir John Gurdon, who in 1831 sponsored a co-operative farm at Assington Hall, Suffolk. Co-operation became an obsession, and the farm a vehicle for studying the subject. He acquainted himself with its many forms. Those designed to maximise the profits of the shareholders; those devised for increasing the wages of the workers; and those developed to secure the maximum dividend for the purchaser. Lawson wished to introduceLawson and Hunter (1874), p.21 a system that encapsulated these ideals, a system to benefit the vast majority of the public; a system he affectionately termed the ‘Public Good’. Using public meetings, he helped to establish a Cooperative Store System in the town of Aspatria, an establishment that prospered for over a century. Largely through his efforts, the local inhabitants of Dearham, Wigton and Alston adopted similar stores in their districts.
However, when Lawson tried to convert these theories into practice by offering equally to share a portion of his profits amongst his workers he met strong opposition. He genuinely believed that his workers would embrace the opportunity and was astonished by their indifference. He attempted to allay their consternations, posing the question, "Is it desirable that the workers on this farm should be the direct partakers of its proceeds?" He referred to the previously mentioned ‘Society Farm’ at Assington, Suffolk where thirty labourers had successfully tenanted a farm using an interest free loan from the owner. He encouraged self-expression and a vote by secret ballot but to no avail. Of the eleven voters, only one voted for ‘co-operation’, while the remainder voted for ‘every man for himself’. He tried to relieve their consternations by inviting the entire community to work with him as cultivators of the soil, not for him as master, where all comers would participate in the generated profits. Of the fifty-three eligible voters, forty-seven initially expressed an interest, however, after he published the value of the investment and the anticipated rewards from its success, their apathy increased and they withdrew their support. The villagers held the opinion: ‘If all the people were equal to-day, they would be unequal to-morrow’.
Lawson persevered. In 1866, he published a new statement, offering, ‘co-operation to all comers regardless of their opinion’, declaring that he would donate all that year's profits above 2.5 per cent to the public good. He included profit exchangeable tickets with wages, a response that captured their imagination such that when he deliberately forgot to include a ticket, they quickly reminded him of the error. At the end of the qualifying period, the balance sheet showed an excess of £181 over the set target. However, since he had already allocated £142 to the public good, this left £39 for profit sharing. After discussions, each full-time worker voted to receive a sum of fifteen shillings. They donated the remaining £9 to a fund to establish a cottage hospital at Aspatria. Those administering the fund later bestowed the grant for ambulance work in the Franco-Prussian War.
In 1870, ‘the year of the great bonus’ Lawson finally achieved his objective. He began by issuing the following address.
TO MY WORKERS "I shall give, as bonus, to ordinary time-worker, in proportion to time worked (exclusive of extra and overtime), one-quarter of this year's declared income arising from my present capital, clear of all current expenses, for public good; but should such income exceed £1,000, I shall give as bonus half its excess over £500."The Carlisle Journal, 21 November 1874
When put to the vote, thirty-one members favoured implementation, while seventeen remained unconvinced. The wording of the notice depicted a significant change, for he would now base the final calculation upon his entire capital, inclusive of his outside investments. When later published, the balance sheet showed a profit of £1,715. He awarded £546 to his full-time workers, each of whom received £11. However, in the final year of the scheme, there were no further payments, primarily because of the blighting of the potato crop and the devastation caused by the ‘Great Fire’. The disastrous fire began after the gas works manager repaired a fault with a lighted candle. Although no one suffered injury, the subsequent explosion ignited a heap of loose hay, and quickly spread to the dutch barn, packed to the roof with the recent harvest. The intensity of the blaze was such that within half an hour the flames were visible to the inhabitants of Wigton. The insurance company paid damages of £1,000. Regarding co-operation, in many respects Lawson took a huge gamble. He was, in the words of George Jacob Holyoake, probably the only man in England prepared to commit his entire fortune to promote a scheme that many regarded as folly.Lawson and Hunter (1874) p. 3
In 1863, Lawson opened a 'people's shop' or co-operative store in the village of Blennerhassett, which for many years displayed the words "William Lawson, Licensed Dealer in Tea and Tobacco", chalked on a blackboard over the entrance door.Lawson and Hunter (1874), p.41 This curiosity originated after the registrar of the Companies Act refused to register him as a ‘gentleman’. The administrator refused to accept a ‘gentleman’ as the promoter of a company of rustic provision dealers.Lawson and Hunter (1874), p. 8 On the gable end of the shop, he painted, in gold letters on a brown background, a larger and more significant emblem, ‘The Snuff Shop & General Mart’. The shop window also advertised a variety of wares, including seeds, specimens of manure, crushed bones, mint lozenges, notepaper and envelopes. During this period the storekeeper was elected by the village parliament using a system of universal suffrage.Lawson and Hunter (1874), p.76 Although the total turnover for the small store exceeded £5,200, the accumulated loss totalled £43. The shop remains open for business today and has a sign above the entrance door stating its history. To help dispose of the farm produce Lawson later established three other shops in Newcastle, Ireby and Carlisle. The northeast store closed in 1869, with accumulative debts of £545.
Village Parliament Following the failure of the co-operative offer of 1866, Lawson established an ‘Open Council’, later renamed the ‘Village Parliament’, so called because it evolved from the remnant of the previous council, thrown open to include all the members of the village. It had one primary objective, to convert the people into prosperous and intelligent self-directing people.