The Spenceans
Early in the present century there arose in the metropolis a religio-political sect, which took its name from an itinerant bookseller, named T. Spence, who formed a sort of Constitution on the principle that “all human beings are equal by nature and before the law, and have a continual and inalienable property in the earth and in its natural productions;” and consequently that “every man, woman, and child, whether born in wedlock or not (for Nature and Justice know nothing of illegitimacy), is entitled quarterly to an equal share of the rents of the parish where they have settled.” This he called “the Constitution of Spensonia;” and the Abstract from which we have quoted he called “A Receipt to make a Millennium, or Happy World.” By this reference and by some allusions to the Jewish economy, he also gave his system a slight connection with religion—but it was very slight; for he neither regarded the precepts of the moral law, nor the doctrines of the Gospel. He admitted, however, of a Sabbath every fifth day; but only as a day of rest and amusement—not for any purposes of devotion. A scheme somewhat similar to the above was formed in the time of the English Commonwealth, and it is probable Spence may have borrowed his system partly from that source.
Spence was punished for his vagaries; for, in 1801, he was sentenced to pay a fine of 50l. and to suffer twelve months’ imprisonment for publishing Spence’s Restorer of Society, which was deemed a seditious libel. Spence died in October, 1814.