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Text
LABOURS PRAYER.
BY C. BBADLAUGH.
“ Give us thisday our daily bread ” is the entreaty addressed
by the tiller of the soil to the “ Otr Father,” who has pro
mised to answer prayer. And what answer cometh from
heaven to this the bread winner’s petition? Walk amongst
the cotton workers of Lancashire, the clothweavers of
Yorkshire, the Durham pit men, the Staffordshire puddlers,
the Cornish miners, the London dock labourers, go any
where where hands are roughened with toil, where foreheads
are bedewed with sweat of work, and see the Lord’s res
ponse to the prayer, the fatlrer’s answer to his children!
The only bread they get is the bread they take; in their
hard struggle for life-sustenance, the loaves come but
slowly, and heaven adds not a crust, even though the
worker be hungry, when he rises from his toil-won meal.
Not even the sight of pale faced wife, and thin forms of
half starved infants can move to generosity the Ruler of
the world. The labourer may pray, but, if work be scant
and wages low, he pines to death while praying. His
prayer gives no relief, and misery’s answer is the mocking
echo to his demand.
It is said by many a pious tongue that God helps the
poor; the wretchedness of some of their hovel houses, found,
alas ! too often in the suburbs of our wealthiest cities, grimy,
black, squalid, and miserable; the threadbare raggedness of
their garments ; the unwholesomeness of the food they eat;
the poisoned air they breathe in their narrow wynds and
filthy alleys; all these tell how much God helps the poor.
Do you want to see how God helps the poor ? go into any
police court when some little child-thief is brought up for
�2
labour’s prayer.
hearing; see him shoeless, with ragged trousers, thread»
bare, grimy, vest, hardly hanging to his poor body, shirt
that seems as though it never could have been white, skin
dull brown with dirt, hair innocent of comb or brush, eye
ignorantly, sullenly-defiant, yet downcast; born poor, born
wretched, born in ignorance, educated amongst criminals,
crime the atmosphere in which he moved ; and society, his
nurse and creator, is now virtuously aghast at the depra
vity of this its own neglected nursling, and a poor creature
whom God alone hath helped. Go where the weakly wife
in a narrow room huddles herself and little children day after
day : and where the husband crowds in to lie down at night:
they are poor and honest, but their honesty bars not the
approach of disease, fever, sorrow, death—God helps not
the line of health to their poor wan cheeks. Go to the
country workhouse in which is temporarily housed the
worn out farm labourer, who, while strength enough re
mained, starved through weary years with wife and several
children on eight shillings per week—it is thus God helps
the poor. And the poor are taught to pray for a continu
ance of this help, and to be thankful and content to pray
that to-morrow may be like to-day, thankful that yester
day was no worse than it was, and content to-day is as
good as it is. Are there many repining at their miseries,
the preacher, with gracious intonation, answers rebukingly
that God, in his wisdom, has sent these troubles upon them
as chastisement for their sins. So, says the church, all are
sinners, rich as well as poor, but rich sinners feel the
chastising rod is laid more lightly on their backs than it
is upon those of their meaner brethren. Week-day and
Sunday it is the same contrast; one wears fustian, the
other broadcloth, one prepares for heaven in the velvet
cushioned pew, the other on the wooden benches of the
free seats. In heaven it will be different—all there above
are to wear crowns of gold and fine linen, and, therefore,
here below the poor man is to be satisfied with the state of
life into which it has pleased God to call him. The pastor
who tells him this, looks upon the labourer as an inferior
�LABOUR. S PRAYER.
S
animal, and the labourer by force of habit regards the great
landowner and peer, who patronises his endeavours, as a
being of a superior order. Is there no new form of prayer
that labour might be taught to utter, no other power to
■which his petition might be addressed ? Prayer to the un
known for aid gives no strength to the prayer. In each
beseeching, he loses dignity and self-reliance, he trusts to
he knows not what, for an answer which cometh, he knows
■not when, and mayhap may never come at all. Let labour
pray in the future in another fashion and at another altar.
Let labourer pray to labourer that each may know labour’s
rights, and be able to fulfil labour’s duties. The size of
the loaf of daily bread must depend on the amount of the
daily wages, and the labourer must pray for better wages.
But his prayer must take the form of earnest, educated en
deavour to obtain the result desired. Let workmen, in
stead of praying to God in their distress, ask one another
why are wages low? how can wages be raised? can we
raise our own wages? having raised them, can we keep
them fixed at the sum desired ? what causes produce a rise
and fall in wages ? are high wages beneficial to the labourer ?
These are questions the pulpit has no concern with. The
reverend pastor will tell you that the “ wages of sin is death,”
and will rail against “filthy lucrebut he has no incli
nation for answering the queries here propounded. Why
are wages low? Wages are low because the wage-winners
crowd too closely. W ages are low because too many seek
to share one fund. Wages are lower still because the
. ’abourer fights against unfair odds; the laws of the country
overriding the laws of humanity, have been enacted with
out the labourer’s consent, although his obedience to them
is enforced. The fund is unfairly distributed as well as
too widely divided. Statutes are gradually being modified,
and the working man may hope for ampler justice from the
employer in the immediate future than was possible in
the past, but high and healthy wages depend on the work
ing man himself. Wages can be raised by the working
classes exereising a moderate degree of caution in increase
�4
LABOUR’S PRAYER.
ing their numbers. Wages must increase when capital in
creases more rapidly than population, and it is the duty of
the working man, therefore, to take every reasonable pre
caution to check the increase of population, and to accelerate
the augmentation of capital.
Can working-men, by combination, permanently raise the
rate of wages ? One gentleman presiding at a meeting of
the National Association for the Promotion of Social Science
for the discussion of the labour question, very fairly said,
“ It is not in the power of the men alone, or of the masters
alone, or of both combined, to say what shall be the amount
of wages at any particular time in any trade or country.
The men and the masters are, at most, competitors for the
division at a certain rate, of a certain fund, provided by
[themselves and] others—that is, by the consumers. If that
fund is small, no device can make the rate of profit or rate
of wages higher.” This is in theory quite correct, if it
means that no device can make the total divisible greater
than it is, but not if it refers to the increase of profit or
wages by partial distribution. In practice, although it is
true that if the fund be small and the seekers to share it
be many, the quotient to each must be necessarily very
small, yet it is also true that a few of the competitors—i.e.t
the capitalists, may and do absorb for their portions of
profits an improper and unfairly large amount, thus still
further reducing the wretchedly small pittance in any case
receivable by the mass of labourers. It is warmly con
tended that the capitalist and labourer contend for division
of the fund appropriable in fair and open field; that the
capitalist has his money to employ, the man his labour to
sell ; that if workmen are in excess of the capitalist’s
requirements, so that the labourer has to supplicate for
employment, wages cannot rise, and will probably fall; but
that if, on the contrary, capital has need to invite additional
labourers, then wages must rise. That is the law of supply
and demand brought prominently forward. In great part
this is true, but it is not true that capital and labour com
pete in fair and open field, any more than it is true that a<
�labour’s prayer.
yron-elad war vessel, with heavy ordnance, would compete
in fair field with a wooden frigate, equipped with the
materiel in use thirty years ago. Capital is gold-plated,
and carries too many guns for unprotected labour. The
intelligent capitalist makes the laws affecting master and
servant, which the uneducated labourer must obey, but has
no effective voice to alter. The capitalist forms the govern
ment of the country, which in turn protects capital against
labour; this government the labourer must sustain, and
dares not modify. The capitalist does combine, and has
combined, and the result of this combination has been an
unfair appropriation of the divisible fund. Why should
not the labourer combine also ? The answer is truly that
no combination of workmen can increase the rate of wages,
if at the same time the number of labourers increases more
rapidly than the capital out of which their wages must be
paid. But the men may combine to instruct one another
in the laws of political economy; they may combine to
apply their knowledge of those laws to the contracts be
tween employer and employed. They may combine to
compel the repeal of unjust enactments under which an un
fair distribution of the labour fund is not only possible,
but certain. Organisations of labourers are, therefore, wise
and necessary: the object of such organisations should be
the permanent elevation and enfranchisement of the mem
bers. No combination of workmen, which merely dictates
a temporary cessation from labour, can ultimately and per
manently benefit the labourer; while it certainly imme
diately injures him and deteriorates his condition, making
his home wretched, his family paupers. Nor can even co
operative combination, praiseworthy as it certainly is, to
procure for the labourer a larger share of the profits of his
labour, permanently benefit him, except in so far that
temporarily alleviating his condition, and giving him lei
sure for study, it enables him to educate himself: unless,
at the same time, the co-operator is conscious that the in
crease or reduction in the amount of wages depends entirely
on the ratio of relation preserved between population and
�labour’s prayer.
its means of subsistence, the former always having a tendency to increase more rapidly than the latter. It is with
the problem of too many mouths for too little bread that
the labourer has really to deal: if he must pray, it should
be for more bread and for fewer mouths. The answer often
given by the workman himself to the advocate of Malthusian
views is, that the world is wide enough for all, that there
are fields yet tfnploughed broad enough to bear more corn
than man at present could eat, and that there is neither too
little food, nor are there too many mouths ; that there is, in
fact, none of that over-population with which it is sought
to affright the working-man. Over-population in the sense
that the whole world is too full to contain its habitants, or
that it will ever become too full to contain them, is certainly
a fallacy, but over-population is a lamentable truth in its
relative sense. We find evidences of over-population in
every old country of the world. The test of over-population
is the existence of povei’ty, squalor, wretchedness, disease,
ignorance, misery, and crime. Low rate of wages, and food
dear, here you have two certain indices of relative over
population. Wages depending on the demand for and
supply of labourers, wherever wages are low it is a certain
sign that there are too many candidates for employment in
that phase of the labour market. The increased cost of
pioduction of food, and its consequent higher price, also
mark that the cultivation has been forced by the numbers
of the people to descend to less productive soils. Poverty
is the test and result of over-population.
It is not against some possible increase of their numbers,
which may produce possibly greater affliction, that the
working men are entreated to agitate. It is against the
_ existing evils which afflict their ranks, evils alleged by
sound students of political economy to have already resulted
from inattention to the population question, that the ener
gies of the people are sought to be directed. The operation
. the law of population has been for centuries entirely
agnoie by those who have felt its adverse influence most
severely. It is only during the last thirty years that any
�labour’s prayer.
pf the working classes have turned their attention to the
question; and only during the last few years that it has
been to any extent discussed amongst them. Yet all the
prayers that labour ever uttered since the first breath of
human life, have not availed so much for human happiness
as will the earnest examination by one generation of this,;
the greatest of all social questions, the root of all political
problems, the foundation of all civil progress. Poor—man
must be wretched. Poor—he must be ignorant. Poor—
he must be criminal: and poor he must be till the cause
of poverty has been ascertained by the poor man himself,
and its cure planned by .the poor man’s brain, and effected
by the poor man’s hand
Outside his own rank none can save the poor. Others
may show him the abyss, b ut he must avoid its dangerous
brink himself. Others may point out to him the chasm,
but he must build his own bridge over. Labour’s prayer
must be to labour’s head for help from labour’s hand to
strike the blow that severs labour’s chain, and terminates
the too long era of labour’s suffering.
During the last few years our daily papers, and various
periodicals, magazines, and reviews have been more fre
quently, and much less partially, devoted than of old to the
discussion of questions relating to the labourer’s condition,
and the means of ameliorating it. In the Legislative As
sembly debates have taken place which would have been
impossible fifty years since. Works on political economy
are now more easily within the reach of the working man
than they were some few years ago. People’s editions are
now published of treatises on political economy which half
a century back the people were unable to read. It is now
possible for the labourer, and it is the labourer’s duty, to
make himself master of the laws which govern the produc
tion and distribution of wealth. Undoubtedly there is
much grievous wrong in the mode of distribution of wealth,
by which the evils that afflict the poorest strugglers are
often specially and tenfold aggravated. The monopoly of
land, the serf state of th$ labourer, are points requiring
�iiABOtritsr PAAYEte.
energetic agitation. The grave and real question is, ho^S
ever, that which lies at the root of all, the increase of
wealth as against the increase of those whom it subsists.
The leaders of the great trades’ unions of the country, if
hey really desire to permanently increase the happiness of
the classes amongst whom they exercise influence, can
speedily promote this object by encouraging their members
to discuss freely the relations of labour to capital; not
moving in one groove, as if labour and capital were neces
sarily antagonistic, and that therefore labour must always
have rough-armed hand to protect itself from the attacks
of capital; but, taking new ground, to inquire if labour and
capital are bound to each other by any and what ties, ascer
taining if the share of the labourer in the capital fund
depends, except so far as affected by inequality in distribu
tion, on the proportion between the number of labourers and
the amount of the fund. The discussing, examining, and
dealing generally with these topics, would necessarily
compel the working man to a more correct appreciation of
his position.
Any such doctrine as that ‘ ‘ the poor shall never cease
out of the landor that we are to be content with the
station in life into which it has pleased God to call us ; or
that we are to ask and we shall receive, must no longer
avail. Schiller most effectively answers the advocates of
prayer—
“ Help, Lord, help ! Look with pity down!
A paternoster pray;
What God does, that is justly done,
His grace endures for aye.”
u Oh, mother! empty mockery,
God hath not justly dealt by me:
Have I not begged and prayed in vain;
What boots it now to pray again ?”
Labour’s only and effective prayer must be in life action
for its own redemption ; action founded on thought, crude
thought, and sometimes erring at first, but ultimately
developed into useful thinking, by much patient experi
menting for the right and true*
�
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Victorian Blogging
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A collection of digitised nineteenth-century pamphlets from Conway Hall Library & Archives. This includes the Conway Tracts, Moncure Conway's personal pamphlet library; the Morris Tracts, donated to the library by Miss Morris in 1904; the National Secular Society's pamphlet library and others. The Conway Tracts were bound with additional ephemera, such as lecture programmes and handwritten notes.<br /><br />Please note that these digitised pamphlets have been edited to maximise the accuracy of the OCR, ensuring they are text searchable. If you would like to view un-edited, full-colour versions of any of our pamphlets, please email librarian@conwayhall.org.uk.<br /><br /><span><img src="http://www.heritagefund.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/attachments/TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" width="238" height="91" alt="TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" /></span>
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Conway Hall Library & Archives
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2018
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Conway Hall Ethical Society
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Title
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Labour's prayer
Creator
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Bradlaugh, Charles [1833-1891]
Description
An account of the resource
Place of publication: London
Collation: 8 p. ; 18 cm.
Notes: Date of publication from the Selection of Bradlaugh's political pamphlets / John Saville (New York: 1970).
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Charles Bradlaugh and Annie Besant
Date
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[1865]
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N097
G5678
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Labour
Social problems
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<a href="http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/"><img src="http://i.creativecommons.org/p/mark/1.0/88x31.png" alt="Public Domain Mark" /></a><span> </span><br /><span>This work (Labour's prayer), identified by </span><a href="https://conwayhallcollections.omeka.net/items/show/www.conwayhall.org.uk"><span>Humanist Library and Archives</span></a><span>, is free of known copyright restrictions.</span>
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Text
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English
Labour Movement-England-History-19th Century
Wages
Working Classes
-
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fa6ae7dcb77f3533e73f9a424f92c71e
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Text
WASTETHRIFTS AND WORKMEN.
OF THE MODE OF PRODUCING THEM,
AND
THEIR RELATIVE VALUE TO THE COMMUNITY.
BY
HENRY BRANDRETH, M.A.,
FELLOW OF TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE, AND CURATE AT ST. BOTOLPH’S, BISHOPSGATE.
Now, sir, what make you here ?
Nothing: I am not taught to make any thing. ’I
What mar you then, sir?
Marry, sir, I am helping you to mar that which God made,
a poor unworthy brother of yours, with idleness.
As You Like It.
LONDON:
LONGMANS,
GREEN, AND
18G8.
Price One Shilling.
CO.
�The main principle advocated in these pages is, that real productive
ness in any field can only be secured by sparing the growing crops ; and
that the work of children of every age must be arranged, not to secure
the largest immediate return, but to develop the greatest capacity of ivork
in after-life.
�19 Finsbury Circus, E.C.:
April 18G8.
LONDON WASTETHRIFTS.
The condition of a great part of the poorer inhabitants of London is
deplorable in the extreme, and there can be no field calling more
urgently for the labours of the' philanthropist and the Christian. Thousands of adult workmen are; from defective education (considering
school and apprenticeship together as education), incapable of earning
more than the barest journeyman’s wages, and they have little sense of
any duty incumbent upon them of earning for any purpose save that
of spending on the gratification of their immediate desires ; if they look
forward at all, they contentedly regard the ‘ house ’ and the rates as the
natural provision for their age. They have no idea of any obligation
upon them to support sick or decayed members of their families, and they
consider their children not as fellow-creatures whom they are responsible
for having brought into the world, and whom they should make some
effort to make masters of some trade which would make them able to
earn good wages and maintain themselves in honest industry through
life, but as pieces of property who ought to be bringing them in some
thing, out of Whom they have a natural right to increase their incomes
by selling their services during youth, but whom they will have no
interest in when a few years are past; and hence, in too many cases, they
follow their interest, and sell them for an immediate wage, instead of cul
tivating the capacity of doing real work in after life; and this destroys
all hope that the rising generation will be made into anything superior
to the present. If these children were all taken from their parents and
placed in industrial schools, their grievance would not be any infringe
ment of any right of a man to direct the education of his children, but
the loss of the earnings of the little slaves during their youth.
The question must be fairly asked—Can society do nothing to im
prove the condition of the next generation ?
Experience shows that it is possible to excite lively feelings of
affection and gratitude in yormg minds towards those persons and in
stitutions who labour for their benefit during youth; the gratitude of
children to those masters who, in school or in business, try to do well
by them is a real force binding them to good ; and the hearts of chil
dren can be turned to a loyal appreciation of the benefits which law
and order have conferred upon them, instead of to a sullen belief that
high civilisation and progress merely separate the rich and poor
by a yet wider interval. A well directed education in school and
business makes them capable of doing real work throughout life, and at
the same time sets them safely above most of the dangers of early life.
a 2
�4
It is, however, difficult to keep children at school, because the body
is somewhat earlier in its development than the mind and heart, and it
can be put to perform certain tasks during the period allotted by
nature to the growth of the higher faculties. A prolonged education
sacrifices the actual work by which a child might contribute to the
wealth of the world, for the sake of training it to become a real con
tributor through after life, and of securing favourable conditions for
the ripening of the moral and intellectual powers. These early years
are not those during which children are capable of any very serious
work; but the importance of keeping good examples of action from
conscientious motives before children cannot be over-estimated. Their
unconscious imitation of all that is kept before them, recommended by
the voice of all those whom they look up to, makes a second nature of
doing right or wrong. It must, however, be remembered that mostd
masters are so distant from the boys that the real examples which they
follow are their school-fellows; and it is what is called the general tone
of a school which really influences education; and the best masters are
not those who influence single boys to copy a pattern unsuited to their
age, but those who raise the average sense of duty in all around them.
I do not, however, dwell at present on the civilising and humanising
effects of real information, but on the practical money value of teaching
at this period of life. We may cease teaching a child as soon as it can
read and write, and hire it out to do such trifling work as it is already
capable of for the benefit of the adult population; but unless it is
somebody’s duty and somebody’s interest to make such child capable
of doing something more than what it can already do, it grows up to
the passions and appetites of an adult, but with the skill and reason of
a child. We may, on the contrary, pay fees to have it taught in
school, or a premium to have it taught as an apprentice; we may
develop its reason and increase its knowledge—the latter process
involves an immediate outlay—but the sum thus spent is an invest
ment bringing in an enormous return ; the child’s wages are increased,
i.e. the value of the work done by it for society is increased during
each year of real life, by a sum fully equal to that invested in improv
ing it.
A human being is, at the lowest, a very improvable piece of pro
perty, and becomes valuable in proportion as his mind and heart,
which contrive and save, gain the control of his body, which wastes
the stores of society. We may arrest the development of the con
trolling faculties, so that the man becomes a mere wastethrift, never able
to produce as much as he destroys. Thousands of such are annually
turned loose on society, and are in effect maintained on the fruits of
the industry of others, who by proper training have learnt to produce
more than is needed for their own immediate needs, and this it is
which impoverishes a country—the number of mouths without heads
or hands who are in any way maintained by the industry of others.
We are all ready to condemn the improvidence of a family where
the children are allowed to grow up without being made capable of
supporting themselves; but such conduct is not so short-sighted as our
own, because the cost of maintaining unprofitable members does not
�fall directly on the family, but is borne equally by the whole com
munity; but when a nation omits to train its youth to work, the cost
rwBMB and workhouses falls upon the nation itself.
It is a real drag on the progress of a nation to turn out uneducated
and undisciplined hordes who can do nothing which cannot be done
Mtn- half the cost by machinery, whose whole work does not replace
the value of the food and clothing they destroy. But every workman
who can produce a good article by which the comforts and conveniences of those around him can be raised, or their more real interests
advanced, is a real increase of the resources of the nation. For though
in particular trades the labour market may be overstocked, and the
■invention of machines may displace workmen, our power of converting
raw material into manufactured goods for the use of man will never
be too great, unless it is mere quickness at some detail, and not that
general intelligence which, by having learnt its proper lessons in child
hood, is capable of learning when childhood is past, and, when not
needed in one trade, can enter upon a new field of work, because its
training has not been so special as to make it merely an intelligent
wheel in a machine, which may any day be replaced by iron fingers
taught to perform the same thoughtless round of labour.
But the workmen themselves enter into associations to limit the
number of apprentices, because they see that labour will be sold
cheaper in any trade where there is an excess of workmen. But by
thus uniting to prevent their children from being made fit to earn their
own living for fear of their competition, they lower the average pro
ductive power throughout the country, and with it the average condition
of the workman. If the workers in any one trade could secure a
monopoly for their own labour, as in India, where trades are
hereditary, and the last survivor of a family may become the only
maker of an article; or if, while the producers in other trades increase,
the number, e.g. of watchmakers could be kept the same, there will be
more work and higher wages for each worker in that trade. But if the
number of hands in every trade is kept constant, and the increasing
population debarred from learning any trade which will enable them
to produce a fair equivalent for their food and clothing, every skilled
workman will have to support one of these incapables.
Whether this is done by increased iigost of everything, or by heavy
rates and high rents, or by the wastethrift being quartered upon the
■workman, will make no difference; the means conquered by labour
From nature will be shared by the incapables. But if the craftsmen
freely impart their skill, and each makes his wastethrift into a real
producer, then the means won from nature increase with the increase
of consumers. Power to win commodities from nature is not a thing
that there will ever be too much of. If a million of skilled labourers
can exist side by side, supporting each other by the mutual inter
change of their productions, another million side by side with them
could do the same. Restrictions overstock and cause misery in the
unprotected trades ; and at present the unskilled labour, is in excess.
A skilled labourer is one who produces more commodities than he con
sumes, and not only supports himself but has usually a surplus to
�6
accumulate, or to spend in poor-rates or luxuries. A wastethrift is one
who cannot improve the raw material furnished by nature sufficfewl|
to provide himself with necessaries, and is, in some way or other,
maintained by the winnings of others.
Of course, neither ever takes home the actual goods he makes; by
an arrangement of convenience, he daily receives their money value.
In proportion to his skill each increases daily the world’s goods by the
improvement of the material by his work; and the strength of a nation
consists in the number of such over-producers who unite to observe its
laws. Its weakness is the number of wastethrifts it has to maintain ;
and if, by effective educatiou, these over-consumers can be turned
into over-producers, the steady employment of their work is the
national resources.
A thousand more workmen, fairly distributed among the various
trades, do not mean more competition for the little work there already
is, but each creates a demand for additional work to exchange for his
. productions. Skilled workmen produce more than they consume.
They not only lead innocent and happy lives themselves, but create
fresh markets for labour among ourselves, with a real increase of
national force. We adopt very questionable means of opening foreign
markets, while the cost of an expedition would create a new people
among ourselves—certain customers in our markets, willing sharers of
our taxes—instead of the mass of pauperism and crime which we allow
to lie at our doors, till it has rotted sufficiently for us to assume the
permanent charge of maintaining it in workhouses and jails. Skilled
productive workmen are the real elements of a nation’s strength. Money
can only produce by setting men to work. Men combine, and shape
the rough material which nature affords till it becomes serviceable ;
they make tools and machines, extract food and ores from the earth.
The work of man alone enables men to live. The whole produce on
w’hich all live is due to the intelligence and skill of each; and the
whole work of each creature is highest if he is spared when young, and
taught, till he becomes a really effective producer.
Even if every man is trained to do some one thing fairly, machines
will continually be invented doing the same things well, and cheaply.
The commodities produced by a day’s unaided labour will be sold for
less than a man can be supported on, and the man must starve, beg,
steal, or work at another trade. But without that early quickening of
the faculties which early education produces, a man cannot turn to
anything new. Intelligent hands would increase the productiveness of
other fields of labour by the transfer of their power, and the machines
would increase the productiveness of all, without any increase in the
consumption of necessaries ; each would spend the same wages on the
purchase of a larger stock of the cheapened comforts. Hence, in an age
of mechanical inventions, untrained and half-trained workmen must
suffer, and swell the mass of pauperism and discontent. But such evils
can be provided against by training our workmen to that special form
of labour which no machine can execute—viz. thinking. Each has
within him a far more subtle machine than man has ever invented, the.
powers of which, in improving the labour of the human hand, cannot
�7
be over-estimated; and alittle care taken of this machine during early
life will make each a capable worker for ever.
Every man only trained to such work as a machine can do better
must be a tax upon society for life; but careful schooling, apprentice
ships and industrial training, will make him a useful contributor
through life. And the education of the manual-labour classes, which
all recognise as the great need of the day, is not called for by recent
legislation, but by the characteristic feature of the age—by the in
dention of machinery.
It has always been reckoned to the credit of machinery that it
would perform the harder work—the drudgery of human labour—
and, terminating the necessity for man’s toiling as a mere beast of
burden, set him free to ennobling and elevating pursuits. But the
doing of the work of unskilled hands is a doubtful blessing if we,
at the same time, continue to pour upon the market thousands of un
skilled hands, incapable of those higher arts which are henceforth to
be the only work of man. The tools with whi|h men contend with
ipature are becoming too delicate to be handled by ignorant men; and
the genius of inventors has, unfortunately, beep, directed to bringing
out machines which will employ .the hands of children. At certain
points, a slightly more subtle movement is required than machinery
can cheaply effect. A young child’s hand supplies this; but the
mental development of that child is hopelessly arrested by its round of
mechanical drudgery; it becomes a part of the machine, and grows to
the strength and appetites of a man, without its real value being much
increased beyond the sixpence a day which it earned at first. The
instinct of practising the mechanical arts needed for his support are not
developed in man as in lower orders of creation; but the most per
fectible creature is, in its origin, the weakest, being cast for a long
period of helpless infancy and childhood' on the forbearance of the
adult members of the species; but, during the years in which boys
need the protection of their elders, they are singularly apt to learn and
to receive moral impressions. And it is our only good economy to
conform to the plan by which nature intends that the creature shall be
perfected, to set it to learn whilst it is capable of learning, that it may
work effectively when strong enough to work. That any individual
adult should seek to enrich himself by using the half formed minds
and bodies for any trifling purpose which they are already capable
of, is only too natural; but that a nation should follow so short
sighted a policy is, I own, to me surprising. The nation is not so
utterly bankrupt that it cannot afford to educate its children, but
must, for the sake of their paltry earnings, sacrifice their future pro
spects and its own. Every child who now is, or ought to be, at
school is a most improvable piece of property. If neglected, he
will earn small wages, but, in his best days of full work and full
strength, not enough to support the family which he is sure to have,
in the habits of waste and intemperance to which he is accustomed.
But any sum invested in schooling and apprenticeship will make
him capable of earning an equal sum in wages every year of his life—
e.g. 261 of outlay would increase his weekly wages by at least 10s., or
�s
he will produce commodities at this increased rate; whilst, as a pros
perous workman, he will consume less than either as a beggar gaS
thief. Whether by wages paid as an equivalent for labour, or by poorrates, or in jail, society has made itself responsible for maintaining him,
and any family he may choose to rear. He is quite willing, however,
to learn the use of his head and hands, but neither he nor his parents
can afford the necessary outlay. We have lent money to poor land
lords to improve their estates; let us lend a little to poor children to
improve theirs, and we shall attain our end more certainly by making
education an obviously profitable investment than by any other means.
At present, the whole value of the improved estate is handed over to
the youth on entering into life ; and there are no means by which any
person who has been induced to sink any capital on the improvement
of the property can recover one penny. But men will not invest
money in making railways unless the legislature empowers them to
take tolls; men will not breed horses if others are to take them from
them.
It is a remarkable thing how every inducement to parents to invest
money on their children has been removed; since aged paupers are
secured maintenance from the poor-rates, the duty of the children is
terminated, and the parents derive no benefit from any wage-earning
power which might be developed in youth; and by the early age at
which children can be emancipated from parental control, we make it
the interest of the parents that they should earn as soon as possible.
But a master who buys the little slave’s work of his mother, instead of
taking an apprentice, does so merely to avoid all trouble and responsi
bility of teaching the child. It is a man’s interest to make an ap
prentice a good workman, because he looks for repayment for the outlay
and trouble of his first years from the work which he becomes capable
of doing before the end of his time ; but a mere money bargain autho
rising the employer to use up, in immediate rough unskilled work, the
docility and imitative powers of the child, which are the seed and
promise of his future life, this is a bargain in which it is clearly in
tended that the parent and employer should use up the child for their
profit, as fully as if the child were bought on the coast of Africa. It
would be better for a child to be—as was suggested at Manchester-—
ground up into corn (or, as might be suggested in the country, spun
into cotton) than to be thus taken from every opportunity of improve
ment, for children do not get better, but worse, every day, unless special
pains are taken with their training. The greatest obstacles to frugality
on the part of the poor is the uncertainty and distant day of any
return ; they see that saving does not really increase their means in old
age, but that the man who spends his all every day will be relieved
up to any standard of comfort which their savings are ever likely to
command. But if we can make it obviously profitable to invest on
their children’s education, the immediate pleasure of working for a child
and setting it a good example is one which need only be once felt to
secure a continuance of such exertion. Much is said about the selfish
ness of parents, but the fault is not entirely theirs; the employers have
no plea of necessity, they merely employ child labour because it is
�9
cheap; they deliberately employ one boy after another to avoid the
■fahEnreSd responsibility of an apprentice, and turn them out untaught
Bin dlhn ski lied to swell the ranks of those who cannot compete with the
machines, ‘with as little compunction as a man would feel at drowning
an overgrown kitten. They bribe the parent to throw away the chance
of improvement. It is not the working classes who derive any benefit
from dealing with children to get all that is possible out of them,
instead of trying to put all that is possible into them. In fact it is
hard to see that any class profits by making the young children labour
for them. The capitalist buys work cheaper for it, and is enabled to
introduce machines which could not have competed with human labour,
but for their direction being within the power of a cheap boy. But
he does not really profit, because competition forces him to sell at
the lowest remunerative rate. The working classes are forced to sell
their work for less because of the very cheap rate at which child labour
can be bought; and if the owners of fixed property seem to profit by
cheapened goods, they have eventually to bear the increased rates
which are finally needed for those half-developed workers, who are as
completely incapable of supporting themselves as if they had lost the
use of their limbs, instead of that of their heads. The cheap rate of
production is a gain by bringing more commodities within the reach
of all, though it may fairly be doubted whether the increase of
comfort, as the world grows older, does make each generation happier
than the last; and any such gain is most dearly purchased by the
nation at the cost of consuming its most valuable elements of future
strength.
Even if compulsory education, the applying of the rod which modern
theorists would spare on the child, to the parents were practicable, it
would be better to make the parents wish for their children’s education,
to enlist all possible home influences to make them valuable workmen,
and introduce into the families the natural virtues of parent and child;
this will be the better thing both for the parent and the child. No
legislation will produce any great result by attempting to compel half
the community to do something which they believe to be contrary to
their interests. It is necessary to secure the hearty co-operation of the
head of every house, to make his interests identical with those of his
children; at present the child requires protection from the necessity of
immediate productive labour, and the cultivation of such faculties as
it possesses; every pound spent upon it is worth a pound a year through
life; but the parent requires that the earnings should be large during
the period in which only the natural dependence of children enables
them to be taught effectively: five shillings earned at once is more to
the parent than five pounds a year through life. It is idle to affect to
be surprised if the general conduct of large bodies of men is dictated
by their interests.
But it is a most reckless waste of the national strength to allow the
management of these most improvable pieces of property to remain in
the unaided hands of men who cannot advance the sum necessary for
\ their proper cultivation, and whose tenure terminates before any
•rail liable crop is ripe. The education of the country is neglected for
�10
the same reason that its agriculture would be if each acre of land were
in the hands of a peasant who was forced to give up possession to
another early in July. Is it not obvious that nobody will cultivated
valuable late ripening crop unless he has some security that he will
reap it ?
If the tenure of land were such as I have suggested, the remedy
would be to alter the tenure by giving the possessor control over the
property till the crops were ripe, or from some general fund to which
all might contribute to remunerate the outgoing tenant according
to the condition of his acre, or for society at large to undertake the
cultivation. This, however expensive it might seem, would be in the
end a real saving; and if they hesitated about it, they would all ba.
starved, as acre after acre was cultivated only for such common stuff
as coidd be sold in June.
And the practical problem is how to secure that a sufficient portion
of the increased value of an educated child should be paid to the
person who is at the cost and trouble of educating If the educator
could be sure of a return proportioned to the earnings of the child from
twenty to twenty-five, education and the improvement of workmen
would become at once the best investment in which capitalists could
invest their money. Nor could the charitable endowments of the
country, whose abuse is the theme of every tongue, find a better use.
The taxation of one part of the community for the gratuitous relief of
the other is already carried to a most alarming extent by the poorlaws ; but the system of supporting the incapable deprives a workman
of every incentive to frugality ; he sees that by strict economy he may
secure an annuity ; but any such return is very distant, and seems to
him very uncertain; meanwhile he sees that his neighbour, who spends
weekly every penny, has a great deal of pleasure at once, and will in
his old age be quite as certainly provided for by the parish; everything
which he lays by will in fact be taxed to make his improvident neigh
bour as comfortable as himself.
All workmen are taxed to contribute to a fund which is finally
divided among the most thriftless: we should rather endeavour to
make even more marked the contrast of the results of idleness and
industry. If society and labour must be taxed to maintain the un
employed, let the aid at least be directed to secure that the next
generation become fit to maintain themselves. If men know not
how to support themselves, let them forego the right of bringing up
children as incapable and unintelligent as themselves. Society has both
the power and the right to control the liberty. of those who cannot
maintain themselves. If the honest man were asked to invest his
savings at once in his children’s training, by the hope of an honourable
fairly earned annuity, proportioned to the efficiency of their training,
he would have a real interest in seeing that his children frequented good
schools and profited by the teaching; it would be his interest that his
children should become virtuous and intelligent; and not only would
this result be generally secured for the children, but the parents would
be humanised by their efforts to humanise their children.
If education is a most profitable national investment, the magnitude
�1^
^fflEfiKhl^^^S^^^RyiSthe greatest possible recommendation. The
SmSBMWMS^E^nunerative, because it penetrates a fertile district of
parental and Christian benevolence, and gives room for the play of
forces whose energy is real and very great.
Theiparent who brings a child into the world is already responsible
for its maintenance. In a large workhouse-school a child cannot be
kept for less than 107., and in a working man’s house the cost is probably greater; and we may put at 100Z. the cost of rearing a young
animal capable of exerting some physical force, but entirely devoid of
Bfe intelligence which might enable him to apply that force usefully.
They (for he is certain to marry and have a large family) consume
daily more commodities than he produces, and are maintained by the
Fwork of the rest of the community. The creature thus reared is one
which no slave-owner would take as a gift, unless he had power to
work, feed, and clothe it in a way which our workhouse officials would
Rry shame on. But it is in the power of society, by spending a small
sum in aid of the large outlay already incurred by the parent, to
develop a mind, to make the wastethrift into a skilled intelligent workman, whose labour will every year fully replace all that it consumes,
and whose earnings in any single year will amply replace any sum
Advanced.
A very small part of the encouragement given ,to the investment of
money in railways would enable the zeal which® is so widely felt to
bring the means of becoming an intelligent workman within the reach
of every child. We did not then trust the zealpwmen for their fellowCreatures’ good; we did not leave each owner of an acre of land to do
as he liked. We passed laws that the interests of the community were
more important than the rights of individuals, and we sanctioned the
levying of tolls; so now we must make it a safe investment to train
skilled workmen, by allowing the person investing to share the increased
value of the manufactured article. But among the poorer classes,
where the parents actually have not the money to invest, it is the
interest of the community at large to levy rates and taxes to increase
the future productiveness of the country. It would be a real blessing
to a child if the school were to keep an account against it of all sums
expended, and the repayment of such advances made a first charge on
his earning. But it would be far better in every way to throw the
charge on local and national taxation than on any individual.
It is particularly cruel that the nation should in this century grudge
the cost of education. Fifty years ago the day’s work of an unskilled
labourer earned enough to support him; but we have discovered buried
underground enormous stores of that untrained force which is all that
an untrained workman has to sell; and when he comes and asks for
work and wages, the practical answer is that one shilling’s worth of coal
will do everything he is capable of; in fact, the iron giant would pro
bably give less trouble and need less superintendence than the man.
We have found in coal mines that by which the productiveness of
Rilled labour is enormously increased, and unskilled labour made
worthless; but the reduced cost of everything due to machinery puts
it in our power to afford for others the training which it renders neces
�12
sary. The skill of the workman must keep pace with the improvement
in his tools; more time than formerly is required to develop sufficient
intelligence to enable them to do work above the capacity of the
machines; during the years which youthful docility and quickness
point out as fitted for mastering any craft, children should be counted as
learners and repaid for any small service which they render the com
munity by increased opportunities of learning. Those who are
untaught to think, and incapable of turning their hands to any new
work, who from want of training of their intelligence can only do
mechanical work, will certainly be displaced by the more cheaply
working iron hands. It is not any special kind of knowledge which
schools are useful for imparting, but the general cultivation of the moral
and intellectual faculties; these cannot be strengthened in a child whose
whole daily stock of energy is wanted in the mill or farm; neither
growing mind nor growing body will improve if strained by labour to
minister to the comfort of adults.
The displacement of his labour by machinery is no very great matter
to a man whose intelligence enables him to turn his hand to something
else. It is the hopelessly unintelligent whose minds are closed against
all new ideas who have to be maintained by the community.
But education is a great religious duty, and this is to. make it all a
matter of profit and calculation. Not at all; education is a religious
duty, and nobly is it performed. Witness the scanty salaries on which
masters work, finding their real payment in the sense of service done
to their fellows. But subscribing to anything is not a religious duty ;
the work which our Master calls us to cannot be done by paid hands
for us. Education will always remain in the hands of religious men,
the salaries of teachers are too small to retain those who have no zeal
for the work ; but we must not trust to that zeal which is only kindled
by personal contact to fill our subscription lists, or to advance such
capital as will enable masters to maintain themselves in their, labours
of love. Similarly, a passion for science retains many men in posts
the pay of which seems inadequate. But no passion for science will
ever bring any man to face the daily round of routine of a school.
Whilst children are under education, we are careful only to
put high motives to action before them, because their character is in
process of being moulded by the motives thought of by them. But
with adults, whose character is formed, we must not leave, powerful
motives unappealed to. Among men, their actions are more important
than their motives, and we take nature as it is, and seek to direct
their actions; with children, we look forward in hope to what nature is
becoming, and seek to perfect their motives—thinking their actions
comparatively of very little importance.
It is impossible to make the duty and interest of grown men too
obviously identical; however far the point is carried up to which in
terest and duty coincide, the worst parents will come up to that point
however advanced, whilst the zeal of the better class of parents will
still urge them to do more.
In dealing with a numerous class of adults, it would be folly to. say
that the duty of providing for their children is so clear that it is
�13
l"ver motives. We must rather try how
BWWBBHHMDe made to fall in the same direction with duty. There
|Mw hMffmffigB-oom for the preference of virtue at the last.
But the whole question of the religious view of education must be
UaQpIndently considered.
Though I have tried to point out how the national pocket is to be
benefited by liberal investment in education, the real interest which
B^Wuld be felt in it arises solely from the desire that the children
should be religiously and virtuously brought up. However great may
be the necessity of school-teaching for the purpose of raising our future
workmen into an intelligent class, capable each of producing sufficient
Bommodities to maintain himself in honest industry, instead of doing the
work which a machine can do for sixpence a day, and being maintained
on the alms of the real workers, we must not forget that there are
other interests beyond those of mere animal need which should not be
neglected. Of course, these interests are in great measure things of
faith, and many men will be simply unable to appreciate their im
portance. The excellence of a school is not anything that can be
written out during an examination, but will be spread throughout
the whole of after-life. The eye of the astronomer does not see a star
so distinctly by looking directly at it, but when he glances a little on
one side ; and children do not seize those things which are deliberately
set before them so readily as those which are laid in their way
without that straining of the attention which is considered the right
thing in lessons. And it is not the actual words which drop from the
teacher’s lips, not the precepts which he reiterates with authority, but
the daily, hourly example of those to whose example he unconsciously
endeavours himself to conform, and which is continually presented to
young minds as the standard of that society into which they look
forward to being admitted.
It is hardly necessary to say that education does a very small part
of the good in its power unless it secures that the children are brought
under humanising, moral, and religious influences. There is, however, no practical chance of education being really conducted by
irreligious teachers. The wages of a teacher are so small compared
with those of equally skilled workmen in^qually laborious and equally
responsible situations that the work haivery slight attractions to men
who do not feel that it is at once a duty and a pleasure. Within the
last thirty years, the ministers of religion have undertaken such an
amount of work and responsibility, and made such munificent contri
butions to schools, that others who, with far larger means and much
more time at their command, content themselves with talking, really
complain of their having pushed forwards in the matter. But this
high-class labour will not continue to support the schools if they
become places where men’s interests in this world are alone thought
of. The good teacher looks for his wages nopdn what he receives, but
in the far more real pleasure of giving. He asks for little, barely
enough to maintain himself, but he takes pleasure in the power of
giving to all around him something which they are really grateful for,
something which he knows to be even more desirable than they think.
�11
He has no applicants at his door clamorous for a dole, wBMMMing
pretence of gratitude, but he sees an easily read expression of the
heart’s emotions. It is true he will at times meet with unwilling re
cipients of his charity, but at least he knows it, and he also knows that
their kindness is only delayed, and that at the worst it is a small thing f&l
him to be judged by their judgment. Wordsworth tells most charm
ingly how the simple act of natural kindness from the strong to the
weak filled old Simon Lee’s heart with gratitude, and the schoolmaster
more than auy other man can say—
I’ve heard of hearts unkind kind deeds
With coldness still returning;
Alas ! the gratitude of men
Has oftener left me mourning.
But, of course, the nation is perfectly at liberty to say that it will
have industrial schools, where men shall give mere secular instruction.
Fine gentlemen may agitate, and make speeches, and even legislate in
favour of such schools; but five times the present amount of salaries
will not tempt men of the same stamp to undertake posts of such
degrading drudgery as the mechanical duty of preparing heathen
children for examination in the elements of secular knowledge. Unless
a man has sufficient belief in what he does believe to feel that a neces
sity is on him of preaching it, his example is one which will be most
undesirable to put before boys. The whole of this matter is admirably
put in the preface to ‘ Tom Brown —
‘ Several persons, for whose judgment I have the highest respect,
while saying very kind things about this book, have added that the
great fault of it is “ too much preaching;” but they hope I shall amend
in this matter, should I ever write again. Now this I most distinctly
decline to do. Why, my whole object in writing at all was to get the
chance of preaching. When a man comes to my time of life, and has
his bread to make, and very little time to spare, is it likely he will
spend almost the whole of his yearly vacation in writing a story just to
amuse people ? I think not. At any rate, I wouldn’t do so myself.’
1 The sight of sons, nephews, and godsons, playing trap-bat-and-ball, and
reading “ Robinson Crusoe,” makes one ask oneself whether there isn’t
something one would like to say to them before they take their first
plunge into the stream of life, away from their own homes, or while
they are yet shivering after their first plunge. My sole object in
writing was to preach to boys; if ever I write again, it will be to
preach to some other age. I can’t see that a man has any business to
write at all unless he has something which he thoroughly believes and
wants to preach about. If he has this, and the chance of delivering
himself of it, let him by all means put it in the shape in which it is
most likely to get a hearing, but let hi® never be so carried away as to
forget that preaching is his object.’
But although interference with the liberty of religious instruction
will have the disastrous effect of lowering the general moral character
of the teachers, by depriving the trade of every attraction »to every man
whose character and example it is at all desirable to keep before
children, the ministers of religion have it in their power to increase
�15
gr®iyn;newiniiUEroBwhich they now exert, and to secure the direction
of the forces which the newly awakened national demand for action
wi11 set in motion, by voluntarily exercising the self-denial of confining
their attention to the essential outlines of our religion. A very undue
of attention has been drawn to some theological questions by the
very fact of their fruits being hatred, variance, emulations, wrath,
strife, seditions, heresies. Superficial enquirers are so struck with the
Bare shown to define the differences of Christians that they lose the
whole weight of the testimony of the whole of the civilised world to the
really important facts of our religion. The religion which our Saviour
came to reveal was not a doctrine, noi' a ritual, but an example; the
records of His life give no countenance to the idea that any man was
ever turned back by Him on any speculative opinion of controversial
theology, or any question of dress. If He again walked among us, we
should not dare to bring under Hit notice the points disputed among
Protestant churches. Whilst the doctrines, so long ago tried and found
utterly inadequate to give men peace, of the Stoics, hoping to perfect
man by unaided development^ of the Epicureans, who would deny the
interference of a God in human affairs; or of those who sought peace in
the submission of reason and conscience to a sacrificing and absolving
priesthood—while these armies are closing in to the siege, we, like the
wretched Jews, are only intent on fortifying against each other the
portions of the city of God entrusted to our keeping.
But if our streets must be filled with this fratricidal struggle, let us
at least hide our weapons for one hour of early morning, while the
Children pass by on the way to school. What have these children
done that when they look up in their weakness for that guidance
which is absolutely necessary to their making their way in life we
should deserve the last touch of indignant satire with which the poet
dared to caricature the haters of the human race, 4 Hee monstrare vias
eadem nisi sacra colenti ? ’ And when the life-giving water of the
Saviour’s example, if set forth in the majesty of unadorned simplicity,
which his followers at the first were content to put forward, might
captivate the mind of every child, and of men willing to become as
little children, is it our religion ? iJQusesitum ad fontem solos deducere
verpos.’ Why, the result of our school-teaching of the last generation
Hs enough to show that to import into children’s schools the distinctive
tenets of denominations is offending the little ones, is forbidding them
to come to Jesus, is a yoke which cannot be borne. Can we be sur
prised if the State, seeing that the denominations insist on the division
of the living child, seeks elsewhere for the mother thereof?
A new-born babe is entirely unable to attach any meaning to the sights
and sounds which surround it. But by unconscious experience, and the
loving patience of others, it learns by little and little to form ideas about
things. But the formation of the moral sense, and realising the things
of the spiritual life, needs far more anxious patience on the part of all
around through whom it learns of this higher new world. But only
the most arrant pedantry would ever think of giving these lessons by
definite formal teaching; there is nothing in children’s minds which can
digest and assimilate formal teaching; religious influences are not things
�16
to be set before children at a fixed hour of the day. We must take a
lesson from The Great Teacher, and be content to veil our meaning for
a time in parables. And first among these is the daily acting of the
parent’s or teacher’s life; children necessarily think upon, and desire
to imitate, the conduct of those whose power seems so unlimited to
them. The daily example set before the child, and the character of the
motive from which he sees that everybody expects others to act,
determine whether the child thinks only of what it can get in this
world for itself, or knows that it has a friend whose good will is worth
more than all else, on comparison with pleasing whom all earthly
pleasures are as dust in the balance. If the child sees no one doubts
but that the unseen distinction between right and wrong is more im
portant than the distinction between pain and pleasure, which is tem
porary and of this animal life, it learns to think more of the spiritual
than of what is seen and felt. In a man, the desire to serve our heavenly
Father, and please Him always, is the true source of action; but a
child is, by God’s providence, surrounded by a parable which brings
him gradually to feel this ; he gladly, and without being provoked to
any opposition, feels that he is entirely dependent on a father’s love, and
the desire to please and make some return to him is the natural motive
to encourage. If you .talk to a child of what he owes to God, he is
awed into a kind of acquiescence, and feels a painful restraint which he
feels relief in throwing off. But the care and love of his parents is a
thing not far from him, on which thought is easy and pleasant. But
the parable must precede its interpretation, through early life the
motive must be developed of striving to please father ; and if fathers
are not always all they should be, nothing is more effective to humanise
them than to find their children looking up to find them what they
should be ; fathers’ love for their children deepens as they become used
to them, and here as everywhere what a man voluntarily forces him
self to at first finally becomes habitual to him. But in bringing a
child to believe in his father’s love, it is not necessary to make him
repeat correct explanations how all the seniors of the family are one,
whose orders he is equally bound to obey, and yet fellow-workers each
in his own place, or to define the moment at which his father’s love
was first provoked towards him, whether it was the cause of the mother’s
love or was caused by it. The tree of knowledge of theology stands side
by side with the tree of life; but the one bears the words of Jesus—its
twelve differing fruits are each different from the rest, but they all,
and even the leaves, are for the healing of the nations; the other the
traditions and interpretations of men more subtle than the rest. If we
search our writings, thinking that in them we have eternal life, instead
of having for their office to witness to the Desire of all nations, we shall
not come to Him. We do as Peter in his ignorance, who would have
built tabernacles for his law, and prophets side by side with Jesus.
But He will yet be found alone, to abide with those who obey the
heavenly voice which rings in every heart: this man, this perfect
human life, you see in its daily detail. He is my beloved Son. Hear
Him.
Sjpotiiswoode d Co., Printers, Nev:-street Square and Parliament Street.
�
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Victorian Blogging
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2018
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Conway Hall Ethical Society
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Wastethrifts and workmen, of the mode of producing them, and their relative value to the community
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Brandreth, Henry
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Place of Publication: London
Collation: 16 p. ; 22 cm.
Notes: Printed by Spottiswoode & Co., London. From the library of Dr Moncure Conway. At head of first page: 19 Finsbury Circus, E.C.: April 1868.
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Longmans, Green, and Co.
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1868
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G5383
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Labour
Social problems
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Text
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English
Education
Labour Supply
Poverty
Social Conditions-Great Britain-19th Century
Work Ethic
Working Class-Great Britain
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Text
Labor Parties
AND
LABOR REFORM.
BY
SAMUEL JOHNSON.
BOSTON:
REPRINTED FROM “THE RADICAL.”
1871.
�Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1871,
By S. H. MORSE,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
Cochrane, Printer, 25 Bromfield St.
�LABOR PARTIES AND LABOR REFORM.
HE Council of the “Workingmen’s International Association,” in their Defense of the Paris Communists,
define what they call “the true secret” of the world-wide
movement which they represent. It signifies, we learn, essen
tially “ a working-class government, the product of the strug
gle of the producing against the appropriating class,” — the
function of which shall be “ to transform the means of pro
duction, land and capital, into the mere instruments of free,
associated labor.” And its authorized organs, while disclaim
ing for the present any intention of appealing to violence, yet
already announce the purpose, in Europe and America alike,
to “transform all land, forests, railroads, canals, telegraphs,
quarries, and all great properties, such as manufactories, in
favor of the State,” which is to “work them for the benefit of
every person engaged in producing; ” in other words, “ for
such as earn by the sweat of the brow.” *
However startling for America, the substance of this “ true
secret” is familiar enough to French experience; being but
a new phase of the “ coercive communism ” of Babeuf, St.
Simon, and Louis Blanc. It is to make short work with pri
vate liberties and responsibilities, and apply the forces of
modern materialism in constructing such an autocracy as the
world has never seen. It would in fact substitute the State
g
* The Statement of Dr. Marx, its Secretary, is given in The New-York
Herald, of Aug. 3, 1871. For a fuller account, see Mr. Hinton’s valuable
article in The Atlantic Monthly, for May, 1871, or Eichhoff’s pamphlet,
Die Internationale Arbeiterassociation, Berlin, 186S.
3
�4
for the Person, and forcibly “transform” man, — not the
poorest men only, as monied and titled monopoly must, but
even worse, — man as such, every living soul, into a creature
of legislation, a mere functionary and machine. Such a result
would be none the less destructive, whatever the kind of leg
islation that had led to it. Here, however, we have the abso
lutist legislation of a class.
Let us do this Society justice. It denounces war; demands
education for all; adopts a noble motto, — “No rights with
out duties, no duties without rights.” It did good service to
our Union in the war with slavery. It is, moreover, the natu
ral recoil of their own enginery on the oppressing classes in
Europe. The victim of “regulation” has but grasped the
weapon which has proved so effective against him; he will
see now what it can do to make him in his turn the master.
We fully recognize also the miseries of low-paid labor, that
disgrace the most enlightened sections of our own country.
We hear its cry of endless dependence and hopeless compe
tition ; its demands that can no longer be suppressed or
ignored. And therefore we mean to enter our protest against
a method of dealing with it that would, we believe, not only
aggravate every industrial evil, but strike at the very sub
stance of manhood.
As its career is just opening in this country, this great
organizing force will doubtless be hailed as promise of relief
from their bitter burdens by thousands who can have but
slight conception of its tendencies. Many programmes of
labor reform, too, are drifting in the same direction, which
have not yet reached its principle of absolute coercion. They
contain elements already which forbid them to represent the
real interests and rights of labor much better than feudalism
or caste. They play into the very hands of monopoly, by fol
lowing its example, in putting oppressive burdens for free op
portunity and empty formulas for the laws of social science
and the forces of civilization. The era of social justice will
not be ushered in by those who have nothing better to urge
�5
than the old strife of classes for supremacy, and who make
arrogant assumption of exclusive right to the honorable title
of “ working-men.” It is in these points of view, which most
deeply concern the liberties of labor itself, that I propose to
criticise these methods of reform.
We cannot, to use an expressive phrase, “go back on” civ
ilization and reject the results of ages. The wrongs of the
worst-paid workman are not to be righted by ignoring that
breadth of meaning, which the terms of the question have
now fairly attained. To discuss rights and interests of “the
laboring class,” on the understanding that we are to exclude
from the category of labor every form of industry but manual
toil, is to ignore the whole sense of American civilization. Is
it credible that a humane and intelligent people should assume
that the work of men’s hands has an industrial value as such,
beyond that which belongs to their intellectual and sympa
thetic activities ? Will it define productive labor as work by
the job, or by the day, and refuse the name to processes of
invention that cost the mental wear of lifetimes, and even
supply the motive forces of material civilization? Will it
consent to narrow its “ laboring class,” so that the term shall
not include the professions whose toils minister, however
imperfectly, to constant demands of soul, body, and estate;
so that educators of the young and counselors of the old shall
be set off as drones in the industrial hive ? Are we to throw
out of the list of “ working-men ” the philosopher, who ex
plores moral and spiritual problems, and states the laws of
intelligence, the economies that cannot be foregone ? Or the
poet, who cheers the day with insight that brings health and
sweetness to all thought and work ? Or the artist, whether
musician, painter, sculptor, or dramatist, whose embodiments
of nature and feeling refine taste, and broaden sympathy, and
concentrate the undefined aspirations of the age into living
form and purpose ? Does labor exclude the scholar’s func
tion, — to present man under different phases of religion and
culture, and enforce universality by tracing the movement of
�6
ideas and laws through the ages of his development ? Are we
to reckon out the cares of maternity, the mutual offices of
domestic life, social efficiencies, the subtle forces of charac
ter, the friend, the lover, the “fanatic,” whose lonely dream
prospects the track for coming generations ? Are we to count
as outside of labor contribution all work that reforms the
vicious, relieves the helpless, or sets the poor in the way to
self-help ?
Stated thus, these questions may seem to answer them
selves. Yet it is easy for parties to break away from princi
ples that few of their members would theoretically deny.
This will become at once evident if we bring our test closer
to what is now technically called the labor question, and ask
further, if labor is definable as that kind of service for which
wages are paid, in distinction from-that kind of service which
consists in providing the fund out of which they are to be paid ;
from that kind of service which plans and directs the opera
tion, and bears the risk and responsibility ? In other words,
is labor as such so clearly distinguishable from capital in this
sense, that the toils of mind as well as body involved in the
application of the latter do not deserve to enter into our estitimate of “the rights of labor” ? We must be very far from
the track of science or freedom, if our definitions threaten to
fall into such arbitrariness as this.
Yet I cannot but note that the ordinary tone of labor-reform
programmes and appeals, so far, involves the assumption that
production consists in the direct creation of material values
only. Values that cannot be measured, tabulated, invoiced,
and made the basis of governmental direction, are excluded
at the very threshold. Yet every admission that purely intel
lectual or moral forces need not enter into estimates of pro
ductive industry is an admission that these forces have no
claim to share in the wealth that results from production. To
teach, as most philosophers of the new “positive” schools
do, in one or another form, teach, that arithmetical and me
chanical values are the mainsprings of civilization, is simply
V
�7
to sow the seeds of barbarism in the fields of political econ
omy.
The sweat of honest thought and just self-discipline is, to
say the least, quite as essential to the preservation of that
social order, by which all industry is maintained as that which
falls from the brow in »earning the daily bread: and for a citi
zen, whether rich or poor, to be ignorant or reckless of this
truth proves him to be, so far, socially and politically a de
structive. It is, therefore, but the dictate of common pru
dence that every sign of a tendency to depreciate invisible
production should be met at once by all trades and profes
sions as a source of demoralization to the whole body politic.
Peace, order, credit, mutual help, are as truly the contribution
of spiritual labor as the Order of Nature is a temple not
made with hands. The spur that industry feels from the
family and the home, — economy and thrift, all honest and
handsome work, waste avoided, the bitterness of competition
tempered, the conflict of interests counteracted by conscience
and good-will, —these are all products of moral and spiritual
ideas subtly circulating in the atmosphere of the time. And
these immeasurable sources of public good can only be
guarded by a jealous loyalty, sensitive to every slur cast
upon the value of non-material productive forces, whether in
the name of capital or labor, of the rich or of the poor.
And in this spirit we must demand of those who rally for a
<£ producing class,” as against the rest of the community,
where or how they will draw the line which justifies their
use of this anti-republican name of “ class.” Every one is a
producer in those respects in which he is a contributor to the
public wealth, in the broadest sense of wealth, in whatever
other respects he may fail to render service. How many
men, women, children, are there in a country like ours who
are not producers in this sense ? Whose work is of a kind so
inconspicuous that you can afford to count it out ? Even the
child in a kindergarten school is a producer, in combining
pretty colors, or constructing rude forms and figures that em
�8
body the first essays of that aesthetic sense which shall here
after make our artisans artists and all labor an education of
the higher faculties. • Every great thought and every good
thought is a source of public wealth: helping to make true
men or women, it helps to create and to save even material
values, steadying the hands that move machinery, and foster
ing real co-operation. For one, I recognize no “laboring
class ” as distinct from the great body of producers in this
largest sense, and hold it a pure delusion to suppose that our
civilization affords any basis for forming one. There are rich
laborers and poor laborers; there are laborers whose wages
do not supply their daily needs, and laborers who lay by
something from their wages ; and from this all the way on to
those who put large capital to productive service there is a
continuous line of laboring men. No movement can really
represent the interests of labor which does not recognize the
common interests of all these different human conditions. It
is radically mischievous to make this a question between
classed of persons. Labor is the grand creative energy Oi
society, the wisdom whose voice is to all the sons and daugh
ters cf men, calling them to that steady application of all pow
ers to right and helpful uses, which shall stamp each person’s
doing with productive value, and make it a common good.
This universality alone can define the word, and the lofty
claims must all pay allegiance to this.
Amidst the confused battle-cries of labor parties organizing
to put down “ the appropriating class,” the vital point of the
problem secures, it is to be feared, but an imperfect hearing.
There is surely nothing in mere labor, or production either,
as such, that can claim our allegiance : since labor may be for
mischief, as that of overspeculation, which ruins a commu
nity by the most wearing and frenzied personal toil; and pro
duction may be of things destructive, as the distiller’s prod
uct, when it swells into tide-waves of delirium and crime.
Productive labor is not that which makes one man rich by
making another poor; robbing Peter to pay Paul adds noth-
�*
9
♦
ing to the sum of wealth. But on the other hand, all labor
which increases the means of well-being in the community,
whether in the material, social, intellectual, moral, aesthetic,
or religious sphere, is productive labor, and deserves respect.
The capitalist, who contributes such increase, whatever the
form of his capital may be, is a productive laborer, in every
respectable sense; and the laborer for wages who does the
same thing is a productive capitalist in just the same sense
with the other; at once through the strength and skill which
he applies, and through that which he may lay up to invest
productively in the creation of a home, or a business, or in
the education of his children, or in any other honest way of
benefit to society, or of cultlire to himself. So that the first
step towards justifying our American “honor to labor” is to
recognize that God hath joined labor and capital, and that no
man or party has authority to put them asunder, or to declare
them foes. And the next is to recognize that what entitles
labor to honor and authority is not to be limited by any arbi
trary definition of labor, since it is for all forms thereof essen
tially one and the same thing. So that the workman who
helps produce an article of manufacture does not respect that
which really deserves respect in his own productive work,
unless he recognizes the similar claims on behalf not only
of the capitalist in business, but of th^ teacher, the artist, the
scientist, the poet, the moral reformer, the producer of any
non-material value whatever.
And the sum is that public or private movements are to
be regarded as in the interest of labor in proportion to the
breadth of their estimate of the elements of individual and
social well-being, and in that proportion only.
I cannot believe that we shall make any progress towards
solving the difficult problem of the relations of labor, until we
start with appreciating those aims and motives in which every
one, whatever his special work, is bound to share, and which
constitute the common cause. The intelligence needed for
counteracting that terrible force of natural selection, that
�IO
weeding out of the weak by the strong which holds as true of
the world of trade as of the world of species, can never receive
one genuine impulse, so long as this duty remains unrecog
nized. No body of men can be intellectually benefited by
combination with a view to their isolated interests only; it is
but individualism intensified, a leaven of mental as well as
social dissolution. They are educated in social functions only
by that spirit and by that work which adds to the sum of mu
tual understanding and mutual help. The industrial wisdom
we want most is that which understands how much more nu
merous and vital are the points of common interest which
unite different forms of industry than those antagonisms, ac
tual or supposed, upon which it is now sought to array their
representatives in definitely hostile classes. It will not improve
either the morals or the sense of the laborer for wages, any
more than it will right his wrongs, to inveigh against capital
as such, while it is in fact capital which he is constantly draw
ing on in himself, and seeking to accumulate for himself, and
applying, so far as he can obtain it, in investments which are
wise or foolish, for the general good or harm, according to the
character of his own private habits and tastes. It does not
help his cause to be ignorant that capital injures him only in
those instances in which it injtires itself; that is, where an
unfair use is made of greater capital to suppress the oppor
tunities of less.
And on the other hand it is equally mischievous for the
capitalist, whose accumulated money fund gives him every
advantage in the labor market over the man who has nothing
to sell but his wasting muscles and his fleeting time, to be
ignorant or regardless of the fact that his own capital is a part
of the great labor fund of the community, and that its devel
opment depends wholly on the free development of labor in
every form. It will not add to his security to forget that he
has no right to quarrel with such combinations as may be
necessary for the protection of wages-labor, except in so far
as these are injurious to labor itself: that is, where they em-
�II
p’oy the power of combination to cripple men in the use of
their own labor-capital, whether of muscles or of mind.
I have hope in those reformers only who can {each us to
emphasize our common interests ; to drop the old-world slo
gan, “ Labor and Capital are natural enemies,” and start with
this pass-word to an age of brotherhood, “ Labor and Capital
are interdependent forces in each and every personality, and
constitute every one a natural guardian ot their common
cause.” Let those meanings of the words have rule which
point to culture and civilization. A problem so universal in
its relations cannot dispense with ideal tests and standards,
and hastens to enforce them upon all experiment. The key
to every position is already found to be, not antagonism, but
co-operation. No other chemistry has hitherto solved a sin
gle dilemma of the industrial world. There is a class, we are
well aware, of whose utter weakness it would be pure mock
ery to bid them co-operate. And to make possible for these
the leisure, the education, the homes, the wages, that shall
permit them to do so, is the instant duty of monied capital
and manual labor alike. If they neglect it, both capital and
labor will reap the whirlwind. But the common sense and
good feeling which the freedom of our social relations makes
easy for all, can open right paths at will. This is the genius
to devise all requisite forms of partnership and mutual guar
antee. But so long as this is foreclosed, there is no step in
legislation, and no measure of compromise, that can escape
subserving the ancient greed whose record is written in social
demoralization and the misery of nations.
Of all necessities involved in the problem of labor, there is
none so practical, none so pressing, as this for which we
plead. What shall we gain, so long as the appeals of labor
reformers are made to motives which lie in the same moral
plane with those which they denounce ; so long as they cover
out of sight the essential fact that the pursuit of private or
class interest alone is equally mischievous in every condition
and form of work? By this spirit of rapacity all parties, how
�ever they may charge each other with the exclusive responsi
bility for the results of financial self-seeking, are equally liable
to be tempted. The avaricious capitalist cripples the free
development of capital. The hand workman who looks no
further than the aggrandizement of his labor club or his
aggressive pdlicy cripples the free development of labor.
The most industrious men, combining for clannish purposes,
hasten to set up the very monopoly they assail as the source
of their own wrongs. Is it intolerable that speculators, com
bining to hoard and hold back the products of nature, should
stimulate the prices of food till a great multitude are threat
ened with famine ? Where is the practical difference in mo
tive or result when men associate tor the purpose of artificially
limiting the supply of labor by restricting the number of work
men ; depriving the individual of his liberty to find education
and employment in branches of industry wherein he might,
but for such class interference, have taken his chance with his
neighbors, and enforcing obedience to organized dictation, as
the condition on which he shall be allowed to practice his
honest calling and earn his daily bread? Can labor resist
oppression without the sphere of its control by oppression
within it ?
What right have a body of workmen, engaged in a special
branch of industry, to assume themselves to be the supreme
regulators of that branch, and to vote down the equal right of
any man to engage in it, upon such terms as his honest effort
can command ? The very pretense of such authority threat
ens a social slavery infinitely worse than any form of political
absolutism yet known; all the worse because it exploits the
machinery of free institutions themselves to annihilate per
sonal freedom.
The one plausible ground fir arbitrarily limiting liberty of
access to the practice of a craft ^s the importance of disci
plines which shall guarantee excellence in the product. But
this desirable result is not to be accomplished, under modern
institutions, by antagonizing labor and capital, nor by shut
�ting out laborers for their refusal to combine in operations to
secure larger profits for the whole. It demands the most cor
dial relations between capital and labor. It involves procur
ing every form of personal talent, by opening opportunities
of culture and employment to all seekers. A high order of
product is the bloom of a genial summer of co-operative
industry. It has, moreover, its moral conditions, which no
external arrangements can secure. It requires a different
order of motives from those which find play in organizing
labor parties or managing controversies with capital,. It
depends, after all that can be said and done, upon con
science; upon the sense of a spiritual and aesthetic value in
production ; upon just that thing in which, it is but common
place to repeat, large capitalists and small capitalists gener
ally, buyers and sellers of work, managers and operatives, are
equally deficient, namely, the preference of quality to quan
tity, of faithful to gainful methods; upon the love of doing
honest, thorough, handsome, serviceable work, in the firm
conviction that this is what makes one a genuine laborer and
producer, not the mere working a given number of hours,
without regard to the character of the performance. This
real respect for labor is the one great lack, amidst all our
manifestoes of its rights and ovations to its name. This,
when it comes, will be true labor reform, to be hailed with
enthusiasm and faith. Its approach would be felt, first of all,
in an awakening of shame and indignation at the base and
ignorant work of all kinds which constantly wastes our re
sources with leakage that no man can measure, and demor
alizes social relations with petty annoyances at every turn,
while it slaughters life and sows disease on a portentous
scale.
Most of what is now called labor reform consists, in fact,
whatever the theory, in the partisan manipulation of societies
devoted to isolated interests and exclusive claims. It tends
to embitter the antagonism to capital with contempt for all
rights of vested property, even for those returns which natu-
�14
ral uses will command. The absence of feudal institutions
might seem to secure America against socialist revolution, in
Europe the natural reaction upon ages of organized wrongs.
Yet this would be but a superficial view of the grounds of
such revolution. America has no Vendome Column to over
turn, no palaces to fire, no priesthood to spoil and slay. But
it is none the less true that there lies a perilous fascination
for intensely democratic instincts in the theory that property
has no rights which the majority may not abrogate at will.
The authority of numbers, the worship of popular desire, is
pushed to its extreme in the phase of republicanism through
which we are passing. The true industrial problem for our
politics is not, how shall majorities prove the extent of their
power, but how shall they learn to respect the principle that
rights of labor and rights of property are mutual guarantees.
But there is need of something more than zeal for equality
and the “ vox populi, vox Dei,” to render a community the
true guardian of this safeguard of individual freedom. Only
as the lesson of a mature self-control, such as the Celt, for
example, has hitherto even failed to conceive, can it realize
the primal truth, that security of ownership is labor’s indis
pensable motive power, and reckless violation of ownership,
its suicide.
Respect for all real rights and uses of property is as truly
the basis of free industry as contempt for all but its spurious
ones is the basis of slavery. I know the logic that would
repeal all private ownership in land in the name of mankind.
But I know that such shift of title would also repeal the Fam
ily and the Home, which forever rest thereon. Nor is the
practical repeal of ethical relations between men to be greatly
desired. Yet the International Labor Congress last year, at
Basel, representing the democracy of labor reform, not only
indulged in denunciation of landed property as such, but
voted that society had the right, by decision of the majority,
to abolish it altogether: mere rapine seriously proposed in
the name of liberty. Proposals to abolish rent, interest, and
�!5
the profits of capital generally, have been heard at similar
meetings in this country. The crusade against rent, of which
Proudhon was the great French apostle, meant for him an
assault on the very principle of ownership. And what, in
fact, do all measures of this latter kind substantially mean ?
They would deprive property of the returns which it naturally
yields its owners, when transferred for a time in the shape of
opportunities to other persons, instead of being expended
upon present enjoyment. Rent and interest represent legiti
mate profits of capital: being payment for accommodations
absolutely required for the production of fresh values. If they
were abolished, not only would labor lose an important stimu
lus, but all mutual aid would necessarily be resolved into the
form of outright gift; so that the laborer would be stripped
of his self-respect, having become a dependent on bounty for
the supply of proper facilities in his avocation. And such
demoralization would result that it would be necessary as a
next step to abolish the benefaction, by denying the owner
ship claimed to reside in the giver. All private capital that
would natural find its uses as investment, or else as bounty,
would thus have to be declared public property, and to be dis
tributed where it is wanted, each needy applicant receiving a
part of these confiscated surplus earnings of others, as if it
were his own. How much earning there would be upon such
tenures, or absence of tenure rather, and how much produc
tive force, with this systemalic spoliation in prospect or opera
tion, it is easy to estimate.
All communistic systems have involved Proudhon’s prem
ise, “ Property is theft; ” some seeking to abolish it by free
co-operation, others by coercive means, appealing to the
State. As regards the latter class, by the way, two questions
are pertinent. If property be theft, what must the State be
in making itself sole proprietary ? And who has ever consti
tuted the joint body of producers, under the name of commu
nity, or whatever other name, prime owner of those laws and
elements of nature which are the basis of all production?
�Yet all anti-property movements are clearly associated with
this belief in politico-industrial absolutism : either as tending
towards it, intentionally or not, or else as flowing by natural
inference from it.
With us the theoretic rejection of property is rare. But the
undermining of its natural rights and uses is among the prac
tical results of a theory which already inspires political organ
izations in the supposed interest of labor. I mean the theory
that all personal rights flow from popular will, and that full
industrial justice can be extemporized and enforced in the
name of the State.
Note the radical vice of this theory. It ignores two essen
tial facts. The first is that the public virtue which men can
effect by outward regulation will not rise above the level of
their own motive, and may fall far below it. And the second
is that the great natural laws, which govern the complex rela
tions of free men, cannot be made to run in predetermined
grooves of policy. These laws must have the margin that
becomes the vastness of their sphere, and the freedom of the
individual minds and wills whose processes are their mate
rial. There are, of course, limits within which votes and
laws for the regulation of the status of labor are effective
and useful ; but it is easy to overstep these limits, and to
trench upon those organic natural methods which are larger
and wiser than our plans. And when this is done, political
manipulation and manœuvre have a clear track for working
the widest and deepest demoralization ; labor being at once
the most private and the most public of spheres, feeding
every spring of personal motive and universal good.
Organized “ labor reform ” in America is rapidly assuming
the aspect here indicated. It is becoming an unrestrained
appeal to the forces of political combination ; an absolute
faith in the all-sufficiency of programmes drawn up in the
interest of a “ laboring class,” and enacted into laws, to settle
every element of this most delicate and complex of problems.
It seems to have no conception of the existence of any limits,
�17
either to what political autocracy, thus exercised, can accom
plish, or to what the community may properly ask or expect it
to accomplish. Thus the National Labor Party proposes that
Congress should perform the function of “so regulating the
interest on bonds and the value of currency as to effect an
equitable distribution of the products of labor between money
or non-producing capital and productive industry ” ! An om
nipotent Congress indeed, and omniscient too, that shall effect
a just division of the profits of industry, and equitable rela
tions in trade, by declaring from time to time, through some
mysterious divination of the public mind, that a piece of paper
currency shall pass for so much in the market, or that govern
ment loans shall pay so much or so little to the lender ! What
conception of the laws of human nature, or of its liberties, or
of the sources of industrial inequalities and injustice can men
have, who expect such legislation, fluctuating, imperfect, itself
dependent on party interests and the strongest forces in the
market, to impose these vast results upon that whole complex
of competitive passions and untraceable relations which we
call the business world ? The same programme in which this
stupendous regeneration is laid out as the work of Congress
proposes that laws enacted for the purpose shall be executed
through the wisdom of a “board of management,” to be se
lected, it- would seem, by the “ labor party v itself, when it
shall have reached the political ascendency requisite for its
aims. As a further result of these and other political meas
ures, “ all able-bodied intelligent persons ” are to be caused
to “contribute to the common stock, by fruitful industry, a
sum equal to their own support; ” and legislation in general
is to be “ made to tend as far as possible to equitable distri
bution of surplus products.” To what extent the confiscation
of such surplus of personal property by popular majorities
shall be needed for the accomplishment of this last result is
not yet in question. But the substance of the belief is this.
A ready-made system of regulations, covering the whole field
of industrial activity, can take up the motive forces of civili
an
�18 '
zation in its hands, and shape them like potter’s clay into an
unknown equity, whose very determination nevertheless defies
all our existing social wisdom, and depends on a spirit of co
operation yet to be created and diffused 1
The managers of the Eight-hour movement promise yet
greater things. The enactment of their programme is not
only to effect the increase of wages and intelligence, needed
to undermine the whole wages system, but will “ secure such
distribution of wealth that poverty shall finally become im
possible.” * Such the miracles of legislation. It can decide
the terms on which labor shall be bought and sold; abolish
competition among laborers; set aside the working of demand
and supply ! It shall even reconstruct human nature; make it
impossible for men to wrong or to be wronged, and free them
from the natural penalties for indolence, thriftlessness, and
vice ! Can the illusions of materialism further go ?
This dream of political autocracy especially busies itself
with treating the currency as an independent element whose
character is to be fixed, like everything else, by pure force
of legislation. Settle by law what precise value this represen
tative of all values shall represent, and are we not in a way to
abolish at once the crime of being rich and the outrage of
being poor ? If only our money medium would stand for just
what we legislate it to be ! Not long since, labor reformers
proposed what was called a “ labor-currency,” to be substi
tuted for gold and silver, as well as for bank-notes supposed
to represent specie, because incapable of being made like
these, the material of monopoly, and speculation. The circu
lating medium recognized in all the markets of the world was
to be set aside for legal-tender “ certificates of service,” or
“ free money, based on commodities to be furnished anywhere
at cost; ” as if such ambiguities of phrase and arbitrary pro
cesses could suggest any guarantee for a circulating medium,
or such narrow theories of its representative value answer the
* Letter of Boston Eight-hour League to the Working-men of New York.
1871.
�I9
demands of trade. What “ commodities ” may mean in the
dialect of our labor parties it may be possible in some degree
to imagine ; but how should a currency of commodity-notes,
from free banks or elsewhere, help abolish monopoly and
speculation ? The whole basis of the expectation must lie in
assuming a superior virtue in the control of the circulating
medium by a commodity-making class, in comparison with all
owners of surplus means under the present forms of cur
rency. Alas ! the real problem is a deeper one : how to free
labor in all forms from the spirit of monopoly and over-spec
ulation. It is but an aggravation of the general misery to
invite us to escape these vices by assuming that the direct
producer of material commodities alone is free from them,
and that he has exclusive mission to expel them by political
enactment from those whom he regards as outside his class.
The National Labor Programme follows up its very just
demands for the prohibition of monopolies, with a call for
enactments against “importing coolies or other servile labor.”
In the actual absence of any such importation, the meaning
manifestly is that Chinese cheap labor should be excluded by
law; in other words, that a monopoly should at once be se
cured in behalf of native workmen as against this kind of
immigration. And this proceeds upon the ground that men
cannot sell their labor at a cheaper rate than labor parties
dictate without being slaves, and that strangers should have
no share in the opportunity to learn by their own experience
the American arts of raising wages and shortening times of
labor. Similar measures against immigrant labor are being in
augurated by the English labor reformers, in defiance of their
own long-cherished theories of free trade. When American
legislation, we care not in whose interest, or at whose dicta
tion, yields itself to this exclusive policy towards industrious
immigrants, it will have proved false to the cosmopolitan faith
which has hitherto distinguished us as the nation of nations,
and built up our noblest traditions and hopes. Let the old
world’s experience of shutting out whole classes from the free
�competitions of labor suffice. And let us be duly watchful
against admitting as representative of the real interests of
productive industry the efforts of special parties to subject its
free movement to excessive governmental regulation, in their
own behalf. We have had warning of what may be done
even in the name of the rights of labor, in the shameful dis
qualifications that have been imposed upon the Chinese in
California. One more illustration may suffice.
In the whole scheme for enfranchising the working class
proposed by the National Labor Congress there is not one
syllable that breathes of encouraging woman in the free
choice of occupation, or of securing equal pay to both sexes
for equal service. This great social duty may well have been
left out of the political programme on account of its mani
festly lying beyond the sphere of law, — though an amend
ment giving suffrage to women might deserve to have been
mentioned as likely to facilitate the performance of it. Its
absence from the Declaration of Principles also is good evi
dence how entirely the movement, as now pursued, is ab
sorbed in the ambition for purely 'political management of the
industrial interests of the country.*
Is absolutism organized by the State any better for Labor
than it is for Religion ? Yet even a republic may be drifting
towards it. It is a grave error to forget the natural limits to
* Resolutions passed by a State Convention of the Labor Party, held
at Framingham, Mass., while this article was in press, deserve notice as a
local movement in behalf of the political and industrial rights of woman.
The demand for these rights has reached a degree of recognition in this
State, which enables it to command more or less respect from all political
parties. But the facts relating to the JVdiwnaZ Labor Movement remain as
above stated. There are many good elements in these Framingham reso
lutions : but we are far from endorsing their extreme statement that labor,
in their sense of the word, is “the creator of all wealth; ” or their inter
necine war on wages, involving as it would, not only the overthrow of cer
tain unjust or degrading conditions of labor service merely, but actual
prohibition by law of that free determination in what form one shall sell his
labor to others, which is the proper meaning of a contract for wages.
�21
the power of laws in determining the relations of industry.
But it is a much graver error to give over the cause of labor
to that kind of personal management by which political organ
izations secure victory and spoils ; to get up a new political
party to supplant existing ones, upon every issue that arises
between the industrial elements; to expend the force that
should be employed in co-operative movements upon the
broadest basis of sympathy, in feeding political ambitions,
substituting personalities for principles, and heaping the fuel
of party bitterness upon every smouldering ember of discord
in factory and shop. It is of course easy to demand indig
nantly, if labor is to be denied the common right of political
combination to make laws for its own protection. The an
swer is that the question is absurd. Labor is no abstract,
distinct interest of this kind. It is the universal life — the
people themselves in their productive energy — and every
time the people go to the ballot-box they express their will,
more or less wisely, concerning its interests. This is the
constant fact, this the whole meaning of American politics,
and no believer in our institutions would think of disparaging
it: though they certainly come near to doing so, whose no
tions of “a laboring class” contract their definition of labor
within arbitrary limits. But this is what we do believe. The
genuine appeal of labor to political action in a free community
will be known by the people’s speaking in some consentient
and normal way, as having common interests, of which it
must not be supposed as a whole to be either ignorant or
regardless. In other words, its great political bodies will
include the great mass of producers; are, indeed, mainly
made up of such; and, in the main, will naturally represent
the people’s instinctive good sense, as to what can and what
cannot be accomplished for the right organization of labor by
political methods. So that a party which has to be worked
up outside and against them, yet on issues that cannot but
have been familiar already to these free voting masses, gives
but slight promise of reporting the real demands of labor.
�22
♦
An utterly impoverished and neglected class must indeed get
its claims stated in whatever way is possible for it. But our
labor-reform parties do not represent this advocacy of some
distinctive stratum which politics has forgotten; they are not
pleading for a dumb, disfranchised race, for slaves, shut out
from all political hearing by national constitution and local
law, — and certainly all labor claims but such as these can
more readily get political recognition and power by inspiring
the best among the great lines of public movement than by
acting as the foe of all. — But it must be said further of such
parties as have been described, that their conditions fit them
much less for real service to labor, as a whole, than for add
ing complications of intrigue and strife. Believe as we may
that the sway of capital over industrial machinery is grinding
the workman into dust: your labor party must prove to us
that its own passion for managing political machinery is serv
ing him any better. It must tell us what good fruit is to be
reaped by transforming the whole labor question into an open
path for the reckless personalities and flatteries of the dema
gogue on his foray: a vantage ground for working upon blind
suspicions and desires; whether by crusading against the
public creditor and the owner of capital as public enemies, or
by promising to make “poverty impossible ” bylaws enforcing •
high pay and short hours.
The theory, for instance, of a gigantic combination of capi
tal as such to oppress and enslave labor, becomes in the
hands of political management quite as gigantic a power for
working up personal detraction and the misery of social distrust. Yet all the reckless suppression of the weak by the
strong inherent in business methods, and all the rapacity ot
incorporated money power, when fully recognized, fails to
warrant the theory itself. As commonly put, it cannot be
shown to be other than pure delusion. It would seem diffi
cult to ignore more thoroughly the position which labor ac
tually holds in our civilization than they do who are continu' ally exploiting this theory. That there are indeed whole
�23
classes in its best centres requiring instant protection, per
sonal, political, social, against unscrupulous systems and mas
ters, should be plain enough to all: we advise every doubter
of this to read without delay the facts and statistics brought
out by the recent impressive Report of the Massachusetts
Labor Bureau. But it is equally plain that laboring men as
such are in this country neither discredited by custom, nor
discouraged by legal disqualification. Industry is in honor
such as it never had in any land or age. There is not a town
ship in New England that does not shine with tokens of its
large rewards to farmer and mechanic. A man has not less
but more prestige for belonging to the people: and to have
been broadly educated, or to be very wealthy, is actually,
other things being equal, a disadvantage in the race for pub
lic honors in comparison with having labored with the hands
for daily bread. Labor systematically oppressed in a country
whither the poor of all nations are fleeing in flocks from the
caste systems of the old world ! Labor systematically vic
timized in a country where it has such perfect liberty of asso
ciation and such success in self-protection as to have rendered
all separation of it from capital, even in speech, a self-contra
diction : where, as numerical force, it is itself public senti
ment and court of appeal, and capable of prosperity in exact
proportion to its own self-respect! The industry of such a
land is essentially one cause with social order and progress,
with morality and religion, with every instinct of humanity.
And the labor movement that recognizes this breadth of func
tion, not seeking the aggrandizement of a special body, nor
imitating the exclusiveness of feudal guilds, but clothing
itself in large and free co-operation for the removal of all
obstacles to honest self-support, in fact appeals to sympathies
that move through all paths and conditions: it will find the
common atmosphere of social life itself at its command, as a
freely conducting medium. How should capitalists plan or
even hope to hinder the prosperous development of such a
force ? It js impossible that its drawbacks should lie any
�24
where but in motive forces that operate in the mass of men,
without regard to class or function. They are no more refera
ble to capital as such than to labor as such. And all agitation
is blind and wasteful till it is recognized that there is not and
cannot be in these old free States to-day any general syste
matic attempt or hope to enslave labor as such : that there is
only the eager passion of men who have much for making
more, and of men who have less to have as much as they;
that this, the unbridled rage in all spheres and occupations,
is what now breeds, and what would breed, under the best
organized scheme for controlling capital any reformer can
devise, whatever miseries now befall honest labor. This is
the Ishmaelite, to whom capital and labor alike are free spoil,
and who snaps his fingers at all laws and guarantees. He
wars on no one class more than on another: he simply pil
lages society in the right of the stronger. It is foolish to
mistake this unchartered enemy for the intentional plot of a
capitalist class against labor. The master who pays his work
man the lowest pittance, or tries to control his vote by driving
him out of employ, has no special war against labor as such.
Will he not starve out his fellow capitalists as well, or swallow
them up as readily as he does his workmen, when they stand
in his way ? And as for those, on the other hand, who would
have capital stripped of all opportunity and control, and
brought under the rule of manual labor as the only produc
tive force, and as entitled to all the fruits of production,—
what would they too be likely to do with the rights of weaker
laboring men could they thus despoil property and wield its
powers ? Their cry of “ Down with capital ” is the raving of
men befooled by the very greed they charge all capital with
organizing for their destruction. What but mischief comes
of blind choice and blind rejection, “ Down with this,” and
“ Up with that,” impelled by the fiercest of despots that can
sway manners and wield the liberties and laws ?
The interests of Labor can be advanced only by what is
done in the interest of the whole of society, and with fair esti-
�25
»
mation of all the elements of productive movement. It is to
be presumed that with the exception of those who live by
speculating in fictitious values, or who live as mere drones by
the toil of others, the only unproductive classes, — everybody
is more or less sensitive to the status of labor, and feels,
more or less consciously, the harm that befalls every compo
nent force in the process of industry. No abuses in the sup
posed interest either of accumulated wealth or of manual
labor can give just ground for disparaging the public uses
that flow from both these elements. The broadest apprecia
tion of uses alone can correct all abuse; a reconciling spirit
whose war is only against the common foe.
Schemes, for instance, to drive large capitalists out of any
fair field of employment for wealth, or artificially to bar out
labor that seeks that field, do not solve the problem of false
proportion between the price of food and the price of labor.
Our help must come from the science and the experience that
can make it clear to all reasonable persons how mischiev
ous to the whole community are railroad monopolies and food
speculations, holding back products from their natural markets,
enormously raising their cost to the consumer; high tariffs
that enhance the cost of production, and so diminish the mar
ket for the product; large land grants to monopolists; gen
eral overtrading, stimulated by the powers of machinery into
such fluctuation of prices as to drive all profit from the chan
nel of fair distribution into that of self-preservation in the
competitive strife; dishonest trading, by stock or gold gamblers, in the hopes and fears of all classes ; and the want of
co-operation among laborers to hold and work capital equita
bly, and to educate labor to a skill which shall command, as
skilled labor always will, a high reward. And these real
causes of the false relations between the prices of food and
labor being duly recognized, the cure cofries in a common
effort, wisely distinguishing what can come by legislation
from what cannot, to remove them as foes to the common
good; not as if a laboring class only were ordained to get the
�26
benefit of the reform, nor with the aim to put down, or to
despoil, any of those elements on which all depend. By this
spirit, which we believe is destined to work its way to tri
umph, the scope of industrial reform will be widened to match
the magnitude of the evils that now threaten us. It will tell
alike on laborer and money-holder, in ethical as well as in ■
political directions. It§ programmes will not stop in schemes
for enforcing short hours and high wages for those who are
already employed upon terms that give them vantage to
demand better; they will look to the starvation wages of
thousands of sewing-women, and the miserable pay of female
labor generally; to the friendlessness of young immigrants
into cities where labor is uncertain and fluctuating; to the
threatening increase of the sum of ignorance, intemperance,
and squalid living. It will pursue and punish the reckless dis
regard of physiological laws which packs laborers into unven
tilated rooms or exhausts them in unhealthy forms of toil, or
exposes them to perilous surroundings without such precau
tions against disaster as science can afford. It will bring to
bear on the murderous dens of drunkenness and infamy that
flourish under the assaults of law, the infinitely stronger bat
teries of labor as a public sentiment and a personal force of
example and of aid. It will make war upon ignorance of
physical and economical laws, upon loose, unhealthy, wasteful
habits; upon the unthrift that is the father of vice and the
dupe of political jugglery. It will stop the shameless gains
of tenement speculators by providing cheap and healthy lodg
ing-houses for the poor; opening easy paths to the ownership
of real estate. It will press everywhere the claims of home ;
and facilitate in every way the taste for those domestic duties
and interests that lead men to steady work and steady saving;
and propagate the ambition, not to break down capital as a
fraud and a foe, but* to possess it as the means of personal cul
ture and public service. And in view of an unprecedented
political corruption, which no mere party changes can im
prove, it will insist on making office the permanent reward of
�27
worth and fitness instead of the carcass for unclean creatures
to prey on, to the nation’s undoing. It will understand that
of all follies there can be none greater than that of entrusting
the task to office-seekers who skillfully work up the public
sense of official misconduct, loudly proclaiming their own allsufficiency ; and whose sweeping assaults on the representa
tives of the people are of course mere contumely of the peo
ple themselves. For this is but to call on Scylla to save us
from Charybdis. That well-meaning reformers should vote
men into office whom they do not respect, in the belief that
their abilities can thus be made available, and that policy
alone will bind them to prefer the public good to schemes of
private ambition, — is sheer trifling with the life of the State.
How can there be any more public security than there is pri
vate virtue, known and trusted with affairs ? If you cannot
find this, and must commit yourselves to the chances of poli
tic good behavior from the opposite quality, it is a confession
that all is lost. They who teach that the question of the mo
tives and convictions of a candidate is of small account com
pared with his probable uses for a particular end, because we
are not to look for saints in politics, demoralize all who be
lieve them, and deal death to those ideals on which our liberty
depends. God may utilize all qualities. But is the political
manager “a special providence” to save the nation, after he
has taught it not to enquire what men purpose, if they will
but promise to execute its will ?
The ideal aim of Labor is to identify itself with every form
of personal and public culture; to represent the fullness of
productive life; the brain and heart and arm of civilization.
It is worse than time wasted to classify the friends and foes
of this work by parties or programmes : the point of moment
is the quality of individual life. Justice to Labor is the finest
of the fine arts ; the art of justice itself, and honor and love ;
it is large appreciation and faithful performance ; the art of
loyalty to the best and of service to the whole. It is the light
that sees and the love that shares. What signify political
y
�28
combinations beyond the amount they contain of that true
personality in men and women which alone renders the social
atmosphere fit for breathing ? To what end will you concen
trate rapacity and multiply waters of bitterness ? It is no less
than crime in labor reformers to promise their followers im
mense gains from laws and regulations about labor, while yet
never daring to tell them plainly that there shall be no more
relief to the poor in demanding and making such laws than
what they themselves render possible by their contribution of
qualities which political management or class ascendency can
not give. In the interest of the whole, let it be insisted that
our republican watchword, “ The dignity of labor,” shall have
rational meaning. And let us stand at the outset upon this
conviction. Crass ignorance, exclusiveness in rich or poor,
democratic or aristocratic; coarse and sensual habits ; the
arts of demagogues, and that love of flattery and worship of
noisy self-assumption which gives them following; a blind
antagonism to whatever commands special advantages in the
x competition for wealth, — all ways, in short, that unfit for ap
preciating a generous culture of the tastes and sympathies,
and for respecting, even if one does not understand, the func
tions of art, science, religion, discredit one’s cry for “ honor
to labor,” and for “the rights of labor,” and unfit him to stand
as its champion or to advocate its cause.
The large and free recognition of uses, visible and invisible,
moral, intellectual, social, and on one level for both sexes and
every race, is labor’s true capital, and capital’s real labor. Is
sue this currency far and wide: it will not depreciate, like
greenbacks, by increase ; it will not heap like gold in gam
bling and monopoly. Maintain this sole guarantee of per
sonal freedom and culture, amidst the mechanism of consoli
dation which, without it, would suppress them altogether.
Join hands, all parties, on this, the education of a free people
to the spirit that civilizes, not barbarizes ; lifting the weak and
blind with all the leverage of its united vision and strength,
�29
and calling forth every brain and hand to the self-supporting
work that redeems and dignifies man.
Let me say in closing that I hold Free Labor in America to
be the true Emancipation of Religion. It has nobler function
than to subserve the blind destructive reaction on all intuition
and faith against whose leadership the great soul of Mazzini
was obliged to warn the labor reformers in his young Italy.
It means what America means, — not an enforced labor creed,
but the integral culture of humanity. To honor constructive
labor is to associate the normal exercise of every faculty with
what deserves highest honor; in other words, with Religion.
And so religion becomes natural, human, unmonopolized, sec
ular. It teaches man no longer the old self-contempt, as a
gift by supernatural grafting, or miraculous interference, or by
special mediatorial book, church, sect, seasons, forms, that
disparage life itself; but self-respect as the voice of his famil
iar instincts, insights, energies, in the constancy of universal
law. What could effect such deliverance but free labor’s en
dowment of the whole human capacity with a sacred purpose
and authority? “My Father worketh hitherto and I work,”
says the Jesus of John. That is very grand: nothing perhaps
grander in the New Testament. But this is grander still:
for man to say, as man, as a people, as human faculty in the
broadest application, “ God worketh and I work.” Make reli
gion as broad, as practical, as natural as labor, and religion
for the first time in history stands on universal principles, and
humanity can become one with God. .
����
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Labor parties and labor reform
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Johnson, Samuel [Johnson]
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Place of publication: Boston. Mass.
Collation: 29 p. ; 21 cm.
Notes: From the library of Dr Moncure Conway. Printed by Cochrane, 25 Bromfield St. Reprinted from 'The Radical'.
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[s.n.]
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1871
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Labour
Socialism
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Conway Tracts
United States-Politics and Government
Working Class-United States of America
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Text
NATIONAL SECULAR SOCIETY
t-eovi e-
i~e v/i
WORK AND PAY.
�M .m tffM .IT H IM W ................
'
�WORK AND PAY:
OR,
PRINCIPLES OF INDUSTRIAL ECONOMY.
IN KING’S COLLEGE, LONDON.
WITH
REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION-
ON COMBINATIONS OF LABOURERS AND CAPITALISTS.
By LEONE LEVI, F.S.A., F.S.S.,
PROFESSOR OF THE PRINCIPLES OF COMMERCE AND COMMERCIAL LAW IN KING S
COLLEGE, LONDON ; DOCTOR OF POLITICAL ECONOMY ; AND OF
LINCOLN’S INN, BARRISTER-AT-LAW.
STRAHAN AND CO., LIMITED,
34, PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON.
1877.
The right of translation is reserved.^
�Hazell, Watson, & Viney, Printers, London & Aylesbury.
�TO
SAMUEL MORLEY, ESQ., M.P.
Dear Sir,—
These lectures are the outcome of the Bristol Meeting
of the British Association, when the report of its Committee on
Combinations of Capitalists and Labourers was read and dis
cussed. And they owe their delivery to your earnest desire to
have the important questions at issue between masters and men
treated in a calm spirit and in an impartial manner. I do not
jay claim to the enunciation of any new theories, or to any
novelty in argument. What I have advanced is nothing more
than what the well-established principles of political economy,
recognised alike in their essentials by British and foreign
economists, have taught us.
Your desire and mine is that the relations between capital and
labour be placed on a sound and equitable basis, and I earnestly
trust that the effort now made to bring the principles of economic
science and the interests and aspirations of the working classes
into direct contact and possible harmony may have a beneficial
influence on the well-being of the people.
Believe me, dear Sir, yours very faithfully,
LEONE LEVI.
5,
Crown Office Row, Temple,
March, 1877.
��CONTENTS
RAGE
LECTURE
I. WORK AND WORKERS............................................................ I
II. THE DIVISION . OF LABOUR AND THE WONDERS OF
MACHINERY............................................................................... 17
III. USE OF CAPITAL IN INDUSTRY............................................... 33
IV. THE REWARD OF LABOUR..........................................................49
V. TRADE UNIONS.............................................................................. 67
VI. STRIKES AND LOCKOUTS
.
.
VIII.
.
.
.85
.
.
VII. BUDGETS OF THE WORKINGCLASSES
.96
SAVINGS BANKS AND OTHER INVESTMENTS OF THE
WORKING CLASSES.................................................................. HI
APPENDIX.
(a)
cost of living in 1839, 1849, i859>
1&75 ,
• 129
.
.
. 130
(c) BUDGETS OF THE WORKING CLASSES .
.
. 131
(b) wages
in 1839, 1849, 1859, 1873
(D) REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF THEBRITISH
ASSOCIATION.................................................................. 137
��I.
WORK AND WORKERS.
If I venture to come before you, in this great centre of labour,
to discuss some of those questions connected with “Work
and Pay ” which so often give occasion to quarrels and diffi
culties, it is in the full consciousness that the proper solution
of economic problems depends not only on the right con
ception of abstract theories and principles, but on their being
regarded side by side with the realities of life. I do not pre
tend to be a philosopher, but I would like to be a practical
economist. If I am able to state to you what I consider the
dictates of economic science on the questions before us, you
may also be able to point out to me how such dictates are found
to work in practical life. In any case, should I be unable to
carry conviction into your mind, should you see reason to object
to any principles I may lay before you, I hope you will not refuse
giving due heed to the lessons and warnings of a science which is
essentially connected with the progress and wealth of the nation.
It is cheering to know that we are all wanted in this wide
world ; that all of us have a purpose to accomplish, and that, if
we have only the will to exercise them, our faculties need not lie
dormant, or languish. To me, and to all of us, constituted as
we are, it is a real pleasure to work. I delight in a tableful of
papers. I do not sympathize with the sentiment, dolce far
niente; I rather believe in the adage, “Amind at rest is a
mind unblest.” With our powers of thought and imaginaI
�2
WORK AND- WORKERS.
tion, and with our capacity of invention, construction, and
intercourse, we must be active in order to be happy. The use
of such expressions as “ condemned to labour,” or the “ task of
labour,” or the calling of labour of any kind “ servile,” whilst
we enjoy full freedom of labour, betokens simple ignorance of its
dignity and utility. Sometimes, indeed, we may be disappointed
at the result of our labour. Occasionally, it may be, thorns
and thistles spring where we expected luxuriant fruitfulness
and beauty. But what then ? The necessity to meet our daily
wants, and even our failure to accomplish the object of our
aspirations, often prove a salutary incentive to strengthen and
refine the powers and faculties with which we are endowed.
One thing is absolutely certain, that without labour nothing is
produced. The sun, water, fire, wind, gravitation, magnetism,
the vital forces of animals, the vegetative forces of the soil, the
duration, resistance, and ductility of metals, whatever active
or inert forces may exist, if left to themselves they will not
exist for us, and will be quite indifferent to our happiness. That
they may serve us, they must be turned to our service; that they
may be able to produce, they must be directed in the work of
production. Though they exist independently of us, as agents
of production, they exist only by human industry.
"... Nature lives by labour ;
Beast, bird, air, fire, the Heavens and rolling world,
All live by action ; nothing lives at rest,
But death and ruin! ” *
We often speak of the working classes as a distinct body
of persons upon whom mainly fall the work and toil of life.
What a blunder ! We are all workers. Every one of us, from
the Queen on the throne to the humblest of her subjects, has a
place to fill and a work to do. Some are labouring in directing
and administering the affairs of the State. They are the
Ministers of State, the Governors of Colonies, the whole Civil
* Dyer.
�WORK AND WORKERS.
Service. Some are engaged in extracting the fruit of the soil,
in appropriating, adapting, converting, shaping matter to our
convenience. They work the land. They are busy with animal
and vegetable substances and minerals. Many are fulfilling
various offices for man—curing diseases, teaching youth, pre
serving peace, defending right, punishing wrong, and in a
thousand ways upholding the great structure of human society.
Some work in the field, some in workshops, some in the
mines, and some on the sea. Some labour with the hand,
some with the head, and some with both. Yes, we are all
workers. Strictly speaking, we may not be all producers of
wealth; all labour being, economically speaking, unproductive
which ends in immediate enjoyment without tending to any
increase of permanent stock, or not having for its result a
material product. Yet we can scarcely say that no labour is
valuable which is not immediately employed in the production
of material riches. The genius which enlightens, the religion
which comforts, the justice which preserves, the sciences and
arts which improve and charm our existence, are indirectly, if
not in a direct manner, as truly productive as commerce, which
affords us the enjoyment of the produce and labour of other
countries; as agriculture, which extracts the fruit special to
each soil; and as manufactures, which transform the raw produce
of different countries into articles adapted to the taste and
wants of the opulent, as well as of the masses of the people.
Few, indeed, who truly fulfil the mission to which they are
called, who labour in the sphere a,nd condition in which they are
placed, and who exercise the faculties and talents with which
they are endowed, can be said to be unproductive in this great
laboratory. The whole nation is practically working together
as a great co-operative society, under the very best division of
labour; all the more perfect since it is natural and spontaneous.
Let us perform our part well, and we need not fear but our
labour will be useful.
Ashamed of working ?—
�4
WORK AND WORKERS.
“ Work, work ! be not afraid,
Look labour boldly in the face;
Take up the hammer or the spade,
And blush not for your humble place.
There’s glory in the shuttle’s song,
There’s triumph in the anvil’s stroke,
There’s merit in the grave and strong,
Who dig the mine or fell the oak.
The wind disturbs the sleeping lake,
And bids it ripple pure and fresh,
It moves the grain boughs till they make
Grand music in their leafy mesh.”
I have often wondered at the power of endurance of the
human frame when engaged in some of the most arduous tasks
of manual labour. It must be hard to be continually lifting
enormous weights, to deal with such substances as iron and
steel, to stand the heat of a fiery furnace, or to work for hours
in the very bowels of the earth. But do not imagine that those
who labour with the head have a much lighter work. The head
ache, the excited nerve, the sleepless eye, of the man of letters
are as irksome and injurious to life as the undue exercise of our
physical energies. An agricultural labourer, working in the
open air with mind and heart perfectly at ease, has a greater
expectancy of life than a solicitor or a physician. The distinc
tion, moreover, between manual and intellectual labour is no
ldnger so marked as it once was. It is ungenerous to assume
that the manual labourer employs no skill, for what labour is
there which does not need skill and judgment ? What are the
wonderful results of machinery, those exquisite examples of
handicraft at our Kensington Museum, but so many monuments
of the talent and dexterity of those who are engaged in socalled manual labour ? Among the labouring classes there is a
wonderful and endless variety of talent and skill. Between the
Michael Angelos employed by a Bond Street goldsmith, and the
common labourer employed in the East and West India Docks,
the gradations are most numerous. We speak of a million of
�WORK AND WORKERS
5
men engaged in agricultural work, of half a million in the
building trade, of a third of a million employed in the textile
manufacture, and of a third more in tailoring and shoemaking.
But really these different descriptions of workmen divide them
selves into as many classes as they have special skill and
capacity. Together, they cultivate during the yea 47,000,000
acres of land, rear 32,000,000 sheep and 10,000,000 cattle, ex
tract some ^65,000,000 worth of minerals, produce goods for
export to the extent of ^200,000,000, and bring into existence
ever so many commodities and utilities needed for the susten
ance, comforts, and luxuries of the inhabitants of all countries.
But to what extent each individual labourer assists in this work
it would be difficult to say. I fear the difference is in many
cases enormous.
It is well indeed to remember what are the conditions for
the efficient discharge of duties in the work of production. To
my mind, first and foremost amongst such conditions is energy,
or the possession of a good strong will to work ; for with in
dolence and carelessness no work is done, no wealth is pro
duced. There must be steady and persevering labour, and an
energetic and willing mind to overcome the difficulties which
Nature presents. An impulsive and transient effort is not
sufficient. How far it is true that six Englishmen can do as
much work as eight Belgians or Frenchmen, I do not know;
but to be able to do a certain amount of work, and to give
oneself in earnest to do it, are two distinct things. There is
such a thing, let it be remembered, as idling away our time
whilst we profess to work, as laying 500 bricks in a day when
1000 might easily be laid, as giving five blows to strike a tree-nail
when three ought to be sufficient. A day’s work means a day
of continuous, energetic work—a day in which as much work
is done as can possibly be done, a day in which our powers
and talents are employed in full active service, when the work
is gone through thoroughly, speedily, earnestly. To pretend to
�6
WORK AND WORKERS.
be working when you are wasting your time in idle talk, is to
defraud your master of the value of your service. To make a
show of work is a very different thing from doing real work.
Then there is another consideration. How many days in the
year do you work ? An Irishman’s year used to be 200 days,
instead of at least 300 ; for he had 52 Sundays, 52 market-days,
a fair in each month, half a day a week for a funeral, and some
13 days in the year as saints’-days and birthdays. What a
waste ! “ Alas for that workman who takes all the Mondays
for pastime and idleness, who keeps fairs and wakes, or who
deliberately neglects the work which a bountiful Providence
set before him ! Miserable is he who slumbers on in idleness.
Miserable the workman who sleeps before the hour of his rest,
or who sits down in the shadow whilst his brethren work in
the sun.” * There is enough of forced idleness and slack time
in every occupation, without aggravating the evil by wilful
neglect. “To live really,” said Mr. Smiles, “is to act energeti
cally. Life is a battle to be fought valiantly. Inspired by high
and honourable resolve, a man must stand to his post, and die
there, if need be. Like the old Danish hero, his determination
should be to dare nobly, to will strongly, and never falter in the
path of duty.”
" Let us go forth, and resolutely dare
With sweat of brow to toil our little day;
And if a tear fall on the task of care,
Brush it not by 1”
The national characteristics of each country are sure to be
reflected in the work performed by its people. Her Majesty’s
Secretaries of Legation reported of the French that there is
much instability in their manner of work; that the workmen are
most competent when it suits their fancy to display their skill, but
that, as a rule, they do not work steadily. Of the Germans, that
their work is well performed, but that their chief fault is slowness
and indifference as to time in completing their task. Thequality
* Tynman.
�WORK AND WORKERS.
1
of the work in Italy is not to be despised, but the workmen
require a great amount of watching, their conscience not being
at all sensitive. Of the Swiss, they say that, as a rule, they are
competent for their work, and that they do take an interest in
it. The work of the Dutch is sound and good, but it has not
the polish and finish of the English. The Russians, the Secretary
of Legation reports, seem utterly indifferent as to the quality
of their labour. They take no pride in their work, and require
the most constant supervision. The Turks perform their work
roughly, rudely, and incompletely. The Argentines turn out a
rough and unfinished work. And our friends in the United
States have many short cuts for arriving at what may not be
quite equal to the article turned out in the English workshop.
Rare are the instances where absolute praise is awarded for
energy, where it can be said with truth that the labourers do
really take a pride in their work, and throw their character
into it. What reports are the Secretaries of Foreign Legations
in England sending out to their Governments as regards work
in this country? Is there good foundation for the complaint of
the deterioration of work in many branches of British labour ?
Nearly one hundred years ago, a German writer described the
Englishman as the best workman in the world ; for he worked
so as to satisfy his own mind, and always gave his work that
degree of perfection which he had learnt to appreciate and
attain. As the Frenchman sought to enhance the value of his
manufactures by all kinds of external ornament, so the English
man sought to give his productions in exactitude, usefulness,
and durability a less fleeting worth. Has this important encomium
been forfeited? I do not think so, whatever may be said to the
contrary. As a matter of fact it is seen in the cotton industry
that an English labourer is able to superintend 74 spindles,
whilst a German can at most [superintend 35, a Russian 28,
and a Frenchman 14. Physically and intellectually, the British
workman is better than he ever was. I doubt, indeed, if he has
�8
AND WORKERS.
a rival in his capacity for continuous exertion ; and if there be
reason to lament his disposition to obey with perfect discipline
the mandates of such associations as undertake to protect his
rights, we should not forget that it is that same disposition that
best fits the British workman for taking his place in the modern
organization of labour, where every human hand has work
assigned, the value of which depends on the relation it bears toa great whole.
I am persuaded, however, that the exercise of energy in work
depends in a great measure on the possession of strength and
health ; for it is impossible to work well unless we are in health
and comfort. The body must be in full vigour, the vital energies'
must be elastic and fresh, the mental faculties must be quick
and active, ere we can give ourselves to patient and persevering
labour. Viewed in this aspect, every measure of sanitary reform
has a direct economic value. How can you expect hard-working-
men and women where the very air is tainted by the most noxious
gases ? Liverpool, Manchester, and Salford, said Dr. Farr, are
at the head of a mournful cohort of unhealthy districts which
call aloud for healers. It is not the water, nor the food,
nor the absence of food, nor the clothing that produce the
mischief, but it is the heedless admixture of tallow-chandlery
and slaughter-houses, and the vitiated atmosphere from the
black outpourings from innumerable chimneys, that make the
Manchester artisan pale, sallow, and unhealthy, and that make his
children grow pale, thin, and listless. Many of our workmen,
moreover, have to meet dangers peculiar to their occupations..
They are liable to suffer from exposure to dust and other foreign
substances, from exposure to noxious gases and heated and im
pure air, from mechanical concussions, from peculiar postures of
body, and from excessive exertion. In the manufacture of artificial
flowers or wall-paper with emerald-green, the workers are in
danger of slow poisoning from arsenic. A dozen leaves from
a lady’s head-dress were found to contain ten grains of white
�WORK AND WORKERS.
9
arsenic. Those who have to do with phosphorous are exposed
to its fumes, which produce jaw disease and bronchitic affections.
The workers in lead are exposed to lead-poisoning, and those
who work with mercury to mercurial poisoning ; whilst builders,,
miners, fishermen, and seamen are in special danger of sudden
death from falls, explosions, or storms. Domestic servants,
always at home, comparatively at ease as respects the necessaries
of life, may be supposed to have a good expectancy of life ; yet
carpenters and even metal-workers have better prospects of great
age than they.
But, as I have just hinted, quite apart from dangers of this
nature, other risks follow many of our workmen in their homes.
Born, many of them, in the midst of comparative privations,
living often in low, dingy, uncomfortable houses, how hard it
is for them to maintain anything like freshness and vivacity.
The rents of houses are certainly dear, and they often absorb a
good portion of their weekly wages. Yet I apprehend that a
comparatively high house-rent might be really a good investment,
should it prevent, as it is sure to do, the slow deterioration of
health, the lowered vitality of enjoyment, and the long series of
evils arising from overcrowding. Room to breathe is wanted
everywhere. Much good will, I hope, result from the recent
Act for facilitating the improvement of the dwellings of the
working classes ; and good work is done in London by such
associations as the Metropolitan Association for Improving
the Dwellings of the Industrious Classes, the Improved Indus
trial Dwellings Company, and many other kindred societies.
But all such efforts need the co-operation of the labouringclasses themselves. How much an individual is justified in
spending in house-rent it is difficult to say, circumstances
varying so much. Ten per cent, of the income is, I believe,
generally devoted to house-rent by the middle classes, whether
by paying that proportion for a whole house, or by paying more
and recovering a portion by sub-letting. But ten per cent, of
�IO
AND WORKERS.
the working Oman’s wages, viz., three or four shillings a week
on an income of thirty shillings to forty shillings, is hardly
enough for sufficient accommodation for even a moderate
family. Supposing, therefore, that twelve per cent, be required,
or even fifteen per cent., better far to economise in other
items of expenditure than to live in a house smaller than we
require. In the economic management of a limited income
the first thought should be an airy, wholesome, cheerful
house—a real home for every inmate of the household.
Need I say that there may be a house without a home?
A house where father, mother, and children, some even of
tender age, are absent from six in the morning to six or seven
at night, can scarcely be called a home. Where mothers
cease to nurse their children, and leave them to the tender
mercies of servants, or deposit them at the Creches, there must
of necessity be a frightful mortality of children, a grievous de
generation of the race, and a total absence of moral education.
And when, late in the evening, father, mother, and children
meet together, more as strangers than as members of a common
household, often in the only room they possess, empty and
cheerless, what comfort can they expect ? Alas ! cleanliness in
such a case is out of the question. The fire is out; the food is
not ready; the children’s clothing falls into rags ; and, worse
than all, father and brothers, disgusted, take refuge at the
nearest public-house. I know nothing more essential, both in
a social and economic aspect, than a happy home. “ Home 1
If any of you working men have not got a home yet, resolve,
and tell your wife of your good resolution, to get, to make it at
almost any sacrifice. She will aid it all she can. Her step will
be lighter and her hand will be busier all day, expecting the
comfortable evening at home when you return. Household
affairs will have been well attended to. A place for everything,
and everything in its place, will, like some good genius, have
made even an humble home the scene of neatness, arrange-
�WORK AND WORKERS.
ii
ment, and taste. The table will be ready at the fireside ; the
loaf will be one of that order which says, by its appearance, You
may cut and come again. The cups and saucers will be waiting
for supplies. The kettle will be singing; and the children,
happy with fresh air and exercise, will be smiling in their glad
anticipation of that evening meal when father is at home, and
of the pleasant reading afterwards.” *
In matters of food and drink, I imagine, the British labourer
is better off than the labourers of any other country. Meat is
indeed dear, yet not dearer than in New York or Paris ; whilst
bread is decidedly cheaper, vegetables are abundant, and fish
plentiful. And the people are doing full justice to such bounties.
What a change in the quantities of foreign commodities con
sumed during the last thirty years 1 In 1844, there were ijj lbs.
of tea per head consumed in the United Kingdom; in 1875,
4'44 lbs. In 1844, f lb. of foreign butter ; in 1875, 4’92 lbs. In
1844, scarcely anything of foreign bacon and hams was con
sumed; in 1875, 8-26 lbs. per head. And, whilst the home pro
duction of wheat and flour is as large as ever, the consumption
of wheat and flour of foreign countries increased from iyjlbs., in
1844, to 197 lbs. per head in 1875. How many who are now able
to eat wheaten bread, were thirty years ago content with rye
bread ! and how many who never saw butcher meat from
week to week, now enjoy it every day I Surely we may rejoice
that by a wise legislation the door has been opened for the
importation of the necessaries of life from every part of the
globe ; and that, as a result of the same and of other favourable
circumstances, whereas the number of paupers, including indoor
and outdoor, in 1849 was in the proportion of 573 per cent, of the
population, in 1875 it was only 3’11 per cent. These are facts of
unmistakable importance as regards the well-being of the people.
An important element in the maintenance of health is cer
tainly the duration of labour; but how many hours a day a
* Helps.
�12
WORK AND WORKERS.
workman may safely work in any industry without injury to
his health must depend not only on the age and constitution of
the worker, but on the kind of labour and the spirit with which
the work is performed. I cannot say that, personally, I have
much sympathy with any excessive indulgence for rest; for I
am myself a great worker, having been often at my work sixteen
or eighteen hours a day-—not occasionally, but for weeks to
gether ; nor do I feel the slightest inconvenience from it. Yet
it must be allowed that labour saved is not lost; and that unless
we husband our strength, we stand a good risk of losing it
altogether. I fully approve, therefore, of the legislation respect
ing labour in factories, which limits the number of hours of
work to women and children. But let us not carry the matter
too far. Remember, that even an hour a day extended over say
5,000,000 workpeople, working 300 days in the year, means a
loss of 150,000,000 days a year. Doubtless such loss may be
recovered by increased energy on the part of the workers, and
by the introduction of improved ’machinery. As a matter of
fact, at no time has England produced more than at present,
notwithstanding the extension of the factory laws, and the widely
diffused adoption of shorter hours. But is that a reason why
we should indulge in idleness, beyond what is requisite for
health and moderate enjoyment ?
Hitherto I have dwelt on energy, physical strength, and
health. It is necessary that I should add education as one of
the very first conditions for the efficient discharge of duties
in the work of production. Never was the saying, “ Knowledge
is power,” more truly applicable than at present. Compare the
value of skilled and unskilled labour. The demand for com
paratively unskilled labour may be as great as ever, but the
reward of skilled labour is certainly much greater. It is no new
discovery, though it has, of late, acquired greater prominence,
that in the work of production to sturdy will, patient endurance,
and strong hands, we must add some knowledge of science, a
�WORK AND WORKERS.
13
cultivated mind, and a refined taste. Education and science
must no longer remain the ornament and luxury of the few—
they must become the necessary endowment of the many, if we
will succeed in the great arena of industrial competition.
To what but to science does England owe her great achieve
ments ? Mechanical and chemical science have revolutionized
the productive power of the country. It was but yesterday,
comparatively, that in the coal beneath our feet we found a
primary source of colour which makes England almost inde
pendent of the most costly dyewoods hitherto consumed in’the
ornamentation of the textile fabrics. Yet, with all our dis
coveries, and all our advantages, here we are but little in
advance of other countries, and our only hope of maintaining
our position depends on the success which we may yet attain
in fathoming the inexhaustible secrets of Nature, on the increase
in the number of patient yet ardent votaries of science, and
still more, on the diffusion of education and scientific knowledge,
among the great body of labourers. With the progress of
civilization and refinement all over the world, it is no longer
sufficient now to be able to produce what is cheap and
plentiful, or objects adapted to the common wants of the
masses. If England is to keep her place as the greatest manu
facturing country in the world, we must endeavour, by the
cultivation of the science of the perception of beauty, and by
paying proper attention to the fine arts, to produce articles
suitable to every state of civilization.
Much has been said, of late, on technical education, by
which we understand the teaching of those sciences which
are useful in industrial pursuits. Is it not a sound principle
that the designer should know something of drawing, the
dyer something of chemistry, the miner of geology and
mineralogy? The chairmaker, the tailor, the bootmaker, the
hatter, the coachmaker, and even the pastrycook, all requiresome knowledge of form.
All honour then to the London
�14
WORK AND WORKERS.
School Board for introducing drawing m their scheme of
Elementary Education.
How few, indeed, are at all ac
quainted with the scientific principles of their labour. An
order comes for cloth of a particular shade of colour. How
few can tell, beforehand, precisely, what manipulation will
give it to a nicety ! And if there be one in an establishment
endowed with such knowledge, probably because he stumbled
into it, he is deemed the possessor of a great mystery.
But
why should it be so ? Science need neither be a mystery nor a
monopoly. Its pages are open to all, and let us not think that
its meaning is hid or incomprehensible to the common under
standing With the simplicity of language ordinarily used, and
the constant appeal to real facts by visible demonstrations and
illustrations, the acquisition of scientific knowledge has been
rendered wonderfully easy.
Apart- from intellectual powers, however, I own great par
tiality for the moral. It seems to me that we must elevate, not
the mind only, but the taste and affections of the people, if we
wish to realize true progress. With such huge conglomerations
of people as we have in this metropolis and in our manufactur
ing towns, quite away from the beauties of nature, we do need
museums and galleries to educate the sense of the beautiful.
What a power on our imagination have the common prints
and representations which adorn our walls! What an effect the
ornaments which cover our mantelpieces ! Nor should we
forget that more important even than the cultivation of the
taste and the affections is the possession of good morals and
simple piety. To secure a good reward, the labourer must not
only have a good physical frame, and a proper aptitude for
labour, but those qualities which create confidence and animate
trust. Unless a labourer is worthy of confidence, it is impos
sible that he can be regularly employed. And what is; it that
. creates confidence? Sober and steady conduct, truthfulness
and purity of character, conscientiousness and strict regar
�WORK AND WORKERS.
i5
to duty ; in short, an abiding sense of the responsibility of
our calling.
The requisites of production, John Stuart Mill said, are
two—labour and appropriate natural objects. Certain lands
are more favoured than others in natural productiveness. The
climate has great influence in promoting vegetation, and in
making the people hearty and robust. Numerous external in
fluences, physical, economical, political, and social, determine
more or less the success of labour. Taking it all in all, England
is highly favoured as a field of human labour. Geographically,
she is splendidly situated, on all sides open to communica
tion with all the world.
Her climate is most temperate.
Coal and iron are sources of immense wealth. Her manufac
turing industry is wonderfully developed. The commercial
spirit of her people quite boundless. Her political organization,
based on personal freedom to move, to speak, to meet, well nigh
perfect. Her economical policy is immensely superior to that
of almost any other nation. Can we wonder that her people
are tranquil, that the Queen reigns supreme in the heart of the
nation, and that wealth is increasing at an enormous ratio ?
Where can you find a better field of labour than in
England ? Go to France, and you have no freedom of action
and a constant dread of revolution. Go to Russia, and you
meet despotism all rampant. Go to the United States, and you
find that better wages are scarcely equivalent to the higher cost
of living. Go to any of the British Colonies, and you must be
prepared to work harder far than you are doing in this country,
and to bid adieu to every association and to all the pleasures of
civilized life.
Nowhere, indeed, is labour more appreciated,
nay, I might say more ennobled, than in this country, and no
where is an ampler field afforded for its application.
But if labour is honoured, is the labourer receiving due con
sideration? Are his trials and difficulties taken into account?
Are his wants as a man and a citizen properly recognised ?
�AND WORKERS.
Alas ! I fear not. On the contrary, there is far too ready a
disposition to regard the labourers as a class as ignorant,
wasteful, drunken, idle, and criminal. But where is the evi
dence for such a charge ? In the number signing the marriage
register with marks there is a vast improvement. The Savingsbanks and Building Societies testify that the labouring classes
have saved large sums in recent years. The yearly amount
of production in the kingdom tells us that they have not been
altogether idle ; and if they drink more, or it may be are more
amenable to its consequences than they formerly were, probably
through better police administration, of crime, especially of the
heavier character, they are certainly less guilty. They might
be better, and so we all should be. But let us not indulge in
sweeping condemnations of whole classes of the people. They
are not true, and their effect is most injurious.
In the new organization of labour incident to production on
a large scale, there is abundant scope for the display, by both
masters and men, of those qualities which are essential for the
maintenance of peace and concord. Let the master recognise,
fully and unreservedly, the free position of the workman, and
his absolute right to improve his condition. Let him see that
labour be carried on under conditions, as favourable as possible,
to the preservation of human health and vigour. Let him pro
mote, as far as in him lies, provident habits and intellectual
improvement among his labourers. Let him manifest a per
sonal sympathetic interest in their behalf. Let the master
do all this, and we shall also witness among workmen an in
creasing earnestness and energy in the execution of their work,
a greater interest in the success of production, and a better
disposition to apply all their forces, physical, intellectual, and
moral, towards the surmounting of those obstacles which hinder
and retard the economic progress of the nation.
�II.
THE DIVISION OF LABOUR AND THE WONDERS OF
MACHINERY.
Within this century, within the recollection of many living
among us, one of the greatest of economic revolutions has taken
place, the consequence of which has far exceeded any human
expectation. It is the substitute of collective for individual
labour, of factory for home industry, and of mechanical for
human labour.
Time was when the weaver was both the-:
capitalist and the labourer ; when the linen weaver cultivated
the flax, heckled it, spun it into yarn, wove it, and sold the web
at the linen market. There was no division of labour in those
days. The producer gloried in his independence. He was his.
own master. He did all the work himself. But production
proceeded slowly in that fashion. And so the capitalist came
to the rescue by supplying the weaver with the material, and
paying him a given sum on the delivery of a given quantity ot
finished cloth. As yet, the loom belonged to the weaver; and if
he had no loom of his own, he worked at a loom belonging to<
some other weaver, in which case he was the journeyman, and
the weaver at whose loom he worked was the master weaver.
But, in time, the loom itself was supplied by the capitalist or
manufacturer; and then the journeyman, free from the master
weaver, came into direct relation with the manufacturer. This
is the system of home industry which existed in this country
2
�i8
THE DIVISION OF LABOUR AND
for a considerable time, certainly till as late as the end of the
last century. And this is the system which obtains to a con
siderable extent in Russia at the present time. Employed in
the actual work of agriculture only a portion of the year, the
Russian farmer spends the remainder in weaving and bleaching.
The home system of industry has been passing away so
rapidly from this country that we are apt to connect all manu
facture with x the machinery and steam power in use in the
Lancashire cotton industry. But it is not so. And I venture
to say that by far the largest amount of production in the north
of Europe, in Asia, and Africa, and largely in America also,
consists of home-made goods, which, though dearer in price,
are in the end cheaper far than the trashy prints, and some
of the highly-sized calicoes and other inferior descriptions of
Manchester goods. The battle of the hand-loom against the
power-loom, of home industry against factory labour, is not yet
quite ended, for in not a few industries, especially in Nottingham
and Leicester, hand-loom weavers are numerous. But of the
final issue of the conflict who can doubt ? In truth, young men
o not take to the old and almost effete system. What remains
of it is carried on by old people, and for those descriptions of
labour only where the hand can work with more dexterity than
the machine itself. But how soon is machinery overtaking
every obstacle 1 And what a change has taken place in the
divorcement of manufacture from agriculture, in the creation
of great cities of labour, in the mode of producing on a
large scale, in the division of labour, and the introduction
of machinery!
From the moment the manufacturing system acquired a
sufficient importance to stand by itself, from the moment the
requirements of manufacture necessitated concurrence and co
operation in the various pursuits necessary for the same, the
manufacturers were compelled to emigrate from the farm
house and the sequestered village, and to constitute themselves
�THE WONDERS OF MACHINERY.
into distinct communities. Both industries are indeed inter
dependent. Agriculture gains from the existence of a thriving
manufacturing industry, and is the better for its products.
Manufactures depend upon a prosperous agriculture for a sufciency of food and provision. But the two industries are not
■capable of being prosecuted in like manner. Agriculture does
not admit of the same concentration of labour, of the same
■division of employment, and of the same constancy of labour.
Even steam-power can only be employed in agriculture under
less advantageous circumstances than in manufactures. The
experience of every nation abundantly proves that the more
absolute is the separation between the two industries, the better
■each may be developed in its own manner and fashion. Would,
indeed, that the agricultural could copy a little more from the
manufacturing industry than it appears to be doing ! How
much it has to learn in dealing with diversities of soil, in the
reclamation of waste lands, in the introduction of machines and
implements of husbandry, in the use of manure, and above all
in the economy of labour and the application of scientific prin
ciples in the management of farms ! Some writers used to
•distinguish agriculture from industry, the one being intent
upon the extraction of produce from the soil, the other upon the
shaping, converting, or manufacturing what nature supplies.
But it is not so. Agriculture and manufactures are both indus
tries requiring alike labour, skill, capital. In England, the
divorce is indeed complete ; but they had better look keenly to
one another, and each draw from the other the lessons which it
needs.
Look at Lancashire, the first county which inaugurated the
great change. See how coal and iron have superseded turf
and corn. Behold those illumined factories, with more (windows
than in Italian palaces, and smoking chimneys taller than
Egyptian obelisks. Everywhere you find monuments of in
domitable energy. All you see indicates the march of modern
�20
THE DIVISION OF LABOUR AND
progress. Enter for a moment one of those numerous factories,,
behold the ranks of thousands of operatives all steadily working,
behold how every minute of time, every yard of space, every
practised eye, every dexterous finger, every active mind, is at
high-pressure service. There are no lumber attics nor lumber
cellars ; everything seems cut out for the work, and the work for
it. And what can be more wonderful than those factories far
the manufacture of machines ? Listen to the deafening din.
What power has mind over matter ! What metamorphoses can
human industry perform ! One hundred years ago, Manchester
had only 1,600 inhabitants. Now, with Salford, she has 500,000..
Three hundred years ago, Liverpool was only a fishing hamlet,,
with 138 inhabitants ; now she has 527>°°°. Whilst Westmore
land, a purely agricultural county, has 771 acres to one person,
Lancashire has only 0-43 acres to one person. In 1861, the town
population of England was in the proportion of twenty-four per
cent, of the whole. In 1871, her town population had increased
to such an extent that it constituted fifty-six per cent, of the
whole. The very meaning of the word town has changed.
Whilst in olden times it meant a tract of land enjoyed by a
community, though there might not be a single house in it; in
modern times it has come to signify a place with a multitude of
houses, built side by side, and standing in streets, rows, or
lanes, all as like one another as possible,— the very personation,
of the Coketown of the inimitable Dickens.
Shall we lament the change from the primitive industrial
organization of former days to the complex, and, in many ways,,
the artificial combination of the present time? Is England
the better or the worse for the change? Have the working
classes been injured or benefited by it ? Could we return to the
agricultural system if we would ? And would we return to it if
we could ? Compare the state of England a hundred years ago
and now, by any test you please, socially, politically, and morally,
in education, wealth, power, population, agriculture, and mann-
�THE WONDERS OF MACHINERY.
21
factures. Nothing has been stationary. On every side we note
change, progress, improvement.
There are evils connected
with the agglomeration of many people within fixed boundaries,
for where ignorance, vice, crime, exists, oh how contagious it be
comes ! And yet, if you compare the moral condition of the
agricultural and manufacturing districts, you will find that the
latter are by no means inferior to the former, for if there is
an army of evil-doers in our great cities, there are also many
regiments of those who do well. Call the present organization
of labour artificial, capitalistic, or by any title you please, yet
the fact remains that not only is it the inevitable result of
science, civilization, and economic progress, and therefore it
is of no use whatever grumbling about it, but it is on the whole
beneficial to the well-being of the people, an element of strength
and power to the nation at large.
Steam, whose power dwarfs the fabled feats of Grecian
prodigy, has not only torn asunder the manufacturing from
the agricultural industry, but has centred industrial labour
within large buildings and great factories. When human force
was the only motive power, work could as advantageously be
performed in the solitary chamber as in great centres of popu
lation ; but when a force greater than human was discovered,
which far exceeded the energies of any single individual, which
needed no rest, which could be transported anywhere, and
which could be regulated at discretion,—isolated working gave
place to factory labour, and production on a small scale was
immediately superseded by production on a large scale. Of
course, factory labour has its own evils,—but what human
system is free from them ? With a motive power at hand
capable of continuing without intermission, the temptation was
too strong to use human labour as unsparingly. The compara
tively light labour required to assist the machinery, prompted
the employment of women and children; and their strength, by
too long hours of employment, was taxed beyond measure. And
�22
THE DIVISION OF LABOUR AND
so the Legislature had to interfere, in the way of fixing the
number of hours that women and children should be allowed to
work, of taking care that the education of such children shall
not be altogether neglected, of compelling proper precautionsagainst accidents from machinery, of providing for the health
of the workers, and of securing by the right of inspection
scrupulous compliance with the prescribed regulations. And
thankful we may be that the provisions of such laws have been
extended and strengthened, for we do need the protection of
the law against abuse of power, whether by masters or by men.
Apart, however, from such abuses which the law has set itself
to rectify, there is a great principle involved in the present
system of producing on a large scale of very wide reach and
application. Do we not see large farms, large shops, large jointstock companies, and large enterprises, fast superseding small
farms, small shops, small partnerships, and small enterprises ?'
And why? Simply because the expense of management and
the labour of administration do not increase in proportion to the
extension of the undertaking; because expensive machinery may
be more advantageously employed; and because greater economy
of power and administration is thereby obtained. In a largefactory, moreover, the master can exercise more supeiwision of
labour, can have more command over the detail of the work.
And the result is more production, more wealth. The more
united the forces, the greater the momentum.
And what shall I say of the division of labour, which produc
tion on a large scale permits ? Adam Smith has well noted the
increase of dexterity in every particular workman, the saving of
time spent in passing from one species of work to another, and
the happy contrivances for facilitating and abridging laboui
which such division of labour suggests and permits. Nothing, in
deed, is more natural, and yet nothing is more wonderful in the
present organization of labour, than the symmetry of its appor
tionment, the careful regard to the adaptation of the work to the
�THE WONDERS OF MACHINERY.
23
worker. But little consideration suffices to convince us that
the surest way to acquire a thorough knowledge of anything is
to concentrate our thoughts, and to devote our energies almost
exclusively upon the one thing before us. No science could be
cultivated with any hope of success, were it not that special
men give themselves to the innumerable researches which are
required for their development. The physician, the chemist,,
the botanist, the mineralogist, the astronomer, each takes upon,
himself the study of special phenomena in nature. Sir David.
Brewster made optics his special study; Professor Owen devoted
himself to fossils; Professor Liebig to organic chemistry
Professor Tyndal to light; Professor Huxley to physiology..
Mr. Glaisher made his experiments on balloon ascents; Dr.
Carpenter made observations on oceanic circulation. The
principle of the division of labour with a view to the greater
concentration of mental energies is of wide application, and,,
wherever applied, it of necessity leads to the greater efficiency
and economy of labour. How natural the division of labour
between agriculture, manufacture, and commerce ! How conso
nant with the laws of nature the preference given in different
countries to special industries 1 What is international commerce
but the result of an extended division of labour ? Of course the
division of labour is limited by the power of exchange. One
may confine himself to one specific branch of industry which
may satisfy one kind of wants only, provided on the one hand
he can find purchasers enough of that commodity as to render
it worth his while producing nothing else, and provided also
there are others ready to satisfy all the other wants. An ex
tended division of labour demands a large and varied con
sumption. In little villages where the consumption of groceries
is limited, the grocer is also the haberdasher, the stationer, the
innkeeper. In London we have shops for certain specific classes
of articles, and no more. But wherever the division of labour
can be advantageously adopted, it is certain to be attended with
�24
THE DIVISION OF LABOUR AND
advantage, at least in an economic aspect. And yet, that too
has its evil, for it has certainly a tendency to concentrate the
mind too consecutively to one operation, and it may have the
effect of weakening a man’s power, and make him become a
mere machine. What fertility of invention, what independence
of thought can you expect from a man who is required to do
but one thing—say, to watch a pair of wheels, or to walk three
steps forward and three steps backwards—throughout his life
time? He will doubtless do that work more perfectly, more
quickly, more economically, but the monotony and the same
ness of the operation, and the want of excitement attending it,
are sure to take away any spirit he might have.
Alas 1 nothing pleases us. Undivided work is very unpro
ductive, too divided work is prejudicial to the human under
standing. I am not ignorant of, and we cannot ignore or deny,
the evils of the present organization of industry; but is it of
any use to complain of them ? Let us the rather strive to
neutralize what is prejudicial, and set into motion remedies and
influences which shall bring good out of evil. Let the church
and the school be active in their work of moral and intellectual
instruction. Let science and philanthropy devise good work
able plans for the well-being of the masses of people huddled
together in places unfit for human habitation. And if the
family circle has still to be broken by the employment of
women and children in factories, let us at least do our utmost
to check vice, waste, luxury, extravagance, betting, gambling,
drunkenness, and the license and wretchedness which meet us
on every side—the result, to a large extent, of a vicious social
system.
If it is to Watt and his wonderful engine that we owe the
use of the new motive power, steam, it is to Arkwright, Har
greaves, Crompton, and many more illustrious inventors and
discoverers, that we owe our machines and instruments for regu
lating the action of force. There is an intimate relation between
�THE WONDERS OF MACHINERY.
25
the division of labour and machinery. If, on the one hand, it is
the steam engine and machinery that have rendered division
of labour possible, it is to the division of labour that we owe
the large increase of machinery, The change wrought by
machinery is something wonderful, A woman habituated to
knit can make 80 stitches a minute. By the use of the circular
loom, she can now make 480,000 stitches a minute, showing
an increase of 6,000 times the quantity. To make by hand
all the yarn spun in England in one year, by the use of the
self-acting mule, carrying 1,000 spindles, viz., 1,000 threads
at the time, we would require 100,000,000 of men. I have just
spoken of knitting; but see what is done by the sewing machine.
To make a shirt by the hand it takes at least fourteen hours ; by
the machine, less than two hours. A pair of trousers cannot
be done by the hand in less than five hours; by the machine
it may be done in one. A woman’s chemise, which by the
hand would take ten hours and a half, may be completed by
the machine—ay, ornamented—in one hour. This is indeed
the era of machines. We have the calculating machine and
the electric machine. Hats are made by machinery, and so
are opera-glasses. There is a machine to mould the mortar,
a machine to make cigarettes, and a machine to make neck
cravats. There are machines for measuring the wind, the
evaporation, and the rain; machines for measuring the in
tensity and velocity of light; an instrument for measuring the
interval between the appearance of the flash and the arrival
of the sound; an instrument for measuring the pressure of the
atmosphere, and an instrument for measuring the ten-thousandth
part of an inch.
The machine is simple when it transmits
force in a direct manner; it is composite when it is composed
of so many organs all combined and acting together in the
transmission of force. But whether simple or complex, in
whatever form or description, as a machine, an instrument,
or a tool, their uniform tendency has been to take from the
�26
THE DIVISION OF LABOUR AND
human hand some of the most drudgery work, to produce
largely, to bring within the reach of the lowest classes many
articles which were once rarities and luxuries. Machinery
has lightened human labour of the most irksome tasks, and
opened up to man the widest field for the exercise of his in
tellectual faculties. At one time it was muscular force that
performed most of our work. Now, it is art, it is design, it
is intellect. It is labour just the same, it is true, but it is
nobler, higher, and more befitting our place and destinies.,
more in keeping with our aspirations and ambition. Only
let workmen have sufficient dexterity in passing from one
kind of labour to another, and the introduction of machinery
is certain to prove a blessing, not a curse. But, alas ! it is that
capacity that is sometimes wanting.
Time was when inventions were the products of simple
vagaries, or freaks of the imagination, of ignorant pretenders or
mere charlatans. How to make a wheel turn by itself, and to
get at perpetual motion ; how to clean and keep bright the skin
and flesh so as to preserve it in its perfect state ; how to make
upon the Thames a floating garden of pleasure, with trees,,
flowers, and fountains, and all in the midst of the stream
where it is most rapid;—these were secrets and inventions of
former days which contributed but little to the well-being of
the people. Happily, the inventions, machines, and instru
ments of the present day are of a more utilitarian and sober
caste, and they have immensely augmented, not only the
wealth, but the comfort and the intelligence of the whole
nation—ay, of the whole world. And who are the inventors ?
In many cases our working men themselves, and, strange
to say, those very men who have to perform daily the same
monotonous work, to repeat over and over again the operation
of the same single member of a complicated whole. Yes,
our working men, our artizans, are often able to suggest im
provements in manufacture, and short cuts in workmanship,
�THE WONDERS OF MACHINERY.
27
which economise labour, and are of immense value to the pro
ducers. Would that they were justly rewarded! A working man
who has brain enough to invent a new article, or to use a new
process, has a full right to the fruits of his labour, and to be
rewarded for the product of his brain ; and I am glad to know
that sometimes, though not always, they do get the benefit of
their inventions, either in an increased salary, or in a portion of
the profits. Do not imagine, however, that the profits of an
invention can go to any considerable extent into the pockets of the
inventor, for the success of the invention depends often less on
the fact of the invention itself, than on the appliances, energy,
and capital employed in carrying it into practice. I should be
glad if the cost of a patent were greatly reduced, in order to
enable our working men to patent inventions for themselves even
before they communicate them to their own employers ; but oh
how often the most sanguine hopes are placed on worthless inven
tions, how soon they are superseded, how often they prove more
costly than they are worth ! On the whole, the profession of an
inventor is a profitless one, and it is this among other things
that has more than once suggested the expediency of abolish
ing the Patent Laws altogether.
That machinery has immensely benefited production, and
that it has placed a new engine of success in the hands of the
producer, is beyond doubt, for though still depending upon
labour, the machine enables the producer to spare a great
number of labourers, whilst it immensely economises the cost of
production. Once let him have a machine that will do the work
of a thousand men, with only ten persons attending to it, and he
is in a position to distance far any other manufacturer who
wholly depends on human labour. How often indeed a persist
ence on the part of the labourer in asking higher wages than
the business could afford, or demands of conditions of labour
incompatible with its success, or the refusal to perform certain
acts, or to allow other labourers to be introduced for their
�28
THE DIVISION OF LABOUR AND
performance, have driven our manufacturers to introduce
machinery !
But how has machinery affected the working classes? An
inventor once proposed to Colbert, the great minister of Louis
XIV. of France, a machine which would do the work of ten
men. “ I am anxious,” said the minister, “ that men should be
able to live honestly by their work, and you propose to me to
take the work out of their hands. Take the invention, if you
please, somewhere else.” Statesmen are often as ignorant of
economic questions as the least among us, and just as when
railways were projected all manner of apprehensions were enter
tained lest horses, cattle, and carriages should cease to be
required, so when machines were introduced into any branch
of industry, the first thought was, Well, labourers will no longer
be wanted in it. But has it been so ? Calculate the number
employed in the occupation of transport and conveyance before
and since the adoption of the railway system,—the number
employed in the cotton manufacture, or any other textile
industry, before and since the introduction of machinery,—the
number employed in printing, copying, and publishing, before
and since the invention of the printing machine. The first
introduction of machinery may indeed displace and diminish
for a while the employment of labour, may perchance take
labour out of the hands of persons otherwise not able to take
another employment, and create the need of another class of
labourers altogether; but if it has taken labour from ten
persons, it has provided labour for a thousand. How does it
work? A yard of calico made by hand costs two shillings,
made by machinery it may cost fourpence. At two shillings a
yard, few buy it ; at fourpence a yard, multitudes are glad to
avail themselves of it. Cheapness promotes consumption : the
article which hitherto was used by the higher classes only, is
now to be seen in the hand of the labouring classes as well.
As’the demand increases, so production increases, and to such
�THE WONDERS OF MACHINERY.
■29
an extent, that although the number of labourers now employed
in the production of calico may be immensely less in proportion
to a given quantity of calico, the total number required for
the millions of yards now used greatly exceeds the number
engaged when the whole work was performed without any
aid of machinery.
And so as regards wages. Doubtless
a manufacturer who has to pay for the use of an invention and
for the cost and maintenance of the machinery, and who needs
only a few labourers able to perform some mechanical act,
might be tempted to take advantage of his position and to
offer less wages. But if the cost of production and the mainte
nance of the machinery are more than replaced by the profits
arising from increasing production, will not a large portion of
those profits, in one way or another, fall on the labouring classes ?
And if to wrork the machinery, in the production of immensely
larger quantities, the manufacturer requires more labourers than
ever he did in the palmy days of hand labour, where will be his
greater independence ? No, no ! Machinery may have decreased,
in some cases, the rates of wages, but it has in all cases increased
the total earnings of the labouring classes. It may have taken
labour out of some, impoverished a few, done injury here and
there, but it has given more labour to the community at large,
and has added immensely to the resources of the artisans
and labouring classes all the world over. M. Bastiat, in his.
excellent work on “ What is Seen and What is not Seen in.
Political Economy,” illustrated.the operation of machinery on
human labour in his usual spirited manner. “Jacque Bonhomme,” he said, “ had two francs, which he was in the habit of
paying to two workmen whom he employed. Suddenly, how
ever, having found out the means of abridging the work by
half, he discharged one workman, and so saved one franc.
Upon this, the ignorant is ready to exclaim, 1 See how misery
follows civilization! See how fatal is freedom to equality 1
The human mind has made a conquest, and immediately a
�3o *
THE DIVISION OF LABOUR AND
workman, falls into pauperism. Even if Jacque Bonhomme
should continue to employ the two workmen, he will only give
them half a franc each, for they will compete one with another,
and they will offer their labour for half the money.’ But it is
not so, since both the premises and the conclusions are false.
Behind the half of this phenomenon which is seen, there is
another half which is not seen ; for what does Jacque Bonhomme
do with the other franc, which he saved ? He employs it in
another work, and whilst the same work is done for one franc
by one workman which formerly required two to do it, extra
work is done with the other franc, which employs the other also.
The two workmen are as much employed as ever, but double
work is done, and so the invention has procured a gratuitous
benefit.”
The introduction of machinery should never be used as a
threat against the demands of labourers. It is mean to i esort to
such an expedient in order to frighten the labourers to acquiesce
in the conditions offered. But remember, machinery is of great
utility to production, and manufacturers may be compelled to
introduce it for the salvation, possibly, of the whole industry.
See what is taking place now in the watch manufacture of
Switzerland. Hitherto watchmaking at Geneva has been almost
entirely a hand-work industry.
But Switzerland stands in
danger of losing the industry altogether, since Germany and
America have learnt to make watches and clocks by machinery.
There is a certain protection, after all, against the sudden intro
duction of machinery in the fact that it is very costly, that it
requires great capital, that manufacturers are very unwilling to
alter their usual course of business, and that, in reality, in some
industries the hand has some advantage over the machine,
though machinery is now becoming so perfect and automatic
that it is impossible to say what it cannot accomplish. It
has been complained that the use of machinery often leads to
over-production, and to gluts of merchandize, which redounds
�THE WONDERS OF MACHINERY.
31
against the well-being of the masses especially by alternations of
great activity and great depression. But a large production of
articles of general use is always attended by increasing cheap
ness, and increasing cheapness most assuredly leads to an
enlarged demand, which soon absorbs any surplus production.
Machine and tool making has become' an important industry.
In x851 it employed in England and Wales 48,000 persons ; in
1861, 117,000; and in 1871, 175,000. In 1851 our exports of
steam engines, and other kinds, amounted to ,£1,168,000; in
I^75> to £4,213,000. We export engines and machinery to
every part of the world. Any one is now at liberty to order from
the British workshop the most complex and the finest piece of
machinery that can possibly be invented. It may be said, What
folly it is to injure ourselves by enabling foreign manufacturers
to obtain an advantage which is exclusively our owp ! True,
England has superior facilities for the manufacture of machinery
in her abundance of coal and iron, but the power of inventive
ness is not confined within the British shores. In 1824, the
Americans were considered as thirty years behind England, and
France was the only country which could be said to rival
England in the making of machinery. Since then, however,
and for many years past, foreign countries have made won
derful progress. As well attempt to shut up all the avenues
of science and knowledge as to secrete from public gaze the
discoveries and inventions which benefit industry and manu
facture.
It is well to realize that many of the primary conditions
necessary to the development of manufacturing industry are
no longer exclusively enjoyed by any country, and it would be
folly for the British manufacturer to remain content and tran
quil, as if he needed to dread no competition, and as if he
could be sure to continue to enjoy the practical monopoly of
the markets of the world.. Greater command over capital,
the possession of mineral resources almost boundless in extent
�32
THE DIVISION OF LABOUR, ETC.
and productiveness, greater commercial sagacity and power of
enterprise, have hitherto kept and may yet keep Britain on a
position of eminence above all her competitors; but in every
one of these elements, France, Germany, Switzerland, and the
United States are striving to advance; and with the most
powerful machinery within the reach of every one, who can
say how soon, from eager competitors, they may become for
midable rivals? It would be a great mistake indeed on the
part of our manufacturers^ to imagine that their only hope to
preserve their supremacy rests in their being able to keep the
wages of labour low. I have no faith in any plan which
begins by starving the labourer. The essentials of real pro
gress must ever consist in increasing power of production, in
greater adaptiveness of our manufactures to the wants of the
masses of the people at home and abroad, and in greater
skill and advancement in the arts and sciences. Emulate
other nations in their efforts to combine beauty with usefulness,
elegance with solidity. Let nothing discourage the investment
of capital in industry. Furbish your intellect to achieve greater
wonders than were ever yet imagined. Let Capital and Labour
march hand in hand, and England need not fear being out
done, however keen the contest, however close the issue.
�III.
USE OF CAPITAL IN INDUSTRY.
On the sea-coast of Sicily there was once a wild, lawless,
gigantic race, who, with one eye in the middle of their forehead,
but with strong hands, were constantly employed in forging
thunderbolts for Jupiter. And in this island of Britain, there
are many sons of the sturdy Saxon race who, with two eyes
and both wide open, are constantly forging capital, not for
Jupiter, but for the whole world. A disposition to labour, to
save, and to accumulate ; a growing conviction that wealth is
power, whatever knowledge may be; a keen relish of the
comforts of life, which wealth to a large extent provides ; a
decided aptitude for commerce, industry, and enterprise ; con
fidence in the public institutions of the country; and a firm
reliance on the impartial administration of justice,—these, to
gether with those wonderful inventions and discoveries which
have so enlarged the range and utility of human labour, have
rendered Britain the great storehouse of capital, and at this
moment borrowers from every nation are for ever coming to
this modern Egypt, to buy capital of the living J osephs,—the
Bank of England, the Rothschilds, the Barings, and many
others who keep the keys of the coveted granary. An enviable
position this for England to occupy. The taunt of contempt
once expressed by the title La Nation Boutiquiere (the shop
keeping nation), only betokens the sentiment of jealousy which
3
�34
USE OF CAPITAL IN INDUSTRY.
♦
France once felt for this new power in the hands of England.
But if England has got riches, it is because she has been
industrious. If the broad acres of old England have become
more luxurious and productive, if her mineral stores have become
a source of perennial wealth, if her cities are full of people, and
her manufacturing industry has become the wonder of all nations,
it is simply because English labour and English perseverance
have combated valorously with the obstacles presented by
nature. What is the ocean to the daring British manner?
Boldly to the depths of the earth the British miner will
venture, fearing nothing. Nature’s inexhaustible riches and
powers have all along animated the British discoverer to make
unknown sacrifices. And so the British have thriven.
We might suppose that by this time every country would
have become rich. With an old civilization, an immense
population, untold resources, and varied opportunities, what
is it that hindered the accumulation of wealth, and kept
nearly every state in a condition of poverty? Alas! the
work of destruction has been even more effective than the
work of production. The warlike policy of the Roman Empire
was not favourable to the production of wealth. . In the
Middle Ages, whatever was achieved by the thriving cities was
more than destroyed by the injurious influence of feudalism and
barbarism.
Insecurity of person and property discouraged
accumulation. Monopoly diverted the streams of wealth into
narrow channels. Vicious fiscal systems often corroded the
very sources of wealth. The Thirty Years’ War, the Seven
Years’ War, and the French War, brought desolation into every
home, and destroyed, not only all that had theretofore been
produced, but even the produce of years to come, Can we
wonder that under such circumstances but little or nothing
was accumulated ? Cast a glance beyond Europe. In Asia
there has been much hoarding of wealth, but no accumulation
and no workable capital. India has been rather the absorbent
�USE OF CAPITAL IN INDUSTRY.
35
than the producer of capital. Africa is as yet destitute both
of wealth and capital. And America, the land of promise for
capital, is still, comparatively speaking, a new country, where
the means of investment are always greater than the available
resources for the same. There is no end of openings all over
the world for the disposal of British capital; and for the interest
of the great mass of our population we may well desire that,
whatever the competition, British industry and commerce may
ever prove the safest and the most advantageous investment of
British capital.
Does it seem an easy thing to you to accumulate capital?
Look around. See the vast numbers of persons who find it hard
enough to get their daily bread, and to make the two ends meet.
See the vast numbers earning a good income, yet spending it as
fast as it comes, and never thinking of saving a farthing, far less
of accumulating any capital. Think of the numbers who strive
hard to save, but who, after succeeding for a time, are compelled
to give up the attempt from sickness, misfortune, or losses.
Think of the vicissitudes of trade, changes of fashion, and new
inventions which from time to time disconcert the best conceived
plan. What violent efforts, and what sudden collapses, what
heaving and subsiding, what flow and ebb of fortune, do we wit
ness ! How many try, how few succeed ! It is easy compara
tively to accumulate after a good foundation has been laid ;
but how hard it is to lay that foundation. What judgment,
what decision of will, what disposition to economise, there must
exist to have the slightest chance of success. Doubtless the
present division of property is not all that could be wished.
The laws of primogeniture and entail favour the accumulation
of wealth, at least in land, in comparatively few hands.
Those rich enough to pay income tax on any amount of
profits of trade and industry are only about 16 for every
1000 of the population of Great Britain, and of these much
less than one in 1,000 (0'65) pay on incomes amounting to
�36
USE OF CAPITAL iN INDUSTRY.
^1,000, and upward, per annum. Yet the number of capitalists
might be immensely greater were there more thrift, more com
mon prudence, and more practical wisdom among the people.
I do not speak of the working classes only, but of the middle
and higher classes quite as much, or more. Would that they
had the wisdom to lay by something for a rainy day when they
have a chance of doing so ! Would that they used and not
abused the means which Providence places within their reach !
Realize, I pray you, what capital really is, and what a useful
commodity it is to every nation. Generally speaking, capital
is that portion of an individual’s or of a nation’s wealth which
is applied to reproduction. All property becomes capital so
soon as it, or the value received from it, is set apart for pro
ductive employment. By dint of industry, a shilling to-day,
a pound to-morrow, you gather ^ioo. You resolve to have
a home of your own, and to employ ^25 in furnishing
it, and with the ^75 remaining you determine to set up
a shop. You have got, indeed, ZIO° of your own, but only
^75 of capital.
Just as wealth, in its economic mean
ing, consists of all those things, and those things only,
which are transferable, limited in supply, and directly or
indirectly productive of value, so capital, which is part of that
wealth, must bear the same characteristic. There are many
things most valuable in themselves, which are not, in their strict
economic sense, capital. Capital does not include the instru
ments furnished by nature, without our aid. The water of the
sea, the air we breathe, are not capital, unless, indeed, by labour
we enclose a portion of the sea, or introduce the air into a
building. Capital consists of those things which are created,
and which were previously accumulated by man. To be capital,
moreover, the possession must be a material object, and capable
of transfer. The skill of an artist, the genius of a composer, the
wisdom of a statesman, the talent of a man of letters, the health
and strength of a labourer, are doubtless so many valuable
�USE OF CAPITAL IN INDUSTRY.
37
endowments to their respective possessors, but they are not of.
a material character, and cannot be transferred. If English
statesmen could transfer a little of their wisdom to the French ;
if British labourers could endow their confreres in France with
a little of their strength and steadiness of purpose; if French
artizans could pass over to British artizans part of their fertility
of invention, and their quickness of perception, what a market
there would be for them all! But these personal endowments
cannot be sold or bought, and, therefore, they do not corrie
within the meaning of the word capital.
I do not know what we should do without capital.
The
riches of nature are profusely scattered, some on the surface
and some on the very bowels of the earth; and human labour is
required to make them subservient to the many uses for which
they are adapted.
Few things are the spontaneous, unaided
gifts of nature, requiring no exertion for their production.
Nature offers its powers and its products.
Industry and
labour discover their latent utility, and surmount the diffi
culties of obtaining such products, and of giving them their
requisite modification.
‘' I know a bank whereon the wild thyme blows,
Where ox-lips and the nodding violet grows ;
Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine,
With sweet musk-roses, and white eglantine.” *
Yet who is ignorant of the wonders of gardening ? What
triumphs of skill do we see in a streak, a tint, a shade
secured by the morning care, the evening caution, and the
vigilance of days bestowed by the diligent horticulturist.
Even labour, however, cannot always act singly. It needs
the aid of tools, implements, and machines. There are in the
United Kingdom immense tracts of cultivable land. Will it
do simply to employ any number of men or women to till, to
plough, to sow, to reap? No. The farmer must erect the
* Shakspeare.
�38
USE OF CAPITAL IN INDUSTRY.
steadings. He must clear and drain. He must eradicate noxious
weeds, must make the road, the bank, the fence, the bridge.
He must purchase guano or some other fertilizer. He must have
a sufficient number of live stock. He must have the grubber, the
roller, the harrow, the rake, the reaping machine, the thrashing
machine ; ay, even the steam plough, and the steam engine, if
he can afford it. How can these be obtained, unless there be
something left of previous accumulation whereby to get them ?
Now that something is—Capital. The labourers in the act of
producing must be fed and clothed.
From whom can they
expect their sustenance but from the capitalist ? The very first
use of capital, therefore, is to provide such commodities as are
employed in producing wealth and in supplying the fund neces
sary for supporting labour.
Capital is used in all manner of ways for purposes of repro
duction. We often see our manufacturers intentionally destroy
ing it, in order to obtain the effects which are the direct
consequences of its destruction ; as, for example, they consume
coal in the furnace that they may produce iron. They are
content to see capital used up little by little as in machinery,
or consent to vary its very kind by manufacturing, or shaping
it in new forms, as in the case of cotton, wool, or other raw
material.
Subject certain quantities of cotton and wool to
certain processes ; destroy, in fact, their identity, and you obtain
in their stead shirts, drawers, gloves, shawls, stockings, hose.
Subject wool and woollen yarn to other processes, and you have
Brussels carpets, tapestry, velvets, felt, blankets, beaveis,
flannel, coverlets, etc. Capital is given away in wages as
reward for labour. It is employed in providing, extracting,
or producing materials, as in agriculture, mining, fisheries,
manufactures. It is invested in roads, railways, shipping. But
in whatever way it is employed, capital is the spring, the mover
of labour, and scarcely any work can be accomplished without
t. The greater, indeed, the amount of capital accumulated, the
�USE OF CAPITAL IN INDUSTRY.
39
larger the amount of work executed. What egregious folly it is
to call capital the natural foe of labour, and the capitalist the
jealous rival of labour. Instead of being an incubus on the
energies of the labourer, or the weight that crushes him down,
capital is the very prop and stay of labour, it is the indispensable
means of all employment, and of all reward of labour.
But there is a difference in the method of employing capital.
On a closer examination of what is required for production, in
the very instances already given, you will find that part of the
capital is employed in works of a permanent character, and part
for temporary and fluctuating purposes. If you wish to establish
a cotton mill, you must needs build the factory and purchase the
machinery ; if you will construct iron works, you must have the
furnaces ; if you will give yourself to agriculture, you must im
prove the land. Now capital so employed cannot be withdrawn
at pleasure. It is for all practical purposes sunk; and all you
may derive from it is a yearly rent or interest. This is techni
cally called fixed capital. But to work the factory, to produce
iron, to cultivate grain or fruit, you must get the raw material,
pay wages, buy the seed, and provide for the thousand require
ments of the business. And this is circulating or floating capital.
The fixed capital of the hunter consists of his gun and dog;
the floating, of powder and shot. The boat and net are the
fixed capital of the fisherman; any food in the boat is the float
ing. The warehouse is the fixed capital of the trader, and so
are his weights or machines ; his stock in trade and effects are
his floating capital. There is this further difference between
fixed and circulating capital, that whilst the fixed always re
mains, the circulating is always spent. You buy land for a
railway, that land remains. You pay money in wages, it goes.
Do not imagine, however, that what is termed fixed capital is
absolutely fixed or indestructible, or that what is termed float
ing is really lost. In truth, the fixed capital, unless renewed,
is in time completely lost. The floating, though temporarily
�40
USE OF CAPITAL IN INDUSTRY.
departing, always returns. That the whole floating capital em
ployed, together with a certain amount of profits, shall return,
is the whole aim of the capitalist. Alas if it does not return !
And remember, too, that as all fixed capital must come originally
from the operation of circulating capital, and must be fed by it,
—no factory, no machine being obtainable except by first pro
viding, and afterwards sustaining, labour,—so no fixed capital
can, by any possible means, give a revenue except by the use
of circulating capital; for what is the use of building the factory,
or purchasing a piece of land, unless you are able and prepared
to manufacture cotton or woollen, or to cultivate the ground ?
At home and abroad, wherever this wonderful element, capital,
is distributed, it is employed as floating and as fixed in certain
proportions, not always precisely the same, but still pretty well
balanced. In truth, it is quite a misadventure when either form
takes an undue share of public attention. Suppose, for instance
the construction of public works should require the conversion
of any considerable part of floating into fixed capital, and what
follows ? There will be much less left for the general wants of
trade and ordinary purposes of manufacture, and serious incon
venience may ensue from it.
I wish I could give you some idea of the extraordinary sums
of capital required to carry on the industries of this country.
There are in the United Kingdom some 47,000,000 acres of
land under cultivation, on which farmers sometimes invest
y^'io or ^15 per acre. Allow ^5 10s. per acre on the average,
and you have ^258,000,000 required for agriculture. We have
a large number of industries whose very existence depends
on the constant flow of capital. Some ^80,000,000 sterling
are required for the cotton manufacture; some ^40,000,000
for the woollen; some ^30,000,000 for the iron industry ;
some £70,000,000 for our mercantile marine. Just imagine the
amount required to carry on the foreign trade of the country
--those distant trades, especially, with Australia, India, China,
�USE OF CAPITAL IN INDUSTRY.
4i
and Japan, which do not allow of quick returns. As many
as ^600,000,000 of capital are invested in our railways, and
I cannot tell you how much has been invested by British
capitalists in public undertakings for water, gas, and docks, in
banking and insurance, and in a hundred other objects at home
and abroad. Yes, abroad also ; for immense sums of capital
are constantly going out from Britain to every part of the
world, to fructify the soil of native industry, to fill waste places,
and to construct great public works. And what a drain is
caused by foreign loans, that new, and in many respects novel,
species of gambling of the present day. Scarcely a year passes
but we have princes and potentates, wealthy states and puny
republics, knocking at the door of the British Stock Exchange
for a new loan. At this moment, a large portion of the debt of
most states in the world, probably ^300,000,000, and more, is
due to British capitalists. This is the way in which capital
is employed. It will not do to keep capital idle, for idleness is
sure to bring about its own punishment. Take it into your head
that you will not work, and of course you get no wages. That
is your well-deserved punishment.
Let capital be kept idle,
and it will bring no interest. That is its punishment. It would
be interesting to know in what proportion capital is employed
respectively in British industry, commerce, and shipping, and
foreign enterprises and loans. I wTill not venture on bold esti
mates, but what is it that determines what specific investment
shall be preferred? Nothing else than what offers the best ad
vantage. It is the same with large as with small transactions.
A fourth or a half per annum per cent, will turn the scale,
whether I will buy American or British funded securities. One
or two per cent, will determine whether agriculture or manufac
tures shall be preferred. It is wonderful what a little difference
often turns the scale, But, mind you, it makes all the differ
ence to those who are to participate in the benefit arising from
the employment of capital, how capital is eventually invested.
�42
USE OF CAPITAL IN INDUSTRY.
There is a great difference, for instance, in the various
proportions in which capital is distributed among the several
agents of production even as between different industries. It
has been calculated in France, that for every hundred francs
produced, fifteen go in labour, fifty-five in materials, and the
remainder in the maintenance of fixed capital, fuel, adminis
tration, and profits. According to the census of the United
States for 1870, out of $100 produced, eighteen go in labour,
fifty-six in raw materials, and the rest in interest and ad
ministration.
What are the proportions in England it is
difficult to say, but all industries are not alike. In industries
where the material is of no great value, the proportion
falling on labour for wages may even exceed the proportion
required for the material. But there are industries of just
the reverse character, where the value of the material far
exceeds every other element in the cost of production. In
the production of flour, which is only a process in the further
utilization of wheat, in calico-printing, bleaching, and dyeing,
in the reduction of gold and silver, in the refining of sugar,
the proportion of the produce falling on wages is comparatively
small, in some cases four, six, and eight per cent., and no more.
In the production of hardwares, glass wares, furniture, cotton
goods, bricks, and ship-building, the proportion of the product
falling on labour ranges from twenty to thirty per cent. I have
often been struck at the incongruity exhibited by a man constantly
touching gold and silver, silk or woollen, of the finest description,
yet he himself poor and half-starving. Walk to Spitalfields,
and see the poor silk weaver: he is manufacturing some magni
ficent velvet, or some splendid moire antique; he must be a
‘trusty man, for he is trusted with the material in his own home ;
he must have considerable knowledge of his work, and he must
be at great expense in the maintenance of the loom, and even in
house rent, for he must have as much space and light as he can.
Ask what are his wages, and he will tell you that he has the
�USE OF CAPITAL IN INDUSTRY.
43
poorest wages, often not better than a common labourer can
earn. Go to a cotton factory, and you see men and women
apparently simply watching a machine, or performing some
mechanical act, now taking a lump of cotton from one place
to another, and again replacing a single thread on the spindle.
Ask what is their earning, and you will find that they get
handsome wages.
Why this difference ? In the one case
the raw material is very dear, and takes away considerable
part of the produce; in the other it is very cheap, and
leaves a good share to be divided among the workers. The
dearer the raw material, whether ordinarily or exceptionally, the
worse for the labourer and the manufacturer, for often in the
difficulty of obtaining the full price the only alternative left is
to work at reduced wages and profits. Happily, in England,
the great bulk of our manufactures are the products of raw
materials of comparatively little value. Whilst France is the
home of the silk manufacture, England is the seat of the cotton
and iron industries. It will not do, however, to say we should
pick and choose the industries which give the best return to
labour. Whatever is most beneficial to capital must also be
equally beneficial to labour, and you may be sure of this, that
the watchful eye of the capitalist will ever be on the outlook
to make a good selection for his investments.
It is difficult to say what we should most dread, either an
unlimited growth of capital, or any sudden stoppage of accumu
lation ; for an unlimited growth would inevitably be followed by
a diminution of profit, and a consequent discouragement of
industry; and a diminution of capital would have results still
more disastrous. As yet, we are -thankful to say, there is no
danger either of the one or of the other. Capital is growing in
England at an enormous ratio. But the demand for capital both
at home and abroad is greater than ever. Nor is it a bad thing,
after all, that some of our surplus should find its way abroad.
John Stuart Mill attributed to the perpetual overflow of capital
�44
USE OF CAPITAL IN INDUSTRY.
to colonies or to foreign countries, to seek higher profits than
can be obtained at home, the principal cause by which the
decline of profits in England has been arrested. This, he said,
has a twofold operation. “ In the first place, it does what a fire,
or an inundation, or a commercial crisis, would have done ;—it
carries off a part of the increase of capital from which the
reduction of profits proceeds. Secondly, the capital so carried
off is not lost, but is chiefly employed either in founding colonies,
which become large exporters of cheap agricultural produce, or
in extending, and perhaps improving, the agriculture of older
communities. It is to the emigration of English capital, that we
have chiefly to look for keeping up a supply of cheap food and
cheap materials of clothing, proportioned to the increase of our
population : thus enabling an increasing capital to find employ
ment in the country, without reduction of profits, in producing
manufactured articles with which to pay for this supply of raw
produce. Thus, the exportation of capital is an agent of great
efficacy in extending the field of employment for that which
remains ; and it may be said truly, that up to a certain point,
the more capital we send away the more we shall possess and
be able to retain at home.” Fear not, indeed, the exportation
of capital, so long as it goes to fertilize the land, to create
new means of transport, to animate industry, and to strengthen
and invigorate labour in America, India, Australia, or any part
of the world. But fear such exportation when it goes to act as
the sinews of war, when it is to be employed for destruction,
and not for production, Better far to sink capital into the
deep, than to lend it to any power in Europe—ay, to the British
Government itself—for the support of a warlike policy in any
quarter, and for any purpose whatever.
It is good, after all, to be able to say that, however selfish
and materialistic it may seem at first sight, political economy
has this redeeming characteristic, that it does not teach us to
hide our light under a bushel, to keep what we have to ourselves
�USE OF CAPITAL IN INDUSTRY.
45
and for ourselves. If you have gathered capital, let it out; do
not keep it in your pocket, nor hide it in an old stocking.
If you have any talent, let it shine. Use it liberally for your
selves and for others. I remember reading a happy illustration
of the principle in question as applied to literary pursuits in
“Excelsior,” a charming publication, edited by the late Dr.
Hamilton. “An earnest mind,” he said, “is not a bucket, but
a fountain; and as good thoughts flow out, better thoughts flow
in. Good thoughts are gregarious. The bright image or spark
ling aphorism, the gold or silver of capital,—fear not to give it
wing, for, lured by its decoy, thoughts of sublimer range and
sunnier pinion will be sure to descend and gather round it. As
you scatter, you’ll increase. And it is in this way that, whilst
many a thought that might have enriched the world has been
buried in a sullen and monastic spirit, like a crock of gold in
a coffin, the good idea of a frank and forth-spoken man gets
currency, and after being improved to the advantage of thou
sands, has returned to its originator with usury. It has been
lent, and so it has not been lost; it has been communicated,
and so it has been preserved ; it has circulated, and so it has
increased.”
We should all remember that, in one sense or another, we are
all capitalists. In an economic sense, labour is an element
distinct from capital. But in a better sense—for it is the sense
of common experience—we stand much more on a level. We are
all labourers, and all capitalists. Taking the working classes
at two-thirds of the entire population, and assuming an average
weekly aggregate earning of thirty shillings for each family of 4'50
persons, the entire income of the working classes will amount
to ^400,000,000 per annum, probably quite as much as the
income of all the middle and higher classes together. You, the
working classes, destitute of all capital, a class distinct from the
capitalists ? What folly ! Multiply that earning of yours at ten
years’ purchase, and your property in your labour income from
�46
USE OF CAPITAL IN INDUSTRY.
all sources is worth ^4,000,000,000. Away with all jealousy
between Labour and Capital ! We are all interested in each
other’s welfare : on the success of the capitalist your income
depends ; and on your welfare and happiness, the capitalist’s
chief strength must ever rest.
Moralists have often been led to decry the all-absorbing eager
ness of the present age in the pursuit of wealth, and fears have
been expressed lest the love of money should engross far too much
the heart and mind of the nation,—lest, instead of seeking wealth
as an instrument for the purchase of ease and enjoyment, both
the ease and the enjoyment of a whole life should be rendered
up a sacrifice to its shrine,—lest, instead of its being desired as a
minister of gratification to the appetites of nature, it should bring
nature itself into bondage, robbing her of all her simple delights,
pouring wormwood into the current of her feelings, making that
man sad who ought to be cheerful. Well might Matthew Henry
say, “ There is a burden of care in getting riches ; fear in keep
ing them ; temptation in using them ; guilt in abusing them;
sorrow in losing them ; and a burden of account at last to be
given up concerning them.”
But let us not ignore or forget the many benefits derived from
wealth ; and whilst we condemn an excessive devotion to its
pursuit, let us be ready to acknowledge that the acquisition of
wealth is good in itself as the reward of well-directed labour, of
industry, frugality, and economy. And look at the results !
What power of attraction, what magic influence, does capital
possess ! What wonders does it achieve ! Behold the embodi
ments of capital in our halls and palaces, docks and warehouses,
factories and workshops, railways and canals, parks and plea
sure grounds. What a mighty power is capital, even in politics !
Three millions of British sovereigns haye silenced the grumbling
of the Americans for the concession of belligerent rights to the
Confederate States, and the raids of the Alabama and other
privateers on American shipping. Four millions of hard sove-
�USE OF CAPITAL IN INDUSTRY.
47
reigns have procured to England an interest in the Suez Canal.
What is it that renders Britain so influential in the council of
the nations ? What is it that placed this nation, once so ob
scure, in the foremost place in civilization and science ? Whence,
but by the expenditure of much treasure, has Britain been
rendered the healthy and courted resort of princes and nobles
from all countries ? Look around, and see what wealth is
capable of performing,—what monuments it has raised,—what
agencies it has called into activity,—what encouragement it
has afforded to science, art, and discoveries. What but wealth
has procured for Britain those store-houses of knowledge which
enrich our museums and galleries ? And what but the exist
ence of a class in the full enjoyment of ease and wealth has
given to the nation the immense benefit of a large number of
men who, with refined taste and enlarged views, can give them
selves to those higher objects which foster civilization and
science ? It is the glory of England that she possesses so
many men of position and wealth, who, eschewing the tempta
tion of ease and luxury, are thankful if they are selected to
preside over our hospitals, to take their share in the maintenance
of order and justice, to devote themselves to legislation, to take
an active part in the laborious task of our School Boards.
Many are the examples of liberality, moreover, which redeem
wealth from the charge of sordid avarice or cold unconcern for
human suffering. The names of George Moore and George
Peabody, of Samuel Morley and the Baroness Coutts, are
household words in the national catalogue of benefactors :—
“Those are great souls, who touch’d with warmth divine,
Give gold a price, and teach its beams to shine ;
All hoarded pleasures they repute a load,
Nor think their wealth their own, till well bestow’d.”
And let any cry of distress be heard, do we not see at once a
flow of liberality to mitigate its pressure ? Yes ! let wealth
continue to diffuse blessings such as these, and what a crop of
�^g
USE OF CAPITAL IN INDUSTRY.
beneficence will be gathered !
How much misery will be alle
viated ! What amount of ignorance will be removed 1. What
high purposes will be served 1 In the work of production and
distribution of wealth, most of us are immediately interested.
Let us be thankful for the measure of prosperity this work of
ours procures for us. Let us remember that, whether rich or
poor in gold and silver, it is always in our power to possess the
godlike happiness of doing good, to be benefactors to others,
and to have a perpetual spring of peace and joy in ourselves.
�IV.
THE REWARD OF LABOUR.
Are the working classes at this moment receiving such wages as
they are entitled to have ? Do they participate fully and justly in
the produce of their labour ? Do they get a just reward for the
work they perform ? These are the questions before us this
evening ; and certainly I know of no other social theme which
has called forth more continuous, more keen, and more interest
ing controversy. We all know that labour is indispensable for
production, that it must be performed with energy, health, and
intelligence, that it is economised by machinery, and rendered
more productive by the division of labour,—and that, as a whole,
labour is exercised in England under circumstances, physical,
economical, and political, far superior to those of many other
countries. Now let us bring labour face to face with capital, that
element so much dreaded for its power and influence, yet without
which labour cannot proceed. On the one hand, we have the
labourer hard at work in the business of life j on the other, the
capitalist, bringing to the help of labour the fruit of his saving, yet
trying to economise it, and to render it as useful as possible.
Labourers both they are, the labourer and the capitalist, because
all capital is the fruit of labour—saved, not wasted, and em
ployed in reproduction. Whilst, however, there lie before us
the two parties in the great conflict, ever at issue, ever jealous
of one another, and now and again coming to an open struggle,
4
�5°
THE REWARD OF LABOUR.
let us keep in mind that the two great factors in the determina
tion of the reward of labour, are not capital and labour, but the
producers on the one hand, as including both labour and capital,
and the consumers on the other. On what condition can the
interests of all parties be satisfactorily established, and any
seeming divergence reconciled ?
I do not know how far you are prepared to give heed to what
economists have to say on a question which so touches your
interest to the quick. I have heard the science charged with
being cold and unsympathetic, yet I believe that its dictates
ought to be listened to with attention, for Adam Smith and
John Stuart Mill, Jean Baptiste Say and Michel Chevalier, did
not give their oracles as from the gods, but as the result of
induction from ascertained facts. And whence the immense
accumulation of wealth within the last quarter of a century,
in which the labouring classes have so much participated,
but from the recognition of the principles of economic science
and the practical application of their dictates to national
legislation ?
The machinery of production and distribution is much more
complicated than we are apt to imagine, for it extends back
to the manifold operations connected with the production and
acquisition of the raw materials, tools, and factories, and reaches
far and away, through manifold ramifications, till the produce
finds its way into the hands of the consumer. In a primitive
state of society, a labourer may easily cut a tree and build a
hut for himself, or work on the virgin soil and draw from it a
scanty subsistence ; but it is not so in the present advanced
civilization. The raw materials come from the most distant
regions. The tools, machines, and instruments are the pro
ducts of exquisite skill. The motive power is no longer the
running steam or the rushing wind.
How extensive, how
systematic, how economically adapted everything must be ere
a labourer can enter into his labour! What scheming, what
�THE REWARD OF LABOUR.
Si
.organization, what foresight are required in the master in the
conduct of all his operations 1 What a number of agents !
How many are the instrumentalities required to bring the pro
duce within the reach of the consumer, in towns and hamlets,
at home and abroad ! Travel among the Exquimaux or the
Hottentots, penetrate Asia or America, visit the Fair of Nijni
Novgorod, and the bazaars at Constantinople, and everywhere
you find British goods. How came they there? What toil,
what expenditure to bring them there ! How much of the pro
duce of such goods falls into the hands of the producer in
England, and how much is divided and subdivided among the
merchants and traders, carriers and shipmasters, agents and
brokers, engaged in their transmission, who can say ?
Nor is it easy to ascertain how the net amount which eventually
falls into the hands of the producer should be distributed
between the master and the workmen, the capitalist and the
labourer. Deeply interested alike in the results of production,
interdependent on one another for its success, we might fancy
they might easily agree to act jointly in a kind of partnership.
But can the labourer wait till the article is completed and sold,
to divide the proceeds with the capitalist ? Can he work on
the chance that the article may be sold or prove profitable ?
Better for him, in most cases, to receive something prompt and
certain, than a larger sum at a distant time, and contingent on
the success of the enterprise. Nor would such an agreement
answer the interest of the master, for he must look to the best
time for selling his merchandize, and he cannot expose himself
to the pressure of the labourers, or to the danger of disagree
ment. Better for them both to substitute for such an uncertain
issue, which might in the end prove satisfactory to neither party,
the contract of wages, or the purchase and sale of certain labour
for a certain renumeration, the workmen consenting to have
their share of the profits, whatever they be, or their chance
of profit or loss, commuted into a fixed payment. Only let it
�'52
THE REWARD OF LABOUR.
be understood that in entering into such a contract the parties
agree on the mutual recognition of property in capital and
labour, and on the absolute freedom on the part of both, the one
to demand, and the other to give, whatever their respective
interests may dictate.
The business of production is one requiring extreme nicety
of calculation. To accept a contract for the building of a
house, to undertake the working of a mill, or to rent a farm,
are alike operations the success of which depends on the
careful estimate of receipts and expenditure. We often speak
of the master as the capitalist, but the capital he requires is a
commodity having a market value, and the cost of which he
must take into account. You wish to establish a cotton mill.
the mill itself may cost you some ^30,000 in land’ bulld'
ings, steam-engines, gas-works, warehouses, and all the fixed
requisites, besides a per centage per annum for repair and
dilapidation. Beyond this, as much capital will be required
for the machinery; and to that, too, a still larger per centage
per annum must be added for wear and tear, and renewal
when worked out. Then you need capital to purchase cotton
and stock for carrying on the trade. You have the insurance
to pay, and the expense of taxes, engines, horses, the weekly
contengencies of oil, tallow, etc.; and the most important
item, the interest of all this capital, which varies from time
to time from 2| to io per cent, per annum. Add now, the
wages of labour, and the remuneration due to the master for
the labour and talent required in the administration—talent
often of a very high order,—and you can form a fair estimate of
the cost of the article produced. But can the manufacturer
count upon recovering the whole of his cost from the consumer ?
Ultimately, indeed, the value of any article is regulated by the
cost of production, whatever that be ; but is there no probability
that the competition between the producers within the same or
in different countries, or the inability of the consumers, may
�THE REWARD OF LABOUR.
53
compel the producer to sell at prices lower than he had calcu
lated. And if so, the cost of capital and other commodities being
the same, must not the master, if he is to continue to produce,
lower the wages of labour and be content to do himself with
less remuneration ?
It is objected, that before thinking of lowering the wages, the
master should see whether some economy might not be effected
in the expense of distribution, which often absorbs so large a
portion of the produce of an article. It is possible that some
economy may be effected in this direction, but in this matter
the producer is often helpless, the business of production
being quite distinct from that of distribution. Do not imagine
that it would be economy if the producer should attempt to
take into his own hands the business of distribution, for would
he not require double the number of agents, a corresponding
increase in the amount of capital, and double the amount of
profits? But allowing the necessity of lowering both profits
and wages, it is asserted that it must still remain at the
option of the workman whether he will sell his labour at the
lower rates. No one can certainly question the right of the
workman to act on his own judgment in the matter. All I
venture to assert is that the master may be compelled by the
circumstances of trade to offer to his workmen less wages for
the future than he was wont to give for the past. If they will
not accept such lower wages, the master cannot help it, but the
chances are that if they insist on refusing the offer production
may be thereby suspended, for surely the master may be credited
for using the best means in his power to carry on his business,
not only without interruption, but in peace and harmony with
his men, if he can possibly do so.
The motive power which prompts a master in accepting a
contract for the building of a house, in undertaking the working
of a mill, or the renting of a farm, is doubtless profit. It is
with a view to profit that he emplo- s his own capital, and
�54
the reward of labour.
Whatever additional capital may be required in his business ;
and it is with a view to profit that he employs his labourers.
To succeed the master must seek to economise the use of
every element which affects the cost of the produce ; must
choose the best market for it; must endeavour to maintain his
productive power, and avoid any break or interruption of work.
But do you think that it is the interest of the employer to starve
his labourers ? I venture to say, the employer is fully conscious
of the fact that those whom he employs, must be able to live
by their work, that they must educate their children, and they
must have a share of relaxation and enjoyment, without which
life becomes a burden. The master cannot forget that the
best way to make his labourers work well is to pay them well,
or as well as the state of business permits, to keep them happy
and cheerful, strong and healthy ; and he knows, too, full well,
that if he will deal justly by his labourers, they will neither neg
lect their work nor be disaffected, they will neither complain nor
be disposed to strike. Only, the master cannot always control
the course of the market, and he may be compelled to lower the
wages and reduce his profits, lest by keeping the cost of pro
duction too high, he should become unable to compete with the
foreign producers, or to meet the ability of the consumers, and
so lose his custom altogether.
‘ Where is the guarantee, however, that the employer will act
fairly in such calculations ? What if his intentions be solely to
force the labourers to accept lower wages with a view to the
retention of higher profits? What if the statements of bad
trade, or restricted demand, or increasing competition, should
be purposely exaggerated for the same end ? What, m short,
if the wages offered are not justified by the state of the market ?
I fully admit the possibility of such circumstances, and I think
that where there has been between masters and men a long
course of dealings, the men have a moral right to expect from
the master an open and frank statement of the position of the
�THE REWARD OF LABOUR.
55
business, and of the reasons which necessitate an alteration of
the terms of their contract, before he summarily announces a
reduction of wages. In any case, he should remember that he
has to deal with his labourers as with free men, and that they
will exercise their judgment to accept or not, as they please, the
wages offered. And be sure of this, that if the competition
'among labourers is certain to prove favourable to the employer
in keeping the wages low, the freedom of the labourers,
and an extensive field of labour in the colonies and America,
enable the labourers to resist any attempt of his to lower
wages unduly, and to prevent them falling below what is just
and necessary.
There is, indeed, a minimum below which wages can never
go. Much labour has been expended in ascertaining what
that minimum is, or what is the intrinsic value of labour at
any time ; and it has been said that, as the intrinsic value of
anything is regulated by the cost of production, so the intrinsic
value of labour is ultimately governed by the cost of subsistence
of the labourer and his family. However large the competition
among labourers, the wages can never fall below the cost of
bare living, for the simple reason that if the labourer cannot
live in one occupation, he will leave it and choose another ; and
if he is not able for any other, he will emigrate. This, then, is
the natural or necessary rate of wages, and it is variable ac
cording to the cost of articles of food and clothing, and must
also differ at different times and in different countries. Let it
be established, for instance, that the cost of living in England,
including food, drink, clothing, and house-rent, has increased
twenty per cent, within the last twenty years, and the natural or
intrinsic value of labour must of necessity have risen in similar
proportions.* And must not the intrinsic value of labour be
higher in England, where the labourer eats wheaten bread
* See Appendix A.
�56
THE REWARD OF LABOUR.
and butcher’s meat daily, than in China, where a labourer is
content and able to live almost exclusively on rice ?
Happily, this minimum of wages is scarcely ever touched, but
there are industries where the profits of production are extremely
low, and where the competition among labourers is extreme.
Who has not heard of the pitiful cases of the silk weavers and
throwsters, of the needlewomen and kid-glove stitchers, of the
stocking and glove weavers, of the farm and dock labourers ? It
does seem miserable pay to offer z^d. for embroidering a skirt
two or three yards wide, even with the sewing machine. Who has
not felt pain, sorrow, and I may say indignation, when reading
those plaintive words of Hood :
“ With fingers weary and worn,
With eyelids heavy and red,
A woman sat, in unwomanly rags,
Plying her needle and thread—
Stitch ! stitch 1 stitch 1
In poverty, hunger, and dirt;
And still with a voice of dolorous pitch
She sang the ‘ Song of the Shirt.'
Work, work, work—
Till the brain begins to swim !
Work, work, work—
Till the eyes are heavy and dim 1
Seam, and gusset, and band,
Band, and gusset, and seam—
Till over the buttons I fall asleep,
And sew them on in a dream !”
But what is the cause of such low wages ? Some say,
nothing else but the competition among producers to sell their
products sufficiently cheap to attract custom. But pay higher
wages, and immediately a rise on the price of such articles must
be made, which will lessen proportionally their consumption,
and check likewise production. Do not say that the consumers
would pay more if they could not get such articles so cheap.
Probably a great number will, but a large number will abstain
�7HE REWARD OF LABOUR.
57
rom consuming them. The consumption of articles of necessity,
as well as of luxury, is alike governed by the price. Add a
penny to the cost of a single shirt, or to that of a pound of tea,
or a halfpenny to the price of sugar or a loaf of bread, and at
once the consumption is sure to diminish in exact proportion.
And what will be the consequence ? A reduction of production
means a less demand for labour ; and many who are now
obtaining a scanty livelihood, may, instead of getting more,
be doomed to get nothing at all. The wages of agricultural
labour are low, but remember that in most cases the labour is
purely manual, and that the supply of simply manual labour is
always superabundant. Mr. Malthus exhibited with great force
the disagreeable fact, that, whilst the population is capable of
increasing at a geometrical ratio, such as 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, and so
forth, the means of subsistence only increase at an arithmetical
ratio such as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc. Doubtless, a proper restraint in
the matter of matrimony, and prudence as regards the increase
of our families, might check the excess of labourers, and so tend
to keep wages above their minimum, but we cannot trust on so
much wisdom on the part of the people, and so our only hope
must lie in the vast fields of emigration ever open for our super
abundant population. As an evidence that supply and demand of
labour regulate the wages compare Devon and Northumberland.
In Devon the wages are, say, I2j. a week ; in Northumberland,
20j. But in Devon the supply of labour is far in excess of the
demand; in Northumberland, with the demand for coal-mining
and with Newcastle at hand, full of industries absorbing any
quantity of labour, labour is ever scarce. What is it that lowers
so much the wages in the manufacturing districts but the con
stant influx of agricultural labourers ? As Mr. Cobden tersely put
it, when two workmen run after one master, the wages will fall;
and when two masters run after a workman, the wages are
certain to rise.
There are industries, however,—and I am happy to say they
�58
THE REWARD OF LABOUR.
include almost every branch of the artisan population,—where
the wages are not pressed down by excessive supply of labour,
and where fair wages ought to obtain. To be remunerative the
wages ought to provide the workman not only the cost of living
to himself and his family in the locality where the workman
must live,-—in London, if his work be there, or in a provincial
town, if his labour be there,—but also the cost and maintenance
of his tools, the recovery of the cost of his apprenticeship,
some provision for old age and infirmity, and an insurance
against the perils of sudden or early death, especially in those
occupations which are essentially injurious to health. And
some difference should be made, too, for the agreeableness or
disagreeableness of the work. But all these items are repre
sented in the relative wages of different classes of artisans.
What is included in the price of an article, in a certain rate of
wages of labour, in the course of exchange between one country
and another, or in the rate of interest on capital, it is often
extremely difficult to analyse. The Bank rate is, say, 3^ per
cent. In what proportions are included in that rate the value
of capital proper, the commission and expense of the trans
action, and the insurance of the risk ? And so as regard wages.
How much, for instance, of the ninepence per hour goes to meet
the relation of supply and demand of masons or carpenters, the
cost of their tools, and any of the other considerations named ?
Such analyses are not easily made, yet depend upon it the wages
or the price represents the aggregate of all the items which
enter into their value at the time.
It should be remembered that whilst the labourer calculates
what he receives in relation to the compensation he expects for
his work and toil, the employer calculates what he gives in
relation to the amount of work performed for him in return ;
for the same amount of wages may produce twice as much
labour where the labourer is sturdier in strength, and really in
earnest in his work, than where the labourer is weak and
�THE REWARD OF LABOUR.
59
indolent. And is there not a difference in the power of labour
between the stalwart Northumbrian and the weakly Devonian ?
A greater amount of labour will be performed in a summer
than in a winter’s day, in countries where the people are less
given to enjoyments than in those where pleasure seems
the first and most attractive pursuit. Let us suppose that in
France, Austria, or any other country, a manufacturer should
require twice the number of hands, twice as large a building to
contain the hands, twice as many clerks and bookkeepers and
Overlookers to look after them, and twice as many tools as he
would to do the same quantity of work in England, must he
not pay such labourers less there than he would here? The
rate of wages may be lower in France than in England, and yet
the amount of wages paid for a given quantity of work may be
more in France than in England. “ Profits,” said Mr. Ricardo,
“ depend on wages,—not on nominal but real wages ; not on the
number of pounds that may be annually paid to the labourers,
but on the number of days’ work necessary to obtain those
pounds.”
By whichever standard the rate of wages may be estimated,
the question really at issue between masters and men is whether
or not what is now paid in the shape of wages is just, or below
what is really due to the share taken by labour in production.
There is no concealing the fact that in the mind of many of
our workmen there is a lurking idea that the immense fortunes
amassed by our producers and traders are more or less the
result of an unequal division of the profits of production, and
that they could pay considerably more wages, but they will not.
That indeed, they say, is the real secret of low wages. Only, they
try to cover it under the pretext of the doctrine of the wages or
labour fund. But what is this theory ? According to the econo
mists, the doctrine is simply this : that wages, by an irresistible
law, depend on the demand and supply of labour, and can in no
circumstances be either more or less than what will distribute the
�6o
THE REWARD OF LABOUR.
existing wage fund among the existing number of competitors for
the same,—the demand for labour consisting of the whole circu
lating capital of the country, including what is paid in wages
for unproductive labour ; the supply, the whole labouring popu
lation. If the supply is in excess of what the capital can at
present employ, wages must fall. If the labourers are all
employed, and there is a surplus of capital still unused, wages
will rise.
This is the wage-fund theory upon which Mr.
Thornton broke lance with John Stuart Mill. If the question
be asked, Is there such a thing as a wage fund, in the sense
here implied ? exists there any fixed amount which is neither
more nor less than what is destined to be expended in wages ?
Mr. Thornton boldly declares that the supposed barrier to the
expansion of wages as indicated by this theory is a shadow, and
not a reality, for besides the original capital which the employer
invests in the business, there are the growing profits which may
also be used in wages. Mr. Mill, in his review of Mr. Thornton’s
work on “ Labour and its Claims,” in the Fortnightly Review, so
far admitted that there is no law of nature making it impossible
for wages to rise to the point of absorbing not only the funds
which the employer had intended to devote to the carrying on
his business, but the whole of what he allows for his private
expenses beyond the necessaries of life. But, said Mr. Mill,
there is a limit nevertheless, and that limit to the rise of wages
is the practical consideration how much would ruin the employer,
or drive him to abandon his business. In short, just as wages
may be too low, so as to impair the working power of the
labourer, so they may be too high, so as to leave no profit; and
just as excessively low wages will drive the labourer to emigrate,
so unduly high wages will drive capital out of the business.
How far the assumption is correct that employers are
amassing large profits, I am not prepared to say. The under
standing is, that the return of seven per cent, on the capital
invested is a pie, and it cannot be considered excessive when
�THE REWARD OF LABOUR.
6l
we consider the dangers and vicissitudes of commerce. See
what losses are incurred by bankruptcy. During the last six
years, from 1870 to 1875, the total amount of liabilities of estates
liquidated by bankruptcy, by arrangement, or composition with
creditors, was Ziioj759?ooo> and the total amount of assets
^32,607,000, showing an actual loss to creditors of £78,152,000,
or in the proportion of Z^?000,000 Per annum; and this,
remember, irrespective of the cost of bankruptcy, which in
many cases absorbs nearly the whole of the assets. Suppose,
however, good fortune should favour any branch of production,
and unusual profits be realised, will there not' be a sudden rush
of capital for investment in the same ? For a time, the greedy
employer may pocket large profits, but as soon as fresh capital
is invested, competition causes a larger share of the same to fall
on the labourer, and wages rise, till the rates of profits and the
rates of wages are brought to their normal level. The relation
of profits to wages is often wrongly apprehended. It is an error
to suppose that large profits are the results of low wages, and
low profits the results of high wages. Although an increase of
capital has the tendency to lower the profits, and to increase
wages, the same increase of capital also tends to render labour
more profitable, and to increase the amount of production, which
in turn maintains a high rate of profits. See the operation of
machinery on wages. The investment of capital in machinery
enables the workman to produce tenfold more than he was able
to produce by the hand ; and in proportion as he increases his
productive power, so his earnings increase. A workman at
Bristol said that the extra production of machinery ought to
be divided by masters and workmen.
And so they are, in
certain proportions.
Before 1842, said Mr. Ashworth, the
operative spinner’s wages for the production of 20 lb. of yarn
70’s, on a pair of mules of 400 spindles each, was 43-. yd. (or 2fd.
per lb.), and at this rate his net earnings amounted to about
20s. per week. In 1859, with the improvements effected in the
�62
THE REWARD OF LABOUR.
spinning mule, by which each machine carries 800 spindles,
the same workman, with a little extra assistance by piecers
(boys), could earn 30J. icvf. per week net, although the amount he
received in wages for 20 lb. of yarn was reduced from 4s. ^d. to
3J. ii%d. or 2'36d, per pound. Compare the actual earnings of
spinners and others employed in the cotton industry during
the last forty years : they show an increase of 30 or 50 per
cent., besides a considerable reduction in the number of hours
of labour.*
The reason why the employer amasses a larger amount of
wealth in proportion than the labourer, will be found, not in
any usurpation of the share of profits which may belong to
workmen, for that, after all, is a matter of simple contract, but
in the fact that whilst the labourer receives only the proper
remuneration of his labour, the employer not only gets higher
remuneration for his skill, because of a higher order, but also
the profit of his capital, or an annual sum of profit on the
aggregate accumulation of all his savings for years past ;—to
say nothing of the immense advantage of production on a large
scale which the possession of large capital enables the master
to realize, and of his chances of large profits from sudden
changes in the value of produce, to be placed, however,
against the chance of equally sudden losses, the result either of
unusual skill and good fortune, or of sad miscalculations and
blunders.
The wages of labour, the profits of merchants and bankers,
the earnings of men of letters, of barristers and doctors, the
salaries of civil servants, and even the incomes of bishops and
clergymen, are not, I apprehend, so uniformly balanced as we
might wish. Doubtless, the progress of freedom, the extended
knowledge of the use of capital, the progress of division of
labour, the facilities of communication, and the advanced conSee Appendix B.
�THE REWARD OF LABOUR.
63
dition of certain industries, may tend to the greater equalization
of wages. But such equalization can never supersede the essen
tial difference of earnings of any number of persons, the natural
consequence of greater or less amount of skill, greater or less
amount of energy, health, or special capacities, and of relative
advantage of position for the exercise of certain industries. To
suppose the possibility of any uniformity of wages, irrespective
of such differences of skill, knowledge, industry, and character,
is to imagine that equal enjoyment may be had as the return
for unequal efforts, abilities, and sacrifices. Upon the relative
merits of the payment of wages, by the day or hour, or by socalled piece-work, little need be said. The contract of labour
is doubtless not so many hours, but so much labour for so much
money ; and it should be a matter of simple convenience to both
parties which of the two systems should be preferable. Honestly
performed, and as honestly inspected, piece-work appears to
me to contain the elements of perfect fairness, though payment
by the day may stimulate greater attention to solidity and finish
of workmanship.
I will not venture to assert that present wages are satis
factory. Taking the wages of builders in the metropolis at
9<£ per hour, they may appear sufficiently liberal. But are all
builders earning as much ? How many get no more than
per hour ? How little are the building labourers earning ! Nor
do such wages continue uninterrupted during the year : for at
least two months of the year many of them remain in forced idle
ness. True, the rates of wages are higher now than they were,
but the cost of living has increased also, whilst the standard
of living is altogether altered.
Must they not pay more now
for the education of their children ? Can they do without their
newspapers ? Must they not travel from their homes to their
works ? And ought they not to have their due relaxation on
Bank holidays, at Christmas, and Whitsuntide ? Many items of
expenditure, once deemed extravagant, are now become almost
�64
I
THE REWARD OF LABOUR.
as imperative as the necessaries of life. And if the imperial
taxes are higher, are not the local rates greatly increased ? There
are features at work which leave much to be desired in the
economics of the labouring classes. The sudden emancipation
of youth from all family control, and the consequent waste of
recourses which a family purse would avoid, are a decided evil.
The large proportion of married women employed in the textile
industries, is a sad element in the social system. Let the man be
the bread-winner, and the woman attend to household duties.
That is Nature’s rule ; but instead of this, all home comforts are
sacrificed for recruiting the scanty wages of the men, certain to
be destroyed by mismanagement. Happy indeed would it be
for the manufacturing districts of England were every married
woman having a family prohibited working in any factory, for
it is contrary to the course of all nature that mothers should
have to deposit their nurslings with some friend or neighbour,
or perhaps in some institution established for that purpose,
whilst they go out to work for the family living.*
Better wages, and better use of wages, we must still desire.
Think not that higher wages will restrain industry, for the
economic condition of the masses all over ,the world is im
mensely improved, and their means of purchase are decidedly
enlarged. Low wages are the concomitant of declining, not of
prosperous industries. It has been said that high wages engender
idleness and dissipation. I do not agree with such a proposi
tion. Idleness and dissipation are more frequently the conse
quence of misery and want of strength than of comfort, health,
and vigour. A sudden increase of means may, for a time, lead
to extravagance, but let it consolidate itself into a regular income,
and it is sure to create love of property, a desire of acquisition,
and a sense of self-esteem,—the best safeguards against waste and
dissipation. Charge not the recent rise of wages for the un* See Report of Robert Baker, Esq., Factory Inspector, 31st October,
1873, p. 120.
�THE REWARD OF LABOUR.
65
happy condition of large numbers of the labouring classes.
Charge the same, the rather, on the want of education, on the
employment of women and children in factories, and on the
many evils incident to our present, in many respects, artificial
organization of society.
For all the progress achieved during the last half century
in the economic condition of the people, let us be thankful.
What a change in the mode of living from the time of Queen
Elizabeth, when, while the gentlemen provided themselves with
sufficiency of wheat for their own table, their households and
poor neighbours were content with rice or barley, or in time of
dearth with bread made either of beans, peas, or oats. And
we are cleverer, too, as to the true sources of better wages.
Bitter experience has more than proved that war cannot improve
the condition of the labouring classes, for whatever hinders or
interrupts the production of wealth, whatever discourages the
investment of capital, must of necessity reduce employment and
lower wages. True, a sudden demand of men for the army and
navy may cause a temporary diminution of competition among
labourers; but while production is well-nigh suspended, and the
unproductive expenditure excessive, the resources of the people
are sure to suffer. The attempt to .regulate wages by law has been
tried and failed, as might have been well expected. An artificial
barrier of prohibitions and import duties has been tried as a means
to foster the productive power of the nation, but what is the use
of producing, when the people cannot consume ? The fictitious
and dangerous experiment of supplementing wages by poor relief
has also been tried, and abandoned as Communistic in principle,
and economically most mischievous. A better era, a sounder
policy, has been at last inaugurated, and wealth has increased at
a rapid pace. Have the labouring classes profited by the happy
change to the full extent in their power ? Workmen, it is for
you to answer. Are you desirous to improve your condition, to
become yourselves capitalists ? It is quite within your reach, for
5
�66
THE REWARD OF LABOUR.
wages are the parent of all capital. Only, learn to be thrifty.
Beware of little expenses, and you will soon amass capital which
will enable you from labourers to become employers ; employers,
I hope, the more able to deal kindly and justly with your men
because you have yourselves occasionally had reason to com
plain of your own employers.
�V.
TRADE UNIONS.
The tree is known by its fruit. You cannot expect roses from
thorns. And from a legislation which deliberately robbed the
working man of the only true patrimony he possessed—his
labour by compelling him to work at such wages as the master
chose to pay, by one degree only removed from the state of
slavery, where both the slave and his work are the property of
the master j from a legislation which consigned to the common
gaol any one who attempted to improve his wages, and doomed
to the pillory any one who dared attempt to conspire, cove
nant, or promise, with or to any other, that he should not do
certain works but at certain rates, and should not work but
at certain hours and time, you could expect nothing else but
secret societies acting in the most arbitrary manner, dis
countenancing any record of their proceedings, having their
most stringent laws unwritten, and their most significant usages
unrecorded, whose committees were practically irresponsible,
whose threats were not expressed but understood, and whose
punishments were carried out, not in broad daylight, but by in
visible hands. Happily, we may say, the age of secret societies
is now gone by. We have no sympathy for the Templars or the
Jesuits, the Red Cross or the Carbonari, and though we laugh at
the Pope putting Freemasonry in the Syllabus—for we know it
�68
TRADE UNIONS.
not to be any conspiracy against Government and religion, but
a fraternity for the practice of mutual charity, protection, and
assistance—we rejoice to know also that secret societies need no
longer exist, and should have no place in the political, social, or
economical condition of the nation.
There are a few, but very few, who profess to regard capitalists,
as a class, with suspicion, and who account for their existence
simply as an historical accident, owing its birth, perhaps, to
the fact of all nations having begun in slavery. Incapable
of accounting for the fact that for every hundred persons ninetysix are working people and four capitalists, such enthusiasts
are prepared, like Caspar Rauchbilder, a kind of philosophic
sugar-baker, to put society into a cauldron, secure a perfect
vacuum by relieving it of all prejudices and all property, and
from the ashes make a filter, through which this selfish age
shall pass, and emerge a new moral world. But the great
mass of members of our Trade Societies are not such foolish
dreamers. If they fail at all, they fail in contemplating capital
as something to a certain extent antagonistic to labour,—in
striving not for a maximum of production, but for the maxi
mum share of a given amount of production, in endeavouring to
secure for labour the largest share of a product, which is, to
say the least, the joint result of capital and labour. But what
ever be the object, workmen have a perfect right to combine,
and seek such ends as are lawful, in the way they best prefer.
The right to combine with others in order to secure a common
benefit is, I believe, a sacred one, not a whit less sacred
than that of individual liberty; and I rejoice that all laws
against combinations have long ago been abolished. Nay, I
go further ; I believe that the formation of Trade Societies,
within proper limits, is perfectly justifiable, and may be even to
some extent beneficial, for I sympathise with the condition of
many of our workmen, who seldom come into direct contact
with their employers, or who have to deal with masters too
�TRADE UNIONS.
much hardened in the old system of ruling with the iron rod to
be able fully to recognise the higher aspirations of our workmen.
Only, let me say to such societies, and more particularly to
their leaders, that great as is the power of association, it cannot
be all-supreme ; and undoubted as is their utility, there are
rights and privileges which must be likewise guarded and pro
tected. Individual independence, and the right of isolated
action, are quite as essential as the right of association, and no
one ought to be called to abdicate such rights in deference to
-those of the association. Whilst asserting their right to act
in a corporate capacity, they must not ignore the right of those
who prefer to act by themselves and for themselves. What
ever be the proportion of Trade Unionists to the total number
■of workers in any branch of industry, this is not a case where
■the majority can bind the minority, simply because by no act
of theirs, as in a case of partnership, can non-unionists be said
to have delegated to unionists any power to interfere with their
rights and independence.
Much do I deplore any contest between labour and capital.
It is ominous to find, on the one hand, a National Federation
■of Associated Employers established with a view “ to secure,
through the continuance of existing laws and the enactment of
new ones, complete freedom of labour, protection to capital, and
the true interests of national industry,” with their excellent organ
Capital and. Labourj and, on the other, “ a Federation of Trade
Unions,” recently organized, or about to be organized, in view
“ that struggles between capital and labour will probably be con
ducted in future on a far more gigantic scale than we have hitherto
witnessed, with the Beehive, now the Industrial Review, also ably
conducted as their organ. What can we expect from two such
antagonistic forces set in battle array but quarrels and conflicts ?
What better justification could Trade Societies have for their ex
istence than the very fact of such associations among the masters?
The masters justify their unions by the necessity of self-defence.
�70
TRADE UNIONS.
But what other plea is put forth by Trade Unions but selfdefence ? Whether or not the regulations which bind the masters
associations substantially differ from those of Trade Unions is
of less importance than the fact itself, that those who may be
supposed to be more intelligent, and better acquainted with
economic laws, find that union is strength for them as well as
for others, and that instead of resting on the working of economic
laws, they endeavour by united action to offer an effective resist
ance to the claims of labour.
But can labour effectively contend with capital ? Here effec
tive strength does not depend on mere numbers. What though
the proletaires be ninety-six and the capitalists only four in a
hundred? True, labour is property, and capital is property.
But what is the value of labour as property unless employed
by capital ? As well have a Raphael in the Sandwich Islands
as have ninety-six labourers without the four capitalists. And
is not this superabundance of labour a constant source of
weakness ? Even if you succeed in regulating the supply of
labour in this country, can you attempt to do so in foreign
countries ? True, capital can do nothing without labour, but
neither can labour do anything without capital. To both
capital and labour I should say, by all means use your power
and energy in maintaining your rights ; but avoid any resort to
strikes, or the final arbitrement of war, which is sure to destroy
the very spoil you are striving to possess.
Well organized as many of the Trade Societies are, I cannot
help thinking that their constitution is defective, in supposing a
greater equality of capacities and skill in their members than
human experience justifies us in expecting, a greater amount of
intelligence and prescience in their councils or committees than
they can lay title to possess, and in assuming greater authority
to compel obedience to their rules than is consistent with the
nature of a perfectly voluntary society. The members are sup
posed to be, every one, able to earn the average wages which
�TRADE UNIONS.
U-
the trade gives, or the minimum wages which the Union deter
mines, the test of that ability being found in either five years’
apprenticeship or five years’ work in the trade, or the testimony
of any member who may have worked with the candidate.
Are such tests invariably reliable ? Intelligent workmanship is,
I imagine, the result of qualities and circumstances not always
acquired by apprenticeship, nor are many years’ work in a busi
ness a sure guarantee for ability; whilst the testimony which will
satisfy the committee of a Union may not be such as will satisfy
an employer. Within an apparent uniformity of qualifications
there may be an essential diversity of merit. Hundreds of gen
tlemen are called to the bar every year by the Inns of Court
under the same regulations. Can it be said that they are all
equally gifted ? A uniform wage obtains among privates in the
army, but that continues so long only as they are idling in the
barracks, a mass of inert force. Let them be in active service,
and immediately individual valour will show that they are not
a band of uniform automatic machines.
The executive councils or committees are called to fulfil duties
of a most difficult and delicate character. Their efforts are to
secure a fair and reasonable remuneration for labour, to maintain
a fair rate of wages, to provide the means of legally resisting
unnecessary reductions in the price of work, and to allow no en
croachment on the peculiar privileges of the trade. But is it an
easy work to determine what is a fair rate of wages, what is a
reasonable remuneration, when a reduction may be successfully
resisted, or when no such resistance should be attempted ? The
members of council or committees are themselves workmen.
They do not pretend to be guided by the theories or maxims of
political economists. Naturally in favour of high wages and
short hours, are they such impartial judges as to be able duly to
appreciate the real circumstances of the case before acting in any
emergency? True, they are guided by the periodical reports of
the state of trade and wages from every part of the kingdom ;
�72
TRADE UNIONS.
but these very facts are only the exponent of phenomena which
require a deep and extended range of observation on conditions
and circumstances not within the reach of every one. Far be it
from me to detract from the intelligence and practical knowledge
of the councils of such trade unions. I give them full credit for
an earnest desire to form sound opinions on the questions before
them, and to urge the same for acceptance by fair, open, and
peaceful means. Only, it is not in their power to regulate
economical phenomena, and they cannot prevent their action.
The societies are supported by entrance fees, by weekly or
monthly fees, and by fines. Failing to pay the proper contribu
tion, absenting oneself from a quarterly or a special meeting,
mentioning any club transactions to outsiders, omitting to make
a proper report, and performing many more such acts and trans
actions, are visited with fines; whilst a still more hostile system
of ostracism may be resorted to where perfect obedience is not
secured by fines. But is it desirable to enforce obedience among
a large number of men on matters which touch very nearly the
mode of earning a livelihood ? Doubtless the constitution of such
societies empowers the committees to determine the policy to
be pursued, and there would be an end of all authority if it
were left optional with the members to accept or not the de
cision of their committees ; yet the very fact that large sums are
annually collected by means of fines indicates the frequent resort
to compulsion, on every account to be deprecated. On the whole,
I cannot help thinking that a more elastic system would operate
better, and prove in the end even more efficient than the present
stringent method of action.
The principal objects which Trade Unions have in view are
the regulation of the supply of labour and the supervision of the
rate of wages. By controlling the labour of their own members,
by endeavouring to equalize the supply of labour all over the
country, by regulating and restricting the admission of appren
tices, by hindering the employment of boy and woman labour, and
�TRADE UNIONS.
73
by putting obstacles to the employment of non-unionists, the
Trade Societies hope to maintain a monopoly of labour, and
thereby to reduce that competition among labourers which is so
formidable a barrier to the rise of wages. Nay, more; in the
hope of spreading the work among as large a number of members
as possible, they prohibit working overtime. But rules such as
these contravene some of the first maxims of legal rights,
besides being clearly opposed to sound economy. The mutual
rights and duties arising from the contract of labour are simple
and direct—so much labour for so much reward. The master
has a right to employ his labourers or not as he pleases. The
labourer may consent to work or not as he likes. What right
has either to interfere with the free action of the other in any
matter concerning their respective businesses ? The objection
to overtime is justified by the plea that it is essential for any
labourer overburdened with hard work to have time left for in
struction and recreation, and that it is a grievous evil to protract
labour beyond what nature seems to suggest. But to lay down
any general rule, that no man shall labour beyond a certain
number of hours on each day, is to deprive the young and strong
•of the best opportunity they may have of making hay whilst
health and vigour last. It seems very philanthropic to limit the
work of the over-employed that some work may be left for the
unemployed. But it is, I fear, the law of society, that wealth and
employment are not equally distributed. Aptitude for labour is
not a common gift, and if we neglect the work which Providence
places within our reach, it by no means follows that it will be
given to those less fortunate than ourselves.
Apart, however, from any legal or social considerations, what
are the economic effects of any effort to monopolize or regulate
labour ? Are they not to cripple production, which in turn
must react on wages ? Every hour you take from your daily
labour is so much deducted from the profits of production, all
the fixed capital being to that extent rendered less productive.
�74
TRADE UNIONS.
The fewer labourers are at work the less will be produced,
unless new machinery comes to take their place. Whenever
adult labour is employed where boys and women would besufficient, so much encouragement is given to a waste of forces,
which will render production less profitable. But can you pre
vent an increase of labourers in a profitable industry ? High
wages are certain to be attractive. An agricultural labourer in
the receipt of 15^. a week will be too glad to apprentice his son
to an engineer, in the expectation of getting 305-. or 40^. a week.
And it is against all natural and economic law to attempt to
hinder a process so simple and necessary. There is, indeed, a
necessary monopoly of talent which we cannot abolish. The
few actors, musicians, painters, barristers, and doctors, who
may possess learning and skill far excelling those of the masses
of their competitors ; the few workmen absolutely superior to
others in the perfection of their bodily organs, in the dexterity
of their hands and motions, and in the skill with which they
execute their task, must, of necessity, have a natural monopoly
of the work which may be offered. And they are sure to enjoy
the benefit of that monopoly in a larger remuneration than is
obtained by their competitors, as a fair compensation for ser
vices conferred in the work of production. But to pretend to
establish any monopoly whereby labourers, strong or weak,
skilful or ignorant, shall derive an equal remuneration, and
to entertain any expectation that such higher remuneration
may be derived from diminished production—these are wild
notions, which no true economic principle will sanction.
On the question whether or not Trade Unions can exercise
any influence on wages, I am prepared to make some conces
sions. Wherever wages are in any measure governed by
custom, as to some extent in agriculture, a Trade Society
may shake off that dull sloth and produce a sudden improve
ment. Wherever the labourers are in a position so low and
dejected as to be under the necessity of working for wages not
�TRADE UNIONS.
75
sufficient to pay for the simple cost of living, as in the case of
the needlewomen, a Trade Society may, by granting temporary
help with a view to resistance, operate some reform of wages,
though with the almost certain result of either lessening pro
duction, and so causing a diminution of employment, or of
stimulating machinery.. Wherever, moreover, the rate of profit
is larger than is necessary to provide for the interest of capital,
and a legitimate remuneration for the employer’s services, a
Trade Society may, by a vigilant supervision, operate upon the
margin which may exist between the rate of wages and the rate
of profits below which all production would cease, and in all
probability succeed in securing part of the same for labour,
unless defeated either by the competition of labourers among
themselves, or by foreign competition. In the former case,
however, wages will remain low, though the profits may be
high ; and in the latter, wages will fall, and the profits decline
also, or, at most, remain stationary. Under any circumstance
the advantage derived by Trade Unions can only be temporary,
for supply and demand are sure to assert their sway. Shake
off the custom if you can, and yet if there be seven persons
available to one hundred acres, where four are amply sufficient
for agricultural purposes, the competition among the seven
to get the employment which can only be had by four will be
sure to keep wages low. Enhance by artificial combination
the wages in any one business, or in any one district, yet, unless
that rise is supported by increased savings, and by the sub
stantial accumulation of capital, it will not, it cannot be sus
tained. But suppose the employer should secure for himself a
large amount of profits out of what would be due to the em
ployees, or by keeping wages unduly low, what can he do with
such profits but employ them to render them productive ? See
how it works practically. In i860, the exports of the produce
and manufactures of the United Kingdom were valued at
^136,000,000, and the profits assessed to income tax under
�76
TRADE UNIONS.
Schedule D were declared at ^95,000,000.
But trade has
been very prosperous ever since, and the result has been that in
1874 the amount of profits so assessed to income tax amounted
to ^197,000,000, showing an increase of ^102,000,000, which
you may say went all to the masters, since few or no workmen
pay income tax. But wait a little. How was that extra amount
of profits gained but by increased production? During that
period the amount of exports of British produce rose from
^136,000,000 in i860 to ^223,000,000 in 1874. And from that
increased production workmen got increased wages. Allow
that 20 per cent, of the total amount of produce go in wages,
and upon the ^87,000,000 of extra production for exports only,
at least £ 17,000,000 more per annum must have been divided
among labourers in wages. In truth, the excess of profits must
in all, or in part, sooner or later find its way among the people,
and that is the best possible guarantee for an equitable distri
bution of profits among employers and employed.
Trade Unions endeavour to operate on wages by fixing the
lowest rate and by determining that all their members shall
earn at least that low rate. It is not easy, however, to say
what the lowest rate of wages should be under any circum
stances. You observe the state of the market, that it is buoyant;
the number of orders, which appear numerous. You notice a
certain amount of eagerness among the employers in pursuing
their operations. And as everything seems to denote activity
and progress you say wages must rise. But do not misunder
stand high prices for large profits, for a high price may be the
result of pure speculation, to be soon followed by a great re
action; or the result of increased cost of the raw materials,
which may render production even less remunerative. In truth,
it is not possible to fix what the wages should be, any more than
you can fix what shall be the price of any article or the rate of
interest, and any haphazard way of determining what the lowest
rate of wages ought to be, apart from what is produced by
�TRADE UNIONS.
77
the relation of supply and demand, must be uncertain and un
satisfactory. It is somewhat discomforting to feel that we can
do comparatively so little for ourselves, that we cannot secure
a rise, cannot prevent a fall, and must in a manner stand still.
Only depend upon it, economical laws do not stand still, and
they will operate quite irrespective of our action.
It has been urged by Trade Unionists that they do not
demand any uniformity of wages, but that they only fix the rate
under which no member of the Union shall work. Give such
of them as deserve it as much more as you please, but none
shall work for less. What, however, if what you lay down as
the minimum, employers should regard as the maximum ? Give
to the least capable the maximum wages, and what more can the
most capable earn ? Again, it is said it is to protect labour against
the pernicious system of competition by tender, that labourers
must insist upon a uniform minimum rate ; but on what principle
can the labourers make themselves the guardians of the public
interests ?
Weak as is generally the power of Trade Unions with reference
to the determination of the lowest rate of wages, still more doubtful
is the possibility of their being able to maintain any uniformity in
the wages and earnings of their members. If there be no such
thing as uniformity of talent, skill, judgment, strength, vigour,
will, or of anything that constitutes and regulates our real power
to act upon matter, how can there be such a thing as a uniformity
in the value of the part taken by any number of men in the
production of any article? There is no such thing as an
average ability, for what is an average but an ideal abstract
and imaginary medium of an equal distribution of all the
inequalities among individuals of a series ? We say the average
temperature of England is 50° Fahrenheit, but that is made up
of constant changes from day to day, varying from 38° to 71 °.
And so it is with the average life of a man, or the average loss
of ships, or the like. The great value of an average rests in the
�78
TRADE UNIONS.
indication it gives of the medium of the range in those
variations, but that does not destroy their existence. In matter
of labour, though you may form a fair idea of the average
strength and capacity of any number of labourers, that does not
affect the fact of their possessing some more and some less of
those faculties which are required in production, and which con
stitute the very basis and conditions of the earning of wages.
In the engineering trade, the classification of wages with refer
ence to skill must be carried on to a high point, it having been
given in evidence before the Royal Commissioners on Trade
Unions, that in an establishment of more than 900 men there
were as many as 267 rates of wages earned. The introduction
of machinery may have reduced the great extremes, many of
those feats of force and skill which at one time placed one work
man so much above another being now done by machinery.
Yet there is room enough left for the display of superior personal
ability, strength, and judgment, and to attempt to enforce any
ideal uniformity in wages is as unsound in principle as it is
mischievous in practice.
Partly with a view to uniformity of wages, and partly also as
a means of defence against the masters’ attempts to reduce
wages, some Trade Societies have resisted what is called pay
ment by piecework. The different systems of payment of wages,
by time as by the day or hour, or by piecework as according
to results, or by a combination of the two as by time with
relation to so much work done, are respectively adapted to
different descriptions of labour. For the performance of labour
requiring great exactitude and patient attention, payment by
time is probably the best. For the performance of work ad
mitting of great swiftness of operation, payment by piecework
appears fair for the workman and just to the employer ; whilst
for the execution of work demanding both precision of execution
and economy of time, the combined system seems the best
adapted. In any case there can be no doubt that payment by
�TRADE UNIONS.
79
result is the least fallible test of the value of labour, whilst it is
the only mode by which patient labour and superior intelligence
can raise itself above the surrounding level of low mediocrity.
It is alleged against piecework that it incites the worker to work
longer hours than is good for him, that it tempts him to hurry
over the work, and leave it imperfectly finished ; that it is often
abused by the master appointing middle men, or piece-masters,
to fix the price arbitrarily ; that it is used by the master to
■cut down the wages to the minimum, thus preventing the
labourer from deriving any corresponding benefit from his
greater labour and exertion. Far be it from me to justify any
such practices. I admit that the system may be greatly abused
by both masters and workmen. I allow that unprincipled men
may use it as a snare, rather than as a fair mode of rewarding
labour. And I cannot too strongly condemn any attempt on
the part of either to make it the vehicle of fraud and usurpation.
But as to the objections that piecework is a system by which
the weakest always goes to the wall, or that it incites the labourer
to work too much, or that it gives an advantage to the skilful
over the unskilful, I fear that, practically hard as such objec
tions may prove in some cases, they are but futile in this matterof-fact world. A paternal government, be it by societies or by
the State, can never be advantageous, and you cannot inflict a
deeper injury on any number of people than by taking from them
the right to utilize their forces and energies to the maximum of
their power. It is the great recommendation of piecework that
it is conducive to a better reward of skill, strength, and energy,
that it affords the best possible encouragement to improvement
in workmanship, and that it is a beneficial instrument to the in
crease of the productive power of the nation. Some difficulty,
however, does doubtless exist in the adoption of the piecework
system in different industries. Taking as our guide the two prin
ciples already enunciated, that whilst on the one hand the contract
•of labour is not so many hours in a day, but so much work for so
�8o
TRADE UNIONS.
much money ; and on the other, that the wages themselves are
a commutation of something certain and fixed for the uncertain
share which might fall on the workman of the result of produc
tion,—it is evident that whilst piecework affords the best test
of the real amount of work performed, as a basis for the reward
of wages, it still fails in this, that it does not produce that
certainty of earning which the workman very justly appreciates.
In the cotton manufacture, in printing, and in many other
industries, where the work to be done is generally uniform, thevalue of piecework may be estimated with nearly as much
correctness as day-work. But in other industries, especially in
engineering works, where each article is different from the
other, no such certainty can possibly exist. In the printing and
cotton industries, the price of the work is arrived at from ex
tensive experience, by a committee of masters and men. In
such engineering works as I have mentioned, the price named
is simply what the foreman thinks will be a fair remuneration..
To my mind, the method of gauging wages by the actual work
done, however technically just, is not always practicable, and
to force piecework on unwilling labourers, and to provoke a
strike upon that question, is conduct which can scarcely be
justified. If masters and men are to work harmoniously, piece
work must be held out, wherever there is any doubt on the
matter, as an inducement for greater exertion, and not as a hardand-fast rule for the payment of ordinary wages.
It would be interesting to ascertain how far Trade Unions
have proved themselves beneficial to the labouring classes in
the matter of wages. During the last twenty years, all prices,,
salaries, and wages have risen considerably. The salaries of
clerks at the Bank of England and in every house of trade,,
the salaries of assistants in wholesale warehouses and work
shops, are all higher. In consideration that the cost of livingis dearer, and that a higher standard of living has been intro
duced, more remuneration has been asked and granted in every
�81
TRADE UNIONS.
occupation. But is not this owing to the immense addition to
the supply of the precious metals, the largely increased trade, the
-enormous augmentation of capital ? What else but these cir
cumstances have provided for such increase of wages, prices, and
•salaries ? Trade Unions may have clamoured for higher wages
in certain branches of industry. But if masons and carpenters,
•engineers and ironworkers, protected by Trade Unions, have
realized a handsome rise, so have agricultural labourers, and
especially domestic servants, realized it without any Trade
Unions. Simply left to the tender mercies of the law of supply
and demand, a cook and housekeeper who twenty years ago
was well paid at ^16, now cannot be had for ^25 to ^30. See
what supply and demand do in agricultural labour. Take six
purely agricultural counties, such as Devon, Dorset, Wilts,
Norfolk, Suffolk, and Cambridge, and six agricultural and
industrial counties, such as Cheshire, Lancashire, the West
Riding of Yorkshire, Durham, Kent, and Monmouthshire. The
average wages of agricultural labourers, and the earnings especi
ally by piece-labour, wherever introduced, have risen everywhere,
in consequence of the increasing amount of capital invested in
agriculture ; but whilst the wages in the purely agricultural
counties have risen 15 per cent., those in the agricultural and
industrial counties, from the simple competition in the demand
for labour, have risen 30 to 40 per cent. Making every allow
ance for special cases, it is absurd to imagine that Trade Unions
have been the main instruments in bringing so much additional
wealth into the lap of the working classes. If by constant vigilance
on the relation of wages to profits, they have caused, in certain
instances, a distribution of any excess at an earlier date than
might otherwise have taken place, it is quite possible that the
sudden rise of wages consequent upon it may have been as
rapidly followed by a reaction. And we well know that frequent
oscillations of wages and uncertainty of earnings are more an
•evil than a boon to the working population. Nor should it be
6
�82
TRADE UNIONS.
forgotten that an employer, who may have for some time been
producing at a loss, has a right to retrieve his position by securing
somewhat more liberal profits for a certain period, before he can
risk to establish a more equitable level between profits and wages.
The employer’s object in production is profit, and unless he has
a fair prospect of reasonable profits, we cannot expect that he
will continue to employ his capital or to engage his services in
the business.
Fears have been expressed, that Trade Unions, by harassing
the employers with constant demands, by thwarting the
operation of supply and demand, and by placing restrictions
on the freedom of labour, have discouraged production, and
placed the industries of the country in danger of foreign
competition. But the statistics of trade do not corroborate any
such fear. During recent years production has proceeded at an
enormous scale, whether through the extension of mechanical
agency and steam-power, which has been enormous, or by the
larger adoption of production on a large scale, or by an
actual increase of manual labour. Nor is foreign competition
more formidable now than ever it was.
An increase of
exports from ^136,000,000 in i860 to ^223,000,000 in 1875,
an increase in the quantity of coals produced from 80,000,000
tons in i860 to 132,000,000 tons in 1875, an increase in the
tonnage of shipping belonging to the United Kingdom from
4,600,000 tons to 6,152,000 tons in 1875, are facts which do
not indicate that the British workman has been idle during
the last fifteen years. And what do we find with respect to
the relative increase of the productive power of different
countries ? Compare the exports of Britain with the exports
of other countries, and you will find that British exports
have increased fully in proportion to those of other countries.
Taking the entire amount of exports of seven principal
countries, viz., France, Belgium, Holland, Italy, Austria, the
United States, and the United Kingdom in i860 and 1873, you
�TRADE UNIONS.
S3
will see that the proportion of British exports to the whole
was 37 per cent, in i860, and 37 per cent, in 1874. Nor can
we take the total exports of such countries as a guide to the
great question of danger from foreign competition. Comparing
the exports of manufactured goods, such as cotton, linen, silk,
woollen, from Britain and France in the years 1861 and 1874, it
appears that whilst the exports from the United Kingdom in
creased at the rate of 64 per cent., the exports from France in
creased at the rate of 60 per cent. Since then, I am sorry to
say, the exports from the United Kingdom have been decreasing ;
but trade has been depressed in nearly every country,—the neces
sary reaction from many years of unusual buoyancy.
Trade Unions have been charged with having contributed
to the deterioration of the character of British workmen, by
making them more quarrelsome, more selfish, and more guided
by a spirit of antagonism towards employers than heretofore.
But I doubt the truth of such sweeping charges. In so far as
Trade Unions are concerned, they doubtless consist mostly of
skilled artisans who compare favourably with the great mass
of the labouring classes; whilst as societies they manifest a
degree of organization and a power of management of no mean
order. It must be allowed also that the demonstrations of Trade
Unionists, and the conduct of workmen during any strike at
the present time, contrast favourably with similar exhibitions in
times past. We hear of no incendiarism, no outrage, no riotous
assemblage. The practices at Sheffield were utterly disowned
by the great body of workmen, and though we still hear of
picketing and coercion of different kinds, which the committees
of trade societies would do well to repress as acts of true
cowardice, I am not prepared to join in the cry that our work
men are worse than other people. In the universal progress of
society our workmen have not lagged behind. If they are a
little more quarrelsome than we would like them to be, it is
because they wish to lift themselves up in the scale of society,
�84
TRADE UNIONS.
and because they see the need of protecting their interests,
which were too often heretofore held at nought or trodden
under foot.
Upon the action of trade societies on their benefit funds, I have
scarcely time to touch. For my part, I deeply regret that the
high purposes of a benefit society should be mixed up with the
contentious questions of restraints of trade. I can conceive of
nothing more important than that money laid aside for sick
ness and burials, for widows and orphans, should be perfectly
secure from danger of being swamped up by any warfare with
employers. The best service Trade Unions can render to the
labouring population is to inculcate habits of thrift, and to check
as far as in them lies the evil of intemperance. Let our Trade
Unions abandon the advocacy of theories which are contrary to
sound economy. Let them adopt a spirit of harmony and
conciliation. Let them cease to make war against capital,
which is the necessary handmaid of labour. Let them use only
such means as the law permits, and society sanctions, for the
protection of the just rights of workmen. Let them lead the
mass of labourers in the way of solid progress, and they will
render themselves the benefactors of the people, and be
acknowledged as the friends and trusted helpers of both
capital and labour.
�VI.
STRIKES AND LOCK-OUTS.
That masters and men engaged in industries of a most com
plex character, so often disturbed by the introduction of new
methods and machinery, having much in common, yet each
striving for their own distinct interests, should at times find it
difficult to avoid disagreements, is not, after all, a matter to
cause much surprise. The marvel rather is, that such conflicts
occur so seldom, in comparison with the immense number of
employers and employed, and that when they do occur, they
exercise, comparatively, so small an influence on the general
industry of the country.
What gives to such dissensions any degree of importance is
the dire effect they have on the large number of persons thereby
affected,—the consequence of the modern organization of labour.
A passenger ship has often been compared to a floating village,
and so a mill, or a factory, gathers around itself a complete
community, every inhabitant of which depends on the unin
terrupted progress of the special industry. Let the factory or
the iron work be in full activity, and you see hundreds of
families , rejoicing in plenty, dwelling-houses neatly furnished,
tradesmen and artificers all earning sufficient incomes, and if
the employer be a Sir Titus Salt, or a Sir Francis Crossley,
you will find in such communities the church and the school,
�86
STRIKES AND LOCK-OUTS.
reading-rooms and savings-banks, the club, and many other
institutions which contribute to the moral and intellectual
advancement of the labouring population. But let a dissension
occur, and a strike or lock-out be resolved upon, and what a
sudden blight falls on the whole prospect, what dejection, what
sufferings 1 Here the full loaf is replaced by the half loaf, there
are poverty and sickness, everywhere an idleness which makes
one sad.
A strike, or the joint action on the part of a body of workmen
or persons employed in any department of business, by which
each and all refuse to work except under certain prescribed
conditions, often with the means of sustenance, or some
approximate equivalent to the loss of wages thereby incurred,
provided for by a common fund, is war, which, as Lord Bacon
defined, is “ the highest trial of right.” And a grave responsi
bility rests on those who resort to such a step on any ground
not clearly justifiable, who rush into it before exhausting every
means of conciliation, and who are not ready to withdraw from
it at any moment when a fair compromise can be effected.
That a war may be just, at least in diplomatic language (for
I doubt the possibility of the justice or moral lawfulness of an
act which carries with it so much carnage and destruction), it
must at least be dictated by the necessity of defending ab
solute rights, and be the very last expedient which a nation can
resort to.
" Force is at best
A fearful thing e’en in a righteous cause.
God only helps when man can help no more.”
Strikes have arisen for the purpose of securing higher wages,
for resisting a fall of wages, for opposing or preventing the
introduction of machinery, for obtaining a reduction of the
hours of labour, for resisting any addition to the number of
apprentices. They have been waged against the employment
of non-unionists, against contract work, against piece-work and
�STRIKES AND LOCK-OUTS.
«7
overtime, or to secure overtime beginning earlier. Only the
other day there was a strike in London in consequence of
the employment of plasterers to do a kind of work which the
bricklayers thought they were themselves entitled to do. And
in another case, a printing office lost some of its best members
for the sole reason that the masters accepted in their em
ployment one who had not a full certificate of apprenticeship,
though as able as any of the rest. By what criterion shall
we judge of the justice of such a course where there is no
inalienable right to depart from? The labourer has a right
to his wages, but the rate of wages is a matter of contract, and
depends more on the operation of economic laws than on the
will of the master. Where is the right of the labourer to prevent
any economy of labour by machinery ? On what principle can
he oppose the employment of non-unionists? The right to
resist, and the rectitude of the cause for which resistance is
made, are two distinct things.
An impression seems to exist among our workmen that it is
advantageous to them to show that they are in earnest in
resisting any attempt on the part of masters to ignore their just
rights, and that whether they gain or not the object in view in
the particular instance, they are enabled by such resistance to
secure better terms for the future. A strike, say they, is the
only remedy we have in our own hands. What else can we do ?
What, if masters, strong as a money power, presuming on our
weakness, are found to set aside all considerations of moral
duty, to stretch unduly the laws of economic science, and to
impose conditions which we cannot accept,—what other course
can we pursue but refuse to work at their terms, or, in short, to
strike ? Against such considerations, however, be mindful, I
pray you, to place the immediate sacrifices you thereby inflict
on yourselves, the injury you cause to large multitudes who
can ill spare any cessation of labour, the disorganization of the
industry, the hatred and rancour engendered in your relations
�88
STRIKES AND LOCKOUTS.
with your employers, the chance of failure in the struggle, the
want of security as to the maintenance of your success should
you be so fortunate as to obtain what you strive for, the loss of
wages, the loss and waste of funds the fruit of years of labour
and privations, the injury to theSnation at large ; for remember
that trade is a plant of tender growth, it requires sun and soil
and fine seasons to make it thrive and flourish. It will not
grow like the palm-tree, which with the more weight and
pressure rises the more.” Ere you strike, I pray you, count the
cost. The present dispute in the cotton trade, for instance, is
fraught with danger. Whatever reason there may be for re
vising the standard list, that is no excuse for a strike, especially in
mills where no ground of complaint really exists. Nor have the
masters any justification for a general lock-out simply because
a few workmen in certain mills have unhappily taken such an
objectionable course. I cannot expect that anything I may
say will influence materially the progress of the dispute. But,,
if a word of mine can reach the contending parties, most
earnestly would I urge on the workmen on strike, at once toreturn to their work, on the assurance that a' committee from
both masters and men will be appointed to inquire into the
whole matter and forthwith remove any just ground of com
plaint. And on the masters I would urge not to commit them
selves to joint action in the matter, or to anything like a
general lock-out, which would be the cause of so much trouble
and misery. Ere you resort to a measure so disastrous as to
shut the door of your factories to thousands of innocent labourers,
I pray you, I beseech of you, count the cost.
Before a war is finally resorted to among nations, diplomacy
generally uses its best endeavours to prevent the sad catastrophe,
and certainly no step should be omitted to prevent a strike.
The rules of many Trade Unions prescribe that in case of
dispute, a deputation of two or more members shall wait
on the employer and endeavour to come to an amicable
�STRIKES AND LOCK-OUTS.
89
arrangement; that the men shall first reason the matter with
their employers; that no strike be resorted to without an
attempt having first been made to settle the matter of con
tention between employers and employed by an amicable
negotiation ; and that where a grievance exists, the labourers
shall, in the first place, solicit their employer or foreman for
relief from the same. Now it is only fair to expect from the
masters that they should follow a similar course, for I do not
think it would be beneath their dignity to descend a little and
reason with their workmen on the ground of dispute between
them. How much misgiving, how much prejudice would be saved,
if masters only condescended to reason with their men, not as
so many hands in their service, but as men, working with and
for them ! When masters give sudden notice of a reduction of
wages, without saying why and under what circumstances, the
men are under the necessity of taking an immediate course,
and having had no previous consultation, or time to deliberate^
they cannot help assuming a position of resistance not easily
altered by subsequent action. It is an unfortunate consequence
of the present organization of labour, or of production on a
large scale, that the employers do not deal with the men
individually, and that they are therefore called to act together
in a kind of combination. But that should not prevent a full
mutual understanding of the matter in question. 'Only, if a
deputation be sent to the masters, let it be composed of the
most trusted members in their employment. In the choice of
an ambassador, care is always taken to send one whose pre
sence shall be acceptable at the Court to which he is to be ac
credited, and similar care should be exercised in the selection
of those who are to represent the wishes and views of the
workmen to their masters. Avoid by all means all causes of
irritation at a time when you engage in negotiations requiring
for their solution mutual forbearance and mutual sympathy.
Whatever be the issue of such direct negotiations, care should
�9°
STRIKES AND LOCK-OUTS.
be taken to allow time to work its own good, influence of better
counsel and more ripened judgment. A disposition to strike is
incident to the association of working men smarting under a
sense of wrong. When large numbers have a common griev
ance, a spirit of opposition is speedily engendered, and it is
well if they have not it in their power to act on the impulse of
the moment.
It has been said that Trade Unions encourage workmen to
resistance. Doubtless the feeling that they have such societies
at their back may render workmen less afraid of the issue, but,
on the other hand, an organized society, acting upon rules, must
also introduce an increased sense of order, subordination, and
reflection. Many of such Unions reserve in their own hands the
right of deciding whether a strike should be sanctioned or not.
Some of their rules perscribe that no strike shall be con
sidered legal without the consent of the majority of the lodges,
to all of whom information of any movement has to be sent;
that when a strike for an advance of wages is contemplated by
any lodge, the secretary is to report the same to the Central
Committee, showing the number that would be out, the number
of payable members, the state of trade, and the position of the
Society in the neighbourhood ; that should an attempt be
made unnecessarily to reduce the wages of any of the members,
or to increase their hours of labour unjustly, they shall first
solicit relief from their employers, and afterwards apply to the
president or secretary of their branch, who shall call a com
mittee, or general meeting to inquire into the case ; and that
should the members of any branch leave their employment
without having first obtained the sanction of the Executive
Committee, such members shall not be entitled to the allowance
provided in case of oppression. Would it not be desirable that
the rules of the different Unions on such an important matter
should be more uniform than they appear to be ? I see no
reason why Trade Unions should not operate most favourably
�STRIKES AND LOCK-OUTS.
9i
in matters of strikes, and when we consider that part of the
funds entrusted to them is expended in the maintenance of
persons on strike, surely it becomes their interest to reduce the
demand for such purposes to the minimum possible.
When a strike has, unhappily, commenced, it is too much
to expect the maintenance of much courtesy between the parties,
and many are the circumstances which tend to increase the
bitterness arising from such a forced suspension of labour.
The time when the strike happens is often most inconvenient,
for advantage is taken of a brisk trade to insist on a rise of
wages, just when the employer is, so to say, at the mercy of the
employed. What if the work in operation was contracted for
on the basis of existing wages ? What if the contractor under
took, under penalties of a heavy character, to complete the work
'within a limited time ? What if the season be towards the close,
and the opportunity of fulfilling the engagement fast hastening
away ? Two persons are engaged in a partnership at will, the
condition being that either can retire when he pleases. Can
either leave at an inopportune moment, when difficult questions
are in suspense, when hazardous contracts are pending ? And
ought there not to be in the relation between masters and
men, as far as is possible and is otherwise applicable, the same
sense and practice of equity as we expect between partners
in trade ? A strike occurs, and in the plenitude of your right
you take your tools and go. Can you compel others to follow
your course ? Can you object to others coming to take your
place? You may wish to force your master to make the con
cession you demand, and you may regret seeing your efforts
frustrated by the avidity of others to grasp the chance of em
ployment on any condition ; but remember, you have no right to
interfere, and if you proceed to violence of any kind, even if it
be a slight assault, if you indulge in such threats as will convey
to the mind of such other parties that you will bring any form of
evil upon them, either in their person, property, or reputation,
�92
STRIKES AND LOCKOUTS.
with the intent of forcing them to act otherwise than you wish,,
or if you intimidate them by any deed or word which hnight
create fear, or if you molest them or obstruct them in the
exercise of their rights,—in either of such cases you commit a
wrong which may expose you to criminal proceedings.
A reference to past strikes is not very encouraging as totheir good results to workmen. In 1834 the workmen in the
Staffordshire potteries struck for an advance of wages, and
after fifteen weeks the masters yielded. Elated by their suc
cess, however, the men thought they could demand more, and
so two years after they struck for a diminution in the hours of
labour and a restriction in the number of apprentices. But the
masters were not so ready now to make concessions. They
united together, and they decided to suspend their manufacture
whenever the workmen struck to any master. And the strike
was an utter failure, though it cost the men ,£188,000. What
was gained on the previous occasion was more than lost only
two years after. In 1853 a great strike took place at Preston
for higher wages, which were unconditionally demanded. The
masters made some concessions, but these were indignantly
refused. So the mills were closed, 18,000 Jiands were rendered
inoperative, and after a lengthened struggle, in which the men
sPent Z100,000, submission became unavoidable. A few strikes
have proved successful, but many more have utterly failed.
Not many years ago seven distinct strikes took place in
Lancashire, every one of them unsuccessful. They involved
a loss of employment to 38,000 hands. They lasted a long
time one thirty weeks, another fifty weeks—and together they
produced a loss in wages of ,£757,000 ; and if you add to that
sum the profits on capital, and the subscriptions, at | of the
wages, the total loss exceeded £^1,000,000. In the recent un
happy strike in South Wales nearly 120,000 workers stood out
against a reduction of wages, and upwards of £3,000,000 in
wages was actually lost in the contest.
Did they succeed ?
�STRIKES AND LOCK-OUTS.
93
l?ar from it. They refused, to accept a reduction of ten per
■cent., yet eventually they were compelled by the force of events
-f-0 re-enter work at a reduction of I21> per. cent. ! Suppose,
however, you do succeed in the contest. Remember that you
will have to work a long time at the higher wages before you
■can recover what you have lost by forfeiting the entire amount
week by week. Suppose you strike for 5^. more wages, or for
more in every pound. Dr. Watt made a calculation to show
in how long a time you will get back what you had before. A
week is two per cent, of a working year, or two per cent, of
the wage of one year. Let the strike succeed, and you will
require
year, at the increased rate, to make up for 1
month’s wages lost j 3v years to make up for 2 months
wages lost ; 4-t years to make up for 3 months wages lost ,
94 years to make up for 6 months’ wages lost; and 20 years
to make up for 12 months’ wages lost.
Do not think that the money distributed by the Trade
Societies during the strike goes to diminish the loss of the
persons on strike, for the money so consumed is the saving of
former labour, which might go towards further production. It
is one of the most unfortunate results of a strike, that funds
gained by toil and prudence are expended so fruitlessly in
times of forced idleness. During a strike you not only lose
what you might otherwise earn, but expend what you had
amassed. Nor is the loss confined to the workmen. The
employer is certainly as great a sufferer, for a strike may not
only rob him of his trade for the time being, but may. make
him lose the custom which he possesses, and the labour of men
of skill well versed in the peculiar work he has on hand,
never probably to be replaced, and probably affect also his
permanent power to produce as economically as heretofore.
If the strike be for higher wages when the condition of the
trade or of the nation cannot bear it, either the community will
suffer from the increased cost of the article produced, or else
�94
STRIKES AND LOCK-OUTS.
it may cause the introduction of machinery. A strike may
have the effect of equalizing wages. An industry badly paid
may, by a strike, attract to itself part of the wages which fall
to another; but no equalization of wages can possibly be
equivalent to the production of capital, which alone can support
an increase of wages. If the strike be against the introduc
tion of machinery, it may be the means of the trade being
transplanted to other places. It was probably an exaggeration,,
some years ago, when it was asserted that the frequent strikes
of shipwrights’on the Thames caused shipbuilding to leave the
Thames for the Clyde and the i yne ; the real reason being that
iron shipbuilding found a more natural home where iron and
coals were immediately available. Yet it is no exaggeration to
say that an industry distracted and rendered unproductive in
one quarter may take wing and find rest in another. I have,,
indeed, proved in my previous lecture that up to 1873 at least
the trade and industry of England had not suffered from the
many disturbances which have taken place,—at least, not to any
material extent,—and that foreign competition had not till then
gamed upon British industry. But what has not yet been may
still be. The danger remains, though it may not be imminent.
I doubt the possibility of our ever reaching a time when there
shall be no strikes, for just in proportion as our labouring
population rises to the consciousness of its power, and seeks to
participate in a higher degree in the profits of production, so
the struggle between capital and labour may be expected to be
more frequent. But may we not expect that, side by side with
this, a greater disposition may also be engendered to remove
sources of quarrel, to soften their asperity when they do arise,
and to settle disputes by arbitration and conciliation ? Must
force ever reign ? Is the arbitrement of the sword befitting our
character and position in life. The legislature has done
whatever it could possibly do to provide for the adoption of
more peaceful means. A refusal to leave a matter of dispute to
�STRIKES AND LOCK-OUTS.
95
arbitration betokens either haughtiness and arrogance, or
weakness.
I do not think that the appointment of one or
more strangers as arbitrators, be they lords, lawyers, or phi
lanthropists, is a desirable method, for their decision can, at
best, be a simple compromise of the immediate ground of dis
pute ; it will never be able to regulate the subsequent action of
the parties, and will be certain to leave one of the contending
parties dissatisfied with the result. A conciliation board, on
the other hand, within the establishment itself, composed of an
equal number of masters and men, with a neutral umpire, ah
of them having a perfect acquaintance, not only with the case
in point, but with the bearing of the question generally upon
production, and upon the comfort of working as concerning both
masters and men, and each of them possessing the full con
fidence of the parties interested, is sure to give a verdict
entitled to respect and assent. But let it be fully remembered
that it is the essence of arbitration or conciliation that you
commit the matter in dispute to the decision of other parties,,
and that you thereby incur an obligation to abide by their
verdict, whether it may go in your favour or against you,—
provided, of course, the arbitrators or the board confine them
selves strictly to the matter submitted to them. How far any
national board of arbitration may be advantageously established,
seems to me very doubtful. The first essential to success in any
effort for the prevention of disputes, or their early settlement, is
the possession of a conciliatory spirit, and a ready disposition
to consider the rights and interests of both sides. Let that
spirit prevail within the establishment among both masters and
men, and there will be no difficulty in arriving at an equitable
and satisfactory settlement of any disputes, however formidable
they may appear.
�VII.
BUDGETS OF THE WORKING CLASSES.
About twenty years ago, a work was published in France, by
M. Le Play, the superintendent of the Paris International Ex
hibition, entitled “ Studies on the Labour, the Domestic Life, and
theMoral Condition of the Working Population of Europe,” giving
accurate and minute details, from actual fact, of all the money
received and expended during one year, by a certain number of
families of the working population in every country in Europe;
the income including the wages of the head of the family, as
well as of the mother and children, counting the actual number
of days they were at work, as well as any income from a garden
or parcel of land, rent of house or field, produce of pasture,
pig, sheep, or from any pension, funds, interest, and any miscel
laneous or accidental sources ; the expenditure divided into
expenses for food and drink, for house, fire, and light, for cloth
ing, for moral, educational, or religious purposes, for taxes,
recreation, or debt. And most interesting it is to compare the
habits of the different people, and the effects of temperature,
climate, race, and religion, on the description and quantity ot
food and drink used, the nature of their amusements, and the
amount devoted to the cause of charity and beneficence. I
imagine, however, that if a similar work were attempted regarding
the various classes of labourers in England, if, instead of com-
�BUDGETS OF THE WORKING CLASSES.
97
paring the French andthe Russian, the German and the Italian,
the Spanish, Turkish, and Greek labourers, with the English,
the Scotch, and the Irish, we had before us the real income and
expenditure of any number of families in England from among
the agricultural, the manufacturing, and the industrial classes,
in town and country, and in the metropolis, we would find
the same diversity of results, the same strange anomalies, and
the same gulf in the different traits of manner and character,
as can be found among them in any part of the world.
How, then, can I venture to give you the budgets of the working
classes ? Of what guidance can the income and expenditure of
one family of five be to the income and expenditure of another
family of ten ? What is there in common between a bachelor
living in lodgings and a young couple with two babies, and it may
be with a mother or father to keep ? The ways of life are very
different; so much depends on the surroundings of the family, on
the mode in which the parties have been brought up, the character,
the education, the state of health, and a vast variety of circum
stances, that, really, every household is a world of itself. Home
is the Englishman's castle—impregnable and inaccessible ; who
can assail it ? No ; my object is not to pry into matters which
are happily beyond the public gaze, but rather to lay before you
the value and importance of simply taking a good account of
what we are actually receiving, and what we are actually spend
ing, during the whole of a long year. You are aware that one
of the most important evenings of the Session in Parliament is
the evening when the Chancellor of the Exchequer makes his
financial statement j that is, when he reviews all the circum
stances connected with the income and expenditure of the State
during the preceding year, investigates the condition and pros
pects of the nation as respects the future, communicates his
calculations of the probable income and expenditure for the
year to come, and declares whether the burthens upon the
people are to be increased or diminished. This statement is
7
�98
*
BUDGETS OF THE WORKING CLASSES.
familiarly known as the Budget, and it is regarded with the
greatest possible interest by the whole nation. Now if this is
a good practice for the State, would it not be an excellent practice
for private individuals also ! The large questions that have
engaged our attention in the previous lectures are most impor
tant. A knowledge of the economic laws which govern the rate
of wages is most interesting and valuable. Still more important,
however, in any case, is it to come home to ourselves, and to
consider whether our own annual income is fully equal to our
expenditure, whether every item of income of every member of
the family is duly gathered, accounted for, and properly utilized,
and whether the expenditure is, in every respect, moderate,
legitimate, and kept within proper control. “ Gear is easier got
than guided.” Have you ever tried to keep a diary? The
difficulty of persevering in it is immense. You require habits
of order and method not often possessed. Carefully to note
down what we are doing, and what happens to us every day, is
as difficult as to register all the money that comes and goes.
Merchants, who make all their payments by cheques, and who
draw all their current money by cheques on their bankers, have
a ready means of ascertaining what they get and expend during
the year. But those who have not the luxury of a banker must
keep a little book for themselves ; and it is wonderful how useful
and interesting it becomes in course of time for a comparison
with the past and a check for the future. Let your wife begin
to put down what she expends, and you begin to put down what
you expend,-—and what a monitor such a record will prove !
The pay of the labourer is his wages, but his earnings will
comprise also the produce of labour from any other industry
at spare hours, any allowance from any society, and the fruit of
any money or property he or any member of his family may have
at the savings bank, building society, trade society, or other
wise. The pay itself may consist either in money or in kind,
or in both ; and where clothing, board, or lodging is given, the
�BUDGETS OF THE WORKING CLASSES.
99
money value of the same ought to be taken into account. A
sailor who gets 6oj., or 70s., and sometimes 90s., per month,
must remember that during the whole time of his engagement
he is fed and lodged on board. An agricultural labourer often
gets very little money wages. But in Northumberland the
wages include an allowance of corn for a cow or pig, house and
garden, coals, etc. A hind’s poll in Scotland comprises a given
quantity of oats, barley, peas, and land enough for potato plant
ing. In Devonshire, besides the money wage, there is the allow
ance of cider, and a labourer has a cottage for £1, with a patch
of land, from which he can get vegetables for the whole year for
the entire family, and enough to feed a pig, which again becomes
a source of income. A domestic servant gets from ^10 to ^30 a
year, in money, besides board and lodging, which, in London at
least, are equivalent to as much again. In the occupations I have
noted, the combination of payment in money and kind is not
only indispensable, but really advantageous to the labourers. In
calculating the amount of earnings, therefore, do not forget the
value of the advantages you obtain from your employment over
and above the weekly or monthly wages in money.
Where, moreover, there are more earners than one in a family,
where the wife, or sons, or daughters, earn also money, and bring
it into the common purse, that must be calculated also.' I
imagine sons and daughters do not bring to their fathers and
mothers all they earn, or anything like it. Would that they did 1
A very large portion of the earnings of the younger members of
the whole working population is, I fear, utterly wasted, simply be
cause it never reaches the home treasury. The practice of either
father or children allotting any portion of their wages to the
wife or mother for their food, keeping the rest for themselves,
and throwing on the poor mother the burden of making the two
ends meet, is wrong in principle. The boarding system is wrong
when applied to the family. Oh for a return to the patriarchal
system of united and not divided interest! There are thousands
�IOO
BUDGETS OF THE WORKING CLASSES.
of families of working people in England where the aggregate
earnings would amount to ^3 or £4 a week, but where no account
is taken of a great portion of the same. I am not exaggerating
when I say that in very many cases fully one-fourth of the
income of the family is, in this way, utterly squandered, leading
to no result, giving no comfort, and only going in waste,
drunkenness, and vice. It is the same, unfortunately, in the
country as in towns. The agricultural villages, which have been
greatly multiplied since the introduction of machinery into agri
culture, are the absorbent of most of the earnings of many hard
working agricultural labourers. The public-house, the music
hall, and other places of amusement, waste away many an income
which could maintain a family in honour and comfort.
In order to make the income and the expenditure meet, there
are only two ways: one is, to increase the income; the other
is, to diminish the expenditure. Don’t you be deceived into
any expectation that you may increase your income by any
other means than by hard work. Don’t you be so foolish as to
renounce any income now in the hope that by renouncing it
to-day, you may get more to-morrow. Get what you can, and
keep what you have, is the way to get rich. Don’t you trifle
with any penny you may get, simply trusting on the continuance
of health and work to earn more. Trust in Providence ? Yes,
but never forget the duty of using rightful means. There is one
source of income, moreover, which we should scorn to resort to,
unless under the direst necessity, and that is, the poor rate. I
am strongly of opinion that the poor law in England is most
destructive to the industry, forethought, and honesty of the
labourers. What more degrading than using the parish doctor
both for birth and death ? What more lowering than the
workhouse? What more inconsistent with political economy
than the supporting, by public rates, of able-bodied labourers ?
It is a noble axiom, that none shall die of hunger,—that the
wealth of the rich shall supply the necessities of the poor. But
�BUDGETS OF THE WORKING CLASSES.
IOI
it is communistic in essence, and in practice most mischievous.
The subject is a very difficult one, and a change from a system
which has been so long in use might be attended with hardship ;
but it is for the working classes to say how long a compulsory
charity shall be allowed to enervate the very vitals of their
character and independence. They manage poor relief better
in other countries. In Sweden, every able-bodied person is
expected to maintain himself, his wife, and children, as a legal
obligation. In France, there is no legal claim for support.
“ When the virtue of charity ceases to be private,” said M.
Thiers, “ and becomes collective, it ceases to be a virtue, and it
becomes a dangerous compulsion.” In Belgium, the classic land
of pauperism, there is no poor rate. The legal provision for the
support of the poor consists in the donations of the public, vested
in, and administered by, the civil authorities. In Elberfeld there
is a right to relief, but outdoor relief is entrusted to overseers, and
every person applying for help must show that he cannot exist
without it. In Italy there is no legal provision for the support of
the poor. Comparing the proportion of pauperism to population,
England may seem to stand better than any other country; but
remember, the amount of charity in England, over and beyond
any provision of the poor law, is far in excess of what is given
abroad. Look at the report of the Charity Commissioners. See
how much is spent and squandered in every parish. See what
is passing through the poor box in every police office in the
metropolis. The public support of the sick, the lame, the blind,
the old, and the helpless infant, is a duty; but it is a disgrace
in any one who earns enough and, it may be, to spare, to abandon
an old father or mother, a wife or a child, to the miserable
pittance of the parish. It is a shame and a crime, by extrava
gance and waste, to throw our burden off our shoulders. Burden,
did I say ? There is no sweeter joy, no pleasanter duty, than
to contribute to the well-being of our dear ones, our friends, and
our kindred.
�102
BUDGETS OB THE WORKING CLASSES.
It is time, however, to turn to the other side of the account—
the expenditure. There is a well-known saying fitly applicable
to our subject—“ Cut your coat according to your cloth.”
Measure your expenditure by your income. It is a most un
fortunate practice of our Chancellor of the Exchequer, in
making up the financial statement of the nation, that he does
exactly the reverse, by measuring the public income by the public
expenditure. But he can do that, because he has a whole nation
to fall upon, by compulsory taxation. Not so the private
individual. You and I have no other resource than what we
earn; and we must, of necessity, measure our ekpenditure
by that, and by nothing else whatever. In any case, under no
circumstances, allow yourselves to fall into debt, for it is the
certain source of ruin. “Out of debt out of danger.” A very
large number of the plaints brought before the county courts
consist of sums not exceeding 4°r., and many are for sums not
exceeding ij. It is impossible to exaggerate the burden, the
aggravation, the misery, and the dependence of a man who
gets into the habit of purchasing what he requires, often, it may
be, in excess of what he needs, but with the consciousness of
not having the wherewithal to pay for it. “ Cut your coat ac
cording to your cloth.” Never give out what does not come in.
Avoid, above all, shop debt ; for you pay very dear for it, in
exorbitant prices of all you purchase.
I do hope Mr. Bass
will succeed in his effort to abolish imprisonment for debt, as
a discouragement to shops to sell on credit, for then prices would
sink to the scale of cash prices, and shopkeepers would get rid
of a great deal of care. Have the money before you spend it,
and you will be sure to economise it to the very best.
" Ken when to spend, and when to spare,
And when to buy, and you’ll ne'er be bare,”
The expenditure of a working man’s family cannot differ very
much from the expenditure of a person of the middle classes,
�BUDGETS OF THE WORKING CLASSES.
103
except in this, that the proportion of what is spent in necessaries,
comforts, or luxuries must vary according to the amount of
income. With 5 or. or 6or. a week, you may devote some
portion to the comforts or even the luxuries of life. With 20J.
a week, you may be thankful if you can provide for the neces
saries of life. Our absolute wants usually consist of bread,
flour, vegetables, meat, butter, sugar, tea, and milk ; house-rent,
fire and light, clothing, and the education of children. These
are the necessaries of life. The comforts of life consist, pro
bably, in an extensive use of these very things, plus spices and
condiments, newspaper and omnibus, church and charity,
an excursion, and some insurance for the future. And the
luxuries may consist of tobacco and drink, frivolities, pots
of flowers, keeping of birds, etc. But are we all agreed in
such a classification as this ? Time was when white bread
was a luxury ; now it is an article of common use, as a neces
sary of life. Meat is necessary, but is it necessary to eat it
every day ? And is there not a material difference between
purchasing a prime joint and other portions equally if not
more nutritious ? Clothing is necessary, but what clothing ?
Are bonnets with feathers and flowers necessary ? Are twenty
yards necessary for a dress ? N eed we all dress in silk attire ?
Whether an article of use is to be classed among the neces
saries, comforts, or luxuries of life depends in a great measure
on the standard by which we are guided, on the ideal we form
for ourselves of our own wants.
Looking over a large number of budgets in the work already
■quoted on European labourers, in returns kindly sent to me
direct by several workmen, and in the reports of the Secre
taries of Legation on the industrial condition of the working
classes abroad,* the conclusion I arrive at of a legitimate
appropriation of wages is somewhat as follows : 60 per cent.
* See Appendix B.
�104
BUDGETS OF THE WOEKTNG CLASSES.
is required for food and drink ■ 12 per cent, for'rent and taxes •
10 per cent, for clothing; 6 per cent, for fire and;[light; 1 peicent. for newspapers, omnibus, or travelling;' 4 per cent, for
church, education, and charity; 2 per cent, for amusementsand 5 per cent, for savings. In other words, for every pound of
wages the expense would be-12.. for food and drink; 2s.
for
lodgmg; 3d. forfiring and light; 2s. for clothing; 2ff. for omnibus
and newspaper ; t,. 6d. for church, education, and charity •
for amusements; and u. for saving in any insurance company
or benefit club. But this takes no account of the doctor’s bill
nor of slack time, and it would be only fair that some economy
should be made in either of the items to meet these possible
if not unavoidable, drawbacks. Nor are drink and tobacco’
specially calculated, for the cost of a reasonable quantity of beer
should certainly be included in the 12J. for food and drink
and the cost of the tobacco should be included in the expense
for amusement,-if, by any construction of language, smoking
can be considered an amusement. As a general rule, the neces
saries of life should be first provided ; and whatever excess may
remam may go towards the comforts of life; but, under any cir
cumstance, leave something for saving. It may be kind to be
liberal, and to be anxious to make every member of the family,
day by day, as comfortable as your means allow; but it is
kinder far to provide something for the almost inevitable con
tingency of sickness, want of work, or old age, when you, that
are now the strength and support of the family, are com
pelled sadly to put all work aside, or when any member of your
family, from disease or otherwise, may have to draw more on
your resources than you are able to provide.
Need I say that a considerable economy may be effected in
our. every-day expenditure without abridging in the slightest
manner our means of subsistence and comfort ? You buy | of
an ounce of the best tea, and you are charged fff.—equivalent to
4s- per pound. Buy J pound for cash, and you may get the same
�BUDGETS OF THE WORKING CLASSES.
105
tea at the rate of y. or 2s. 6d. per pound. Is there not much
waste in our cooking ? Is there not wanton waste in many of our
household arrangements ? A penny here and a penny there, and
soon shillings and pounds vanish. It is, however, impossible,
when we come to details such as these, not to place in the very
foremost rank of waste a very considerable portion of what is
spent in drink. Am I wrong in supposing that a person earning
30^. a week will spend 3^. in drink, that being considered a
moderate allowance for dinner and supper ? Am I exaggerating
when I say that in a very large number of cases that pro
portion is far, far exceeded, the amount so expended often being
more than 25 or 30 per cent, of the income ? What is the use
of reasoning on economy in little matters with such a drain
as this? What can the poor wife do with the very small
amount entrusted to her for housekeeping? And how often
does a dissipated husband make a dissipated wife ! What a
wretched example for children ! What a source of vice and
crime drunkenness is proving over the whole country! I am
not in favour of the so-called Permissive Bill, because it would
introduce strife in parishes, and because I think it would, at
best, be of partial application, and might be applied just
where it is least needed.
Nor can I say that we should
lightly interfere with any legitimate business, or with the
common rights of the people.
If there is a demand, the
supply will most assuredly be forthcoming somehow or other.
No, the reform must begin with ourselves. Reasons of duty,
reasons of self-respect, reasons of education, must impel us
to remove this source of scandal, at any rate, from our own
shoulder, and by our exhortation, and by our example, strive to
blot it out from the escutcheon of England. When I last
visited Liverpool I was attracted by the cocoa-shops established
in the immediate centre of the dock and sea-faring population,
and there I got a mug of cocoa for \d. and a scone for ^d.—both
excellent and satisfying. Take that in the morning, and you
�io6
BUDGETS OF THE WORKING CLASSES
will find it an excellent preservative against any craving for
strong drink. All honour to Mr. Lockhart for his noble efforts
in that direction. Would that we had such cocoa-shops in
London! Would that public-houses without drink, and public
coffee and working men’s clubs,, were multiplied, for I am sure
there is ample room, and an imperious need, for extensive
efforts in improving the morals of the people in this one direc
tion. I do not trust much in the power of an Act of Parliament
to make people temperate. But I do trust in a sound and
wholesome public opinion, and I appeal to you to create it by
your hearty, spontaneous, and energetic example and action.
Who will help in this glorious enterprise? Do not wait for
great opportunities. Begin at once, and at home. In Mr.
Smiles’ excellent work on Thrift there is a story illustrative of
the influence of example in this matter which is worth re
peating :—
“A calico printer in Manchester was persuaded by his wife,
on their wedding-day, to allow her two half-pints of ale a day,
as her share. He rather winced at the bargain, for, though a
drinker himself, he would have preferred a perfectly sober wife.
They both worked hard, and he, poor man, was seldom out of
the public-house as soon as the factory was closed. She had
her daily pint, and he, perhaps, had his two or three quarts,
and neither interfered with the other, except that, at odd times,
she succeeded, by dint of one little gentle artifice or another,
to win him home an hour or two earlier at night, and now and
then to spend an entire evening in his own home. They had
been married a year, and on the morning of their wedding
anniversary the husband looked askance at her neat and
comely person, with some shade of remorse, as he said, ‘ Mary,
we’ve had no holiday since we were wed ; and, only that I have
not a penny in the world, we’d take a jaunt down to the village
to see thee mother.’
Would’st like to go, John ?’ said she, softly, between a smile
�BUDGETS OF THE WORKING CLASSES.
and a tear, so glad to hear him speak so kindly,
io7
so like old
times. £ If thee’d like to go, John, I’ll stand treat.’
“ £ Thou stand treat! ’ said he, with half a sneer : £ has’t got a
fortune, wench?’
« £ Nay,’ said she, £ but I’ve gotten the pint o’ ale.’
“ £ Gotten what ? ’ said he.
“ £ The pint o’ ale,’ said she.
“ John still didn’t understand her, till the faithful creature
reached down an old stocking from under a loose brick up the
chimney, and counted* over her daily pint of ale, in the shape
of three hundred and sixty-five threepences, or ^4 4-y* 6^-, and
put them into his hand, exclaiming, £ Thou shalt have thee
holiday, J ohn 1 ’
“John was ashamed, astonished, conscience-stricken, charmed,
and wouldn’t touch it. £Hasn’t thee had thy share? Then
I’ll ha’ no more ! ’ he said. He kept his word. They kept theii
wedding day with mother, and the wife’s little capital was the
nucleus of a series of frugal investments, that ultimately swelled
out into a shop, a factory, a warehouse, a country seat, a carriage,
and perhaps a Liverpool mayor.”
In England, the working classes have not much reason to
complain that their taxes are too heavy. That every subject
of the kingdom should, in proportion to his means, contribute his
quota to the general taxation is a principle of finance universally
admitted.
As members of the commonwealth, we are all,
though certainly in different degrees, interested in securing its
preservation and advancement. The poorest among us feels
an interest, if not pride, in the honour and glory of his fatherland. In truth, we should regard the national expenditure in
the light of an insurance, and the payment of the premuim as
a common duty and privilege. During the last thirty years,
however, nearly every step in the reform of the Budget has
been in the direction of lessening the taxes which pressed on
the necessaries of life, and of increasing the taxes affecting
�10S
BUDGETS OF THE WORKING CLASSES.
wealth, industries, and, especially, luxuries. Taxes on sugar, tea,
co ee, corn, and on a vast number of imported articles have
been greatly reduced, or remitted altogether; and in their stead
stamp duties, income tax, land tax, probate duties, and duties on
spirits malt, wine, and tobacco have been newly imposed or in
creased. And what is the result? Of the taxes affecting wealth
and industry, amounting in all to
000,000, the working
classes do not pay more than half a million. Of taxes on ne
cessaries they may pay probably £2,500,ooo-the greater part on
tea. But of the taxes on luxuries, including spirits, malt, and to
bacco, the working classes pay their full quota in some£23,ooo,ooo
a year. But this large sum of taxation, borne by the working
classes under this head, is entirely voluntary. Give up drinking,
give up tobacco, and you avoid nearly every farthing of taxation.
owhere, probably, are the working classes treated with more
consideration than in England. What a pity that greater advan
tage is not taken of this wonderful exemption ! As it is, no tax
of any consequence is paid by the working classes, except in
t e slight addition caused by the duties on the cost of their
spirits, malt liquor, or narcotics ; and no one would grumble if
these taxes were considerably increased.
I have ventured to give what might be deemed a legiti
mate distribution of the expenditure of our working classes
Now, look at the results. I have estimated the total annual
wages and earnings of the working classes at the large amount
o £400,000,000, including money and money’s worth ; but take
no account of money’s worth, and assume only £300,000,000
in hard cash as falling into the hands of our working classes.
And on the proportion given, the money should go in the following
shapes : £180,000,000 would be expended on food and drink;
£36,000,000 in rent; £6,000,000 in firing and light; £30,000,000
m clothing; £3,000,000 in newspapers, omnibuses, and rail
way travelling, £12,000,000 in church, education, and
charity; £6,000,000 in amusements; whilst £15,000,000 would
�BUDGETS OF THE WORKING CLASSES. '
109
be reserved, for savings. But is the money so expended ?
Let us see. We may fairly assume that the ,£180,000,000 is
fully expended in food. The £36,000,000 laid down for house
rent tallies, so far, with the census report of 1871, showing
that the rental of houses under ,£20 had an estimated
aggregate annual value of ^32;000?000, Fire and light will
cost quite as much as I have estimated. The amount given for
clothing is, I fear, rather below than above the amount annually
expended. And so, probably, the amount given for amusements
and other items. But as for the ^12,000,000 expended in church,
education, and charity, and ,£15,000,000 reserved for saving,
alas ! where are they ? No, my calculations are fallacious in
two distinct items. Instead of the 60 per cent, given for food
covering the amount expended in drink, that item, to the ex
tent of fully 15 per cent, of the whole income, or £45,000,000,
and also 2 per cent, or £6,000,000 for tobacco, or, in all,
,£51,000,000, must be added as a separate and additional ex
penditure. But if this large amount is really so expended, as
is, unhappily, most likely to be the fact, if it is not indeed
greatly exceeded, what remains for church, education, and
charity, or for savings, or for any other rational purpose ?
Positively nothing. The little saved—probably £3,000,000 or
,£4,000,000 a year—as indicated in the annual increase of the
amount in the savings banks, friendly and building societies,
co-operative societies, etc., is the fruit of the economies of some
families, too few in number to constitute any perceptible
percentage in the whole number of the working population of
the country.
Now this I consider a very lamentable result of the budgets
of the working classes. What wonder if debt and pauperism
be rampant? What surprise can it cause that days of
sunshine and prosperity are so soon followed by dark,’ dark
days of misery and wretchedness ? I hope I may be wrong in
my calculations.
But if I am not, as I fear is not the case, it
�no
BUDGETS OF THE WORKING CLASSES.
may not be in vain that I have called your attention to the
subject.
In discoursing upon the budgets of the working
classes, it would be wrong to ignore the thousand cases of
real, unmistakable hardship. That there is real poverty in
the land, that there is suffering, want, and misadventure, who
can ignore? The difficulties of the poor, their valour and
fortitude in bearing with and mastering them, are best known
to those who come most intimately in contact with them.
Their charitable disposition towards their friends in trouble,
their self-sacrifice, their heroism in labour, have been depicted
by the most masterly hands. But I am now speaking to the
great mass of our working men and women, and I say, if you
will avoid falling into the deep mire of calamities, if you will
maintain yourselves in comfort, honour, and self-reliance, look to
your budget, and endeavour so to economise your income that
you may have always enough and to spare.
�VIII.
SAVINGS BANKS AND OTHER INVESTMENTS OF THE
WORKING CLASSES.
The drift of all my Lectures has been—Look well into your
estate. Large economies depend upon little economies. If
you must be liberal in some kind of expense, do try to save in
some other. If you will be plentiful in diet, be at least saving
in drink. Let not your candle burn at both ends. By all
means, try to save. But how ? By putting aside whatever is
not absolutely indispensable for present want, in order that you
may make a reserve for unforeseen eventualities. And be not
ashamed to save. Call it not penury, miserliness, niggardliness,
and the like. A disposition to save for the future, a prescience
of, and a preparation for, what is to come, are just what place
us above the brute. Savages are not thrifty. They live from
day to day.
It is prudence that prompts us to save, and
wisdom that regulates the amount of our savings. It is modera
tion which enables us to realize any saving, and intelligence
which enables us to render it fruitful. And what are prudence,
wisdom, moderation, and intelligence, but the offspring of
civilization and morals? To have no thought for the morrow,
to have no regard for the welfare of friends and relatives, to
make no provision for old age and sickness, to indulge in
waste while the sun shines, never reflecting that after summer
�112
SA TINGS OF THE WORKING CLASSES.
comes winter, are not consistent with our moral duties and
obligations. Is it a true picture of the English what Mr.
Smiles said, that though they are a diligent, hard-working, and
generally self-reliant race, they are not yet sufficiently educated
to be temperate, provident, and foreseeing; that they live for
the present, and are too regardless of the coming time ; that
though industrious, they are improvident—though money-making
they are spendthrift. I would fain believe that the future is too
highly drawn, for, certainly, there is no nation of the world that
puts aside so much wealth from year to year as England. What
is it but thrift that renders this country able to accumulate
capital at such an enormous ratio ? Ask the merchant and the
manufacturer, and they will tell you that they must and do
strain every nerve to increase their capital. The State, it is true,
has no reserve in the Tower to meet any possible contingency of
war as France had, prior to the Napoleonic wars, in the palace
of the Tuileries. We make no account of the blessing of water
when it rains in abundance. We have no public granaries for
the storing of the surplus of prosperous harvest years. Yet
production and saving must be far in excess of our expenditure,
or else how could wealth increase so fast ? No, there is much
saving going on in England, but the effort is made compara
tively by the few. How often do we see calculations, almost
fabulous, of what good could be done if we would only put
aside what is superfluous or wasteful! What number of churches
and schools, of museums and palaces, of parks and gardens,
could be built and provided with the expenses now allotted to
the army and navy, or the sum devoted to the interest of the
national debt, or the amount expended in drink, or any other
luxuries. Alas I alas! the dreams of the reformer are not so
easily realized.
The first step in the way of saving is to spend well.
You
save one pound. Spend it on some evening classes to learn
drawing or mechanics, arithmetic or French, whatever may be
�SAVINGS OF THE WORKING CLASSES.
113
most useful to you. Remember, we are never too old to learn.
Better late than never. You save another pound. Buy Cassell’s
Popular or Technical Educator. Spend it in, or set it aside to
wards, a new set of tools for your employment. • Lay it out, in short,
in what may be useful to you in improving your fitness for work,
in enabling you to raise yourself and earn better wages. Howmuch has been set aside in tools and implements by our work
ing classes it would be difficult to estimate. A joiner’s tools
may be worth £10, and more, but unhappily with the introduc
tion of machinery the labourer is no longer called to provide
himself with tools and implements, and so this form of saving is
rather diminishing than increasing. Well prepared for your
work, look to your house. By all means let it be comfortable,
cheerful, and well furnished. Mr. Mundella noticed the great
demand for pianofortes and other musical instruments for work
ing men’s houses. Do not indulge in luxuries, but do take a
pride in having a pretty house, a full house, and a comfortable
home. Am I wrong in taking ^10 each, at least, as the
value of furniture in the 3,500,000 houses tenanted by working
people? If so, then some ^35,000,000 or ^40,000,000 must
have been set aside by them in this form.
Under no circumstances, I pray you, keep your money in
your pockets, for it may not be long there. The coin is round,
and it rolls away swiftly. Temptations are strong. The shops
are inviting. If you keep your money loose, you may not have
the fortitude to resist the attraction to spend it amiss. So put
it aside. And where ? Not inside an old stocking, not under a
brick, but at the savings bank. The savings banks only com
menced with the opening of the present century. In 1798,
a Miss Priscilla Wakefield founded a bank at Tottenham, for
receiving the savings of workwomen and female domestic ser
vants. In 1799, an offer was made by the Rev. Joseph Smith,
of Wendover, to receive any part of the savings of the people in
his parish every Sunday evening, during the summer, and to
8
�H4
SA CLEGS OR THE WOREiimG CLASSES.
repay them at Christmas, with the addition of one-third of the
whole amount deposited, as a bounty; and in 1810, the Rev.
Henry Duncan founded the Parish Bank Friendly Society at
Ruthwell. These were the days of small things, but institutions
of this nature soon multiplied, and so a Bill was introduced in
the House of Commons by Mr. Whitbread to make use of the
Post Office machinery for the purpose of receiving and repaying
the savings of the people, though matters were not ripe for that
step. However, in 1817 the first Act was passed upon the subject,
authorising the formation of savings banks for the purpose of
receiving deposits of money for the benefit of the persons de
positing, allowing the same to accumulate at compound interest,
and to return the whole, or any part of the same, to depositors,
after deducting the necessary expense of management, but
deriving no profit from the transaction. The limit of the de
posits was set at ^100 for the first year, and /50 for every year
following, and the interest allowed to depositors was 4 per cent,
net; the Commissioners for the Reduction of the National Debt
paying the trustees for the amount invested with them, at the rate
of 3d. per day for every ^100, producing an interest of ^4 iu. 3^.
Some change was made in the limits of deposits in 1824, reducing
it to ^30 for the first year, and ^30 for the subsequent ones; the
whole not to exceed ^150, and interest to cease when principal
and interest amounted to ^200,—as at present. But money
having become less valuable, in 1844 the interest to depositors
was reduced to ^3 os. iod. per cent, per annum. And how
great has been the success of such measures ! In 1817, on the
first formation of these banks, the amount due to depositors
was^^ooo. In 1831, the amount rose to ^15,000,000, and
thirty years after, in-1861, it reached £42,000,000. By that
time, however, the proposal to make use of the Post Office for
facilitating the employment of the savings of the people acquired
more force from the failure of some savings banks, whilst the
eagerness shown by the people in France in responding to the
�SAVINGS OF THE WORKING CLASSES.
115
appeal of Napoleon III. for one loan after another, with full
confidence in their national securities, commended the use of
the Post Office as an instrument for multiplying the means of
depositing the savings of the people all over the country, as
alike convenient and advantageous. So the suggestion years
before made by Mr. Whitbread was taken up in earnest. And
in i860 Mr. Gladstone laid before the House of Commons a
plan which became the basis of the pi esent system. For a
short time, the old savings banks somewhat suffered from the
presence of these fresh competitors, but they speedily recovered,
and now whilst the Trustees Savings Banks have an amount as
large as ever, or ^42,000,000, the Post Office Banks, so suddenly
sprung up, have already in hand ^25,000,000—making in all
^67,000,000.
This amount is supposed to represent, at least to a large ex
tent, the savings of the labouring classes. There is no means,
however, of ascertaining the classes of persons to whom such
deposits really belong. The probability is that not an incon
siderable portion of such savings belongs to the middle classes,
who need such instruments of saving quite as much as the
working classes. If we take two-thirds of the whole amount
as belonging to the working classes, the sum to their credit
would be ^45,000,000. Nor is this all, for there are a large
multitude of small savings banks connected with Sunday
schools, churches, and other societies, which are of great value,
and which would be found to have together a handsome sum.
The present Post Office Savings Banks fail in their not being
open in the evening, particularly on Fridays and Saturdays,
in their not receiving less than one shilling at a time, and in
their limiting the deposits to ^3° a year. The Society of Aits
and the Provident Knowledge Society represented these wants
to the Postmaster-General, and whilst he consented to open the
banks in the evening, at least gradually, he objected to the
diminution of deposits to less than ij. on the ground of expense-
�u6
SAJHNGS OF THE WORKING CLASSES.
As it is, every transaction of a depositor, whether he pays in
or draws out money, costs the State nearly 6d. Let the de
posit be i^„ and for each transaction the cost may be ij.
To the objection against the limits of £3o, the Postmaster
said that it was necessary to maintain it on account of
expense, and also for the purpose of keeping clear of com
petition with the ordinary business of bankers. Meanwhile,
however, the National Penny Bank has been founded, in which
our friend Mr. Hamilton Hoare takes a deep interest. It is
open in the evening. It has school branches and workshop
branches, and it is perfectly safe. Patronise it with your pennies,
Do not imagine, indeed, that every penny or pound once de
posited at the savings banks is allowed to remain there. Far,
far from it. It is an advantage certainly of the savings bank
that you have no trouble in taking out whatever you need, but
remember the pith and marrow of the transaction is to keep the
money there. Once taken out, unless, indeed, for the purpose
of a better investment, and it is done. Look at the accounts for
1875, for England only. During that year the old Trustees
Savings Bank received /6,656,000, and actually paid out
^7?O49?OO°? or more than they got. True, some of that money
has possibly been transferred to the Post Office Savings Banks,
and there we find that they received in the year .£8,779,000,
and paid back £6,864,000. But, certainly, it is not satisfactory
that, with receipts amounting in all to upwards of £i5,ooo,oooj
the amount left, or saved, in all the savings banks in one year,
was only £1,5 22,000. Just imagine how many must have tried to
save something, and how few have been able to manage it. How
many must have started with a good resolution, how few were
strong enough to keep to it. And how many must have used
the savings banks simply for a temporary convenience, probably
till Christmas or Whitsuntide, or till the want or the fancy
came to buy something. Thankful, indeed, we may be that
so much has been gathered, and that such a substantial sum
�OF THE WORKING CLASSES.
H7
as /45 000,000, or thereabout, remains there on account of the
nrkino- classes Only remember, it is the accumulation of very
- a matter of fact, if we compare the deposrts
per head of the population in 18S1 and .874, - find tha he
smallest per centage increase has been m England
Whilst^
England the increase was at the rate of 53 pei
•>
it was 175 per cent., and in Scotland 200 per cent.
In connection with savings banks I pray you to remember that
by allowing 3 per cent, per annum the nation loses a large sum
of money every year* The Post Office Savings Banks allow only
per cent., and I venture to say that with the present low
value of money it will not be long before the Trustees Savings
Banks will have to revise their system, unless they obta
greater freedom in the choice of investments. In France, the
savings banks invest their funds in landed and other real pro
perty^ well as in the public funds. In Belgium, they even dis
count bills. InHolland,theylendonmortgages. Needlsaytha
in the United Kingdom all the deposits are invested in the Bntis
funds 7 Whether or not greater latitude might be allowed in the
investments consistently with sufficient security, .s a question for
grave consideration. Comparing the savings bank system in
England and other countries, it would appear that England stands
far ahead, in Europe at least. In 1874, m England and Wales,
the savings banks had £2 yn 8<Z. per head, Scotland £1 1 w.
Ireland nr., France gs. toil., Holland Jr. 4rf, Austria 36s. yi.,
Germany 3^., Switzerland 84s., Italy r6r. 6.. While Great
Britain had 9,436 depositors for every 100,000 persons, Switzer
land had 20,3m, and France only 5,600. But, for purposes of
comparison, you must take into account other faculties of invest
ments, and the habits of the people. The workmg people 0
France and Belgium are less venturesome than those of Englan .
* On the 20th November, 1876, the deficiency from the amount of the liabilitS of tie Government, and the value of the securities held by the Com
missioners for the Reduction of the National Debt, amounted to £a,5^,727
�H8
0^
l^OA^VG CLASSES.
They prefer becoming rentieres, or fundholders, to having money
at their disposal at the savings bank, and still more they like a
plot of ground which they may call their own. The subdivision
o and in France certainly favours this, and the Frenchman
e lghts m it. In England land is not to be had. The funds
o not present much facility for investment. Whilst in England
no m°re than 228,696 persons are entitled to various amounts
of dividends on the several kinds of stock in the public funds, in
rance the number of fundholders is given at 5,500,000. It is
safety and physical grasp of the property that mostly attract
the Frenchman. The Englishman is quite prepared to hazard a
ittle more for profit. After all, the savings banks offer no suffi
cient compensation. All they do is to keep for you any sum
of money you please, paying you as high a rate of interest as
and indeed more than, money is worth in this great storehouse
of capital.
Next to having some ready money always available in case
of need, we do well if we can make provision to secure some
help m case of sickness, or special contingencies ■ and here come
to our aid the many friendly societies. In the savings banks
e depositor’s capital remains his own, he has full freedom to
use it howsoever he likes, and can withdraw it whenever he
likes. In a friendly society the capital of the members con
stitutes a common fund; the investor is understood to devote the
amount to the object of the society, and he can get the fund
back only on the happening of certain events. The purposes
of friendly societies are very varied. They relieve members in
sickness and old age ; they furnish proper medicine and medical
attendance; they provide members with assistance when tra
velling in search of employment; they assist them when in
istress ; they provide a sum on the death of members for their
widows and children; and they defray the expense of burialcomplete list of such societies in every part of the kingdom
would show how extensively the spirit of association is in opera-
�SAVINGS OF THE WORKING CLASSES.
tion First is the Manchester Unity of Odd Fellows Next is
the Ancient Order of Fore^XtXVd" ReZite
Zpeyran“ FrieX' sXyZ for its motto, “ We will drink
LX for Jonadab the son of Rechab our father commanded
"Z Ye shall drink no wine, neither ye nor your sons, fo
ever.” Besides these, and among many others we ha«t e^
c*
a »
TJparts of Oak Benefit Society?
Dreids” “The Loyal Order of Ancient Shepherds,” “The Order
golden Fleece,” “ The Stat of the E-t,” and many mu,
numberin'* together one million and a quarter of members Aft
heTe come the burial societies, with another milhon mid hatf of
members. Then the societies
ZdLiXs ” aL
Sisters ” the “ Comforting Sisters,” the United Siste ,
Xe Daughters of Temperance.” The Scottish Societies go
by the names of “ The Humane,” “ The Protector,
Accord” “The Thistle” Ireland has her Emerald Isle T
bne So’ciety,” the “ Adam and Eve Tontine,” the “ St. DommiP
“St Ignatius,”“St. Joseph,” andmany more. Besides the frien y
societE proper, there are the trade unions, which are friendly
societies and something more ; the industrial an provi en
societies, constituted for carrying on trade ; the loan socie i
and co-operative societies, which have of late made wonderfu
progress. These friendly societies have been ivi e
y
commissioners into seventeen classes. And even these byno
means exhaust all the varieties of societies thus formed. A
y
all solvent? Can they be all recommended? Their object is,
doubtless, good, their intention excellent. But do they Kt e
proper precautions in their investments of money. Do they t
sufficient account of the rate of mortality in the different emp oyments. Are the returns they give reliable ? Should W society
of this character be allowed to meet at public-houses
I
hone the Act recently passed may eventually afford sufficient
guarantees for the 4,000,000 members interested in sue
�120
SA™rCS OF THE WORIawG CLASSES.
societies, having together about g'to,000,000 or ZI2 000 000
"aXa‘
°f thCir
ove^xx:: xx xxxsfrom bWers’
yourseives with such societies, XXXXZXX
are registered, those whose accounts are properly audited and
ose which can produce real certificates that they are sound
solvent, and safe.*
ouna’
.. °.f friendl>'societies th= most useful, when properly used are
«
certa-n
AXr
"r ; “d theSC
”gSa° yiS
"’1WSe
te™inatin»’
F“Xbe
J- °r Peil°dlcal sums> "’h>oh accumulate till the
ate sufficient to give a stipulated sum to each member
When the whole is divided amongst them. The members of
funds
sue societies may have the amount of their share in anticipation
by allowing a large discount,-not all, however, but such as by a’
sort of auction, bid the highest sum of discount, the repayment
bemg secured by mortgages on real or household property The
P-mnent societies do not disso.ve upon the completion of the
ares In a termmatmg society a person must either become
member at the time the'society is established or else pay a
rge amount of back subscriptions. In a permanent, one mac
become a member at any time. In a terminating, one does not
now ow ong he has to continue his payments, and how much
ay withdraw. In a permanent, he does. Together they
have a capital of some ^2,000,000, of which perhaps ,£8,000,000
may belong to the working classes. Are building societies advantageous as an investment for the working classes ? Are they
sa^e.
toperly conducted, a building society ought to be safe,
FrieJdlySodetv^n1305^ tHat
Government shou’d establish a National
the PostOffice Savin*s Banks;
of the causes and d ° t
%
X
abS6nCe °f any reliable data
cost of management n nd°th
]iaMity to decePtion2 the
meats
&
’
he dlfficulty of securing the continuance of pay-
�SAVINGS OF THE WORKING CLASSES.
121
for it invests its funds in houses and other real property, and
it ought to be able to calculate exactly what its funds at com
pound interest are likely to produce. And as for conveni
ence, I can conceive no investment more attractive than one
which may enable you in a comparativly few years to have a
house of your own. In London, indeed, the distance between
your house and your work, the expense of living in the suburbs,
and the uncertainty of remaining long in any employment m
any locality, may prove an obstacle to the purchase of a house,
but I cannot conceive a more mischievous disposition m any
family than that of being continually shifting from place to
place. “A rolling stone gathers no moss.” What waste is the
expense of removing ! What unfixedness of habits '. What
discouragement to beautify your house—to make it a home.
Stay still, my friends. And by all means if you can, buy a house
for yourselves. It is the best and most profitable expenditure
you can possibly make.
The building society will provide you with a house to dwell
in. The friendly society will see that in sickness you have a
doctor, and that on your death you may have a decent burial.
But what of the friends you must leave behind? For any
security to them, you must have recourse to the provident
principle of life insurance. Based on the fixedness of the law
of nature, which not only lays a bound to our natural life, but
seems to indicate what proportion of any given number of
human beings is likely to die, at every age, the life insurer
is ready to take upon himself the obligation to pay a certain
amount to your friends and relatives whenever you may die,
be it to-morrow or fifty years hence, provided you engage to
pay, and do actually pay, every year, as long as you live, a fixed
annual premium. Suppose you have a wife and children, and
you are anxious that when you die they shall not remain pemless. If you are thirty years of age you will have to pay, say,
£2 is. 6d. per annum to secure ^100 at death for your friends.
�122
SAVINGS OF THE WORKING CLASSES.
But mind you—and this is a hard measure in life insurancethat if you do miss a single year, you lose all you have put in.
er, say, ten years, you may surrender the policy to the Office
and get some allowance for what you have paid. But not be
fore But can workmen engage to make annual payments, and
an they be sure of continuing them ? This is indeed the difficu ty, or the collection of weekly payments is very costly, and
hitherto, where insurance has been tried among working men, the
proportion of lapses is very large. It is certainly an advantage,
in life insurance, that it compels you to make some self-sacrifice
nay, to make a very hard struggle every year, somehow, to pay
the premium; for the longer you pay it the safer is the policy.
ou are not likely to grudge paying the premium, because you
wish for yourself length of days, whatever it may cost. And the
insurance company will be glad if you live very long, if you be
come a very centenarian, for then it will get the premium out of
you twice or three times over. But workmen having uncertain
employments have great difficulty to meet the demands of life
insurance. Nevertheless, 1 do wish life insurance could be ex
tended among the labouring classes, for it is of great comfort
and benefit, and the upper and middle classes use it largely, up
wards of £300,000,000 being insured upon their lives, upon which
they pay more than £ 10,000,000 per annum in premium. The
Government has provided for the granting of Government
annuities and insurance in connection with the Post Office ; and
there if you only succeed in paying the premium for five years,
you will be entitled, if you wish to discontinue it, to the sur
render value. But the working classes do not seem to have taken
much advantage of the plan. Founded as far back as 1865, con
tracts have been entered into for the purpose by the Post Office,
for less than £300,000. Insurance companies do not come to
you. You must go to them. If you do decide upon insuring, take
care to choose the safest office ; for valuable as life insurance is,
it should not be forgotten that’the actual solvency of the com-
�SAWINGS OF THE WORKING CLASSES.
123
puny depends on the accuracy of the data upon which it carries
on its business, on the rate of mortality which they
™
the rate of interest which they are able to realize,. an
portion of income from premium which they are able tc. reserve
for future expenses and profits. Inthe words of Messrs. Malcolm
and Hamilton, who have reported on the accounts o insurance
companies, “taking insurance business as it ex
country, where adequate premiums are charged, and live
selected with care, the public cannot be misled if, when seek
ing an office in which to effect an insurance, they select one
which transacts its business at a small percentage of wor mg
cost, and does not anticipate its profits.”
. .
I have mentioned among the friendly societies, the co
operative societies, both for distribution and production. Co
operative societies may be regarded as a means of invest
ment, and as a mode of securing a more liberal reward for
labour. It is not indeed put forth that either co-operative
societies or industrial partnerships can supersede effectua ly, or
in any important degree, the present relation of capital an
labour, as by far the simplest and capable of the wides
application, yet it is conceived that by affording grea er
encouragement to save, and ampler opportunities tor the
profitable use of such savings, many who at present have
other prospect than that of remaining m a condition of com
parative dependence, may eventually become possessed of a
small capital. How to give to the consumer direct access o
the producer ; how to give to the immediate producer, that ,
labour, direct access to capital, either directly, by an antecede»
act of aggregate saving on the part of the producer himself or
mediately, by crediting the immediate producer or labourer with
the necessary capital,-these are the objects which co-operation
seeks to obtain. Co-operative societies have been formed or
distribution and production, and even for credit. The con
ception is certainly simple and practical. Here are a hundre
�■24
SAVINGS OF THE WORKING CLASSES.
men goring yearly’ Say< Z4° each> at Ieast> of commodities,
which if bought wholesale will cost no more than £3o Form
a co-operative society to buy direct such provisions from the
producer, and the profit which the retailers would have gained
Will form a substantial economy to the consumers. Or let the
price of the commodities consumed remain as they would be if
so
y retailers, and let the profits accumulate in the hands of
such society; and you will have, by degree, a handsome capital
belonging to such members, which may be employed in prouction. And thus, from a co-operative society for distribution
you may easily rise to a co-operative society for production’
Here are a thousand operatives, each having a small savinoGather them savings together to form the capital. Let the con
tributors be themselves the operatives, and the combination
will seem perfect. But how should the relative rights of capital
and labour be adjusted ? The workman, as a capitalist, has an
interest m increasing, as much as possible, the profits of the
establishment, but as a workman he is still more interested in
securing a liberal rate of wages. Here an antagonism of
interests is sure to follow, and it is a great question whether the
problem admits of a satisfactory solution. But I have supposed
t e existence of capital in the hands of the labourers. What
if they have no such capital? Can they be credited with it ?
What security can they offer? Shall we ask the State to lend
capital to such labourers if the capitalists will not incur the
usk ? The idea is in itself preposterous.
Take, however, the most probable case, where labourers have
on y a very small capital. Shall we encourage them to em
ploy their savings in co-operative societies for production ? A
arge portion of the success which attends commercial operations
is the result of the skill and shrewdness of those who engage in
them. Capital is an important element, but the capacity to
know when and where to buy and to sell, and the possession of
a spirit of adventure balanced by prudence and caution, are
�12'5
SA RINGS OF THE WORKING CLASSES.
elements of enormous value in securing success. Can working
men lay claim to such knowledge and foresight
If they
have to depend upon others for the management of such
dertakings, is there no danger of their falling into the hands
of designers and schemers, who will soon squander
savings?
e 1
Of the many"^“^X'CeTXcceeded.
1
t chas are for distribution-as grocers, drapers, and proven
dealers—have succeeded exceedingly well, scarcely anyt formed
for productive purposes can show any real gam.
Whils the
Rochdale Equitable Pioneers-as grocers, provision dea e ,
drapers, tailors-realized a goodly sum, the Rochdale card manu
facture realized nothing, and so in a number of instances. The
recent abandonment of the principle of industrial partner^.by
Messrs. Briggs has been exceedingly disappomtmg to the fnends
“ co-operatfon ; and so also has the breakdown of the Ouseburn
Engine Works, of the Shirland Colliery, and the Industnal Ba
in Newcastle. To my mind, there is no royal road to.wealth
The workman must, in some measure, become a capitalist
before he can seek to become a co-operator with the capitalist
in industrial enterprise. And when he has amassed a ittb sum
let him take care what he does with it. In these d y , P
duction on a small scale has no chance of success m competition
with production on a large scale. Great enterprises, w,th la ge
capital, are carried on at much less expense, and can always
command greater facilities. Lay you a solid foundation for your
advancement in a substratum of real capital, foster >t bypru
deuce and foresight, increase it by legitimate means, and yo
may depend upon it that in Z/«t? you will have the surest sa eguard for independence and improvement.
§ The introduction of limited liability in joint stock compam
has opened for the working classes the avenues_ to commercial operations to any extent. All you require is capital,
�^6
SAVINGS OF THE WORKING CLASSES.
and this capital you must gather, little by little, by hard labour
and, it may be, by continuous toil and hardship. Gentlemen it
requires some amount of heroism to set aside any fragment’of
our present income for our future wants, to deprive ourselves
it may be, of needed comforts that we may provide for con
tingencies at present, at least, beyond our ken. But it is worth
doing. A pound to-day and another to-morrow. Now five
pounds and anon ten—it is astonishing how soon the sum grows
if you are only careful. But be you extra cautious how you’
invest your savings, for the more labour we have to give to
the acquisition of small incomes and the accumulation of small
savings, the more incumbent it becomes on us to be on our
guard, lest we should lose it all by carelessness or misemployment. Trust not on the Government to protect you. Keep your
eyes open, and mind what you are about, for once you lose what
you have got, it is extremely difficult to get it again. After all
it is not much we want. Strive for more, but be content with
your lot.
Man s rich with little, were his judgments true ;
Nature is frugal, and her wants are few :
Those few wants answer’d, bring sincere delights ;
But fools create themselves new appetites.”
But, my friends, is it only money that we should seek after?
Are there not treasures of knowledge, treasures of benefaction,
treasures of inward joys and happiness, that we may aspire to
obtain ? Must we all strike the same path ? Have we all the
same talents ? Have we all the same opportunities ? Thirtytwo years ago, a comparative youth came to England, from the
centre of Italy, unknowing and unknown. He had but one talent
—not that of the Universities, either of Oxford or Cambridge,
Pisa or Bologna ; not that of riches, or of fame ; but one com
mon to all—an open eye and an open mind, with perseverance in
duty, and hope and faith to cheer him in his path. He planted
that talent in the British soil, and there it lodged summer and
�SAVINGS OF THE WORKING CLASSES.
127
winter, and winter and summer, giving little signs of life; but
it was growing, and it gave fruit in the establishment of a
Chamber of Commerce in Liverpool, in a work on the Com
mercial Law of the World, and another on the History of Britis
Commerce. And that talent is still growing, and has made its
possessor a barrister-at-law, a member of not a few scientific
societies, and the Professor of the Principles of Commerce
and Commercial Law in King’s College, London ;-the very
one who has now the honour and the pleasure of addressing to
you these Lectures. If you could trace the antecedents of many
of those who are now great, how often would you find that it is
not fortune, or birth, or estate, that produces our best men, but
labour, perseverance, force of will. Read Smiles’ “ Self-made
Men ; ” and you will find that Hargreaves and Crompton were
artiza’ns, and Arkwright a barber. That Telford and Hugh Miller
were stonemasons, and Trevithick amechanic. That Lord Tenterden the judge, and Turner the painter, were both sons of barbers.
That Inigo Jones the architect, and Hunter who discovered
the circulation of the blood, were carpenters. That Cardinal
Wolsey and Defoe were sons of butchers ; that the immorta
John Bunyan was a tinker, and Herschel the astronomer a
bandsman. That James Watt was the son of an instrument
maker, and Faraday the son of a blacksmith ; that Newton’s
father was a yeoman, with a small farm worth iia 6^. a year ;
and Milton the son of a scrivener. That Pope and Southey were
sons of linendrapers, and Shakspeare the son of a butcher
and grazier. That Lord Eldon was the son of a Newcastle coal
fitter and LordJSt. Leonard the son of a barber, who began life
as an errand boy. AU honour to them I Strive you to be like
them.
“ Lives of great men all remind us,
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time ;
�128
SA VINGS OF THE WORKING CLASSES.
Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o’er life’s solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.
Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate ;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labour and to wait.’’
Let our occupation be high or low in public estimation,
he is a great man who, by high character and self-mastery,
by culture and industry, by application and perseverance,
secures for himself a true individuality ; and who, with powers
fully developed, and faculties duly expanded, uses whatever
talent he may possess to the glory of God, and to the benefit
of his fellow-creatures.
�appendix a.
Statement of the weekly expenditure, in 1859, of a family consistm«
wife, and three children, whose total wages averaged th'rtV
P
week, as compared with the cost of the same arttclesm 875,>8^ and
|> 1839.—“ Progress of Manchester,” by D. Chadwick, Brit.sh Assomation
1861, revised by Dr. Watts.
|
Articles.
Expenditure in
i875-
Expenditure in
1849.
Expenditure in
1859.
Expenditure in
i
|(I.) Bread, Flour, and
Meal.
S|8 41b. loaves (32 lbs.) .. 6 Id. per 41bs.
IL a peck of meal........... is. 10d.pr.pk.
||l a doz. (6 lbs.) of flour is. lod. pr.dz.
6d. per 4lbs.
is.6d. perpk.
1s.10d.pr.dz.
5Jd. per 41b.
is.8d. perpk.
is.8d. per dz.
5
4
2
I
81- 7 I. per lb
4 9
4
oj
2
O
0
9
6
4
3
xs.4d. per lb. 0
8
0
3
6
8Jd. per 41b.
is-4d. perpk.
2S.4d. per dz.
(II.) Butchers’ Meat
and Bacon,
;lbs. of butchers' meat 8'd. per lb.
dbs. of bacon ................
6Jd. per lb. .
(III.) Potatoes, Milk,
and Vegetables.
2 score of potatoes .... is. per score
7 quarts of milk ............ 4d. per qt. .
Vegetables ....................
tl
is. per score
3d. per qt. ..
I
;. per score
1. per qt. ..
is. per score
3d. per qt...
;. 4d. per lb.
5. 4d. ,,
2S. per lb.
(IV.) Groceries, Coals,
etc.
Jib. of coffee
Jib. of tea ....
31bs. of sugar
albs, of rice ..
1 lb. butter.. ..
21bs. of treacle
rjlbs. of soap
Coals................
Candles...........
xs. id. per lb
I
I
0
I
0
5
6
0
6
6
Rent, taxes, and water
Clothing .........................
Sundries .........................
I
0
0
II
I
.
4
3
2
9
Totals
• 30
0
0
5*
sJ
0
�APFENDIX.
130
AVERAGE WEEKLY EARNINGS OF THE COTTON OPERATIVES.
Week of 69
1839
s. d.
Steam-engine tenders
24 0
Warehousemen .... 18 0
Carding stretchers
7 0
Strippers, young men, women, and
girls....................................... 11 0
Overlookers....................................... 25 0
Spinners on self-acting Winders,
Males
.
.
.
. 16 0
Piecers, women and young men 8 0
Overlookers ..... 20 0
Reeling Throttle, reelers, women 9 0
Warpers
..... 22 0
Sizers............................................... 23 0
Doubling, Doublers, women.
7 0
Overlookers...................................... 24 0
Agricultural—
Devon
Somerset.
Cheshire .
Durham .
i860.
Per week.
8s. to 12s.
12s. ,, 14s.
15s.
15s. to 20s.
Builders—
Masons .
hours.
1849
s. d.
28 0
20 0
7 6
12
28
0
0
14
28
0
0
19
32
18
0
0
0
6
0
0
6
0
20
10
26
0
0
0
6
0
0
0
0
25
16
9
22
9
22
23
7
25
18555s. per day.
1850.
Per month.
Seamen, London—
Mediterranean
.
45s.
...
.
50s.
...
North America
East India and China 40s.
Australia
40s.
Week of 60 hours.
1873
1859
s. d.
s. d.
32 o
30 0
26 o
22 0
12 o
8 0
...
...
9
23
25
9
28
...
30
12
26
30
12
32
o
o
o
o
o
6
o
6
o
1872.
Per week.
9s. to 12s.
13s. ,, 20s.
16s. 6d.
17s. to 20s.
1876.
96. per hour.
...
...
...
...
1874.
Per month.
70s. to 80s. ... 80s. to 90s.
80s. „ 95s. ... 85s. „ 95s.
60s. „ 65s. ... 80s. „ 85s
70s.
�APPENDIX.
APPENDIX B.
BUDGETS OF THE WORKING CLASSES.
Great Britain.
(From the “ Times," November Vjih, 1872.)
Weekly Expenses of a Farm Labourer in 1872 in East Sussex :—
Per week.
£ s. d.
£, s. d.
0 7 0
7 gallons of flour
.
.
0 i 4
1 lb. butter
.
.
0 0 4
2 oz. tea *
.
.
.
.
.
0 0 7
2 lb. sugar *
.
.
0 1 3
2 lb. cheese
,
.
0 0 3i
Milk
....
.
.
0 O 2
1 lb. soap
.
.
0 O I
Soda and blue .
.
.
0 0 10J
i| lb. candles .
.
.
0 O 7
Schooling
.
.
0 0 3
Cotton and mustard
•
•
0 I 0
Washing and mangling .
.
.
0 2 0
Rent
....
0 15 10
Extra expenses per annum :—
£> s. d.
Benefit club .
Boots
....
Clothes ....
Tools ....
Faggots ....
Extra food in hop drying
1
O IO
4
0
0
0
0
0
12
4
2
I
0
2
7
4
14
0
4
0
equal to 0 3 0
o 18 10
�132
APPENDIX.
Income and Expenditure of a Tobacco Spinner in Edinburgh, the Family
consisting of Six Persons. Income: Father, 25s.; Boy in the Telegraph
Service, 6s.—total, 31s.
Expenditure :—
£
Bread, 361b. ; meat, 4Mb. ; flour, 71b. ;
rice, ilb. ; potatoes, 10J lb ; sugar,*
51b ; tea, * Jib. ; coffee, * Jib. ; butter,
0
i|lb.......................................................
Beer,* 4 pints; spirits nil; tobacco,*
0
302.........................................................
House rent ......
0
Coal and gas...................................
0
Clothing............................................
0
Taxes....................................................
0
vhurch or chapel, 4d. ; amusements,
rd.; benefit club, is. id. ; doctors
bill, and sundries, 2s. 6d.
0
Zr
16 6
0
2 4
8
I
4 0
0 34
2
4 0
IO
94
Per cent.
Taxes.
54
s. d.
0 6
6
7
6
13
I
I
9
0 34
13
IOO
64
2
Income and Expenditure of a Printer, Single Man, living in London.
Income £1 16s. od. a-week :—
z s. d.
Bread, i21b. ; meat, 41b. ; flour, 41b. ;
potatoes, 81b.; sugar,* ilb.; tea,* 202.;
coffee,* 2oz. ; butter, iooz.
Beer,* 14 pints ; spirits, * 1 quartern ;
tobacco,* 40Z........................................
House rent...................................
Coal and gas......
Clothin
......
Church, amusements, laundress .
Per cent.
0 9 8
4i
0 3
■0 5 0
0 2 6
0 I 6
0 2 6
0 2 6
21
1 4
Z*
3
8
Taxes.
II
6
II
IO
IOO
1
7
�APPENDIX.
*33
France.
{From Lord Brabazon s Report, vFjz, p. 45.)
Average. Expenditure of a Married Day Labourer’s Family, consisting of
Father, Mother, and Three Children, with a Collective Income of
£24 is. 7d.
£. s. d. Per cent.
Bread,* vegetables, meat,* milk, salt
59
13 15 7
6
I 7 2
Wine* beer,* and cider* ....
I 13 7
7
Lodging* (tax on doors and windows) .
I
5
5 8
Firing*....................................................
I
0 4 6
Taxes....................................................
16
3 12 9
Clothing*....................................................
6
I
5 9
Other expenses............................................
£23
5 0
IOO
Prussia.
{Dr. Engel’s Table.}
Percentage of the Expenditure of the Family of
A Working Man with A Man of Middle A Person n easy circum
stances with
Class with
an income of
an income from Z 9° an income from ZrS0
from
to Z 220 a year.
Z45 to Zoo a year.
to ZI2° a year.
Per cent.
. 62
Subsistence
. 16
Clothing .
.
. 12
Lodging .
Firing and lighting 5
Education, public
.
. 2
worship
Legal protection
. 1
Care of Health
. 1
Comfort, mental and
bodily recreation 1
IOO
Per cent.
55
18
12
5
3’5
2
2
i’5
IOO
Per cent.
50
18
12
5
5'5
3
3
3‘5i
TOO
�134
APPENDIX.
Netherlands.
(Mr, Locock's Report, 1871, p. 351.)
Weekly Expenses of a Mason, with a Wife and Two Children :—
Bread,* butter, milk, sugar,*
coffee,* suet, flour, potatoes,
Per cent.
s. d.
greens, meal, salt, bacon, oil,
II 11
tobacco,* soap,* etc.
53
2 0
House rent
9
6
I 3
Firing*
....
2 1
Clothing * .
.
.
9
Sundries ....
• 5 3
23
22 6
.
100
Switzerland (Bale).
(dZ. Gould's Report, 1872, p. 366.)
Yearly Expenditure of a Working Man’s Family :—
Bread, coffee, chicory, milk, potatoes, butter, oil, meat, vege£ s.
tables ....
29 6
Rent...................................
IO 8
Wood
....
4 0
Taxes
....
0 6
Clothing ....
6 0
Sick Fund
0 16
d.
2
O
O
5
0
0
50 16 7
Per cent.
57
.
20
8
.
0
.
12
3
.
100
Russia.
Annual Expenditure of a Peasant Family, consisting of Father and Son, Two
Brothers, and a Third Young Man, in the Province of Novgorod :—
(Consul Michel's Report on Land Tenure, p. 63.)
z * d.
8o| bush, rye from the land, 361b. fish, 1
sack wheat, 2.88 bush, buckwheat, salt ...
30 o
Dress,* boots, etc.
.
.
.
.
.
2 13 4
Taxes, Imperial and Provincial, at 3 roubles
per male .......
1 4
Village priest
.
.
.
.
.
o
�APPENDIX.
135
(Consul Gregnon's Report, 1871, p. 54.)
Estimated Expenditure for a Single Man, Factory Hand, for a
d.
Day’s Living in Riga
3 lbs, Russ, rye bread, at 2A copecks
si
1 lb. Russ, meat
....
3k
Coffee,* sugar, and milk.................................................. 12
Potatoes.............................................................................02
Butter........................................................................ ......
Herrings...............................................................................
Barley meal..............................................
.
. ok
10
To the above must be added lodging, capitation-tax, clothing, and per
sonal expenses.
(Consul Campbell's Report, 1872, p. 312.)
A Manufactory Workman’s Monthly Expenditure at Helsingfors
s. d.
£ s. d.
Food,
24 to30 marks .
. o 19 o to 1 3 9
Fuel,
2 ,, 2j „
.
. o 1 7 „ o 2 o
Lodging, 10,, 12 ,,
.
.080,, 096
Clothing,* 10 ,, 12J ,,
.
. o 7 o ,, o 9 6
1 15 7
2 4 9
United States (Pennsylvania).
(Mr. Consul Kortright’s Report, 1871, p. 921.)
Weekly Cost of Living of Two Parents and Three Children
in Philadelphia:—
Bread, flour, meat, butter, cheese,
Per cent.
sugar,* milk, coffee,* tea,*
£ s. d.
fish, salt, eggs, potatoes,
I 8 6 .
fruit
.
.
,
.
.
■
54
. 24
0 13 0
Rent............................................
6
0 3 3 •
Light * and Fire
.
.
0 7 5 •
Clothing *
....
■
14
0 0 4! •
Taxes...................................
•
2
0 0 9J
Other Expenses
2 13 3
100
�136
APPENDIX.
United States.
(From the Sixth Annual Report of the Bureau of the Statistics of Labour.}
Percentage of the Expenditure of the Family of a Working Man
with an income—
From ^60
ZI2O
/150
Above
Z90
Average
to Z90. to/'lCO. to/150. to ^zso. ^250.
Per cent. Per cent. Per cent. Per cent. Per cent. Per cent.
Subsistence.
. 64
60
63
56
5t
58
Clothing
10-5
19
14
• 7
74
15
Rent .
. 20
15
16
14
i5'5
17
Fuel
. 6
6
6
6
5
6
Sundry Expenses 3
6
6
10
6
5
—
----------■
----- IOO
IOO
IOO
IOO
IOO
IOO
�APPENDIX.
137
APPENDIX C.
Report of the Committee of the British Association for the
Advancement of Science, on Combinations of Capital and
Labour. Lord Houghton, D.C.L., F.R.S. (chairman); Jacob
Behrens, Esq.; Thomas Brassey, Esq., M.P.; Frank P.
Fellows, Esq.; Archibald Hamilton, Esq.; Professor Leone
Levi; A. J. Mundella, Esq., M.P.; Wm. Newmarch, Esq.,
F.R.S.; Lord O’Hagan; R. J. Inglis Palgrave, Esq.; Professcr
Thorold Rogers. Submitted by Professor Leone Levi, and
ordered to be printed and laid before the Association.
Your Committee appointed to inquire into the economic effects
of Combinations of labourers or capitalists, and into the laws of
Economic science bearing on the principles on which such
Combinations are founded, have already stated in their preli
minary Report made last year, the course they have thought
to take in order to ascertain the exact views held by both
employers and employed on the subject in question. Although
the general objects of such Combinations, whether of capitalists
or labourers, are well known, both from the written rules, which
bind them together, and from the action taken from time to
time, your Committee have deemed it desirable to come into
personal contact with some representative men from both classes,
with a view of finding whether they do now stand by the rules
of their Unions, and how far they are prepared to defend them.
And for that purpose, your Committee resolved to hold a con
sultative private conference of employers and employed m the
presence of the members of the. Committee, where they might
discuss the questions involved in the resolution of the British
Association, and with a view of reporting thereon to the same.
The points more especially inquired into were the following :—
1 st. What determines the minimum rate of wages ?
2nd. Can that minimum rate be uniform in any trade, and
can that uniformity be enforced ?
3rd. Is Combination capable of affecting the rate of wages,
whether in favour of employers or employed ?
�138
APPENDIX.
4th. Can an artificial restriction of labour or of capital be
economically right or beneficial under any circumstances?
For the discussion of these questions your Committee had
the advantage of bringing together a deputation from the
National Federation of Associated Employers of Labour, in
cluding Messrs. R. R. Jackson, M. A. Brown, H. R. Greg,
Joseph Simpson, J. A. Marshall, R. Hannen, and Henry Whit
worth. As representing labour : Messrs. Henry Broadhurst,
Daniel Guile, George Howell, Loyd Jones, George Potter, and
Robert Newton; Mr. Macdonald, M.P., and Mr. Burt, M.P.,
having been prevented from attending. And on the part of
your Committee there were Lord Houghton, Professor Rogers,
Mr. Samuel Brown, Mr. W. A. Hamilton, Mr. Frank Fellows,
and Professor Leone Levi.
Many are the works and documents bearing on the questions
at issue. Of an official character we have the Report of the
Royal Commission appointed “ to inquire into and report upon
he organization and rules of Trade Unions and other associa
tions, whether of workmen and employers and to inquire into
and report on the effects produced by such Trade Unions and
associations on the workmen and employers and on the relations
between workmen and employers and on the trade and industry
of the country.” Of an unofficial character we have the Report
of the Committee of the Social Science Association “on the
objects and constitution of Trade Societies, with their effects
upon wages and upon the industry and commerce of the country.”
Of special works we have the late lamented Professor Cairnes’
“ Leading Principles of Political Economy,” Mr. Thomas
Brassey’s “Work and Wages,” and Professor Leone Levi’s
“Wages and Earnings of the Working Classes.”
The chief functions of Combinations, whether of Capital or
Labour, being to operate on wages, your Committee were
anxious to ascertain by what criterion the parties interested
ordinarily judge of the sufficiency or insufficiency of existing
wages. The first test of the sufficiency of wages is the re
lation they bear to the cost of the necessaries of life. “The
minimum of wages,” said Prof. Rogers, “ is the barest possible
amount upon which a workman can be maintained ; that
which, under the most unfavourable circumstances, a man is
able to obtain.” But the minimum thus estimated can only be,
and is, submitted to under circumstances of extreme necessity.
“ I believe the minimum rate of wages,” said one of the repre
sentatives of labour, “ is that which, under the worst circum
stances, the worst workman gets from the worst master.” We
cannot, therefore, take the minimum rates so considered as a
proper basis for the sufficiency of wages. How far insufficient
wages in relation to the cost of living in the U nited Kingdom is
�APPENDIX.
139
a cause of the large emigration which is taking place fiom year
to year it is not possible to establish ; * but, doubtless the pros
pect held out in the distant Colonies and in the United States
of America of considerable improvement has been for some
time past and still is a strong inducement. to those m receipt of
insufficient wages in this country to emigrate to other lands
Your Committee are desirous to point out in connection with
this question that not only has the cost of some of the principal
necessaries of life greatly risen within the last twenty years but
that in consequence of the general increase of comfort and
luxury many articles of food, drink, and dress must now be
counted as necessaries which some years ago were far beyond
the reach of the labouring classes ; whilst house rent, especiallyadapted for the labouring classes, is considerably dearer. If,
therefore, the cost of living be taken as a guide to he rate of
wages, it would not be enough to take into account the cost of
the mere necessaries of life. A higher standard of living having
been established, it would be indispensable to compare the
wages of labour to such higher standard. Your Committee are
not satisfied, however, that it is possible to regulate wages
according to the scale of comfort or luxury which may be
introduced among the people, and are compelled to assert that
it is an utter fallacy to imagine that wages will rise or fall m
relation to the cost which such supposed necessaries or indul
gences may entail.
.
,
A better test of the sufficiency of wages is the relation they
bear to the state of the labour market; and tested by that
standard the minimum rate of wages which workmen are at
any time prepared to accept is the least which they think they
are entitled to have under existing circumstances, the 1 rade
Unions guiding them, as to the state of trade and the value of
labour at the time. Unfortunately, however, what workmen
think themselves entitled to have does not always correspond
with what employers find themselves able to grant. Primarily
the wages of labour are'determined, by the. amount of capital
available for the purpose of wages in relation to the number
of labourers competing for the same. But the amount ot
capital employed in any industry is itself governed by con
siderations of the relation of the cost of production to the
market price of the produce—that is, to the price which the
.consumer is able or willing to give for the same : the cost of
production including the cost of materials, the value ot capital,
the cost of superintendence, and the wages of labour.
* The average number of emigrants in the last ten years from the United
Kingdom, from 1862 to 1873, was 239,000 per annum. In 1873, the total
number was 310,612, and in 1874, 241, 014. The emigration to the United
States decreased from 233,073 in 1873, to 148,161 in 1874.
�140
APPENDIX.
Objection has been taken at the Conference to this method
for arriving at the rate of wages ; and it was urged that instead
of taking the price of the article produced, or the interest of
the consumer, as the basis of the calculation, the first ingredient
in the cost of the article should be the price to be paid to the
workman in producing it. But a serious consideration will
show that the employer cannot ignore what the consumer can
or will pay any more than the share which the value of capital,
the cost of superintendence, and the cost of the materials have
upon the cost of production ; for he must cease producing
altogether if he cannot both meet the ability of the consumer
to purchase his article and successfully compete with the
producers of other countries. Your Committee think that it is
not in the power of the employer to control the proportion of
the different elements in the cost of production, each of them
being governed by circumstances peculiar to itself. The value
of Capital, as well as the value of the raw materials, is regu
lated by the law of supply and demand, not only in this
country, but in the principal markets of the world. The cost
of superintendence and the wages of labour are likewise governed
by the relation of the amount of capital to the number seeking
to share in the different employments. The employed say,
“'We must have certain wages. We care for nothing else.
Labour is our property. We set our value upon it. If you
will have our labour you must pay what we ask for it. And
if such wages should require a rise in the market price, let the
consumer pay it.” What however, if the consumer will not
or cannot pay sufficient price to enable the employer to pay
such wages ? What, if he can get the article cheaper else
where ? Must not production cease if there be no market ?
And where will be the wages if there be no production? Nor
should it be forgotten that a general rise of wages producing
an increase of the cost of all the commodities of life reacts on
the masses of the people, and thus far neutralizes the benefit
of higher wages.
Disagreements between employers and employed are often
produced on the subject of wages by the fact that all the
elements of the case are not within the cognizance of both
parties ; experience showing that in making a demand for an
advance of wages, or for resisting a fall, workmen are of
necessity groping in the dark as to the real circumstances of
the case. One of the chief advantages supposed to result from’
the organization of Trade Unions is the competency of their
leaders to give solid and practical advice to those interested,
as to the condition of the labour market; and we have no
doubt that this duty is in the main honestly performed, but it is
very much to expect that such leaders should universally possess
�APPENDIX.
141
laive and liberal views enough to vindicate the exercise of their
enormous power, and such constant and accurate knowledge
of the multiple facts of the case as would enable them to
exercise an almost infallible authority. On the other hand,
were it possible for employers, who are not in the dark in such
matters, to make known to their own workmen the grounds of
the action they propose taking before the resolve is carried
into execution, your Committee are convinced that many
disputes would be avoided, and much of the jealousy which
now exists between the parties would be removed. The recent
lock-out in South Wales illustrated the need of such a course.
Had the facts which Lord Aberdare elicited from the principal
colliery firms in Glamorganshire been made known previous
to or simultaneously with the notice of a fall, it is a question
whether such a widespread calamity would have occurred.
It is perhaps a natural but unfortunate circumstance that
employers are seldom found to take the initiative in allowing
a rise in wages when the state of the market permits it as they
are in case of a fall, and spontaneously to offer what they must
sooner or later be compelled to grant. A more prompt and
politic course on their part in this matter would go far to
neutralise the hostile action of Trade Unions.
Your Committee were anxious to ascertain how far is it in
the mind of the employed that the employers obtain for them
selves too large a share of profits at their expense. Your Com
mittee were assured that no such doubts are entertained, though
cases were produced supporting such suspicions by reference to
the time of the great rise in the price of coals in 1873, when
workmen’s wages did not, in the opinion of the representatives
of labour, rise to anything like the proportion of the masters’
profits.* Your Committee admit that in cases of great oscilla
tions in prices, the share participated either by the employers
in the shape of profits, or by the employed in the shape of
wages, may be for a time greater or less than their normal
distribution would justify. And it is possible that some portions
of these extra profits may be unproductively spent or so em
ployed as not to benefit the parties more immediately _ con
cerned, and even used in totally alien speculations. Yet, in the
main, the working classes must receive in one way or another,
a considerable advantage from them, there being .no doubt that
the largest portion of such extra profits will be reinvested in the
* Mr. Halliday’s evidence before the Committee of the House of
Commons on coals, was that, though the custom was to give to work
men a portion of any rise of prices in the shape of increasing wages,
the proportion being an additional 2d. a day for every 10L a ton, the
rise in wages was often id. per ton only and sometimes nothing, whilst
when the price rose ar. 6d. to 55. a ton the wages were only increased 3^.
a day.
�142
APPENDIX.
ordinary industries of the country. In the end, however, wages
and profits will be divided among the producers in proper pro
portions, and if at any time profits or wages should be larger
than they ought to be, we may be quite sure that ere long the
competition of capitalists will tend either to the lowering of
prices or the raising of wages so as to make profits and wages
gravitate towards each other.
Immediately allied to the question of the determination of a
minimum of wages is that of their uniformity. In the opinion
of many Trade Unions, all workmen of average ability in any
trade should earn the same wages, the average ability of each
man being understood to have been determined in advance by
the fact of his being admitted as a member of the Union. But
a man is subject to no examination, and is generally admitted
upon the testimony of those who have worked with him, whose
evidence must frequently be fallacious and insufficient. Nor
does it appear that the rejection is absolutely certain even if
the applicant should not be deemed a man of average ability,
the acceptance or rejection of the party being always optional
with the lodge to which he is introduced. Your Committee are
therefore not satisfied that any guarantees exist that every
member of a Union is able to earn a fair day’s wages for a
fair day’s work ; and they cannot, therefore, agree in the pro
position that all workmen should be entitled to uniform wages
on the ground of uniform ability. But another reason has been
alleged for the uniformity of wages—which is still less tenable
than the former—viz., a supposed uniformity of production in
dependent of skill. The right of the workman to a uniform
standard of wages was stated to be the production of an article
which, though demanding less skill to perform, is of equal
utility and is proportionally as profitable to the employer.
Your Committee must, however, entirely demur to the principle
that, in the apportionment of wages, no account should be
taken of the skill brought to bear on the execution of the task,
since a system of that nature would act as a premium on in
feriority of workmanship. Again, by another test should the
right of each individual to earn certain wages be determined,
and that is by his productive capacity. Professor Levi asked
whether that was taken into account when the workman was
assumed to be of average ability ; and the answer was that the
amount of production depended largely upon the skill. “ The
more skilful a man is the more he will produce.” But whilst, in
so far as this answer was correct, it contradicted the principle
embodied in the preceding test, the answer itself did not take
sufficiently into account that skill is not the only element in
effectiveness of labour. There are qualities of mind, judgment,
and even of heart, disposition, and of moral character, which
�APPENDIX.
143
go far to increase or diminish the efficiency of labour ; and of
such qualities the employer is, of necessity, a far better judge
than any Union can be. That under ordinary circumstances
wages in any trade should tend to uniformity is quite possible.
The facility of communication and the extension of intercourse
of necessity equalise prices and wages : but any attempt to
compel uniformity of wages among any large number of men
of varied capacity must of necessity prove a source of dis
appointment. Much, again, may be said in favour of a common
standard of wages in any industry, as avoiding the embarrass
ment necessarily encountered in any attempt to adjust the
rate to the exact worth of each individual. Yet it is impossible
to ignore the fact that, whilst a uniform rate is sure to operate
unjustly in favour of persons who may be wanting in fairness
of dealing or capacity for workmanship, in the nature of things
it is almost incapable to exist over a wide area, having regard
to the varieties in the prices of fuel, carriage, house accommo
dation, or of the means of livelihood, as well as in the cost of
raw materials and in the processes employed as affecting the
rate of production of each individual. On the whole, your
Committee find that an absolute uniformity in the rate of wages
in any trade, though to a certain extent convenient, is neither
just nor practicable, whilst any effort to compel uniformity in
the amount of earnings of any number of individuals must
prove fallacious and wrong as an illegitimate interference with
the rights of industry.
A still more important question in connection with the subject
is how far Combination of any kind can affect permanently or
temporarily the rate of wages. Upon this, as might be ex
pected, the most divergent opinions are held by the repre
sentatives of Capital and Labour. The employers of labour,
standing on the solid principles of political economy, deny that
Combinations can under any circumstances affect the rates of
wages, at least in any permanent manner. The argument
adduced being that if workmen are entitled to higher wages
they are sure to get them, since, under the law of supply and
demand, whenever it is found that profits trench unduly upon
wages fresh capital is sure to be introduced, which provides for
the raising of wages. The employed, on the other hand, con
fidently appeal to past experience, and point out the fact that
almost every increase of wages has been due to the action of
Trade Unions. They say that without Combination workmen
cannot secure the market price for their labour, but are to a
certain extent at the mercy of their employers. That in trades
where one establishment employs a large number of workmen
the employers can discharge a single workman with compara
tively slight inconvenience, while the workman loses his whole
�144
APPENDIX.
means of subsistence. That without the machinery of Com
bination the workmen, being dependent upon their daily work
for their daily bread, cannot hold on for a market.
Your Committee are not prepared to deny that Combinations
can render useful service in matters of wages; but they think
that it is impossible for them to frustrate or alter the operations
of the laws of supply and demand, and thereby to affect per
manently the rates of wages. Combination may hasten the
action of those laws which would undoubtedly, though perhaps
more slowly, operate their own results. The limited power of
Combinations is in effect admitted by the workmen themselves.
“We do not say,” said one of the workmen’s representatives,
“ that Trade Unions can absolutely interfere with supply and
demand, because, when trade is very bad, they cannot obtain
the standard ; when it is good they easily raise the standard.
What they do is, they enable workmen sooner to strike at the
right time for a general advance. They get the advance sooner
than if they were an undisciplined mob, having no common
understanding. And when trade is receding, the common
understanding enables workmen to resist the pressure put upon
them by their employers. It helps them in both ways, and the
workmen find they can act together beneficially.” The ground
here taken by the working-men is not at variance with sound
economic principles. But there is yet another way in which
Trade Unions may prove useful, and that is by rendering wages
more sensitive to the action of the state of the market, and so
preventing the influence of custom to stand in the way of the
operation of supply and demand ; for there are such occupa
tions, as agriculture, where custom often exercises imperious
rule even upon wages. As has been well said by M. Batbie,
Wages do not change unless the causes for the change exercise
a strong influence. If the conditions of supply and demand do
not undergo a great change, wages continue the same by the
simple force of custom. The variations of wages are not like
those of a thermometer, where the least clouds are marked,
where one can read the smallest changes of temperature. They
may rather be compared to those bodies which do not become
heated except under the action of an elevated temperature, and
remain quite insensible to the slight modifications of the atmo
sphere. Until a great perturbation takes place in the conditions
of supply and demand, no one would think of changing the rate
of wages.” * After making every allowance your Committee
cannot admit that Combinations have any power either to raise
permanently the rate of wages or to prevent their fall when the
conditions of trade require the same, as recent experience abun* See M. Batbie's article on "Salaries in Bloek's Dictionnaire de la
Politique."
�APPENDIX.
145
dantly shows, and, whilst admitting that Combinations may be
beneficial in accelerating the action of economic laws, your
Committee cannot be blind to the fact that they produce a
state of irritation and discontent which often interferes with
the progress of production.
Limited as is the power of Combinations to affect the rates
of wages, still more limited is their power to affect materially the
progress of productive industry. The Royal Commission on
Trade Unions reported that it was extremely difficult to deter
mine how far Unions have impeded the development of trade,
whether by simply raising prices or by diverting trade from cer
tain districts, or from this to foreign countries. The representa
tives of capital at the conference alluded to, endeavoured to
prove that certain branches of trade have permanently been
injured by the Unions. Whether the fact can be established or
not, it is undeniable that British trade has enormously increased
within the last twenty years, and that the exports of manufac
tured goods are on a larger scale now than they were at any
former period.*
What is perhaps most objectionable in Combinations of labour
is the method they often pursue in order to operate on the rates
of wages ; for they are not content with making a collective de
mand on employers for a rise, but endeavour to force it, or resist
a fall, by restricting the supply of labour and increasing the need
of it. One such method, explained at the Conference, seems to
your Committee peculiarly objectionable. A representative of
Labour said that when depression of trade comes, by means
of associated funds the men are able to say to the surplus
labourers, “ Stand on one side—you are not wanted for the time
being. If you go on with your labour at half-price, it will not
mend the trade; we will not let you become a drug on the
market, putting every other man down, but we will sustain you.”
In three years, your Committee were informed, over £100,000
was thus paid for unemployed labour, in the hope that undue
fall in wages would be prevented by keeping labourers out of
* The following were the quantities of some of the principal articles of
British produce and manufacture exported from the United Kingdom in
1854 and 1874 ;—
Coal and Coke ...
Copper
Cotton Yarn
Cotton Manufacture
Iron
...............
Worsted Manufacture
1854
tons 4,309,000
cwts. 274,000
lbs. 147,128,000
yds. 1,692,899,000
tons 1,175,000
yds. 133,600,000
Increase
per cent.
1874
13,927,000
709,000
220,599,000
3,606,639,000
2,487,000
261,000,000
223
159
49
”3
112
71
The total value of British produce exported increased from £135,891,000
in i860 to £239,558,000 in 1874 or at the rate of 76 per cent.
IO
�146
APPENDIX.
the market. Your Committee are of opinion that the artificial
prevention of a fall of wages when such a fall is necessary and
inevitable, is economically wrong, and can only have the effect of
still more injuring the condition of workmen, since by so doing
they only throw hindrances in the way of production, which is
the parent of all wages. Equally objectionable in your Com
mittee’s opinion, as interfering with the freedom of labour and
with the general economy of production, is every regulation of
such Trade Unions that excludes from employment in the trades
all who have not been regularly apprenticed, or any rule which
should set a limit to the number of apprentices. Professor
Cairnes, commenting on the monopoly thus advocated by Trade
Unions, said, “ It is a monopoly, moreover, founded on no prin
ciple either of moral desert or of industrial efficiency, but simply
on chance or arbitrary selection ; and which, therefore, cannot
but exert a demoralizing influence on all who come within its
scope—in all its aspects presenting an. ungracious contrast to all
that is best and most generous in the spirit of modern demo
cracy.”
The only other question on which your Committee will report
is whether an artificial restriction of labour, or of capital, can
under any circumstances be economically right or beneficial. It
is, indeed, scarcely necessary to say that any restriction of
Labour or of Capital, having the effect of limiting production,
must of necessity prove injurious. Yet it may be a point for
consideration whether under certain circumstances it may not be
better for either Labour or Capital to submit to the evil of re
striction in order to avoid a still greater evil, of producing at a
loss, or working at rates of wages not sufficiently remunerative.
The labourers justify their proceedings in this respect by refer
ence to the practice of producers. One of the representatives of
labour, speaking on this subject, said :—“No doubt there.is not
a working man in Lancashire who would not say that limitation
was an injury. Generally that there should be the largest pos
sible production in a given time is no doubt a true law, but every
trade must regulate that according to its own necessities. The
ironmaster blows out his furnaces when an increased production
would injure; the cotton manufacturer runs his manufactory short
time ; and the labourer limits the production.” There is little or
no difference in the relative position of Capital and Labour as
respects their need of continuous production. Primarily, both
employer and employed alike depend upon production as the
only source for profits and wages. Whilst the employers have
the maximun interest in producing as much as possible, from the
fact that the fixed capital which they cannot withdraw would lie
dormant and unproductive while the forge or mill is silent, the
employed find it thier interest to aid in such production inas-
�APPENDIX.
147
much as they depend upon it for their means of subsistence.
The argument of the employed against a proposal for a reduction
of wages is expressed in the words, “ If you have too much of an
article in the market and you cannot sell, I would rather limit
the quantity in your hands than aggravate the evil and take less
money for it.” But by refusing to work when the employer is
able or willing to continue producing, or by not submitting him
self to accept lower wages when the inevitable law of supply
and demand compels the same, the employed only aggravates
his own position, whilst he places the employer in a still worse
strait; the certain consequence of the withdrawal of labour being
to discourage production, to enhance the cost, and to increase
the difficulty of foreign competition—injurious alike to the pro
ducer and to the whole community.
A frequent source of contention between employers and
employed is the mode of paying wages—viz., by time, such as
by the day or hour, or by piecework. There appears to be no
uniform practice on the subject. While in some branches of
industry the rule is to pay wages by piecework, in other branches
the rule is to pay by time—the reason probably being that whilst
in some branches it is easy to establish a scale of prices at
which the work is to be paid for, in other branches such a scale
could not easily be framed. In so far as the method of pay
ment can be considered to affect production, it seems to your
Committee that whilst payment by piecework is likely to pro
mote quantity of production, payment by time is more likely
to promote precision of execution. Your Committee cannot
believe what has often been alleged, that payment by piecework
is often offered to conceal any reduction of wages. If honestly
acted upon on either side, payment by piecework has, in the
opinion of your Committee, all the elements of fair justice. But
the question in any case is not of sufficient importance to justify
a breach of the friendly relation which should exist between
Capital and Labour. When either party has any decided prefer
ence for one system, it seems advisable that the other party
accept the same.
The economic effects of Strikes and Lock-outs are well known,
and it matters but little which party in the contest in the end
may prove successful. In recent years Strikes and Lock-outs
have occurred among coal and iron miners, the building trade,
engineers, the cotton trade, ship-builders, and most of the trades
and industries of the country, each and all of which have caused
serious losses on the community at large. In the opinion of
your Committee a well-devised system of conciliation is the only
proper and legitimate method of solving labour disputes. And
your Committee cannot too strongly express their sense of the
grave responsibility which rests on either employers or em-
�148
APPENDIX.
ployed when, regardless of consequences, they resort to a step
so vexatious and destructive as a strike or lock-out.
Your Committee are of opinion that the British Association
will confer a lasting benefit if, on its pilgrimage in the principal
industrial towns in the United Kingdom, it will seize every
opportunity for the enunciation of sound lessons of political
economy on the questions in agitation between employers and
employed. It.was suggested to your Committee that workmen
should be admitted to the meetings of Section F at a reduced
rate, and they commend the proposal to the consideration of
the Council. Your Committee would also recommend to the
Council to urge on Her Majesty’s Government the importance
of promoting, as far as possible, the study of political economy,,
and especially of those branches of industrial economy which
most intimately concern the industry, manufactures, and com
merce of the country. Your Committee have learned with
pleasure that the Cobden Club are prepared to offer some
encouragement for the teaching of political economy to the
labouring classes, and your Committee would suggest that the
Chambers of Commerce might advantageously take similar
means in the great centres of commerce and manufacture. In
the opinion of your Committee, a proper sense of the necessity
and utility of continuous labour, an earnest desire for the
achievement of excellence in wTorkmanship in every branch 01
industry, and a keen and lively interest on the part of one and
all to promote national prosperity, are the best safeguards against
the continuance of those disturbances between Capital and
Labour which have of late become of such hindrance to success
ful production. In the great contest which Britain has to wage
with other industrial nations, it is the interest of both masters
and men to be very careful, lest by raising the prices of British
produce and manufacture too high they should no longer be able
to carry the palm in the arena of international competition.
Your Committee regret the death of their much-esteemed
member, Mr. Samuel Brown, who took an active part in the
proceedings. Professor Fawcett, M.P., was unable to act.
But your Committee have pleasure in reporting that the Right
Hon. Lord O’Hagan, Mr. Thomas Brassey, M.P., and Mr. A. J.
Mundella, M.P., were added to the Committee.
LEONE LEVI,
Secretary.
Augusty 1875.
�INDEX
Agricultural Industry, condi
tion for progress of, 19
Arbitration -versus Strikes, 94
British Workman, characteristics
of, 7
— productive power of, 8
Butter, consumption of, in 1844 and
1875, 11
Bacon, consumption of, in 1844 and
1875, 11
Building Societies, object of, 120
— permanent and terminating, 120
Competition, foreign effects of
machinery on, 32
Capital, production in England of,
33
— causes which arrested the growth
of, 34
, .
— difficulty of accumulating, 35
— obstacles to the diffusion of, 35
— what is ? 36
— amount employed of, 41
— what determines the investment
of, 41
— proportions of, distributed in
production, 42
— stoppage of, accumulation of, 43
— consumption of, 44
•— exportation of, 44
— abuse of, 46
— relation of, to labour, 49
— distribution of, between masters
and men, 51
— and labour, partnership of, 51
Capitalists, how regarded, 68
Combinations, Old Laws on, 67
Co-operative Societies, for produc
tion and distribution, 123
Co-operative Societies, advantages
of, 124
Day's work, what is it? 5
Division of labour, advantages of, 23
— disadvantages of, 24
Drunkenness, means of surmount
ing, 105
Drink, amount expended in, 109
Education, necessary for produc
tion, 12
— technical, advantages of, 13
England as a field of labour, 15
Employers’ calculation of wages, 52
— duties towards employed, 54
— profits, 60
— risks of, 61
— power to amass wealth, 62
Earnings, of workmen, sources of, 99
— collective, what, 100
Expenditure of workmen, distribu
tion of, 103
— economy in, 104
Earnings of workmen, total amount
of, 108
Expenditure of workmen, total
amount of, 108
French workman, characteristics
of, 6
Food and drink, consumption of, in
England, n
— expenditure of workmen in, 104
Firing and lighting, expenditure cf
workmen in, 104
Friendly Societies, objects of, 118
— amount invested in, 119
German
of, 6
workman,
characteristics
�150
INDEX.
Health necessary for production, 8
Houses, healthiness of, 9
— high rents of, 9
Home, advantages of, 10
Home industry, condition of, 18
Hand loom and power loom, 18
Italian workman, characteristics
of, 7
Insurance (life), benefits of, 121
— amount insured, 122
— Government, 122
Labour, pleasures of, 1
— necessity of, 2
— value of, 3
— productive and unproductive, 3
— manual and mental, 4
— condition for the efficient dis
charge of, 5
— dangers attending, 8
— duration of, 12
— skilled and unskilled, 12
— division of, 22
— need of capital to, 37
— reward of, 49
— relation of, to capital, 49
— supply and demand of regu
lating, 57
— difficulties of, in contending
wages with capital, 70
Lancashire, progress of, 19
Liverpool, increase of, 20
Labourers capitalists, 45
Morals an element in production, 14
Manufacture, divorcement of, from
agriculture, 19
Manchester, increase of, 20
Machinery, advantages of, 25
— character of, 26
■—■ effects of, 27
— relations of, to wages, 30, 61
— exports of, 31
Minimum wages, limits to, 85
Natural powers, utility of labour to,
37
r ,
Needlewomen, low wages of, 56
Overtime, action of Trade Unions
on, 73
Pauperism, rate of, in 1849 and
1875.- 11
Production on a large scale, advan
tages of, 22
— machinery of, 50
—• requirements for, 52
— cost of, 52
Population, increase of, effect of, on
wages, 57
Piecework, payment by, 78
Pay, what, 98
Poor Law, effects of, 100
— in Sweden, 101
— France, 101
— Belgium, 101
— Eberfeld, 101
Post Office Savings Banks, amount
in, 114
Swiss Workman, characteristic
of, 7
Steam-power, advantages of, 21
Strikes and lock-outs, chances of, 85
— what, 86
— causes of, 86
— supposed advantages of, 87
— means to avoid, 88
— how promoted by Trade Unions,
90
— circumstances attending, 91
— effects of, 85
— cost of, 92
— losses caused by, 93
— arbitration or conciliation, 'versus,
94
Saving, duty of all respecting, 112
— first steps in, 112
Savings Banks, history of, 113
— amount invested in, 115
— post office and trustees, 116
— amount per head in England and
Wales, 117
— Scotland, 117
— Ireland, 117
— France, 117
— Holland, 117
— Belgium, 117
— Austria, 117
— Germany, 117
— Switzerland, 117
Tea, consumption of, in 1844 and
1875, 11
Trade Unions, limits of usefulness
of, 68
— limits of rights of, 69
— constitutional defects of, 70
— membership of, 71
�INDEX.
Trades Unions, councils of, 71
— fees in. 72
— objects of, 72
— monopoly of, 72
— objection of, to overtime, 73
— operation of, on wages, 74
— effects of, on foreign competi
tion, 82
— effects of, on the character of
workmen, 83
— and benefit funds. 84
— rules of, respecting strikes, 88
Tobacco, expenditure of workmen
in, 104
Taxation, effects of, on workmen,
108
Workmen, united labour and pro
duction of, 5
— difference of skill among, 5
Wheat and wheat flour, consump
tion of, in 1844 and 1875, 11
Wealth, benefits of. 46
Wages, what are, 51
— relation of, to profits, 53
Workman, interest of employer in,
54 ,
Wages, lowering of, 54
— minimum rate of what, 55
— of artisans, 58
— what are the elements of, 58
— cost of, 58
Wage-fund, theory of, 60
Wages, effects of machinery on, 61
— uniformity of, 62, 71
— use of, 64
— effect of war on, 65
— attempt to regulate by law, 65
— effects of prohibition tariffs on,
65
— effects of Poor Law on, 65
— how affected by Trades Unions,
76
Working-classes, Budgets of, 96
Wages in money and in kind, 99
Workmen, taxes affecting, 107
Hazell, Watson, & Viney, Printers, London & Aylesbury.
��
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A collection of digitised nineteenth-century pamphlets from Conway Hall Library & Archives. This includes the Conway Tracts, Moncure Conway's personal pamphlet library; the Morris Tracts, donated to the library by Miss Morris in 1904; the National Secular Society's pamphlet library and others. The Conway Tracts were bound with additional ephemera, such as lecture programmes and handwritten notes.<br /><br />Please note that these digitised pamphlets have been edited to maximise the accuracy of the OCR, ensuring they are text searchable. If you would like to view un-edited, full-colour versions of any of our pamphlets, please email librarian@conwayhall.org.uk.<br /><br /><span><img src="http://www.heritagefund.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/attachments/TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" width="238" height="91" alt="TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" /></span>
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Work and pay; or, principles of industrial economy. Two courses of lectures delivered to working men in King's College, London. With report of the Committee of the British Association on Combinations of Labourers and Capitalists
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Levi, Leone [1821-1888]
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Place of publication: London
Collation: 151 p. ; 20 cm.
Notes: Part of the NSS pamphlet collection. Includes bibliographical references and index. Printed by Hazell, Watson & Visey, London and Aylesbury. Appendix A: Statement of the weekly expenditure of a family ...whose total wages averaged thirty shillings per week ... B: Budgets of the Working Classes. C: Report of the Committee of the British Association for the Advancement of Science and Combinations of Capital and Labour.
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Strahan and Co., Limited
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1877
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Labour
Industry
Trade Unions
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<a href="http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/"><img src="http://i.creativecommons.org/p/mark/1.0/88x31.png" alt="Public Domain Mark" /></a><span> </span><br /><span>This work (Work and pay; or, principles of industrial economy. Two courses of lectures delivered to working men in King's College, London. With report of the Committee of the British Association on Combinations of Labourers and Capitalists), identified by </span><a href="https://conwayhallcollections.omeka.net/items/show/www.conwayhall.org.uk"><span>Humanist Library and Archives</span></a><span>, is free of known copyright restrictions.</span>
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Industrial Organisation (Economic Theory)
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Trades Unions
Wages
Work
Working Class-Great Britain
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335
LLO
PRICE ONE PENNY.
THE
!
I NEW CONSCIENCE,
:
OR
RELIGION OF LABOUR.
j
BY
■
HENRY D. ILLOYD.
Reprinted by permission from the “ North American
Review f and Revised by the Author.
•
EDITION.
THIRD
LONDON :
Published for the New Fellowship, at 34, Great Ormond
Street, W.C.
1893.
No. 6.
Fellowship Series.
��Four hundred years before the workingman of Nazareth
in behalf of the toilers of the world came to deliver his
message of love and a sword, a new conscience stirred
some obscure heart in Greece to speak for liberty for the
labourer.
Plato was dreaming of the elevation of man through
impossible Republics and preposterous stirpiculture, and
had no ear for this new voice. But Aristotle, man of
science, knowing that the humblest of opinions may come
to be the biggest of facts, puts it on record, though
evidently merely as an eccentricity of contemporary
thought. “ There are some,” he says, “ who think that it
is only the fashion of despotic government which makes
one man a slave and another free, and that the tie must be
unjust because it is founded in force.” His was one of the
greatest of minds, but it never divined that in this whisper
of the new conscience of a few nameless Greeks lay the
full diapason of a cry, before which would fall many a wall
of citadeled oppression, built on sand because founded on
force : unjust and therefore unsound. That still small
voice rolls around the world, shaking the oppressor out of
his seat, whether king, priest, man-stealer or monopolist.
To the accompaniment of the guns of Fort Sumter and the
Wilderness it sang the chorus of union and liberty, which
Lincoln in 1861 heard sounding forth from the mystic
chords of the American heart. Those unknown Greeks
were the first Abolitionists. Lincoln signed only a chapter
of the emancipation which they proclaimed, and that not
the last chapter. Ceaseless growth means ceaseless
emancipation. The symphony Lincoln heard plays on.
One by one the cries of imprisoned and imprisoner blend
into the strains of a widening freedom.
�THE NEW CONSCIENCE.
4
It is the fashion of scholars to speak of the Greek
intellect, the Roman will, the Hebrew conscience. The
Hebrew had a conscience, not because he was a Hebrew,
but because he was a man. The same birthright belongs
to the Greek and to all of us. It was the voice of con
science, “ that prophetic sign of my divine monitor,” which
always spoke to Socrates when what he was about to do
would be wrong, and by the same revelation God wrote
the Ten Commandments on the hearts of men before they
were graven on the tables of stone.
Fichte says that the greater the wealth and rank the
greater the vice. Seldom does the new conscience, when
it seeks a teacher to declare to men what is is wrong,
find him in the dignitaries of the church, the state, the
culture that is. The higher the rank, the closer the tie
that binds those to what is, but ought not to be. It is the
tramp, Christ, who has not where to lay his head, the
peasant Luther, the poor mechanic William Lloyd
Garrison, who are free to listen to new truth, and brave
and free to speak the words that lead men out of old
church, and old state, and old industry. The new con
science which warns civilisations to do justice to the
workingmen, has always encountered the opposition of the
mighty ones of earth. If this spirit of love and liberty
stirred in the heart of any Jews of the old dispensation,
their priests, unlike the scientific observer of Athens, let
the fact find no record in their scriptures. Aristotle
declared that no man could be a workingman and lead
a life of virtue. In ancient times, learned, pious,
patriotic, noble, all agreed that the victor who had the
r’ght to kill had the right to command, and that he who
was given his life had no right to demand his liberty.
Lawyers invented the doctrine that the slave could not
buy his freedom, for the money he proffered for it must be
his master’s. The early Christian Church did not so much
disapprove of slavery as of the enslavement of its own
members.1 In the United States religious synods voted
that the slavery agitation should be suppressed by laying
on the table, unread, all petitions, resolutions, and other
papers about it, and Evangelical Alliances forbade young
people to dance, but refused to declare it sinful for a bishop
�5
THE NEW CONSCIENCE.
to hold slaves. Boston hissed the fanatic who declared
that the theatre would receive the gospel of anti-slavery
truth earlier than the churches. But in two years slaves
on the stage in “Uncle Tom” shot their hunters amid
loud applause, while the pulpit remained silent or hostile.
As for property, its broadcloth mobs attacked meetings of
women for proclaiming the new freedom, dragged
Garrison. through the streets of Boston to hang him for
maintaining the right of the black workingman to fuller
growth, and its Presidents and Supreme Court Judges ran
with the bloodhounds to catch the fugitive labourer. The
courts then, as now, made many things successful which
they can never make respectable.
When the subject of the extension of slavery in the
territories was before Congress, a Southern member
arose and told how he loved his black “ mammy.” He
had been nursed at her breast with her own black baby.
“ I love that black mammy,” the Southern member
fervently exclaimed, “ and when I go into Nebraska I
want to take her with me.” “ We do not object,” said
Ben Wade, “to your taking your black mammy with you
to Nebraska; but we don’t mean to let you flog her or sell
her when you get there.” Pro-Slavery law and order
easily proved that to buy and sell workingmen in the
market was constitutional, pious, profitable, based on
contract, benign. All that the new conscience equid reply
was : “ Hear the whistling of that lash, that drip
o
*f
blood,
the cries of that mother, the cries of the children ; see
those empty homes, those human faces twisted out of
shape, master’s as well as man’s.”
It was ridiculous, was it not, to meet those judges and
bishops and millionaires and great editors with this talk
about the lash, and blood, and the sacredness of the
persons of working men and working women ? There'
was no argument in it, only sentiment. The gravestones
of Arlington and Gettysburg prove that sentiment can
*
*
force a hearing.
There came a day when the black mammy could not be
sold or flogged, at home or abroad, when families could
* National Cemeteries in which the soldiers killed in the Civil
War are buried.
�6
THE NEW CONSCIENCE.
not be torn asunder at the auction block, when the great
brothel was closed where half a million of women were
flogged to prostitution, or worse still, degraded to believe
it honourable, when a professedly Christian nation ceased
to deny, by statute, the Bible to every sixth man and
woman of its population. This was what the new con
science did for the slaves with the help of religion, but
against the opposition of the church ; with the help of
the spirit of justice, but against the opposition of lawyers,
judges and legislatures ; with the help of the true science
of labour, but against the efforts of the economists and
capitalists. After all is over, lawyer, priest, professor,
and money-maker find that they were wrong and con
science right, that the theory that treated men and brothers
as chattels or goods was illegal, unjust, irreligious, un
economical, and wealth-destroying.
For twenty-three hundred years the argument never
reached a higher plane than that attained by the forgotten
Greeks, who held that they were unnatural ties which were
founded on force. This revolt against ties founded on
force finds another echo, in the aspirations and ideals of
those who are to-day seeking for themselves and others
the right to work in secure tenure of employment, to live as
long a life as their neighbours live, to live it as freely and
to rear healthfully and happily children to live after them.
It was the force of battle that overcame the labourer of
the old régime ; it is the force of the market that subdues
the labourer of to-day. The tie between the labourer and
the master is still one of force, although it is not now one
of visible chains. You say, “The labourer is free, he
consents.” Yes, free as the captive was—to work for
what he can get or die. Like him he consents to save his
life, or, more accurately, a part of his life. The Con
gressional Committee, investigating the strike of the
Reading Railroad’s men, asked General Manager Whiting,
as reported by the Associated Press : “ Have you made no
effort to supply the places of the striking miners ? ”
“No, sir.”
“ Why ?”
“ Because we desire and expect our old men to come
�THE NEW CONSCIENCE.
7
“ On your own terms ? ”
“ At the old rates, yes.”
“What force do you rely upon to bring these men
luack ? ”
“Well, sir, their necessities.”
It is not by free will that the workingmen of to-day
■work ten, twelve, or fourteen hours, take competitive
wages, live in poor tenements at high rents, spend their
■days as the mere servants or grooms of machinery, and,
sending out their little boys and girls, and their pregnant
wives to work, sacrifice almost everything that makes
-•family life for you and me so sweet. They do not submit
;by consent to live a life not much above half the average
length of that of the prosperous. Workingmen the world
•over are struggling to free themselves by every means of
strikes, protest, organization, even to the desperation of
physical violence. Singular behaviour, is it not, for men
"who are only doing what they want to do? They are
■kept down by force, by the force of competition instead of
■conquest, by the strategy of the generals of supply and
demand. Once it was the force of the wairior, now it is
the force of the capitalist. It was their weakness and the
■strength of others which formerly made the workingmen
merchandise, and force still keeps them at the mercy of
the markets. But the unresting heart of man is always in
-revolt against ties founded on force.’ Yesterday it de•clared that government is the control of man by man, and
7that the rights of rulers are drawn from the consent of the
..governed. To-day it avows that property is the control of
man by man. That the rights of the ruled are the source
■of the rights of the rulers in property as much as in
.government. That if the common people can be allowed
to vote in government, they can be allowed to vote in that
•other government, property. That if they do not insist
•upon their right to vote upon all affairs of property, they
■will lose their right to vote in matters of government.
'That there is no conscience, new or old, which compels
the many to die undeveloped in order that the few may
Hive misdeveloped.
What stirred the warriors’ heart to spare the captive
instead of killing him was the first beat of a new conscience.
�8
THE NEW CONSCIENCE.
When it grew stronger it said: He is more than a com
modity. Grown stronger still, it says to us: His labour is
more than a commodity. The central doctrine of the
slave power was that the labourer was merely merchandise.
The central doctrine of the money power is that labour is
merely merchandise. Society supports the latter, as it did
the former, with the consolidated array of all its institutions
and laws. But both doctrines, and all that is built upon them,
are absolutely destructive not only of the liberties of the
labourer but of the liberties of all. The conscience that said
the labourer shallnot be a commodity though despised of the
builders is now a cornerstone. A new conscience takes its
stand before all our institutions, and says to them: Labour
shall not be a commodity, for the labour is the labourer.
Under the theory of merchantable man the employer
said: My workmen. Under the labour commodity theory
the employer says: My workmen. Neither means mysheep to feed, but my sheep to shear. Congressman
Hutton, of Missouri, says about the Reading strike: “I
am tired of reading about strikes. Capital should be at
liberty to pay whatever it sees fit for labour, and to employ
whom it chooses.” An iron manufacturer lately said: “ If
you employed on a large scale you would soon find that
you ceased to look at your men as men. They are simply
so much ¡producing power.”
If the Captains of Industry can reduce ore to iron only on
these terms of reducing men to units of power, the sooner
the Captains of Industry are discharged, and their places
filled by Brothers of Industry, the better.
Henry Ward Beecher, after the Emancipation of
Slavery, said, amid enthusiastic applause, “We have struck
the shackles from the slave, and made him free and a
citizen. Now he must take care of himself, and work out
his own social and industrial salvation.” “Why? asked
the new conscience, Is he not still your brother ? Because
you have abolished one of the wrongs done him by you,
does that give you the right to maintain the other wrongs t
Are you not still his neighbour? When you work with
him, and divide proceeds into profits and wages, will the
God of Plymouth Church considerately turn his back, so asnot to see whether you love your neighbour as yourself?
�THE NEW CONSCIENCE.
9
The remark of the great pulpit-orator epitomizes the
whole spirit of our civilization towards the labourer.
The ancients bought and sold men; we buy and sell the
heartbeats only. The new theory that though the working
man is not a thing, his labour is a thing, marks but a slight
advance on the old. It means that the labour can be
bought and sold regardless of the man behind it; that the
buyer, the employer, can take any advantage of the seller,
provided he does it under the formulas of supply and
demand; that to buy his life of him cheap and sell it dear
is all we have to do with the labourer; that the only con
science the buyer needs is to observe the rules of the
market; that he can depress or raise prices without moral
responsibility for the backs bent or hearts broken by his
manipulations; that he can take more than he gives,
regardless that the “ goods ” he gets are the lives of workers
who cannot survive if they receive less than they give; that
buyer and seller have a right to deal with each other as if
they were business animals instead of business men. The
labour is the labourer, because the man has to live twentyfour hours in order to be able to work eight or ten. His
heart and head, his thoughts, his wants, his aspirations, all
co-operate to produce the so-called commodity which, at the
sound of the factory bell, is ready to begin the work of the
day. When the man leaves the factory, he but takes the
“ commodity ” away to recuperate his wasted energies for
another day. That which he has left within those walls is
not a thing. It is himself. “ The great fundamental prin
ciple of anti-slavery is that man cannot hold property in
man,” said Garrison, The doctrine that “ labour is a
commodity ” gives man property in man, and is therefore
iniquitous and void. If labour is a commodity, the labourer
is a commodity, and chattel-slavery still exists, freed only
ofall its Biblical and patriarchal restraints, possessed of powers
for abuse more dangerous because indirectly exerted.
If you shall not buy the whole man, you shall not buy or'
sell part of a man. You shall not count into your purses
the ruddy drops, from morn till noon, from noon to dewy
eve, and then say, “ I know not whence they came or how.”
We who “buy” labour, who take the expenditure of
life that labour can part with, and do not return to the
�io
THE NEW CONSCIENCE.
labourer that share in the produce of labour which will
permit him to repair his vitality, maintain a family, attend
to his political duties, save enough for sickness and old age,
have enough for such play and rest as will enable him to
live to his allotted span, are, in the words of the Bible,
“ man-stealers.” In our day and civilization such a man
stealer is as bad and wicked as the slave-holder in his.
We who take from any business profits or interest on
capital, while any of our employees are suffering for want
of means for full growth as individuals, or citizens, are
man-stealers, and we as man-stealers are to-day, as of old,
robbing children of their years of joy, men of their prime,
and mothers of their motherhood. It is no excuse for
merchant or manufacturer or mine-owner or railroad cor
poration that the “ system ” permits, even commands, such
wrongs. Mankind and God never separate the sinner and
sin. The sinners will go down with the “system” if they
don’t change it. The money power so contracts with the
working man, working woman, or working child that it gets
the whole of him or her or it, as Wordsworth says, “ health,
body, mind, and soul,”—it gets the whole twenty-four hours
of him, her, or it—and says, “I cannot share with you
enough to let you live at the rate of twenty-four hours a
day for a natural life. I and my system can find others in
the free labour market so wretched that by themselves
they cannot live a week. They are willing to give me out
right ten hours a day if I will but pay them enough to live
at the rate of fourteen hours a day for the few years their
bodies can stand it. As you know our God is a God of
competition, supply and demand, “free” contract. You
must take the wages the other man will take, or yield to
him your “ sacred right to work.” This may seem hard to
you, but you must admit that it is right, for all our good
and brave business men and their college professors will
easily prove to you that you are not a man, but merely a
seller in the market, and your labour is not your life, only
a commodity. When the employer, the nation, the world of
employers sit in comfort, and the employed are massed in
the tenements whence comes the bitter cry of the outcast,
and where poverty, prostitution, intemperance and prema
ture death are chronic, are they on one side any less the
�THE NEW CONSCIENCE.
ii
oppressors, are those on the other side any less the victims
of force, because the fashionable world says, “ Labour is a
commodity?” The incantations of political economists
cannot cure disease. Conscience cares nothing for the fine
phrases of professors, statesmen, lawyers, clergy, employers,
for their theories and philosophy of business. It says,
“ What have you done ? ” What are the results ? Bother
your theories and doctrines of rights ! Show me the facts,
not the formulas ! It looks at Chicago and New York, at
Cain in his palaces and Abel in the slums, at the profits of
one “ brother ” and the wages of the other. It does not
ask what church de you go to on Sunday, nor who were
your professors in political economy. No, it only repeats
the question asked under similar circumstances some thou
sands of years ago, What hast thou done ? Where is thy
brother?
Let us listen while a delegation from the Money-power
remonstrates with the new conscience for its unreasonable
sentiments and ideas. Here they come, one by one, and
range themselves about. First speaks the Merchant
prince :
I have a right to buy where I can buy cheapest.
Conscience.—See these little stunted hollow-eyed girls
coming out of that factory !
Lawyer.—Wages are settled by contract.
Conscience.—Where can I find white-haired working
men ?
Capitalist.—Every man has a right to do what he will
with his own.
Conscience.—-What is the price of a Senatorship to-day?
Statistician.—Never were food, fuel, clothing so cheap.
Conscience.—Little Mary Mitchell works in Waterbury’s
rope works five days a week, from six in the evening till
six in the morning.
Railroad King.—Every man makes his own career. I
was a working man myself twenty years ago, and now I
keep a carriage, a butler, and several judges and legislators
“ in four States,” and—
Conscience.—That tired-looking man is a conductor of a
sleeping-car belonging to a company owned by half-a-dozen
men worth three hundred million dollars, which is not
�12
THE NEW CONSCIENCE.
enough for them, so they squeeze a few more dollars a
month out of him by making him on every alternate trip
do twenty-eight and a half hours’ continuous work without
sleep.
Banker.—Our wealth is increasing one billion dollars a
year. We have boards of trades, the best railroads in the
world, packing houses that can kill ten thousand hogs.
Conscience.—The sickening stench, the blistered air, the
foul sights of the tenements, and the motherhood and the
childhood choking there !
Conservative.—This is the best government in the world.
America is good enough for me.
Conscience.—Listen to that “ tramp, tramp, tramp” of a
million men out of work.
Philanthropist.—The church is renewing its youth. We
give millions of dollars for hospitals and foreign work and
domestic missions to carry the gospel to the poor of all
nations.
Conscience.—I hear a voice in the Abbey that cries, We
do not want charity; give us work.
Manufacturer.—Without this system of industry the sub
jugation of North America to civilisation would have been
impossible—we could never have shown the world the mag
nificent spectacle of—
Conscience.—There is a little boy standing ten hours a
day up to his ankles in the water in the coal mine !
Coal Monopolist.—I have a statistician who can prove—
he can prove anything—that the working man is a great
deal better off than he ever was, that he makes more than
I do, that small incomes are increasing and large ones
decreasing, and there is no involuntary poverty, and that
the working men could live on twenty-five cents each a day,
and buy up the United States with their savings—and—
Conscience.—How long shall it be cheaper to run over
working men and women at the railroad crossings in the
cities than to put up gates ?
Clergyman.—The poor we are to have with us always.
Conscience.—That sewing woman you see pawning her
shawl has lived this winter with her two children in a
room without fire. Are you wearing one of the shirts she
finished ?
�THE NEW CONSCIENCE.
13
Statesman.—The working man has the ballot and the
newspapers. He is a free citizen.
Conscience.—As the nights grow colder see how the
number of girls on the streets increases!
Now what can a man of affairs, a business man, a reason
able man, one who understands political economy and the
Constitution of the United States and all that do with such
a disputant as this ? The more the pride of America
points to its magnificence, and boasts of its Declaration of
Independence, the more does the new conscience point to
the wrongs and sufferings of these miserable men, women,
and children—and so few of them too !
All extreme cases, you say ? Just so. It was the
possibility of its extreme cases that destroyed slavery. The
possibility of such extreme cases as these demand the
abolition of the system and the philosophy which permits
them.
Upon the false theory that men cease to be brothers
when they buy and sell, upon the theory that employer
and employee are not fellowmen, but merely dealers in a
non-human market, is built up the false society in which we
live. The new industry and finance have put the labour of
mankind under the control of the Money Power, which
declares its right to deal on all sides with men according
to the rules of a prize-ring called Supply and Demand.
Conscienceless and greedy as the old slave power, its
competitive rents give us the slums. Its competitive wages
leave women the choice between suicide of body or
suicide of soul, and tempt men to find in the stimulant
of drink a substitute for the stimulant of food. Professing
the gospel of competition, it imports contract labour, breaks
up trade-unions, employs and disemploys labour in order
to buy cheap of men who have no commodity but them
selves to sell. But when it turns about as seller, it
confronts the buyer with pools, trusts and combinations
denying competition. The revolution of the new industry
and the concentration of wealth have given the Money
Power unlimited means to buy, and the morals which
permit it to buy men as commodities, permit it to buy
everything, even the.things once held too sacred for traffic.
The system that denies the manhood of man in the most
�14
THE NEW CONSCIENCE.
sacred function of all, labour, must deny it in all the
relations based on this foundation. The system which
permits the welfare of the labourer to be settled by
competition, the law of the market, the false claim of
property to do what it will with its own, must allow all
welfare to be settled by the same philosophy. If the
Money Power can make life and the means of life mere
commodities, it makes it right to buy life as cheap as
possible, to sell it as dear as possible. It makes it, when
bought, the buyer’s own. Hence the capitalist’s claim of a
right to do as he will with his own is the claim of a right to
do as he will with human lives. Such a system, and it is
exactly ours, has no moral reserves with which to meet the
Money Power when it applies these principles as it is
doing to-day in every direction to the moral ruin of society.
Just this result is being worked out. The Money Power
with its huge fortunes and corporations built up on the
right to treat life as a mere commodity, more and more
treats everything else as a mere commodity—from the
virtue of employees to that of trustees, public and private.
It refuses to respond when called to account. It simply
asserts its right to buy cheap and sell dear, and to do what
it will with its own. Andrew Carnegie, before the Nine
teenth Century Club, dismisses the labour agitation by
saying in eftect, “Since no man in the United States need
be a pauper unless by his own deliberate act, there is no
labour question.” Must American citizens wait to redress
their wrongs until they have been made veritable paupers
by the Steel Rail Trust and its confederate price con
spiracies? That was not the way of the fathers. The
price of tea in the American Colonies was cheaper after the
imposition of the stamp tax than before. Nothing could be
so light as that—a burden of less than nothing. But
Justice Dana, in the presence of a great assemblage of the
angry townspeople of Boston, standing under the Liberty
Tree, administered an oath to Mr. Secretary Oliver that he
had not distributed and would not distribute the cdious
stamps.
The people of Boston did not wait until they had been
made paupers. “ Enslave but one human being,” said
Garrison, “and the liberties of the world are put in peril.”
�THE NEW- CONSCIENCE.
15
Surrender to the Money Power the right to make but one
price, the control of all prices will surely follow. They
who control the prices of a nation control the liberties of
its markets, and those who control the liberties of its
markets will come to control all its other liberties.
The student of the evolution of freedom from Athens
and Calvary to Appommattox and Trafalgar Square, says,
When you see a cause against which all the powers of
law, church, culture, and wealth are united, there is a
cause worth looking into. If there was nothing in it, why
should all these mighty institutions be so disturbed about
it ? And if you find all customs, statutes, learnings, creeds,
logics, bazaars, and currencies against it, look at it still
more searchingly. All these have always at the first been
united against any new conscience, and have always
conspired against it, even to the death. Let those who
are the great because others are small—let those who are
the happy because others are wretched—let those who are
rich because others are poor—listen out of their golden
security for the crier of the new consience. His voice
foretells a new day. If the working men and farmers
have once, twice, thrice recognised and saved great
truths neglected by the powers of the earth, it is quite
possible they may do it again. It is possible they are
doing it now. The ardent, sighing for a cause, bemoaning
that they were born too late for the Anti-Slavery agitation,
have, in to-day’s ferment of the poor and lowly, the
greatest cause of history.
The abolition of chattel
slavery has but cleared the ground. Toynbee Hall in
London, and similar schools elsewhere, have been formed
to carry university culture down to the working men. The
movement is wrong from end to end. It is the universities
that are in need of culture—of the culture of the working
men in hardship, and equality, and sacrifice.
The great New England divine, Lyman Beecher was
very much put out because the fanatic William Lloyd
Garrison would not leave the slavery question to settle
hself. It would do so, Beecher said, in a couple of
centuries. Erasmus deplored, in the case of Luther, that
the great change of the Reformation was not allowed to
work itself out slowly, calmly, and without violence and
�16
THE hEW CONSCIENCE.
disruption. But there has always been one thing that put
God and man into a hurry-injustice.
It is a singular truth that only in poor and primitive
communities is there enough for all. Charles Dickens
could see no beggars in Boston forty years ago. Like the
early England, the early new England was one of great
poverty, but of great independence and equality. “ No
rich man, no poor in it,” said Wendell Phillips, one of the
patricians of modern New England, “ all mingling in the
same society; no poor house, no beggars, opportunities
equal.” Thorold Rogers says, in his Economic Interpre
tation of History, “ The means of life were more abundant
during the Middle Ages than they are under our modern
experience. There was, I am convinced, no extreme
poverty. The essence of life in England during the days
of the Plantagenets and Tudors was, that every one knew
his neighbour, and that every one was his brother’s
keeper. Though there was hardship in this life, the hard
ship was a common lot.” It is only when communities
get rich that there is not enough for all. The indepen
dence and equality of early England and New England
were close to the ideals of Christ. But towns and the
temptations of riches have been too much for the virtue of
the quickest of hand and eye, and they have moved away
into Beacon Street and the West End, and left their
brothers in the tenements and factory towns. But if there
was enough before the steam-engine and the Pool, there is
enough now. Those who control the labour of England,
Old and New, must direct it more evenly to equal
advantage, or they must give way to those who will.
The lot of the people must be settled by the common
people. If railroads and factories cannot be built and
operated without their labour, neither can the proceeds be
divided without their consent and co-operation. If the
common people can be allowed to vote freely in govern
ment, they can be allowed to vote freely in property. It
is not necessary to befuddle the subject with the fogs of
political economy or constitution or legal intricacies. The
simplest elements of justice, freedom, and love, supply the
only profundities needed. The question between the
money-power on one side and the people on the other,
�THE NEW CONSCIENCE.
with the labourers and farmers in the van led by men like
Emerson, Mazzini, and Carlyle, is simply and sharply a.
question of More! more fi>r the People, less for the Power..
If you want to quibble about words, and say that all men
are working men, then the question must be defined as
one between rich working men and poor working men
between working men with luxuries, and working men.
without; those around the parks and those on the farms
those who own the machinery, and those who operate it;
between the working men who monopolise, and those who
are monopolised; between the workmen who get the
privilege of living in shanties as their share of coal-mining
in Pennsylvania, and the working men who get dividends
on five hundred million dollars of coal stock. Bring on all
the statisticians in the world to figure out that the farmers
and working men are better off than they were. Thorold.
Rogers proves it is not true, but if it were, it is beside the
point. They are not getting their share. Never was
there a country, says a popular preacher of Chicago, in
which the rich have done as much as in America for the
poor. But the truth is, never was there a country in
which the poor have done so much for the rich.
The leaders of the revolution of the new industry have
quite mistaken the terms of the contract with society under
which they have been hired to do these great things.
Society hired them to work for society. But the captains
have assumed that all they led in making was to be their
own, and that they could do what they willed with their
own. They still have something to learn.
The Conservative cries out, “You are going to destroy
society.”
Did it destroy society to abolish slavery ?
The Conservative cries out, “ This is revolution ! ”
No, it is the remedy.
The revolution has already occurred. That took place
when the mighty wheels of the new industry whirled the
peasant and his children away from his little homestead,
the artisan away from his cottage loom and his village
shop and non-competitive brotherhood, and herded them
into tenement houses and factories. It was the revolution
which took the husbandmen, labourer, and artisan out of
�18
THE NEW CONSCIENCE.
the Golden Age of the 15th century, which preceded the
new industry. Then living was cheap and men were
dear, the working day in field and town was but eight
hours a day. Master and men both belonged to the same
union, no man could compete with another of the same
fraternity, and the employee had the same right to his
place that the employer had.
It is the revolution which has changed all that.
During the last century has come the realisation of the
vision of the ancient Greek poet who foresaw a time when
“ the shuttle would weave and the lyre would play ot
itself."'
That is the revolution.
Time was when judges sent men to jail for forestalling,
•cornering the markets. That was in the “ dark ages.”
Now the money power establishes “ trusts” in everything,
and our judges tell us that the burden of monopoly is “light.”
That is the revolution.
The new industry has broken up the brotherhoods of the
-old industry, and has swung the few strongest and cleverest
of the working men into palaces, and front pews, so far .
■away from their old comrades and fellow workers that, as
one of them said : “ I have no time to remember their
faces, much less their names.”
That is the revolution.
It is the revolution that has capped the new industry with
the high finance, and tied up the people in the paper chains
■of charters, contracts, and stock-exchange securities.
‘“The time is coming,” said the Earl of Derby not long
ago, “ when the people of Europe will repudiate their
national debts, which now take eight hundred million
■dollars a year from them.”
That is the revolution. And the gospel of the revolu
tion is the doctrine that you can do anything with your
-fellow-man provided you do it in the market.
The remedy is in the new conscience, which says simply
that a man shall never be so much of a buyer or seller as
to cease to be a brother, and that labour shall not be made
a market thing.
Before us is the practical question, What is the next
step ? The next step, like the first step, is more liberty
�THE NE W CONSCIENCE.
*9
for the labourer. His emancipation still invokes us. Con
science has freed him from frightful abuses, but frightful
abuses remain. His growth is not yet full and free. Civi
lization groans under the evils of the revolution wrought
by the new industry and its philosophy. The denunciation
by our prophets, the outcries of the farmer and working
men, the attempts to regulate factories, railroads, mines,
tenements, infant-labour are all confessions of the evil,
and confessions of the impotence of the system which pro
duced those ills to remedy them. A gospel of hatred is
rising in classes and masses which hate employers, hates
employees, hates household service, hates household ser
vants, hates foreigners, hates pools, hates trades-unions,
hates the grangers, hates reformers, hates politics. All
these are symptoms of a high fever. But a new mankind
has been conceived and will be born—a winged beauty
out of the earth-measuring worm—which will not know
force, and fraud, and hatred, and will let love, their
natural tie, bind men and nations together. The prac
tical work of to-day is to abolish the cannibals of compe
tition, warriors of supply and demand, tyrants of monopoly,
monsters of the market, devourers of men, women and
children, buyers and sellers of life. The progress of
humanity, says Emerson, consists of recognition of the
truth that every private and separate good is delusion.
Property, capital, and money making as now permitted
are still systems of man hunting. Monopoly is force, and
force is slavery, and slavery must be abolished. A lover
of birds, Maurice Thompson, tells us that as he wanders
through the southern forests he knows afar off when he
as nearing a human habitation by the songs of the birds
near the cabin, which declare to all the world, by a
special tenderness of tone, that they love man and have
made their nest near his. The heart of man is not less than
■the heart ot the bird.
Churches come and go, but there has ever been but one
religion. The only religion has been that which clears off
one by one from the face of the earth-stains that hide
the God imprisoned in the flesh, which breaks down one
by one every barrier which incarnation has put in the way
of the growth of the God within in the likeness of the God
�20
THE NEW CONSCIENCE.
without. In the sight of the new conscience wherever man
walks, there is the Holy Land, and it raises the cross of
the new crusade which shall deliver it from the infidels
who deny the divine right of the people that the will of
God shall- be done on earth as in heaven. It insists that
every question between men is a religious question, a
question of moral economy before it becomes one of politi
cal economy, and will make all political, industrial, and
social activities functions of a new Church—a church of
the deed as well as of the creed—a church that will not
only preach Christ, but do Christ—a church where science,
the revelation of what has been, will never be at war with
religion, the revelation of what ought to be—a church
which will make its worshippers share this world as well
as the next world—a church which will recognize no
vested right of property in man except the right to love
and be loved—a church which will declare that the
difference in the death rate between the classes and the
masses is evidence of murder done for money—a church
which will look upon idleness by the side of industry,
wealth by the side of poverty, luxury by the side of want,
health by the side of disease, as impious and profane in
the highest degree, the real sins against the Holy Ghost—a
church which will stop the manufacture of poor houses,
because it will stop the manufacture of poverty—a church
which will not let any man offer charity to those to whom
he refuses justice—a church which will not help the poor,
but will set them to helping themsslves, and will slay the
infidel in the path—a church which will abolish all middle
men in morals, and will make every man doubly guilty
who grinds the face of his fellow by an agent, guilty for
himself and guilty for the agent—a church that will offer
not even the lowliest member of the communion of man
kind crumbs from the table, but a seat at the table and a
full meal three times a day every day—a church that will
consider it more practical to keep its buildings open and
its congregation at work in relays night and day than to
let “brothers" starve and freeze or go astray for want of
sympathy or advice—a church which will persecute the
heretics who give the highest bidder the best pews in the
churches and the best chance in the courts—a church
�THE NE W CONSCIENCE.
zi
which will teach that the life eternal is the life we are
living now—a church which will not let the poor give up
all of this world on the unsecured promise of the rich to
divide the next world—a church that will judge civilization
not by the six million dollar cathedral on Murray Hill,
*
but by the children in the back alleys—a church that will
“dine with the poor and preach to the rich,” until there
are no more poor—a church which says that those who
are to be brothers hereafter must be brothers here—a
church that will know what its members believe only by
what they do—a church which recognizes nothing as love
which does not bear justice as the fruit—a church of law
and order, but the law is for the rich as well as the poor,
and the order is to be peaceful growth for the least of
■these little ones—-a church which will prevent the anarchy
from below by punishing the anarchy from above—a
church which will deny the right of infanticide to the
employer, now denied by society only to the parents—a
church which declares the sacred right to work to mean
that he who works a full day shall live a full day, and that
■employment is a right, not a charity—a church which will
restore reverence to men by giving them leaders in church,
state and business worthy cf reverence—a church which
will make every social wrong a moral wrong, and every
moral wrong a legal wrong—a church which will teach
men to turn the other cheek when they can do it as free
men, not as slaves—a church which will deliver with the
message of peace, the message of a scourge for the money
changers in the temple—a church which will tell the
merchant-prince that between him and his ruined com
petitor, and between him and his employees there is a
moral question greater than the question of markets—a
•church which will abolish the merchant-prince, and the
■factory corporation sooner than let them abolish the child
hood of children—a church which will not let the
•employers profess on the fourth of July that all men are
born equal, and then fatten the rest of the year on the
advantages of organization which they deny to the
■employee—a church in which God will be natural and men
One of the fashionable quarters of New York.
�22
THE NEW CONSCIENCE.
supernatural—a church which will abolish charity and
philantrophy, for these cannot be between brothers, and
need not be where justice is—a church in which no man
will have a right to do with his own what he will, but only
a right to do what is right—a church which will take the
weak and despised out of the earthy Inferno of dirt, and
want, and ignorance, to which they have been condemned
by the oppressor—a church which will keep a hell hot in
this world to punish the oppressors here for every blow
they strike at God through his image, man—a church
which will tell the sinner that repentance fit for heaven
only begins by restitution and reparation on earth—a
church which will teach that brothers must share both the
mess of pottage and the birthright—a church which will
worship God through all his sons made in his image,
through a mediator, Mankind, which, having suffered all
and sinned all, can sympathize with all, and will carry all
the weak and weary ones safe in its bosom—a church
which will realize the vision of Carlyle of a Human
Catholic Church.
Henry D. Lloyd.
�“Fellowship is heaven and lack of fellowship is hell: fellowship is life, and
lack of fellowship is death.”
HE NEW FELLOWSHIP was formed by a few persona
who believed that in order to realise the social ideal of'
Freedom, Equality, and Brotherhood, it was desirable that
those who upheld it should co-operate to give it the fullest pos
sible effect in their relations with one another and with the world.
The movement to secure equal social freedom by political agen
cies should be supplemented by an independent ethical movement
a movement which should keep the fundamental moral issues un ob
scured, help to make clear the springs of political activity, purge
social and family life of its selfishness, and insist upon the claims of'
an ideal of fellowship in the pursuit of a Common Good. It is.
not sufficient to urge the claims of this ideal by word of mouth only;
but it must be recommended by the example of lives lived in obedi
ence to it, and by its embodiment, as far as possible, in all social
institutions and relationships. The more fully and strikingly it finds
expression in these ways, the more certainly will follow those poli
tical changes which are necessary to give all men the chance of
realising it.
Further information respecting the New Fellowship may
be obtained from the Hon, Secretary, J. F. Oakeshott, 8i
Great Ormond Street, W. C.
�The following Publications of the New Fellowship can be
obtained at 34, Great Ormond Street, W. C. :—
SEED-TIME, the Quarterly Organ * .
THE MANIFESTO OF THE NEW
THE ElHICS
?.DAMS
.
3d.
.
FELLOWSHIP. 3d.
OF SOCIAL REFORM.
.
.
THE MORAL
ASPECT OF THE
PROBLEM. By Thomas Davidson
By Maurice
. 2d.
.
ECONOMIC
.
. 2d.
THE LIFE AND DEATH OF WILLIAM FREY. By
Professor Beesly ...... 2d.
ON THE RELIGION OF HUMANITY. By William
Frey ........ 2d.
THE NEW
LABOUR
CONSCIENCE,
...
OR
RELIGION
.
THE CLASSES AND THE MASSES
"WEALTH AND THE COMMONWEALTH
.
.
OF
.
id.
.id.
id.
�
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Victorian Blogging
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The new conscience, or religion of labour
Description
An account of the resource
Edition: 3rd ed.
Place of publication: London
Collation: 22 p. ; 19 cm.
Series: Fellowship Series
Series number: No. 6
Notes: Publisher's list on back cover. Reprinted with permission from the "North American Review" and revised by the author.
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Lloyd, Henry D.
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New Fellowship
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1893
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Labour
Socialism
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English
Christian
Labour and labouring classes
Labour and Labouring Classes-Great Britain-History
Socialism
Socialism and Christianity
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gA<
PRICE ONE PENNY.
BY
KARL
MARX.
Translated by J. L. JOYNES,
Author of “ADVENTURES OF A TOURIST IN IRELAND,”
“ THE
SOCIALIST CATECHISM,” “ SOCIALIST RHYMES.”
NEW AND CHEAPER EDITION.
(<»(
*
~
® ® -A E Y
LU
THE MODERN PRESS, 13,
Paternoster Row, London,
E.CE
Agent for U.S.A., W. L. Rosenberg, 261, East Tenth St., New York City.
1886.
�THE
SOCIAL-DEMOCRATILFEDERATION.
OBJECT.
The Establishment of a Free Condition of Society based on the prin
ciple of Political Equality, with Equal Social Rights for all and the
complete Emancipation of Labour.
PROGRAMME.
1. All Officers or Administrators to be elected by Equal Direct Adult
Suffrage, and to be paid by the Community.
2. Legislation by the People, in such wise that no project of Law
shall become legally binding till accepted by the Majority of the People.
3. The Abolition of a Standing Army, and the Establishment of a
National Citizen Force; the People to decide on Peace or War.
4. All Education, higher no less than elementary, to be Free, Com
pulsory, Secular, and Industrial for all alike.
5. The Administration of Justice to be Free and Gratuitous for all
Members of Society.
6. The Land with all the Mines, Railways and other Means of Tran
sit, to be declared and treated as Collective or Common Property.
7. Ireland and all other parts of the Empire to have Legislative
Independence.
8. The Production of Wealth to be regulated by Society in the com
mon interest of all its Members.
9. The Means of Production, Distribution and Exchange to be
declared and treated as Collective or Common Property.
As measures called for to palliate the evils of our existing society the
Social-Democratic Federation urges for immediate adoption :—
The Compulsory Construction of healthy artizan’s and agricultural
labourers’ dwellings in proportion to the population, such dwellings to
be let at rents to cover the cost of construction and maintenance alone.
Free Compulsory Education for all classes, together with the provision
of at least one wholesome meal a day in each school.
Eight Hours or less to be the normal working day in all trades.
Cumulative Taxation upon all incomes above a fixed minimum not
exceeding ^300 a year.
State Appropriation of Railways, with or without compensation.
The establishment of National Banks, which shall absorb all private
institutions that derive a profit from operations in money or credit.
Rapid Extinction of the National Debt.
Nationalisation of the Land, and organisation of agricultural and
industrial armies under State control on Co-operative principles.
As means for the peaceable attainment of these objects the SocialDemocratic Federation advocates :
Adult Suffrage. Annual Parliaments. Proportional Represen
Payment of Members ; and Official Expenses of Election
out of the Rates.
Abolition of the House of Lords and all
Hereditary Authorities.
Disestablishment and Disendowment
of all State Churches.
tation.
Membership of Branches of the Federation is open to all who agree
with its objects, and subscribe One Penny per week.
Those ready to form Branches should communicate with the
Secretary, Social-Democratic Federation, Bridge House, Blackfriars, E.C.
�WAGE-LABOUR AND CAPITAL.
What are wages, and, how are they determined. ?
±* we were to ask the labourers, “ How much wages do you get ? ” one
would reply, “ I get a couple of shillings a day from my employer ; ”
another, “I get half-a-crown,” and so on. According to the differen
trades to which they belong, they would name different sums of
money which they receive from their particular employers, either for
working for a certain length of time, or for performing a certain
piece of work ; for example, either for weaving an ell of cloth, or for setting up a
certain amount of type, But in spite of this difference in their statements there
is one point in which they would all agree : their wages are the amount of money
which their employer pays them either for working a certain length of time, or
for a certain amount of work done.
Thus their employer buys their work formoney. For money they sell their
■ work to him. With the same sum for which the employer has bought their
work, as for instance, with a couple of shillings, he might have bought four
pounds of sugar, or a proportionate amount of any other wares, The two shil
lings with which he buys the four pounds of sugar, is the price of four pounds of
sugar. The two shillings with which he buys labour for twelve hours, is the
price of twelve hours’ work. Work is therefore as much a commodity as sugar,
neither more nor less, only they measure the former by the clock, the latter by
the scales.
The labourersexchange their own commodity with their employers’—work for
money ; and this exchange takes place according to a fixed proportion. So much
money for so much work. For twelve hours’ weaving, two shillings. And do not
these two shillings represent two shillings’ worth of all other commodities ? Thus
the labourer has, in fact, exchanged his own commodity—work, with all kinds of
orher commodities, and that in a fixed proportion. His employer in giving him
two shillings, has given him so much meat, so much clothing, so much fuel, light,
and so on, in exchange for his day’s work. The two shillings, therefore, express
the proportion in which his work is exchanged with other commodities—the
exchange-value of his work; and the exchange-value of any commodity expressed
in money is called its price. Wage is, therefore, only another name for the
price of work—for the price of this peculiar piece of property which can have no
local habitation at all except in human flesh and blood.
Take the case of any workman, a weaver for instance. The employer supplies
him with thread and loom. The weaver sets to work, and the thread is turned
into cloth. The employer takes possession of the cloth and sells it, say for twenty
shillings. Does the weaver receive as wages a share in the cloth—in the twenty
shillings—in the product of his labour ? By no means. The weaver receives his
wages long before the product is sold. The employer does not, therefore, pay his
wages with the money he will get for the cloth, but with money previously pro
vided. Loom and thread are not the weaver’s produce, since they are supplied
by the employer, and no more are the commodities which he receives in exchange
fer his own commodity, or in other words, for his work, It is possible that the
employer finds no purchaser for his cloth. It may be that by its sale he does not
recover even the wages he has paid. It may be that in comparison with the
weaver’s wages he made a great bargain by its sale. But all this has nothing
whatever to do with the weaver. The employer purchases the weaver's labour
with a part of his available property—of his capital—in exactly the same way as
he has with another part of his property bought the raw material—the thread—
and the instrument of labour—the loom. As soon as he has made these pur
chases—and he reckons among them the purchase of the labour necessary to the
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production of the cloth—he proceeds to produce it by means of the raw material
and the instruments which belong to him. Among these last is, of course,
reckoned our worthy weaver, who has as little share in the product, or in the
price of the product, as the loom itself.
Wages, therefore, are not the worker’s share of the commodities which he has
produced. Wages are the share of commodities previously produced, with
which the employer purchases a certain amount of productive labour.
Labour is, therefore, a commodity which its owner the wage worker sells to
capital. Why does he sell it ? In order to live.
But labour is the peculiar expression of the energy of the labourer’s life.
And this energy he sells to another party, in order to secure for himself the
means of living. For him, therefore, his energy is nothing but a means of ensur
ing his own existence. He works to live. He does not count the work itself as a
part of his life, rather is it a sacrifice of his life. It is a commodity which he has
made over to another party. Neither is its product the aim of his activity. What
he produces for himself is not the silk he weaves, nor the place that he builds, nor
the gold that ne digs from out the mine. What he produces for himself is his
wage ; and silk, gold, and palaces are transformed for him into a certain quantity
of means of existence—a cotton shirt, some copper coins, and a lodging in a
cellar. And what of the labourer, who for twelve hours weaves, spins, bores,
turns, builds, shovels, breaks stones, carries loads, and so on ? Does his twelve
hours’ weaving, spinning, boring, turning, building, shovelling, and stone-breaking
represent the active expression of his life? On the contrary. Life begins for
him exactly where this activity of his ceases—at his meals, on the public-house
bench, in his bed. His twelve hours’ work has no meaning for him as weaving,
spinning, boring, etc., but only as earnings whereby he may obtain his meals, his
seat in the public-house, his bed. If the silkworm’s object in spinning were to
prolong its existence as a caterpillar, it would be a perfect example of a wage
worker.
Labour was not always a commodity. Labour was not always wage-work, that
is, a marketable commodity. The slave does not sell his labour to the slave
owner. The slave along with his labour is sold once for all to his owner. He
is a commodity which can pass from the hand of one owner to that of another.
He himself is a commodity, but his labour is not his commodity. The serf sells
only a portion of his labour. He does not receive his wages from the owner of
the soil; rather the owner of the soil receives a tribute from him. The serf be
longs to the soil, and to the lord of the soil he brings its fruits. The free labourer,
on the other hand, sells himself, and that by fractions. From day to day he sells
by auction eight, ten, twelve, fifteen hours of his life to the highest bidder—to
the owner of the raw material, the instruments of work, and the means of life;
that is, to the employer. The labourer himself belongs neither to an owner nor
to the soil : but eight, ten, twelve, fifteen hours of his daily life belong to the man
who buys them. The labourer leaves the employer to whom he has hired him
self whenever he pleases; and the employer discharges him whenever he thinks
fit; either as soon as he ceases to make a profit out of him, or fails to get so
high a profit as he requires. But the labourer, whose only source of earning is
the sale of his labour, cannot leave the whole class of his purchasers, that is, the
capitalist class, without renouncing his own existence. He does not belong to
this or that particular employer, but he does belong to the employing class;
and more than that, it is his business to find an employer ; that is, among this
employing class it is his business to discover his own particular purchaser.
Before going more closely into the relations between capital and wage-work, it
will be well to give a brief survey of those general relations which are taken into
consideration in determining the amount of wages.
As we have seen, wages are the price of a certain commodity—labour. Wages
are thus determined by the same law which regulates the'price of any other
commodity.
Thereupon the question arises, how is the price of a commodity determined ?
By what means is the price of a commodity determined ?
By means of competition between buyers and sellers, and the relation between
supply and demand—offer and desire. And this competition by which the price
of an article is fixed, is three-fold.
The same commodity is offered in the market by various sellers. Whoever
offers the greatest advantage to purchasers is certain to drive the other sellers off
the field, and secure for himself the greatest sale. The sellers, therefore, fight for
the sale and the market among themselves. Everyone of them wants to sell,
and does his best to sell much, and if possible to become the only seller. There
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fore each outbids the other in cheapness, and a competition takes place among
the sellers which lowers the price of the goods they offer.
But a competition also goes on among the purchasers, which on their side
raises the price of the goods offered.
Finally there arises a competition between buyers and sellers; the one set
want to buy as cheap as possible, the other to sell as dear as possible. The result
of this competition between buyers and sellers will depend upon the relations of
the two previous aspects of the competition ; that is, upon whether the compe
tition in the ranks of the buyers or that in those of the sellers is the keener.
Business thus leads two opposing armies into the field, and each of them again
presents the aspect of a battle in its own ranks between its own soldiers. That
army whose troops are least mauled by one another carries off the victory over
the opposing host.
.
Let us suppose that there are a hundred bales of cotton in the market, and at
the same time buyers in -want of a thousand bales. In this case the demand is
greater than the supply. The competition between the buyers will therefore be
intense • each of them will do his best to get hold of all the hundred bales of
cotton ’ This example is no arbitrary supposition. In the history of the trade
we have experienced periods of failure of the cotton plant, when particular com
panies of capitalists have endeavoured to purchase, not only a hundred bales of
cotton but the whole stock of cotton in the world. Therefore, in the case sup
posed ’ each buyer will try to beat the others out of the field by offering a pro
portionately higher price for the cotton. The cotton-sellers, perceiving the troops
of the hostile host in violent combat with one another, and being perfectly secure
as to the sale of all their hundred bales, will take very good care not to begin
squabbling among themselves in order to depress the price at the very moment
when their adversaries are emulating each other ;in the process of screwing it
higher up. Peace is therefore suddenly proclaimed in the army of the sellers.
They present a united front to the purchaser, and fold their arms in philosophic
content ■ and their claims would be absolutely boundless if it were not that the
offers of even the most pressing and eager of the buyers must always have some
definite limit.
Thus if the supply of a commodity is not so great as the demand tor it, the
competition between the buyers waxes.
Result; A more or less important rise
in the price of goods.
.
As a rule the converse case is of commoner occurrence, producing an opposite
result. Large excess of supply over demand ; desperate competition among the
sellers; dearth of purchasers ; forced sale of goods dirt cheap.
But what is the meaning of the rise and fall in price ? What is the meaning
of higher price or lower price ? A grain of sand is high when examined through
a microscope, and a tower is low when compared with a mountain. And if price
is determined by the relation between supply and demand, how is the relation
between supply and demand itself determined ?
.
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Let us turn to the first worthy citizen we meet. . He will not take an instant
to consider but like a second Alexander the Great will cut the metaphysical knot
by the help of his multiplication table. “ If the production of the goods which
I sell” he will tell us, “has cost me /ioo, and I get pro by their sale—within
the year you understand—that’s what I call a sound, honest, reasonable profit.
But if I make £120 or £130 by the sale, that is a higher profit; and if I were to
get a good Z200, that would be an exceptional, an enormous profit.” What is it
then that serves our citizen as to the measure of his profit ? The cost of pro
duction of his goods. If he receives in exchange for them an amount of other
goods whose production has cost less, he has lost by his bargain. If he receives
an amount whose production has cost more, he has gained. And he reckons the
rise and fall of his profit by the number of degrees at which it stands with refer
ence to his zero—the cost of production.
_
We have now seen how the changing proportion between supply and demaud
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produces the rise and fall of prices, making them at one time high at another
low. If through failure in the supply, or exceptional increase in the demand,
an important rise in the price of a commodity takes place, then the price of
another commodity must have fallen ; for,, of course, the price of a commodity
only expresses in money the proportion in which other commodities can be
exchanged with it. For instance, if the price of a yard of silk rises from five |to
six shillings, the price of silver has fallen in comparison with silk ; and in the
same way the price of all other commodities which remain at their old prices has
fallen if compared with silk. We have to give a larger quantity of them m
exchange in order to obtain the same quantity of silk. Aud what is the result ot
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a rise in the price of a commodity ? A mass of capital is thrown into that flourish
ing branch of business, and the immigration of capital into the province of the
privileged business will last until the ordinary level of profits is attained; or
rather, until the price of the products sinks through overproduction.
Conversely, if the price of a commodity falls below the cost of its production,
capital will be withdrawn from the production of this commodity. Except in
the case of a branch of industry which has become obsolete and is therefore
doomed to disappear, the result of this flight of capital will be that the production
cf this commodity, and therefore its supply, will continually dwindle until it
corresponds to the demand; and thus its price rises again to the level of the cost
of its production ; or rather, until the supply has fallen below the demand ; that
is, until its price has again risen above its cost of production ; for the price of
any commodity is always either above or below its cost of production.
We see then how it is that capital is always immigrating and emigrating, from
the province of one industry into that of another. It is high prices that bring
about an excessive immigration, and low prices an excess of emigration.
We might show from another point of view how not only the supply, but
also the demand is determined by the cost of production ; _but this would lead us
too far from our present subject.
We have just seen how the fluctuations of supply and demand always reduce
the price of a commodity to its cost of production. It is true that the precise
price of a commodity is always either above or below its cost of production;
but the rise and fall reciprocally balance each other, so within a certain period,
if the ebb and flow of the business are reckoned up together, commodities are
exchanged with one another in accordance with their cost of production ; and
thus their cost of production determines their price.
The determination of price by cost of production is not to be understood
in the sense of the economists. The economists declare that the average price
of commodities is equal to the cost of production ; this, according to them, is a
law. The anarchical movements in which the rise is compensated by the fall,
and the fall by the rise, they ascribe to chance. With just as good a right as
this, which the other economists assume, we might consider the fluctuations as
the law, and ascribe the fixing of price by cost of production to chance. But if
we look closely, we see that it is precisely these fluctuations, although they bring
the most terrible desolation in their train and shake the fabric of bourgeois
society like earthquakes, it is precisely these fluctuations which in their course
determine price by cost of production. In the totality of this disorderly move
ment is to be found its order. Throughout these alternating movements, in the
course of this industrial anarchy, competition, as it were, cancels one excess by
means of another.
We gather, therefore, that the price of a commodity is determined by its
cost of production, in such manner that the periods in which the price of this
commodity rises above its cost of production are compensated by the periods in
which it sinks below this cost, and conversely. Of course this does not hold
good for one single particular product of an industry, but only for that entire
branch of industry. So also it does not hold good for a particular manufacturer,
but only for the entire industrial class.
The determination of price by cost of production is the same thing as its
determination by the duration of the labour which is required for the manu
facture of a commodity; for cost of production may be divided into (i) raw
material and implements, that is, products of industry whose manufacture has
cost a certain number of days’ work, and which therefore represents a certain
duration of labour, and (2) actual labour, which is measured by its duration.
Now the same general laws, which universally regulate the price of com
modities, regulate, of course, wages, the price of labour.
Wages will rise and fall in accordance with the proportion between demand
and supply, that is, in accordance with the conditions of the competition between
capitalists as buyers, and labourers as sellers of labour. The fluctuations of
wages correspond in general with the fluctuations in the price of commodities.
Within these fluctuations the price of labour is regulated by its cost of production,
that is, by the duration of labour which is required in order to produce this
commodity, labour.
Now what is the cost of production of labour itself?
It is the cost required for the production of a labourer and for,his maintenance
as a labourer.
The shorter the time requisite for instruction in any labour, the less is the
labourer's cost of production, and the lower are his wages, the price of his work
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In those branches of industry which scarcely require any oeriod of apprenticeship,
and where the mere bodily existence of the labourer is sufficient, the requisite
cost of his production and maintenance are almost limited to the cost of the
commodities which are requisite to keep him alive, The price of his labour is
therefore determined by the price of the bare necessaries of his existence.
Here, however, another consideration comes in. The manufacturer, who
reckons up his expenses of production and determines accordingly the price of
the product, takes into account the wear and tear of the machinery. If a
machine costs him /ioo and wears itself out in ten years, he adds £10 a-year to
the price of his goods, in order to replace the worn-out machine by a new one
when the ten years are up. In the same way we must reckon in the cost of pro
duction of simple labour the cost of its propagation ; so that the race of labourers
may be put in a position to multiply and to replace the worn-out workers by new
ones. Thus the wear and tear of the labourer must be taken into account just
as much as the wear and tear of the machine.
Thus the cost of the production of simple labour amounts to
cost of the
labourer’s subsistence and propagation, and the price of this cost determines his
wages. When we speak of wages we mean the minimum of wages. This mini
mum of wages holds good, just as does the determination by the cost of pro
duction of the price of commodities in general, not for the particular individual,
but for the species.
Individual labourers, indeed millions of them, do not
receive enough to enable them to subsist and propagate; but the wages of the
whole working class with all their fluctuations are nicely adjusted to this minimum.
Now that we are grounded on these general laws which govern wages just as
much as the price of any other commodity, we can examine our subject more
exactly,
“Capital consists of raw material, implements of labour, and all kinds of
means of subsistence, which are used for the production of new implements and
new means of subsistence. All these factors of capital are created by labour,
are products of labour, are stored-up labour. Stored-up labour which serves as
the means of new production is capital.”
So say the economists.
What is a negro slave ? A human creature of the black race. The one
definition is just as valuable as the other.
A negro is a negro. In certain conditions he is transformed into a slave.
A spinning-jenny is a machine for spinning cotton. Only in certain conditions is
it transformed into capital. When torn away from these conditions, it is just as
little capital as gold is money in the abstract, or sugar the price of sugar. In
the work of production men do not stand in relation to nature alone. They
only produce when they work together in a certain way, and mutually exchange
their different kinds of energy. In order to produce, they mutually enter upon
certain relations and conditions, and it is only by means of these relations and
conditions that .their relation to nature is defined, and production becomes
possible.
These social relations upon which the producers mutnally enter, the terms
upon which they exchange their energies and take their share in the collective
act of production, will of course differ according to the character of the means
of production. With the invention of firearms as implements of warfare the
whole organisation of the army was of necessity altered ; and with the alteration
in the relations through which individuals form an army, and are enabled to
work together as an army, there was a simultaneous alteration in the relations of
armies to one another.
Thus with the change in the social relations by means of which individuals,
produce, that is, in the social relations of production, and with the alteration and
development of the material means of production, the powers of production arealso transformed, The relations of production collectively form those social
relations which we call a society, and a society with definite degrees of historical
development, a society with an appropriate and distinctive character. Ancient
society, feudal society, bourgeois society, are instances of this collective result of
the relations of production, each of which marks out an important step in the
historical development of mankind.
Now capital also is a social condition of production. It is a bourgeois condition
of production, a condition of the production of a bourgeois society. Are not the
means of subsistence, the implements of labour, and the raw material, of which
capital consists, the results of definite social relations ; were they not produced
and stored up under certain social conditions ? Will they not be used for further
production under certain social conditions ? And is it not just this definite social
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character which transforms into capital that product which serves for further
production ?
Capital does not consist of means of subsistence, implements of labour, and
raw material alone, nor only of material products; it consists just as much of
■exchange-values. All the products of which it consists are commodities. Thus
capital is not merely the sum of material products ; it is a sum of commodities,
of exchange-values, of social quantities.
Capital remains unchanged if we substitute cotton for wool, rice for corn,
and steamers for railways; provided only that the cotton, the rice, the steamers
—the bodily form of capital—have the same exchange value, the same price, as
the wool, the corn, the railways, in which it formerly embodied itself, The
bodily form of capital may change continually, while the capital itself undergoes
not the slightest alteration.
But though all capital is a sum of commodities, that is, of exchange-values,
it is not every sum of commodities, of exchange-values, that is capital.
Every sum of exchange-values is an exchange-value. For instance, a house
worth a thousand pounds is an exchange-value of a thousand pounds. A penny
worth of paper is the sum of the exchange-values of a hundred-hundreths of a
penny. Products which may be mutually exchanged are commodities. The
definite proportion in which they are exchangeable forms their exchange-value,
or, expressed in money, their price. The amount of these products can do
nothing to alter their definition as being commodities, or as representing an
■exchange-value, or as having a certain price. Whether a tree is large or small, it
remains a tree. Whether we exchange iron for other wares in ounces or in
hundredweights, that makes no difference in its character as a commodity
possessing exchange-value. According to its amount it is a commodity of more
■or less worth, with a higher or lower price.
How then can a sum of commodities, of exchange-values, become capital ?
By maintaining and multiplying itself as an independent social power, that
is, as the power of a portion of society, by means of its exchange for direct, living
labour. Capital necessarily pre-supposes the existence of a class which possesses
nothing but labour-force.
It is the lordship of past, stored-up, realised labour over actual, living labour
that transforms the stored-up labour into capital.
Capital does not consist in the fact that stored-up labour is used by living labour
as a means to further production. It consists in the fact that living labours serves
as the means whereby stored-up labour may maintain and multiply its own
■exchange-value.
What is it that takes place in the exchange between capital and wage-work ?
The labourer receives in exchange for his labour the means of subsistence ;
but the capitalist receives in exchange for the means of subsistence labour, the
productive energy of the labourer, the creative force whereby the labourer not
only replaces what he consumes, but also gives to the stored-up labour a greater
value than it had before. The labourer receives from the capitalist a share of
the previously provided means of subsistence. To what use does he put
these means of subsistence ?
He uses them for immediate consump
tion. But as soon as I consume my means of subsistence, they disappear
and are irrecoverably lost to me; it therefore becomes necessary that I should
employ the time during which these means keep me alive in order to produce
new means of subsistence ; so that during their consumption I may provide by
my labour new value in the place of that which thus disappears. But it is just
this grand reproductive power which the labourer has to bargain away to capital
in exchange for the means of subsistence which he receives. To him therefore it
is entirely lost.
Let us take an example. A farmer gives his day-labourer two shillings a
day. For this two shillings he works throughout the day on the farmer’s field,
and so secures him a return of four shillings. The farmer does not merely get
the value which he had advanced to the day-labourer replaced ; he doubles it.
He has thus spent or consumed the two shillings which he gave to the daylabourer in a fruitful and productive fashion. He has bought for his two shil
lings just that labour and force of the day-labourer which produces fruits of the
earth of twice the value, and turns two shillings into four. The day-labourer on
the other hand receives in place of his productive force, which he has just bar
gained away to the farmer, two shillings: and these he exchanges for means of
subsistence ; which means of subsistence he proceeds with more or less speed to
consume. The two shillings have thus been consumed in double fashion ; pro
ductively for capital, since they have been exchanged for the labour-force which
�produced the four shillings; unproductively for the labourer, since they have
been exchanged for means of subsistence which have disappeared for ever,
and whose value he can only recover by repeating the same bargain with tha
farmer. Thus capital presupposes wage-labour, and wage-labour presupposes
capital. They condition one another ; and each brings the other into play.
Does a labourer in a cotton factory produce merely cotton ? No, he produces
capital. He produces value which serves afresh to command his own labour,
and to create new value by its means.
Capital can only increase when it is exchanged for labour, when it calls
wage-labour into existence. Wage-labour can only be exchanged for capital
by augmenting capital and strengthening the power whose slave it is. An
increase of capital is therefore an increase of the proletariat, that is, of the
labouring class.
The interests of the capitalist and the labourer are therefore identical, assert
the bourgeoisie and their economists, And, in fact, so they are ! The labourer
perishes if capital does not employ him. Capital perishes if it does not exploit
labour ; and in order to exploit it, it must buy it. The faster the capital devoted
to production—the productive capital—increases, and the more successfully the
industry is carried on, the richer do the bourgeoisie become, the better does
business go, the more labourers does the capitalist require, and the dearer does
the labourer sell himself.
Thus the indispensable condition of the labourer’s securing a tolerable posi
tion is the speediest possible growth of productive capital.
But what is the meaning of the increase of productive capital ? The increase
of the power of stored-up labour over living labour. The increase of the dominion
of the bourgeoisie over the labouring class. As fast as wage-labour creates its
own antagonist and its own master in the dominating power of capital, the
means of employment, that is, of subsistence, flow back to it from its antagonist;
but only on the condition that it is itself transformed afresh into a portion of
capital, and becomes the lever whereby the increase of capital may be again
hugely accelerated.
Thus the statement that the interests of capital and labour are identical comes
to mean merely this : capital and wage-labour are the two terms of one and the
same proportion. The one conditions the other, just in the same way that the
usurer and the borrower condition each other mutually.
So long as the wage-labourer remains a wage-labourer, his lot in life is
dependent upon capital. That is the exact meaning of the famous community of
interests between capital and labour.
The increase of capital is attended by an increase in the amount of wage
labour and in the number of wage-labourers; or, in other words, the dominion of
capital is spread over a larger number of individuals. And, to give the most
fortunate event possible, with the increase of productive capital there is an
increase in the demand for labour. And thus wages, the price of labour, will rise.
A house may be large or small: but as long as the surrounding houses are
equally small, it satisfies all social expectations as a dwelling place. But let a
palace arise by the side of this small house, and it shrinks from a house into a
hut. The smallness of the house now gives it to be understood that its occupant
has either very small pretentions or none at all; and however high it may shoot
up with the progress of civilisation, if the neighbouring palace shoots up also in
the same or in greater proportion, the occupant of the comparatively small house
will always find himself more uncomfortable, more discontented, more confined
within his four walls.
A notable advance in the amount paid as wages brings about a rapid increase
of productive capital. The rapid increase of productive capital calls forth just as
rapid an increase in wealth, luxury, social wants, and social comforts. Therefore,
although the comforts of the labourer have risen, the social satisfaction which
they give has fallen in comparison'jwith^these'augmented comforts of the capitalist
which are unattainable for the labourer, and in comparison with the general
development of comforts. Our wants and their satisfaction have their origin
in society; we therefore measure them in their relation to society, and not in
relation to the objects which satisfy them. Since their nature is social, it is
therefore relative.
As a rule then, wages are not determined merely by the amount of commo
dities for which they may be exchanged. They depend upon various relations.
What the labourer immediately receives for his labour is a certain sum
of money. Are wages determined merely by this money price ?
In the sixteenth century the gold and silver in circulation in Europe was
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augmented in consequence of the discovery of America. The value of gold and
silver fell, therefore, in proportion to other commodities. The labourers received
for their labour the same amount of silver coin as before. The money price of
their labour remained the same, and yet their wages had fallen, for in exchange
for the same sum of silver they obtained a smaller quantity of other commo
dities. This was one of the circumstances which furthered the increase of
capital and the rise of the bourgeoisie in the sixteenth century.
Let us take another case. In the winter of 1847, in consequence of a failure
in the crops, there was an important increase in the price of the indispensable
means of subsistence, corn, meat, butter, cheese, and so on, We will suppose
that the labourers still received the same sum of money for their labour as
before. Had not their wages fallen then ? Of course they had. For the same
amount of money they received in exchange less bread, meat, etc. ; and their
wages had fallen, not because the value of silver had diminished, but because the
value of the means of subsistence had increased.
Let us finally suppose that the money price of labour remains the same,
while in consequence of the employment of new machinery, or on account of a
good season, or for some similar reason, there is a fall in the price of all agri
cultural and manufactured goods. For the same amount of money the labourers
can now buy more commodities of all kinds. Their wages have therefore risen,
just because their money price has not changed.
The money price of labour, the nominal amount of wages, does not there
fore fall together with the real wages, that is, with the amount of commodities
that may practically be obtained in exchange for the wages. Therefore if we
speak of the rise and fall of wages, the money price of labour, or the nominal
wage, is not the only thing which we must keep in view.
But neither the nominal wages, that is, the amount of money for which the
labourer sells himself to the employer, nor yet the real wages, that is, the amount
of commodities which he can buy for this money, exhaust the relations which are
comprehended in the term wages.
For the meaning of the word is chiefly determined by its relation to the gain
or profit of the employer—it is a proportionate and relative expression.
The real wage expresses the price of labour in relation to the price of other
commodities; the relative wage, on the contrary, expresses the price of direct
labour in relation to that of stored-up labour, the relative value of wage-labour
and capital, the proportionate value of capitalist and labourer.
Real wages may remain the same, or they may even rise, and yet the relative
wages may none the less have fallen. Let us assume, for example, that the price
of all the means of subsistence has fallen by two-thirds, while a day’s wages have
only fallen one-third, as for instance, from three shillings to two. Although the
labourer has a larger amount of commodities at his disposal for two shillings
than he had before for three, yet his wages are nevertheless diminished in pro
portion to the capitalist’s gain. The capitalist’s profit—the manufacturer's, for
instance—has been augmented by a shilling, since for the smaller sum of exchange
value which he pays to the labourer, the labourer has to produce a larger sum of
exchange-value than he did before. The value of capital is raised in proportion
to the value of labour. The division of social wealth between capital and labour
has become more disproportionate. The capitalist commands a larger amount
of labour with the same amount of capital. The power of the capitalist class
over the labouring class is increased; the social position of the labourer has
deteriorated, and is depressed another degree below that of the capitalist.
What then is the general law which determines the rise and fall of wages and
profit in their reciprocal relation ?
They stand in inverse proportion to one another. Capital's exchange-value,
profit, rises in the same proportion in which the exchange-value of labour, wages,
sinks; and conversely. The rise in profit is exactly measured by the fall in
wages, and the fall in profit by the rise in wages.
The objection may perhaps be made that the capitalist may have gained a
profit by advantageous exchange of his products with other capitalists, or by a
rise in the demand for his goods, whether in consequence of the opening of new
markets, or of a greater demand in the old markets; that the profit of the capi
talist may thus increase by means of over-reaching another capitalist, indepen
dently of the rise and fall of wages and the exchange-value of labour ; or that rhe
profit of the capitalist may also rise through an improvement in the implements
of labour, a new application of natural forces, and so on.
But it must nevertheless be admitted that the result remains the same,
although it is brought about in a different way. The capitalist has acquired a
�11
larger amount of exchange-value with the same amount of labour, without having
had to pay a higher price for the labour on that account; that is to say, a lower
price has been paid for the labour in proportion to the nett profit which it yields
to the capitalist.
Besides we must remember that in spite of the fluctuations in the price of com
modities, the average price of each commodity—the proportion in. which it
exchanges for other commodities—is determined by its cost of production. The
over-reaching and tricks that go on within the capitalist class therefore neces
sarily cancel one another. Improvements in machinery, and new applications of
natural forces to the service of production, enable them to turn out in a given
time with the same amount of labour and capital a larger quantity of products,
but by no means a larger quantity of exchange-value. If by the application of
the spinning-jenny I han turn out twice as much thread in an hour as I could
before its invention, for instance, a hundred pounds instead of fifty, that is
because the cost of production has been halved, or because at the same cost I
can turn out double the amount of products.
Finally in whatsoever proportion the capitalist classes—the bourgeoisie—
whether of one country or of the market of the whole world—-share among them
selves the nett profits of production, the total amount of these nett profits always
consists merely of the amount by which, taking all in all, direct labour has been
increased by means of stored-up labour. This sum total increases, therefore, in
the proportion in which labour augments capital; that is, in the proportion in
which profit rises as compared with wages.
Thus we see that even if we confine ourselves to the relation between capital
and wage-labour, the interests of capital are in direct antagonism to the interests
of wage-labour.
A rapid increase of capital is equal to a rapid increase of profits. Profits
can only make a rapid increase, if the exchange-value of labour—the relative
wage—makes an equally rapid decline. The relative wage may decline, although
the actual wage rises along with the nominal wage, or money price of labour; if
only it does not rise in the same proportion as profit. For instance, if when trade
is good, wages rise five per cent., and profits on the other hand thirty per cent.,
then the proportional or relative wage has not increased but declined.
Thus if the receipts of the labourer increase with the rapid advance of
capital, yet at the same time there is a widening of the social gulf which separates
the labourer from the capitalist, and also an increase in the power of capital
over labour and in the dependence of labour upon capital.
The meaning of the statement that the labourer has an interest in the rapid
increase of capital is merely this; the faster the labourer increases his master s
dominion, the richer will be the crumbs that he will get from his table; and the
greater the number of labourers that can be employed and called into existence,
the greater will be the number of slaves of which capital will be the owner.
We have thus seen that even the most fortunate event for the working class,
the speediest possible increase of capital, however much it may improve the
material condition of the labourer, cannot abolish the opposition between his
interests and those of the bourgeois or capitalist class. Profit and wages remain
just as much as ever in inverse proportion.
When capital is increasing fast, wages may rise, but the profits of capita
will rise much faster. The actual position of the labourer has improved, but. it
is at the expense of his social position. The social gulf which separates him
from the capitalist has widened.
Finally, the meaning of fortunate conditions for wage-labour, and of the
quickest possible increase of productive capital, is merely this; the faster the
working classes enlarge and extend the hostile power that dominates over them,
the better will be the conditions under which they will be allowed to labour for
the further increase of bourgeois dominion and for the wider extension of the
power of capital, and thus contentedly to forge for themselves the golden chains
by which the bourgeois drags them in its train.
But are the increase of productive capital and the rise of wages so indis
solubly connected as the bourgeois economists assert? We can hardly believe
that the fatter capital becomes, the more will its slave be pampered. The
bourgeoisie is too much enlightened, and keeps its accounts much too carefully,
to care for that privilege of the feudal nobility, the ostentation of splendour in
its retinue. The very conditions of bourgeois existence compel it to keep careful
accounts.
We must therefore enquire more closely into the effect which the increase
of productive capital has upon wages.
�12
With the general increase of the productive capital of a bourgeois society a
manifold accumulation of labour-force takes place. The capitalists increase in
number and in power. The increase in the number of capitalists increases the
competition between capitalists. Their increased power gives them the means
of leading into the industrial battle-field mightier armies of labourers furnished
with gigantic implements of war.
The one capitalist can only succeed in driving the other off the field and
taking possession of his capital by selling his wares at a cheaper rate. In order
to sell more cheaply without ruining himself, he must produce more cheaply, that
is, he must heighten as much as possible the productiveness of labour, But the
most effective way of making labour more productive is by means of a more
complete division of labour, or by the more extended use and continual improve
ment of machinery. The more numerous the departments into which labour is
divided, and the more gigantic the scale in which machinery is introduced, in so
much the greater proportion does the cost of production decline, and so much
the more fruitful is the labour. Thus arises a manifold rivalry among capitalists
with the object of increasing the subdivision of labour and machinery, and
keeping up the utmost possible progressive rate of exploitation.
Now if by means of a greater subdivision of labour, by the employment and
improvement of new machines, or by the more skilful and profitable use of the
forces of nature, a capitalist has discovered the means of producing a larger
amount of commodities than his competitors with the same amount of labour ;
whether it be stored-up labour or direct—if he can, for instance, spin a com
plete yard of cotton in the same time that his competitors take to spin half-ayard—how will this capitalist proceed to act ?
He might go on selling half-a-yard at its former market price.; but that
would not have the effect of driving his opponents out.of the field and increasing
his own sale. But the need of increasing his sale has increased in the same pro
portion as his production. The more effective and more expensive means of pro
duction which he has called into existence enable him, of course, to sell his wares
cheaper, but they also compel him to sell more wares and to secure a much
larger market for them. Our capitalist will therefore proceed to sell his half-ayard of cotton cheaper than his competitors.
The capitalist will not, however, sell his complete yard so cheaply as his
competitors sell the half, although its entire production does not cost him more
than the production of half costs the others. For in that case he would gain
nothing, but would only get back the cost of its productioa. The contingent
increase in his receipts would result from his having set in motion a larger
capital, but not from having made his capital more profitable than that of the
others. Besides he gains the end he is aiming at, if he prices his goods a slight
percentage lower than his competitors. He drives them off the field, and wrests
from them at any rate a portion of their sale, if only he undersells them. And
finally we must remember that the price current always stands either above or
below the cost of production, according as the sale of a commodity is transacted
at a favourable or unfavourable period of business. According as the.market
price of a yard of cloth is above or below its former cost of production, the
percentage will alter in which the capitalist who has employed the new and
profitable means of production exceeds in its sale the actual cost of its production
to him.
.
. .
But our capitalist does not find his privilege very lasting. Other rival
capitalists introduce with more or less rapidity the same machines and the same
subdivision of labour; and this introduction becomes general, until the price of
the yard of cloth is reduced not only below its old, but below its new cost of
production.
. .
.
,
Thus the capitalists find themselves relatively m the same position in which
they stood before the introduction, of the new means of production ; and if they
are by these means enabled to offer twice the product for the same price, they
now find themselves compelled to offer the doubled amount for less than the old
price. From the standpoint of these new means of production the old game
begins anew There is greater subdivision of labour, more machinery, and a
more rapid progress in the exploitation of both. Whereupon competition brings
about the same reaction against this result.
.
Thus we see how the manner and means of production are . continually
renewed and revolutionised ; and how the division of labour necessarily brings in
its train a greater division of labour ; the introduction of machinery, a still larger
introduction; and the rapidity of progress in the efficiency of labour, a still
greater rapidity of progress.
�I3
'Khat is the law which continually drives bourgeois paaduction out of its old
track, and compels capital to intensify the productive powers of labour for the
very reason that it has already intensified them—the law that allows it no rest,
but for ever whispers in its ear the words, “ Quick March ! ”
This is no other law than that which, cancelling the priodical fluctuations of
business, necessarily identifies the price of a commodity with its cost of pro
duction.
However powerful are the means of production which a particular capitalist
may bring into the field, competition will make their adoption general; and the
moment it becomes general, the sole result of the greater fruitfulness of his
capital is that he must now for the same price offer ten, twenty, a hundred times
as much as before. But as he must dispose of perhaps a thousand times as
much, in order to outweigh the decrease in the selling price by the larger pro
portion of products sold; since a larger sale has now become necessary, not
only to gain a large profit, but also to replace the cost of production ; and the
implements of production, as we have seen get more expensive ; and since this
larger sale has become a vital question, not only for him, but also for his rivals,
the old strife continues with all the greater violence, in proportion as the pre
viously discovered means of production are more fruitful. Thus the subdivision
of labour and the employment of new machinery, take a fresh start, and proceed
with still greater rapidity.
And thus, whatever be the power of the means or production employed,
competition does its best to rob capital of the golden fruit which it produces, by
reducing the price of commodities to their cost of production ; and as fast as
their production is cheapened, compelling by a despotic law the larger supply of
cheaper products to be offered at the former price. Thus the capitalist will have
won nothing by his exertions beyond the obligation to produce faster than before,
and an enhancement of the difficulty of employing his capital to advantage.
While competition continually persecutes him with its law of the cost of pro
duction, and turns against himself every weapon which he forges against his
rivals, the capitalist continually tries, to cheat competition by incessantly intro
ducing further division of labour, and replacing the old machines by new ones,
which, though more expensive, produce more cheaply ; instead of waiting till
competition has rendered them obsolete.
Let us now look at this feverish agitation as it affects the market of the whole
world, and we shall understand how the increase, accumulation, and concentra
tion of capital bring in their train an uninterrupted and extreme subdivision of
labour, always advancing with gigantic strides of progress, and a continual em
ployment of new machinery together with improvement of the old.
But how do these circumstances, inseparable as they are from the increase
of productive capital, affect the determination of the amount of wages ?
The greater division of labour enables one labourer to do the work of five,
ten, twenty : it therefore multiplies the competition among labourers five, ten or
twenty times. The labourers do not only compete when one sells himself
cheaper than another ; they also compete when one does the work of five, ten, or
twenty ; and the division of labour which capital introduces and continually in
creases, compels the labourers to enter into this kind of competition with one
another.
.
.
. .
Further \ in the same proportion in which the division of labour is increased)
the labour itself is simplified. The special skill of the labourer becomes worthless.
It is changed into a monotonous and uniform power production, which can give
play neither to bodily nor to intellectual elasticity. Its labour becomes acccessible
to everybody. Competitors therefore throng into it from all sides; and besides
we must remember that the more simple and easily learnt the labour is, and the
less it costs a man to make himself master of it, so much the lower must its
wages sink ; since they are determined, like the price of every other commodity,
by its cost of production.
Therefore exactly as the labour becomes more unsatisfactory and unpleasant,,
in that verv proportion competition iucreases and wages decline. The labourer
does his best to maintain the rate of his wages by performing more labour,
whether by working for a greater number of hours, or by working harder in the
same-time. Thus, driven by necessity, he himself increases the evil ot the
subdivision of labour. So the result is this : the more he labours, the less reward
he receives for it; and that for this simple reason—that he competes against his.
fellow-workmen, and thus compels them to compete against him, and to offer
their labour on as wretched conditions as he does; and that he thus in the last
result competes against himself as a member of the working class.
�*4
Machinery has th^same effect, but in a much greater degree. It supplants
skilled labourers by unskilled, men by women, adults by children ; where it is
newly introduced, it throws the hand-labourers upon the streets in crowds ; and
where it is perfected or replaced by later improvements and more inventions, dis
cards them by slightly slower degrees. We have sketched above in hasty outlines
the industrial war of capitalists with one another; and this war has this pecu
liarity, that its battles are won less by means of enlisting than of discharging its
industrial recruits, The generals or capitalists vie with one another as to who can dis
pense with the greatest number of his soldiers.
The economists repeatedly assure us that the labourers who are rendered
superfluous by the machines find new branches of employment.
They have not the hardihood directly to assert that the labourers who are
discharged enter upon the new branches of labour. The facts cry out too loud
against such a lie as this. They only declare that for other divisions of the
labouring class, as for instance, for the rising generation of labourers who were
just ready to enter upon the defunct branch of industry, new means of employ
ment will open out. Of course that is a great satisfaction for the dismissed
labourers. The worshipful capitalists will not find their fresh supply of exploit
able flesh and blood run short, and will let the dead bury their dead. This is
indeed a consolation with which the bourgeois comfort themselves rather than the
labourers. If the whole class of wage-labourers were annihilated by the
machines, how shocking that would be for capital, which without wage-labour
ceases to act as capital at all.
But let us suppose that those who are directly driven out of their employment
by machinery, and also all those of the rising generation who were expecting
employment in the same line, find some new employment. Does any one imagine
that this will be as highly paid as that which they have lost ? Such an idea would
be in direct contradiction to all the laws of economy. We have already seen that
the modern form of industry always tends to the displacement of the more complex
and the higher kinds of employment, by those which are more simple and
subordinate.
How then could a crowd of labourers, who are thrown out of one branch of
industry by machinery, find refuge in another, without having to content them
selves with a lower position and worse pay ?
The labourers who are employed in the manufacture of machinery itself have
been instanced as an exception. As soon as a desire arises and a demand begins
in an industry for more machinery, it is said that there must necessarily be an
increase in the number of machines, and therefore in the manufacture of machines,
and therefore in the employment of labourers in this manufacture; and the
labourers who are employed in this branch of industry will be skilled, and indeed
even educated labourers.
Ever since the year 1840 this contention, which even before that time was
only half true, has lost all its specious colour. For the machines which are em
ployed in the manufacture of machinery have been quite as numerous as those
used in the manufacture of cotton ; and the labourers who are employed in pro
ducing machines, instead of being highly educated, have only been able toplay
the part of utterly unskilled machines themselves.
But in the place of the man who has been dismissed by the machine perhaps
three children and one woman are employed to work it, And was it not neces
sary before that the man’s wages should suffice for the support of his wife and
his children ? Was not the minimum of wages necessarily sufficient for the
maintenance and propagation of the race of labourers ? There is no difference,
except that now the lives of four times as many labourers as before are used up in
order to secure the support of one labourer’s family.
To repeat our deductions; the faster productive capital increases, the more
does the division of labour and the employment of machinery extend. The more
the division of labour and the employment of machinery extend, so much the
more does competition increase among the labourers, and so much the more do
their average wages dwindle.
And, besides, the labouring class is recruited from the higher strata of
society ; or else there falls headlong into it a crowd of small manufacturers and
small proprietors, who thenceforth have nothing better to do than to stretch out
their arms by the side of those of the labourers. And thus the forest of arms
outstretched by those who are entreating for work becomes ever denser and the
arms themselves grow ever leaner.
That the small manufacturer cannot survive in a contest, whose first condi
tion is production on a continually increasing scale, that is, that he cannot be at
once both a large and a small manufacturer, is self-evident.
�*
That the interest on capital declines in the same promotion as the amount
of capital increases and extends, and that therefore the small capitalist can no
longer live on bis interest, but must join th# ranks of the workers andjincrease
the number oftfce proletariat,—all this requires no further exemplificatlpn.
Finally, in the projWtion in which the capitalists are compelledby the causes
here sketched out to exploit on an even increasing scale yet more giga^ftic
means of production, and with that object to set in motion all the iMfrisprin^s
of credit, in the same proportion is there an increase of those earthquakes
wherein the business world can only secure its own existence by the sajMyficaof ap
portion of its wealth, its products, and even its powers of production to the gods
of the world below—in a word, crises increase. They become at once more
frequent and more violent; because in the same proportion in which the amount
of production, and therefore the demand for an extension of the market, increases,
the market of the world continually contracts, and ever fewer markets remain to
be exploited; since every previous crisis has added to the commerce of the world
a market which was not known before, or had before been only superficially ex
ploited by commerce. But capital not only lives upon labour. Like a lord, at
once distinguished and barbarous, it drags with it to the grave the corpses of its
slaves and whole hecatombs of labourers who perish in the crisis. Thus we see
that if capital increases fast, competition among the labourers increases still
faster, that is, the means of employment and subsistence decline in proportion at
a Stillmore rapid rate; and yet, none the less the most fortunate conditions for
wage labour lie in the speedy increase of capital
All who are interested, in these sub
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11
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�
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Wage-labour and capital
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Edition: New and cheaper ed.
Place of publication: London
Collation: 15, [1] p. ; 23 cm.
Notes: Information on the Social-Democratic Federation on p. [2]. Publisher's list on p. 15 and unnumbered page at the end.
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Marx, Karl [1818-1883]
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The Modern Press
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Joynes, J.L. (James Leigh) (tr)
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Labour
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Price One Penny.
THE
Australian Labour Market.
STARTLING DISCLOSURES.
By JOHN
NEW
SOUTH
WALES
NORTON,
LABOUR
DELEGATE.
Distress and Destitution in New
South Wales.
Pauper Relief Works & Soup Kitchens.
BOGUS “EMIGRANTS’
INFORMATION OFFICE.”
LONDON: THE MODERN PRESS, 13, PATERNOSTER ROW, E.C
1886
�All who are interested. in Socialism
should, read.
THE FOLLOWING PUBLICATIONS , OF
THE MODERN PRESS, 13, Paternoster Row, London, E.C.
Which will be sent post free at the published prices on receipt of
an order amounting to one shilling or more.
(The Publications of the Modern Press can be obtained from W. L.
Rosenberg, 261, East Tenth Street, New York City.)
Woman, in the Past, Present and Future.
By
August ' Bebel, Deputy in the Reichstag. Translated from the
German by H. B. Adams Walther. Demy 8-vo., cloth, price 5s.
This work by the best known of the German Socialists aims at showing that the
social condition of women can be permanently improved only by the solution of the
whole social problem,
The Co-operative Commonwealth: an Exposition
of Modern Socialism. By Laurence Gronlund, of Philadelphia.
Demy 8-vo., paper cover, is.
This book supplies the want, frequently complained of, of definite proposals for the
administration of a Socialistic State. Mr. Gronlund has reconciled the teaching of
Marx with the influence of Carlyle in the constructive part of his work, which is
specially recommended to English Socialists.
Socialism made Plain.
The social and political
manifesto of the Social-Democratic Federation issued in June 1883 ;
with “The Unemployed,” a Manifesto issued after the “ Riots in
the West End” on 8th February, 1886. Sixty-first thousand.
Crown 8-vo., paper cover, price id.
“JUSTICE,” the Organ of the Social Democracy. Every
Saturday, one penny.
Socialist Rhymes
from Justice.
By J. L. Joynes.
Reprinted chiefly
Demy 8-vo., price id.
Summary of the Principles of Socialism.
By
H. M. Hyndman and William Morris. Second edition, 64-pp.
crown 8-vo., in wrapper designed by Wm. Morris, price 4d.
This gives an account of the growth of capitalist production, and concludes with a
statement of the demands of English Socialists for the immediate future.
Herbert Spencer on Socialism. By Frank Fairman.
16-pp. crown 8-vo., price id.
The Working Man’s Programme (Arbeiter Programm). By Ferdinand Lassalle. Translated from the German
by Edward Peters. Crown 8-vo., paper cover, price 6d.
The Robbery of the Poor.
By W. H. P. Campbell.
Demy 8-vo., paper cover, price 6d.
The Appeal to the Young.
By Prince Peter
Kropotkin. Translated from the French by H. M. Hyndman and
reprinted from Justice. Royal 8-vo., 16-pp. Price one penny.
The most eloquent and noble appeal to the generous emotions ever penned by a
scientific man. Its author has just suffered five years’ imprisonment at the hands of the
French Republic for advocating the cause of the workers
�I
PREFACE.
VER since November 1883, when the facts of the destitution in
E London and other large towns in the United Kingdom began to
assert themselves in a way which compelled attention, Emigration has
been put forward as a satisfactory remedy by the ruling classes and
philanthropists, as well as by persons pecuniarily interested in the trans
portation of workmen to the Colonies. Some of the advocates of
State-assisted Emigration have been shown to be emigration agents in
disguise who receive a commission of so much a head for each person
they induce to leave these shores. Others are well-known to be in the pay
of land syndicates or railway companies possessed of thousands of acres
which are utterly valueless until labour has been planted on them.
The Social-Democratic Federation has never ceased to denounce the
misrepresentation and imposture which has led too many of our fellows
to cross the ocean only to find that in newer countries the capitalist
system of society condemns the worker to the same horrors as it pro
duces at home.
When the Government Emigrants’ Information Office was first
talked of, the Social-Democratic Federation again pointed out that it
could be of little advantage to the workers inasmuch as it would be
controlled and supplied with information both here and in the Colonies
by representatives of the classes who in England are interested in
relieving social pressure by exiling the poor, and who in our dependencies
favour immigration as an effective means .of overstocking the labour
market and reducing wages.
Every point of these contentions is amply proved in the following
pages which I have persuaded Mr. John Norton to allow me to publish.
He is not a Social-Democrat nor particularly interested as I am in the
welfare of the unemployed in Great Britain. But as the accredited
delegate of the labour population of New South Wales he is bound to
defend their interests which, as is amply proved by Mr. Norton’s state
ments, are threatened by the reckless misrepresentations of the Emigration
Office. I venture to suggest that members of workmen’s clubs and
political associations all over the country would do well to send resolu
tions to the Government demanding that public money should not be
expended in attempts to draw off public attention from the Social
Question at home by transporting the victims to our Colonies and
in supplying cheap labour to make the fortunes of employers at the
Antipodes.
H. H. Champion.
Secretaries of Workmen’s Clubs or Labour Organisations who would
like to hear an address by Mr. Norton on “ Australia as a Field for
Emigration” should communicate with him at 166, Westminster Bridge
Road, London.
�THE AUSTRALIAN LABOUR MARKET.
R. JOHN NORTON, the New South Wales Labour Dele
gate, now on a mission to this country in connection with the
industrial crisis at present existing in that Colony, having, in
a letter to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, denounced
the information circulated by the new Government Emigrants’ Informa
tion Office as “ glaringly inaccurate, and entirely misleading,” received
the following letter from that Department:—
“ Emigrants’ Information Office,
31, Broadway, Westminster, S.W.
“ John Norton, Esq.,
16th October, 1886.
“ Sir,—The Managing Committee of this Office have noticed a letter
signed by you, and printed in the Daily News, to the effect that the in
formation which they have issued about the labour market of New
South Wales is ‘ glaringly inaccurate, and entirely misleading.’
“ Their only object being to ascertain and make known to the public
the actual facts as to the prospects of labourers in the British Colonies,
they would be glad to learn the grounds of your criticism, and in what
respects the information in question is inaccurate and misleading.
“ If you care to call at their office, and will make an appointment, I
shall be glad to see you, and may add that any periodical reports issued
by trade societies in Australia would be acceptable.
“ Faithfully yours,
(Signed)
C. P. Lucas.”
To which Mr. Norton has replied as follows:—
“ 166, Westminster Bridge Road, S.E.,
October ¿.yrd, 1886.
“To the Managing Committee of the
Government Emigrants’ Information Office.
“ Gentlemen,—In reply to your communication ofthe 16th inst. I beg
leave to say that the grounds upon which I base the statement contained
in my letter to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, ‘ that the infor
mation recently issued by the Government. Emigrants’ Information
Office concerning the labour market of New South Wales is glaringly
maccurate, and entirely misleading,’ are the following :—
ssssssss•••
'.XVixWxW'
�5
(a) On page 8 of the penny Colonisation Circular of New South
Wales, sold by you, it is stated—‘ In New South Wales men accustomed
to agricultural or pastoral work can readily obtain employment in any
■ part of the country districts at remunerative wages.'
(b) On pages 9 and 10 of the same Circular you give a list of what
purports to be the average rate of wages earned in the majority of
skilled handicrafts in 1884 ; and on page 19 say, ‘ New South Wales,
as compared with other, and even with the neighbouring colonies, pos
sesses special advantages and attractions for the agricultural settler.’
(c) In the general broadsheet circular issued by you on the nth inst.,
and entitled, ‘ General Information for Intending Emigrants to Canada,
the Australasian, and South African Colonies,’ under the heading of
‘Present Demand for Labour,’ the following statement appears
‘ New
South Wales. There is some opening for persons connected with the
building trades, for railway and agricultural labourers.’
I consider the whole of these statements not only ‘ glaringly inaccu
rate, and entirely misleading,’ but positive misrepresentations of the real
state of the labour market in New South Wales at the present time,
which are all the more unwarrantable that they are made in the face of
the following most full and clear evidence to the contrary. ’
AGRICULTURAL LABOURERS.
The Sydney Globe newspaper of the 26th of July last states—* The
stagnation in business resulting from the deadlock in the Western dis
trict has at length attracted the attention of the Sydney Mercantile body.
Work on the stations and homesteads of the Saltbush has ceased ; the
contractors’ parties of tank sinkers and mechanics and waggoners have
been dispersed, and are wandering over the country penniless. Sheep
stations where 30 or 40 hands had been employed are now worked by
7 or 8 hands. The country towns feel the stoppage of circulation, and
in Sydney the pinch is felt in the return of bills unpaid instead of the
good remittances and fresh orders which came by every post while the
industry of the interior was maintained.’
On the 30th of the same month the Globe, in drawing attention to the
deplorable condition of the agricultural portion of the population of
New South Wales, and to the fact that they could not compete against
the wheat which was being landed in Sydney from Bombay at 4s. ¿d.
per bushel, observes: ‘ With his hundred acres, his hut, his children
dressed in flour-bags, his crop mortgaged before it is ripe, his utter
hopelessness of any fair or satisfactory progress, or of emancipation
from the debt which was bound around his neck on the day he settled
on the soil, is not the settler ground almost to death in the cruel mill of
competition ? ’
To that part of Statement No. 2, where you say that, ‘ New South
Wales, as compared with other, and even the neighbouring colonies,
possesses special advantages and attractions for the agricultural settler,’
I take exception ; and likewise to your remark that ‘ more than onethird of the population of New South Wales is resident in Sydney and
its suburbs, consequently, the remainder of the colony is comparatively
thinly populated.’ The first of these two statements is inaccurate, and
the second is misleading. New South Wales does not possess any
‘ special advantages and attractions for the agricultural settler ’ over
Victoria. Her bad land laws, together with the droughts and outside
r
�6
j
,
competition, combine to make it difficult for the small farmers and
settlers to live on the land, and to drive them into the towns. This is why
one-third of the whole population is, unfortunately, to be found in
Sydney and its suburbs. The area of New South Wales is 310,938
square miles, or 199,000,000 acres ; that of Victoria 87,884 square miles,
or 56,245,760 acres. Notwithstanding her vast area, New South Wales
has a somewhat smaller population than Victoria, and has only 852,017
acres under cultivation ; whereas Victoria, although nearly three-and-ahalf times smaller, has no less than 2,323,496 acres under cultivation,
i.e., 1,471,479 acres more than the mother colony, which has twice the
age of Victoria. In 1884 Victoria produced 10,967,088 more bushels of
wheat, oats, and barley than New South Wales. These few significant
figures do not, I think, indicate that New South Wales possesses, at
present, any ‘ special advantages and attractions for the agricultural
settler ’ over her Victorian neighbour, at least.
ARTISANS AND MECHANICS.
Since my arrival in this country I have received reports from nearly
every handicraft exercised in the Colony, which shows that almost every
branch of industry, and especially the building trade, is in a terribly
depressed state, as the following summary shows.
CARPENTERS and JOINERS.—Mr. Francis Willes, Secretary,
N.S.W. Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners, in a letter
dated Sydney, June nth says: ‘the state of this trade is very dull, a
great number being out of work.’ A report from Mr. J. C. Simpson,
Secretary, Sydney Progressive Society of Carpenters and Joiners, dated
June 9th, states : ‘This society is of opinion that state-assisted immi
gration should cease ; and we would warn all mechanics from coming
to this colony, as trade is very bad and may remain so for some con
siderable time yet.’ These reports are more than confirmed by the
Sydney press, which shows that instead of improving, this trade has
become still worse. The Sydney Morning Herald of the 19th of August,
states: ‘ For some considerable time past the building trade has been
unusually slack, and, in consequence, many carpenters and joiners have
been thrown out of employment, so much so that about a fortnight ago
it was deemed necessary to call a meeting of the unemployed carpenters
and joiners to consider what was to be done. At the meeting a
committee was appointed to wait upon the Hon. the Minister for Works
to ascertain if any Government works could be commenced to absorb
the unemployed labour. After considerable agitation and many inter
views it was announced that employment would be found for fifty
carpenters and joiners under the Railway Department, but upwards of
300 have given in their names as out of work and needing employment.
The fifty men required were drafted out on Monday, but the list of
names requiring work had considerably increased, and on Tuesday after
noon it was decided to hold another meeting at the usual place, the
statue at the top of King Street. At the time of meeting between 300
and 400 persons had assembled. Mr. Thomas Symons, Secretary of
the Trades and Labour Council addressed the meeting. It was decided
to appoint a Committee to again interview the Minister for Works, to
endeavour to urge upon him the necessity of opening up other public
works, so that work can be obtained by the unemployed carpenters and
joiners. It was stated that many of the unemployed had been from two
�7
to four months out of work, and consequently, much distress prevailed
amongst them.’ The Sydney Globe, of the 21st of August states, ‘ Mr.
O’Sullivan, M.L.A., to-day introduced a deputation of unemployed
Carpenters to the Minister for Works, requesting him to give them work.
Mr. Thomas Symons, having stated the case of the men, showing that
there were still, nearly 400 carpenters out of work and in distress ; Mr.
Lyne, the Minister for Works, said that he had already strained his
department, to find work for fifty of their number, and he could not find
work for more till some of the railway lines were adopted. They would
then get work on the permanent way and bridges. Till then he would
endeavour to get them employment at roadmaking.’
STONEMASONS.—Numbers of the hands in this trade are out of
work, which is largely owing to the extensive importation of dressed
stone from Victoria and elsewhere ; in consequence of which the Sydney
Globe, of the 24th August last, states: ‘ that the Government has pro
mised to use native stone wherever possible, and to place a duty on the
imported stone.’
BRICKMAKERS.—Messrs. A. Boot, President, and J. Cook, Secre
tary, of the N.S.W. Brickmakers, Brickmakers’ Labourers, and Pipe
makers’ Union, state: ‘so far as the Labour market in our trade is
concerned, we are sorry to say that it is now very much overstocked,
hundreds of our men are now walking about the streets of Sydney.’
Most of the brickyards in the Colony work eight hours per day, but the
larger yards having refused to recognise the eight hours’ principle, the
brickmakers there have gone on strike, their action being supported by
all the other trades. It is hoped by the reduction of the hours of labour
of those employed, the over production will cease, and work will be
provided for the unemployed brickmakers. Large quantities of bricks
are being offered at £■$ per thousand.
Thus it will be seen that your statements that ‘ there are some
openings in the building trades and for railway and agricultural
labourers ’ is glaringly inaccurate. A precisely similar state of things
exists inmost of the other leading trades included in your list of average
wages, as a cursory glance at their condition will suffice to prove.
IRON TRADE.—A Special Committee of the New South Wales
Engineering Association appointed to inquire into the state of the iron
trade in the colony reported on the 30th of June last to the effect that
the trade throughout all its branches was in a thoroughly depressed
state ; and ‘ that there. was not a single factory which employed more
than one tenth of the workmen which the establishment was capable of
accommodating, to say nothing of the vast amount of expensive plant
lying idle, whilst a large number of firms had had to stop their engines,
there not being work enough to keep even the apprentices employed.’
In a report dated Lithgow, N.S.W., July 24th, Mr. H. S. Jones, Secre
tary of the Eskbank Ironworkers, reports that the puddlers, heaters,
shinglers, rollers and other hands at the Eskbank Works are only
working half-time, and that a large blast furnace, which was at work
four years ago, has since had to be blown out and pulled down for want of
work. There were formerly eight puddling furnaces at work here, but,
owing to the collapse of the iron trade, some of them have been pulled
down and the plates broken up. Mr. Jones concludes his report as
follows ;—‘ To any ironworkers who are thinking of coming out to this
■colony in the hope of obtaining employment in their trade, we would
�8
say be warned, be careful, we cannot hold out any hope of work whatso
ever.’
Another report from the New South Wales Friendly Society of
Ironmoulders, and signed by A. Hollis, President, W. Walker, Check
Steward, W. Jones, Secretary, and by all the members of the General
Committee of the Society, shows that a similar state of things exists in
the other provincial ironworks ; and it is stated that the Fitzroy Iron
works at Mittagong, are likely to be shut down this year for want of
work.
COACH MAKERS.—In a report dated Sydney, June gth, Mr. T.
Halliday, Secretary of the New South Wales Coachmakers’ Society,
says : ‘ This trade is at present in a very depressed state, one firm alone
having discharged thirty hands, and the greater number of factories are
only working half-time.’ This report is confirmed by the Sydney Globe
of August 28th, according to which a conference of the employers and
employed, in the coachmaking trade, met at the Foresters’ Hall, Sydney,
on the 27th of August, to consider the present depression. The same
paper stated that large numbers of men were out of work, and that the
trade was rapidly declining to utter ruin, hardly any of the factories
being more than mere repairing shops, and that such depression had
not been known for thirty years.
THE SADDLE, HARNESS, AND COLLAR MAKERS’Society of
New South Wales in a report dated Sydney, June 14th, and signed by
J. Cronin, President, W. S. Harper, Treasurer, and G. Stuart, Secre
tary, states: ‘ This particular trade is now and, in fact, has been for a
number of years past in a very depressed condition, owing mainly to
the great importations free of duty from England, the Continent of
Europe and elsewhere, which have the effect of glutting the markets
here, and underselling and driving the local manufacturers out of the
market, except in a few cases where the article cannot be imported.
The long-continued drought has played havoc, financially, with the
farmers and pastoralists of the colony who are the classes from whom
we derive the most support.’
BOOT AND SHOE MAKERS.—Mr. W. P. White, Secretary of the
New South Wales Amalgamated Operative Boot Trade Union writing
under date June 14th observes: ‘ During from four to six weeks of the
year men of this trade are idle from want of continuous employment,
and many hands are paid off in the various factories ; but this year it
has been greater than previously. The men are willing to leave the
trade when they can get a chance of turning their attention to other
things.’ This account is corroborated by an official report on the state
of this trade published in the Sydney Globe of the 24th of August last
under the heading ‘ Alarming Depression in the Boot Trade,’ in which
is given an account of the state of trade from no less than thirty of the
managers or proprietors of different boot and shoe factories in and
around Sydney. For obvious reasons the employers did not wish their
real names to appear in this ominous report, so their names were sup
pressed, and indicated by consecutive numbers. The following is a
summary of this report:—
No. 1. Very slack : closes on Friday until noon on Monday; has
done so for the last seven weeks.
No. 2. Very slack: closed from Thursday to Monday during the
last five weeks.
�9
No. 3. One of the largest m the colony. Has discharged a great
number of hands ; those retained work only seven hours per day for five
days, and are generally paid at 11 o’clock on Saturdays.
No. 4. Men engaged have not averaged two days per week for the
last six weeks.
No. 5. Discharged half the hands nine weeks ago; those retained
Work irregularly.
No. 6. Trade falling off ; factory closed two days last week.
No. 7. Usually employed ten makers and a number of finishers ; now
employ only two makers, whose average is not more than two days per
week for the last five weeks.
No. 8. Usually employed four makers and two finishers. This
factory closed for a week, then re-opened with one maker and one
finisher, the remainder being discharged.
No. 9. No cause for complaint.
No. 10. Has discharged one-third of employés ; those retained average
Only three days per week.
No. 11. Has been closed for the last twelve weeks, with the exception
Of a few apprentices and one man over them.
Nos. 12 and 13. Have been closed for the last three weeks.
No. 14. Has discharged several hands ; those retained work only at
intervals.
No. 15. Trade so slack that the whole of the employés with the
exception of three women’s workmen, were put off the whole of last
week.
No. 16. Very slack; discharged the majority of workmen; those
retained average two and a half to three days per week.
No. 17. Discharged half of hands five weeks ago; the remainder
working casually.
No. 18. Doing fairly well.
No. 19. Closed for the last five weeks.
No. 20. Very dull.
No. 21. Closed for the last ten weeks.
No. 22. Doing a fair trade.
No. 23. Very slack.
No. 24. The largest factory in the Colony. Closes at 1 o’clock on
Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, and on Friday all
work has to be completed by 11'30 a.m.; pay is issued one hour later;
the factory is then closed until the following Monday. This system has
been in operation for the last three weeks. In this factory some of the
hands who have done exhibition work, that has taken first prizes, are
now making copper toes, and are doing other work usually done by
apprentices and lads.
No. 25. Discharged eighteen hands ; remainder doing limited work.
Most of weekly hands’ wages reduced, some to the extent of ten shillings
per week.
No. 26. Had but one full week during last eight weeks, the average
being three days per week.
No. 27. Trade very dull.
No. 28. Very dull; majority of employés walking about.
No. 29. Firm completely ruined. The whole of the plant was taken
and sold about six weeks ago.
This report further states that there a’re now between 600 and 700
�IO
boot and shoemakers out of work in Sydney alone; and that so deep
and wide spread is the misery amongst them, that numbers of them are
now blacking shoes and selling newspapers in the streets of Sydney, in
order to provide an honest crust for their starving wives and children.
COOPERS.—Messrs. John Strange, President: Henry McPhillips,
Secretary: John Quain, Treasurer, and five members of the Committee
of the N.S.W. Journeymen Coopers’ Society, in a report, dated from
Sydney in June last, after drawing a most gloomy picture of the de
pressed condition of the Coopers’ trade, states : ‘ In conclusion we would
strongly recommend our fellow countrymen in Great Britain and Ireland
to pause and consider before taking the important step of emigrating to
this country, at least, until they receive a more favourable report from
the trade. We hope that this report, will be the means of preventing
much misery and disappointment. There are hundreds here who would
be glad to return to England if they had the chance.’
WHEELWRIGHTS AND BLACKSMITHS.—Messrs W. M’Carty,
President, and G. B. James, Secretary, of the N.S.W. Amalgamated
Society of Wheelwrights and Blacksmiths, state: ‘An almost continuous
depression has existed in our trade for a period of two years, with very
little prospect of improvement. This state of things we attribute to a
recurrence of bad seasons in the pastoral and agricultural districts of
the Colony. The labour market is glutted owing to the influx of immi
grants.’
FARRIERS.—In a report dated Sydney, June nth, Mr. R. F. Bosden,
Secretary of the N.S.W. Journeymen Farriers’ Society, says: ‘The
trade is very brisk from November to April; from April to November it
is very dull. There are plenty of farriers out of work, and numbers of
apprentices finishing their time every week.’
PATTERN MAKERS.—In a letter to the New South Wales Trades
and Labour Council, dated Sydney, June 7th, Mr. E. W. McIntosh,
Secretary of the N.S.W. Branch of the Australasian Pattern Makers’
Society, says: ‘ In reply to your memorandum of the 3rd inst., in refer
ence to the departure of Mr. John Norton as Delegate from the Council
to England, I beg to state, for Mr. Norton’s information, that our trade
has been very dull for nearly two years, during which time very few
pattern makers can boast of constant work. State-assisted immigra
tion is strongljz protested against by our society.’
FURNITURE TRADE.—A report of the N.S.W. United Furniture
Trade Society, dated Sydney, June last, shows that this trade is at a
standstill in consequence of the competition of the Chinese, and the
wholesale importation of furniture from Europe and America.
COAL-MINERS. —Mr. James Curley, General Secretary of the
Hunter River Miners’ Mutual Protective Association, N.S.W., writes in
June last: ‘ Speaking of this (the Newcastle Mining district) it is
literally crammed with labour. The gradual influx of immigrants, from
time to time, has, at last, swamped the mining labour market. The
trade of the district is fully supplied with a surplus of 400 to 500 men.’
Mr. John Owens, Secretary of the Western Branch of the N.S.W.
Coal Miners’ Mutual Protective Association, writing on the 5th June
last, states : ‘ Trade is not brisk on account of their being too many
men. The opinion of this Association is that State-assisted immigration
is very undesirable, as the supply of labour in this district exceeds the
demand.’
�11
According to a report in the Sydney Globe of August 21st, two mines
at Captain’s Flat, Queanbey an, have recently been closed; and the
miners thus thrown out of work—who have not been paid for eight weeks,
—are in a state of semi-destitution. In answer to a petition signed by 100
of these miners, the Minister for Works has promised, if possible, to find
them employment at road making, and to pay them out of the fund for
the maintenance of the unemployed.
The same paper states that the Vale of Clwydd mine has stopped, the
manager having been instructed ‘ to stop work until further. orders.
The proprietors of the. Mount Keira and Mount Kembla collieries, in
the southern district of N.S.W., have recently given notice, to
reduce the miners’ wages after the nth ultimo. The whole of the coal
mining industry is in a very depressed state.
COAL TRIMMERS.—Mr. William Cremor, Secretary of the New
castle Coal Trimmers’ Provident Union, N.S.W., writing under date
June 7th, says : ‘ We have 150 members on the roll, and these are only
working half-time. At no time has the full number been employed.
There are too many workers for the amount of work to be done. The
mines are full, and every trade is more than full}7 supplied with labour.
Newcastle and the mining district could part with, at least, 1,000 men,
and leave but a moderate living for those remaining. In the present
circumstances, State-assisted emigration is a grievous wrong, doubly
inflicted; first, upon those who are already here, and, secondly, upon
those who are brought here. The majority of the new comers merely
gwell the ranks of the unemployed or help to reduce wages by accepting
lower rates, or, if attached to a Union, by further dividing the amount
of work to be done. At present we are making about 30s. per week.’
WHARF LABOURERS.—Mr. T. McKillop, President of the Sydney
Wharf Labourers’ Union, writing from Sydney under date, June nth,
says : ‘ I beg leave to say that the present mode of assisted immigration
is ruinous to the Colonies, as it tends to flood the labour market.’
This is very plain evidence that the New South Wales labour.market
in the above branches is in an absolutely congested state ; and it is the
same in nearly every other branch. Not one of the trades named in
your list of trades and average rates of wages can be said to be
prosperous. Both the agricultural and manufacturing industries in New
South Wales are stagnant. It is true that you make the rates quoted
apply to 1884, and state that they are subject to fluctuations, but the
depression was nearly as bad in 1884 as it is now, and the only fluctuation
has been from bad to worse. Even if the state of things in 1884 had
been appreciably better than it is now, I protest against the data of
1884 being made to apply to 1886, when, as I have shown, every branch
of industry is depressed, and large sections of the New South Wales
working-classes are suffering the acutest distress, many of them being
positively destitute.
GOLD-MINING.—There is a very erroneous and dangerous impres
sion abroad here, which has been fostered by the foolish statements of
persons who should know better, that if an artisan or agricultural
labourer, on arriving in the Colonies, cannot find work at his accus
tomed occupation, he can easily turn his attention to gold-mining.
Apart from the fact that the alluvial diggings, where individuals with
little or no capital formerly managed to gain a livelihood, are. now
exhausted, the more important fact that a man to succeed in mining
�12
must have extensive experience of the most hard and practical kind,
seems to be generally lost sight of here. The days of successful indi
vidual effort in gold-mining have long since passed away ; and what is
required now-a-days is special knowledge, long experience, and, above
all, capital. Mining m the Colonies has now entered on the scientific
stage; and, except in very rare instances, is only successful when pur
sued on an extensive scale, with large capital and under the direction of
experts.
The exciting stories about the wealth of the Kimberley gold fields, are,
for the most part, exaggerations, and even experienced miners should
await further information before joining in the ‘ rush.’ Over and over
again the Australian newspapers have warned the public against
rashly venturing into the Kimberley district, and have pointed out the
hardships and perils to be encountered on the way thither and on the
field itself. Travellers who have returned from Kimberley have warned
diggers not to venture in less numbers than parties of six, with, at least,
a couple of horses a-piece, and supplies for six months. Therefore, no
man should venture unless he has a small capital of between ^200 and
^300, to defray outfit, cost of supplies, expenses of transit by sea, journey
across country, and expenses of return journey in case of failure. Yet
in spite of multiplied warnings, hundreds have recklessly ventured, illequipped, and badly provided, with the result that many of them have
perished either by the spears of the blacks or have been “ bushed,” and
perished miserably of hunger and thirst; while others, who have escaped
these perils, have been unable to return, and have had to gain their
bread by working on the roads, or by sweeping the streets of Derby.
For an agricultural labourer or mechanic to go to the colonies with the
idea of gaining a livelihood, let alone a fortune at gold-mining, is sheer
insanity. There are thousands of experienced European miners and
swarms of Chinese on the spot, who are unable to make a living at it.
Your Publications concerning New South Wales are full of inaccu
racies and misleading statements too numerous to particularise at
greater length. This is not at all astonishing, seeing that you are
issuing old information no longer applicable to the colony. Your
publications appear to have been compiled from books and pamphlets
of the Agent-General, which have been proved over and over again,
both by the working-classes in New South Wales, and by returned
emigrants here in England, to be totally unreliable. The circulation of
such out-of-date and unreliable information appears all the more in
excusable that no effort appears to have been made to revise it. On
behalf of those whom I represent, I have to complain that sources of
the most reliable and complete information concerning the present state
of the Labour Market in New South Wales have been ignored.
Towards the end of last Session, Mr. Burt, the member for Morpeth,
presented three petitions to Parliament against State-assisted-immigration to New South Wales (1) from the Trades’ and Labour Council; (2)
from the Democratic Alliance ; and (3) from the Federated Seamen’s
Union, of that colony. All three of these petitions were nearly identical
in tenor and text; and from one of them 1 quote the second clause :—
‘ That whereas there has been a dearth of employment for skilled
‘ artisans and general labourers during the past few years, the Govern‘ ment has continued to pour into the country shiploads of immigrants
‘ for whom no work could be found. Thousands of skilled artisans,
�* enticed out to this country by fallacious promises of constant employ‘ ment at high wages, have been compelled to accept work as navvies
‘ on the relief works started by the Government of New South
‘ Wales, for the relief of the distress caused by the surplus labour
1 created by the system of State-assisted immigration.
During
‘ the last three or four years the numbers of the unemployed
‘ have increased every year, until this year they may be numbered in
‘ thousands. Last year hundreds of skilled artisans were walking the
‘ streets of Sydney without employment, or food or shelter. They were
' found by hundreds sleeping in the public streets and gardens, until, in
‘ deference to a strong public agitation which took place, the Govern‘ ment was compelled to provide them with temporary shelter, together
‘ with one blanket each, with bread and cheese to keep them from
‘ starving. Relief works had then to be started in order to grapple with
‘ the difficulty. The same state of things has occurred again this year.
‘ Large meetings of the unemployed have been held in Sydney ; the
• Government have been compelled to start relief works anew, and to
‘ establish a Special Government Bureau for dispersing the unemployed
‘ workmen throughout the colony by means of free railway passes which
‘ have been issued in thousands to the unemployed. The men thus
‘ supplied with free railway passes instead of finding employment, have
‘ been compelled to tramp up and down the country in search of work,
‘ suffering greatly from exposure and hunger, and finally forced to accept
‘ work at pauper wages at roadmaking, bush-clearing, stone breaking on
‘ Government Relief Works.’
These petitions, containing such startling information, do not
appear to have been deemed worthy of notice, as you make no
reference to them, although they have been frequently referred
to and quoted in the London and Provincial press.
In like
manner the Official Report of the Third Inter-Colonial Trades’ Union
Congress of Australasia, which met in Sydney in October last year, has
been ignored, although it contains the most full and reliable information
as to the state of the whole Labour Market of all the Australasian
Colonies. But apart from these sources of information—than which
none could be more trustworthy—the statements concerning the depres
sion actually existing in the Labour Market of New South Wales with
which the newspapers of that Colony are full, have not been even noticed
by you. None of the above newspaper extracts, which are taken from the
files of the Sydney papers received by the two last mails, have been pub
lished by you. Neither have my reiterated warnings to intending emigrants,
both in the press, and at public meetings, not to venture to New South
Wales during the present crisis; nor has the statement recently made by
Sir Patrick Jennings, the Premier of the Colony, to the effect that in
consequence of the general depression, the deficit this year would pro
bably amount to ¿"2,000,000 sterling, recommended itself to
your notice.
Had the latest files of the Sydney papers been
consulted such distressing accounts as the following, taken from
the Sydney Globe, of the 23rd of August last, would, perhaps, have in
duced you to considerably modify some of your statements with regard
to New South Wales :
‘THE UNEMPLOYED IN MELBOURNE,
It is now clearly manifest, consist in a great measure, of men
�who have recently arrived in that city from poverty-stricken South
Australia.
On the other hand, the unemployed in Sydney are a
solid substantial fact, and an overwhelming majority of their number
■consists of men who have been identified with Sydney for years.
During the past six months more than 6,000 unemployed
persons have been provided for by the Government either at the
Rookwood, Little Bay, Middle Harbour, Field of Mars, and other
■camps, or by granting them free passes to country districts. The Supply
Bill now brought before Parliament contains the item of £25,000 for the
unemployed, and no amount of sophistry will rub this fact out. The
■expenditure for the unemployed is still going on, and it will probably
total £50,000 before the end is reached. In addition to all this we
have nearly 400 carpenters asking the Minister for Works to give
them work; Coachmakers in destitution and distress ; something
like 5,000 Ironworkers who have only partial employment; while
Saddlemakers, Bootmakers and other indoor workers, are bitterly com
plaining of the hard times and scarcity of work.’
From the same source could have been learned the fact that private charity
is being invoked on every hand to alleviate the widespread misery and
■destitution among the working-classes of New South Wales, and that in
Sydney, as in London,
NIGHT REFUGES AND SOUP KITCHENS.
find more than their legitimate share of hunger and starvation to relieve.
According to the Report presented to the igth Annual Meeting of the
City Night Refuge and Soup Kitchen Charity held in Sydney on the 1st
of last month, when Sir Alfred Stephen, the Lieutenant-Governor of the
Colony, occupied the chair: ‘ It was shown that the number of meals
given away during the past twelve months was 65,685 ; and that shelter
for the night had been afforded in 25,851 instances.’
Unless such information as this is taken into consideration and given
its due weight by you when compiling and authorising the issue of your
■official circulars respecting the state of the labour market of New South
Wales, the utility of such an organisation as that which you control is
utterly destroyed. If such information as I have now placed before you
•can be legitimately ignored, I respectfully submit that the public have
been entirely misled concerning the nature of your functions ; and that
instead of being an organisation for disseminating trustworthy informa
tion concerning Her Majesty’s Colonies, the action of the Government
Emigrants’ Information Office is rather calculated to have the effect of
■shifting the burden of the social evils of this country on to the young
and struggling communities abroad, amongst which, as in the case of
New South Wales, dire distress and deep destitution already exist.
At the very outset of its career the Emigrants’ Information Office
begins by creating doubt as to the thorough reliability of the information
it issues. At the head of all its broad-sheets, hand-books, and pam
phlets it is stated that ‘ this office has been established for the purpose
of supplying intending emigrants with useful and trustworthy informa
tion respecting the British colonies . . . but that the committee of
management cannot undertake to hold themselves responsible for the
absolute correctness of every detail.’ Now this would, perhaps, be all
very well if those portions of the information, the correctness of which
the committee do not undertake to guarantee, were plainly indicated ;
»■V .v'S'"
�i5
but, as it is, the euquirer does not know what is reliable and what is not,
and thus the value of the whole is utterly destroyed. I take it that the,
money of the British taxpayer ought not to be spent in disseminating
one tittle of information calculated to promote emigration that cannot be
relied upon ; and the correctness of the information supplied by this
Government office ought to be guaranteed, or the information not issued
at all.
In the name of the working classes of New South Wales, I have to
enter a most emphatic protest against the careless manner in which the
business of the Government Emigrants’ Information Office is being
carried on. I respectfully suggest that the circulation of the publications
respecting New South Wales, now being issued by you, should be at
once stopped ; and that until they have been thoroughly revised, and made
to give a more correct account of the state of the labour market in that
colony, no further issue of them should be authorised.
I have the honour to be, Gentlemen,
Your obedient Servant,
JOHN NORTON,
New South Wales Labour Delegate.
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�Wage-Labour and Capital. From the German of
Karl Marx translated by J. L. Joynes and reprinted from Justice.
New and cheaper edition, Royal 8-vo., price id.
By Edward Carpenter.—Social Progress and Indi
vidual Effort; Desirable Mansions ; and Co-operative Production.
One penny each.
The Man with the Red Flag : Being John Burns’
Speech at the Old Bailey, when tried for Seditious Conspiracy, on
April 9th, 1886. (From the Verbatim Notes of the official short
hand reporter.) With Portrait. Price threepence.
The Socialist Catechism. By J. L. Joynes. Reprinted
with additions from Justice.
Demy 8-vo., price id. 20th thousand.
Socialism and Slavery. By H. M. Hyndman,
(in
reply to Mr. Herbert Spencer’s article on “The Coming Slavery.”)
New Edition, with portrait. 16 pp. Royal 8-vo., price one penny.
The Emigration Fraud Exposed.
By H.
M.
Hyndman. With a Portrait of the Author. Reprinted by per
mission from the Nineteenth
for February, 1885. Crown 8-vo.
price one penny.
What an Eight Hours Bill Means.
By T. Mann
(Amalgamated Engineers). New edition with portrait.
Thousand. Price one penny.
Sixth
Socialism versus Smithism: An open letter from
H. M. Hyndman to Samuel Smith, M.P. for Liverpool.
8-vo. Cheaper edition, price id.
Socialism and the Worker.
Price id.
By F.
A.
Crown
Some.
An explanation in the simplest language of tne main idea of Socialism.
The Chicago Riots and the Class War in the
United States. By H. M. Hyndman. Reprinted
from Time, June, 1886.
Price one penny.
International Trade Union Congress, held at Paris,
August, 1886. Report by Adolphe Smith.
Price Three-Halfpence.
24-pp., Royal 8-vo’.
John E. Williams, and the Early History of
THE SOCIAL-DEMOCRATIC FEDERATION.
trait. Price one penny.
With Por
Opening Address to the Trade Union Congress
at Southport, September, 1885. Delivered by T. R. Threlfall. Royal
8-vo., 16-pp. Price one penny.
An able address from a representative working man on political and social topics.
The Historical Basis of Socialism in England.
By H. M. Hyndman.
Paul, Trench, & Co.
Crown 8-vo., price 8s. 6a
London: Kegan
This is the only Book in the English Language which gives the Historical and
Economical Theories of Organised Socialism. It should be carefully studied by all who
desire to understand why Socialists are enthusiastic for their cause, and confident of
uccess in the near future.
�
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The Australian labour market: startling disclosures
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Norton, John
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Place of publication: London
Collation: 15, [1] p. ; 23 cm.
Notes: Publisher's list on preliminary page, Other works on socialism listed on unnumbered back page. Title page beneath author has text: 'Distress and destitution in New South Wales - Pauper Relief works & soup kitchens - Bogus 'emigrants' information office'.
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The Modern Press
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1886
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G4970
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Australia
Socialism
Labour
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Australia
Labour and labouring classes
Poverty
Socialism
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Text
SOCIALISM
AND THE
WORKER
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Price One Penny.
BY PERMISSION OF THE AUTHOR.
LENDING
LIBRARY
LONDON:
THE MODERN PRESS, 13, PATERNOSTER ROW, E.C.
AND
W. L. ROSENBERG, 36, EAST FOURTH STREET, NEW YORK CITY.
�THE
SOCIAL-DEMOCRATIC. FEDERATION.
OBJECT.
The Establishment of a Free Condition of Society based on the prin
ciple of Political Equality, with Equal Social Rights for all and the
complete Emancipation of Labour.
PROGRAMME.
1. All Officers or Administrators to be elected by Equal Direct Adult
Suffrage, and to be paid by the Community.
2. Legislation by the People, in such wise that no project of Law
shall become legally binding till accepted by the Majority of the People.
3. The Abolition of a Standing Army, and the Establishment of a
National Citizen Force ; the People to decide on Peace or War.
4. All Education, higher no less than elementary, to be Free, Com
pulsory, Secular, and Industrial for all alike.
5. The Administration of Justice to be Free and Gratuitous for all
Members of Society.
6. The Land with all the Mines, Railways and other Means of Tran
sit, to be declared and treated as Collective or Common Property.
7. Ireland and all other parts of the Empire to have Legislative
Independence.
8. The Production of Wealth to be regulated by Society in the com
mon interest of all its Members.
9. The Means of Production, Distribution and Exchange to be
declared and treated as Collective or Common Property.
As measures called for to palliate the evils of our existing society the
Social-Democratic Federation urges for immediate adoption :—
The Compulsory Construction of healthy artizan’s and agricultural
labourers’ dwellings in proportion to the population, such dwellings to
be let at rents to cover the cost of construction and maintenance alone.
Free Compulsory Education for all classes, together with the provision
■of at least one wholesome meal a day in each school.
Eight Hours or less to be the normal working day in all trades.
Cumulative Taxation upon all incomes above a fixed minimum not
•exceeding ^300 a year.
State Appropriation of Railways, with or without compensation.
The establishment of National Banks, which shall absorb all private
institutions that derive a profit from operations in money or credit.
Rapid Extinction of the National Debt.
Nationalisation of the Land, and organisation of agricultural and
industrial.armies under State control on Co-operative principles.
As means for the peaceable attainment of these objects the SocialDemocratic Federation advocates :
Adult
tation.
Suffrage. Annual Parliaments. Proportional Represen
Payment of Members ; and Official Expenses of Election
■out of the Rates. Abolition of the House of Lords and all
Hereditary Authorities.
Disestablishment and Disendowment
of all State Churches.
.Secretary, Social-Democratic Federation, Bridge House, Blackfriars, E.C.
�SOCIALISM AND THE WORKER.
----------- >£<-----------
OCIALISM has been attacked and incriminated at all times,
but never with more animosity than recently. Socialists are
reproached with every kind of wickedness; of the tendency
to do away with property, marriage, family, to pollute every
thing that is sacred ; they have even been accused of arson and murder.
And why not ? If we look at the originators of these incriminations, we
are not the least astonished, for they have to defend privileges and
monopolies, which in reality are in danger, if drawn to the broad day
light and handled by the Socialist. They act according to the old
jesuitic stratagem : invent lies, pollute your enemy in every way you
can ; something will stick. But if we find those reproaches repeated
and echoed even by working men, whose interest are quite different, we
must wonder indeed.
If the workers, however, hate and attack Socialism, it is not a clear
perception of the wickedness of the aims of Socialism, by which their
judgment is guided, but by a dim and vague idea, and it is well known
that spectres are awful things in the dark, for people who believe in
them.
.
But everybody who hates and persecutes other people for their pur
poses and pursuits should be convinced that he is right in doing so.
For, if we hate and persecute persons whose purposes and pursuits are
reasonable and right, we are wrong.
For this reason let us examine the real aims of the Socialists. I think
I know them pretty well, and I promise to tell the truth, and nothing
but the truth about them.
. .
When you have read this to the end, you may persecute the Socialists
with renewed hatred, if you find they are bad ; on the other hand, you
will think favourably of them, if you find their views good and right.
For I am convinced, that you, dear reader, whoever you are, have not
a mind to love the bad and hate the good.
Foremost and above all, it seems to be certain that the Socialists
intend to divide all property. Everybody, who owns anything, must
give up what he owns; this whole mass has to be divided equally among
all the people, and each person may use his part, just as he likes. After
a while, when some have used up their allotted part, and a new dispro
portion of property has arisen, a new division will be made; and so on.
Especially the money and the soil are to be divided.—This is, what some
people say concerning Socialism.
Now honestly, reader, have you ever seen or heard of a man of sound
mind, who really demanded such nonsense ? No, you have not! Such
a demand involves the highest degree of ciaziness. Just reflect, dear
*3
I
�4
reader to whose lot, for instance, should a railroad fall ? Who should
haVe the rails, or a locomotive, or a carriage ? And since everybody
would have a right to demand an equal share, all these things would
nave to be broken and smashed up, and one would get a broken axletree
another the door of a carriage, or perhaps some bolts. Not even lunatics
could recommend such a state of things.
A division of money or soil might possibly be thought of, but money
and soil form only a small part of the wealth of a country. The ready
money forms even a very small part. And if the soil should be divided,
all the new owners would be in need of houses, barns, stables, agricultural
implements of all kinds. Such a distribution of the soil is, therefore
utterly impossible, and the Socialists know well enough that such a
proceeding would benefit nobody. During the great French Revolution
in 1709 something similar was tried; large estates were divided among
poor country people to make them happy. What is the result ? The.
French peasantry, generally, are so poor, that thousands of them live in
dwellings with only a door and no window at all, or with only one small
window at the side of the door. And small farmers are not much better
off m any country, except, perhaps, in the vicinity of large cities. The
small farmers must, as a rule, toil harder than any other person, to make
a living, and a very scanty and poor one in any case. Farming, in our
age, only pays well if done on a large scale, if large tracts of land can be
cultivated with the aid of machinery and the application of all modern
improvements. And this knowledge and doctrine of the Socialists is
strictly opposed to a division of the soil. On the contrary, the Socialists
are of the opinion, that there will be a time when a number of small
farmers will unite to cultivate their farms in common, and divide the
products among themselves, seeing that farming on a small scale cannot
compete with farming on a large scale, just as manufacturing on a small
scale cannot compete with manufacturing on a large scale. Therefore,
what has been said about the intention of the Socialists with respect to
dividing the soil, is an apparent falsehood.
Concerning the division of money I must relate an anecdote invented
to ridicule people who were represented to have such intentions. One
day in 1848, as the story goes, Baron Rothschild took a walk on the
Common at Frankfort on the Main.
Two labourers met nim and
accosted him thus : “ Baron, you are a rich man ; we want to divide
with you.” Baron Rothschild, not the least puzzled, took out his purse
good-humouredly and answered: — “ Certainly 1
We can do that
business on the spot. The account is easily made. I own 40 millions
oi florins; there are 40 millions of Germans. Consequently each
German has to receive one florin ; here is your share
and giving one
florin to each one of the labourers, who looked at their money quite
confused, he walked off smiling.
This teaches that the division of money is but an idle invention.
And with a little brain and thought, everybody must easily come to
the conclusion, that the great number of those who confess to the
principles of Socialism cannot possibly consist of blockheads or rather
lunatics, which they would prove to be, if they demanded such nonsense,.
In Germany 700,000 voters voted for Socialist candidates—can they all be
crazy?
Therefore, there must be something else in Socialism. The number
of Socialists in Germany is constantly growing. Even Prince Bismarck
confesses that. There must be something in it.
�Now if we go to the meetings of the Socialists, if we read their
papers and pamphlets what do we find ?
They do not intend to introduce division of property; on the con
trary, they are for abolishing its division.
This sounds strange, but it is so.
The Socialists are of the opinion, that division of property is flourish
ing in our society at present, and further they are of the opinion that
this division is carried on in a very unjust manner. If you doubt, only
think of our millionaires, and say, whether those fellows did or did not
understand to divide and to appropriate to themselves large sums of
money. Think of those swindling railroads and other companies. How
many honest mechanics, farmers, labourers, have been swindled by
them out of the little sums they had gathered by hard work and saving ?
The Socialists do not claim the honour of being the first to discover
that this kind of distribution is going on everywhere throughout thworld ; they have learned it. Men who belong to their adversaries have
taught them. John Stuart Mill, who was opposed to Socialism, said in
one of his writings : “ As we now see, the produce of labour is in almost
an inverse ratio to the labour—the largest portions to those who have
never worked at all, the next largest to those whose work is almost
nominal, and so in a descending scale, the remuneration dwindling as
the work grows harder and more disagreeable, until the most fatiguing
and exhausting bodily labour cannot count with certainty on being able
to earn even the necessaries of life,”
This sounds really dreadful, but if you look around and consult your
own experience, is it not so ? Certainly, it :’s I
There are people who have a princely income, who plunge from one
pleasure into another—and perhaps they have never in their life done
the least useful thing ; they need not work, they do not work themselves,
but—they draw the proceeds of the work of other people and enjoy
them.
On the other hand, look at him, who “ eats his bread in the sweat of
his brow,” look at the labourer who works for wages. If he is skilful,
industrious and strong, and if he is lucky enough to find employment,
he may even be able to save a little. But the large majority of labourers
cannot even think of that, in spite of all hardships they undergo. When
they have to stop work, they are as poor as when they began it. And
many, many labourers, hard toiling men, are not able to protect them
selves and their families from exposure and hunger. You need not go
far, reader, you will will find them everywhere. Ragged, palefaced,
despairing people will meet your vision, and on enquiring you will learn,
that they were industrious, orderly workers, and that there are thousands,
aye, hundreds of thousands of people living in the same miserable con
dition, in the cities as well as in the country.
Now look at the mechanics ? A few of them may succeed ; they may
be able to reach a state, in which they are safe from sorrow and care for
he necessaries of life. The greater number of mechanics who have a
little shop of their own and work on a small scale, have to battle with
poverty and care. Thousands, hundreds of thousands of mechanics fail
in this battle; they give up their small establishments and turn wage
labourers. One manufacturer on a large scale deprives hundreds of
small mechanics of their independent existence, one large shop or “ co
operative store ” crushes out fifty small shopkeepers. As things stand
�6
to-day, only those will succed in the great struggle for life, in the universal
competition, who command large means, a great amount of capital.
In commerce it is the same; merchants with small means rarely do a
good business, many go bankrupt, merchants with large means grow
richer and richer. It is similar with farmers throughout the civilised
countries of Europe and America. Owners of small farms just eke out a
scanty living and have to work very hard ; many gradually fall off: in
general the peasantry get poorer. There is the usurer, who knows how
to make profit of a poor crop. Very frequently we find that small farms
are bought by owners of large farms to be united with them. Only the
latter understand and are able to farm with profit.
Thus we see how the large class of those who work hard and
assiduously do not make money, do not amass riches—on the contrary,
many of them must suffer from want and care. But now, who creates
these riches which fall to those who never worked, or whose work hardly
deserves the name of work ? Who else, but that self-same working-class.
For industry and work scarcely a living ! Riches for those, who never
or seldom did anything useful ! Do you call that just ? Can you
approve of such a state of things? I know you cannot. No sensible
man can approve of it. And now say what you may against Socialists
—in this point they are right. This state of things cannot and must not
continue. It is wrong, and therefore it must be changed. Socialists do
not object to acquisitions made by honest work, on the contrary, they
try to secure the product of work to the worker himself, and to protect it
from the clutches of those who hitherto have been accustomed, not to
work themselves, but only to draw profit from the work of others, and
who, in doing so, are not content with a small part, but try to take the
lion’s share as it is in the fable.
But do the Socialists not go too far in their zeal ? It would, certainly,
be well and just if it could be accomplished, that those who toil and
work could be liberated from care and want, and those who have been
idle so far could be forced to work also. Birt are not the Socialists
enemies of the property-holders, and is not everybody who owns property
threatened to lose it by the Socialists, should they come into power—
so much so that he would have to face penury and want ? ' Ave they not
Communists ?
These objections and reproaches have been made and are made. Let
us not make light of them, but let us consider them quietly, in order to
judge right and justly.
Before we go on, we must explain two conceptions :
I. What is Communism ?
II. What is property ?
About Communism many lies have been set afloat, especially by people
whose interest it was to do so, viz., by those money-making idlers, so
that most people cannot but connect with the word Communism the idea
of rascality ; communist and scoundrel of the worst kind appear to them
to be synonymous. Therefore it is not an easy matter to speak of Com
munism without running risk to be condemned before one commences.
Many people in such a case will not hear, will not see, will not judge,
t heir verdict is formed. All social prejudices are awakened and called
forth by this expression. For that reason it is very difficult to come to
a quiet understanding about it. But the reader, who has followed us so
far, will follow us farther, not blindfolded, but using good common sense.
�7
If we open our eyes and look around us, we find many beneficent and
useful institutions brought forth by many or by the whole people in
common. In one place associations are formed, for instance, to save and
shelter shipwrecked persons; at another place the community erect a
school, or the State, the commonwealth, builds a harbour or a canal. In
ordinary life everybody cares for himself, but in such cases as those
just mentioned people unite for advancing a common, social purpose. Ex
perience teaches that, in doing so, they do admirably well; every one of
them who will reflect a little must confess that his own welfare is greatly
advanced by such institutions of common usefulness. What would people
be without common roads, common schools, etc., that is, such as are built
and instituted at the cost of the community for common use ? We should be
in a terrible situation, if all at once the different insurance companies
were to cease to exist, whose object is, to transfer a calamity, by which a
person might be struck heavily or perhaps be ruined, from his shoulders
to the shoulders of many. If I chose, I could mention here a thousand
other things, but the above named common institutions will be sufficient4
Now all these institutions are nothing but Communism. For Cowwwmswa i?
nothing but the principle of common interests of society. In every-day life
everybody looks out for his own interest, even at the cost of his fellow
men ; here cold, ugly egoism is dominant. The large cotton mills have
ruined thousands and thousands of weavers ; but who cares for hundreds
of honest, industrious, happy people, who get ruined by one mill ? Who
cares how many honest shoemakers are deprived of a living by the large
shoe manufacturers ? What does the usurer care for the victims of his
avarice ? What do the speculating swindlers care for the fate of the
shareholders, after their hard-earned savings are gone ? Nobody ever
thought of caring for such things, and it is my firm belief that a business
man in our days who would show any consideration for the welfare of
his fellowmen in his transactions would be certain to become a laughing
stock. Egoism rules supreme. Everybody thinks of his own welfare,
and does not care whether by doing so he destroys the welfare of others.
“What business have I to care for others if I am comfortable.” In
spite of the prevalence of Egoism, the common interest of mankind is
irrepressibly gaining ground. More and more people unite to culti
vate it, more and more associations are formed, the activity of the State
and community is extending its influence over more and more objects.
Who would have thought in former times of all the different associations
which are formed to-day to advance any number of common interests of
every description ? AVho held a.n idea in former years, that whole
countries would be cut in all directions by railroads, that telegraphs
would communicate news to the remotest parts of the world in an
instant ? Who could predict the admirable development of our postal
system ? Who thought of waterworks or of gas ? Who had an idea of
the modern arrangement of the fire brigades ? The root of all these
is Communism. They represent the victory of common interests over
hideous Egoism.
.
.
To turn institutions of common interest to the use of ail, is tiie tendency
of the age, and however people may curse at Communism, they are
bent to obey its mandates. Everywhere common interests press their
claims, and Communism, proudly elevating its head, marches on trium
phantly with all conditions of human life in its attendance.
He who declares himself an enemy of Communism declares himself
�8
nn enemy of common interest, an enemy of society and mankind ! Who
ever wishes to annihilate Communism will have to destroy the common
roads, the schools, the churches, he will have to destroy the public
gardens and parks, he will have to abolish the public baths,"the theatres,
she waterworks, all the public buildings, for instance, town halls, courts,
-ill the hospitals, the alms-houses, he will have to destroy the railroads’
She telegraphs, the post-office ! For all these belong to Communism.
Communism cannot be annihilated, it has its origin and root in human
nature like egoism. Everybody who will open his eyes must see that in
the present time we are under full sail to land in its sheltering harbour.
Sheltering ? Yes, sheltering ! Sheltering for the great majority of man
kind, for whom a better time will come, must come, when the common
interest, the interest of all, will be the rule governing all our social con
ditions, when a barrier will be erected against egoism by the regard for
the common or public welfare. If it happens nowadays that rich specu
lators make people in hard times pay exorbitant prices, and take advan
tage of a common calamity to double their wealth, or if railway
shareholders make their own rates for freight, injuring by high prices
producers as well as consumers in order to gain a large dividend ; or if
manufacturers prefer running short time to selling at lower prices—these
proceedings are considered “ all right,” for everybody can do with his own
as he chooses, But everybody must see that such egoism is opposed to
the common interest; and there will be a time when people will know
how to protect the common interest against such egGism. When that
time has come it will be better for all; all will enjoy life, not only those
who do so now at the cost of their fellow-beings.
If you define Communism in this way, some of my readers will say, we
do not object to it, quite on the contrary, we must confess to belong to
the Communists ourselves. But this is not what people generally under
stand by the word “ Communism..” We were to consider the Communism
which the Socialists want to introduce, the Communism with regard to
property. We admit that they do not intend to divide, but do they not
intend to abolish property ? That is what we oppose, otherwise we
would not object to it.
What is property ? “ To be sure that, what a person owns, possesses! ”
Well 1 But, now tell me, are you certain that the Socialists are, or ever
were, opposed to what Peter or Paul owns ? Can you show me a
sentence or passage from any of the writings or pamphlets of Socialists
which justifies the supposition, that they intend to attack the property
of any person ?
You cannot, because such an idea never entered the head of a Socialist.
I should not wonder if you yourself have not thought sometimes con
sidering the means and ways by which many amass their riches, it
would be only just and right to take that illgotten wealth from the
rascally owner, but it is a firm principle of Socialism, never to mingle
with personal property in order to investigate its origin, or to arrange it
in a different way. Never and nowhere 1 And whoever asserts to the
contrary, either does not know the principles of Socialism or willingly
and knowingly asserts an untruth. The Socialists deem an investigation
into the origin of an acknowledged personal property an unnecessary
trouble. They do not envy the Duke of Westminster or Sir Thomas
Brassey their wealth. Although they perceive very well the constant
changes with regard to property, although they investigate and are
�<1
■acquainted with the causes producing those changes, although they are
well aware that fraud and meanness and violence in a great many in
stances are among those causes; they forbear to investigate how much
these causes, how much others, have influenced the state of property of
this or that single person. They consider the personal property an
accomplished fact, and respect it; so much so, that they consider
stealing a crime. Every time Revolution was victorious in Paris, bills
were seen at the street corners threatening death to thieves. A remark
able fact is that Baron Rothschild fled suddenly from Paris as soon as
these bills were posted. At Lyons during an insurrection in 1832, a
man who had appropriated another man’s property was shot by a
labourer in command. During the reign of the Commune of 1871,
Paris had no thieves, no prostitutes.
On the other hand, the right of the owner is not always respected in
our time, but they are not Socialists who violate the sanctity of property
in these cases, although it must be confessed that in many instances an
abrogation of the right of a property-holder becomes necessary. Socialists
cannot be reproached with ever having condemned houses or tracts of
land for the purpose of building a street or opening a railroad. They
certainly are not Socialists who seize and sell houses or lots at auction for
unpaid taxes. Nor will you find Socialists who connive at those shame
fully unjust appropriations of the property of others, which however go
on in a lawful form.
One thing, however, calls forth all the energy of the Socialists, and
they will try with all their might to remedy it. I have stated already,
they do not care whether a person owns hundreds of thousands or
millions of pounds, whether that person makes use of his money one way
or the other, whether he spends it wisely or foolishly. He may spend
his own as he chooses. But—these sums of money are not used simply
to be spent, but to bring interest, to increase, if possible, the wealth of
the possessor. Does he himself want to work, to do something useful ?
Far from it. His money works for him, his money makes money, as the
saying is; or in plain English, his money is the channel through which
the earnings of other, industrious people flow into his pockets. Socialists
call all kinds of property in this respect “ capital,” this expression com
prising all means for production : and- because one class of the people
possess, by their wealth, these means—the capital—another, and by far
the largest class have only their physical or mental strength and skill
for labour, hence the capital becomes a means for enslaving workers, forcing them
to give up the greater part of their produce to him who owns the capital.
They themselves obtain hardly enough to support themselves and their
families, while the capitalists enjoy life and get richer without working
at all. This is the point. Dead property deprives living work of its
fruits. Now since work should, by rights, own what it produces, as its
sole and legitimate earning, dead property becomes the bitter enemy of
working life.
Hence the struggle of labour with capital.
Returning to the question ; What is property ? the answer given above
appears unsatisfactory; we must add another question; to whom justly
belongs what the working part of the human race produces.
The answer to this question is of the greatest importance. Now it is
the capital which appropriates the greater part of it, leaving to the
workers, who form by far the greater number, only so much of it, that
�IO
they may keep alive; they are treated like bees, they are robbed of the
honey they make. This class is excluded from enjoying the blessings of
civilisation, the greater part of their product is taken by the capital.
What right has the owner of a beehive to rob the bees of the fruit of
their industry and labour ? They are his property, his is the might.
What right has capital to rob the working class of the greater part of
the fruit of their industry and labour ? The wage-labourers, the
mechanics, the farm hands, are they the property of the capitalist ? Are
they his slaves ?
As things stand to-day—they are 1 Might is right and by the title of
such right the slaveowner considers the fruit of the work of his slaves
his property; by this right, in former times, the feudal landowner
made his serfs work for his employment and benefit. Slavery is injustice,
serfdom is injustice, so the right which capital claims to the work of the
worker is injustice. I would not like to be misunderstood here. As far
as anything is the personal property of a person, he may enjoy it, as he
chooses; nobody has a right to interfere. But as soon as he tries to use
this property to enslave other people, he steps over his domain and must
be checked. For, I think, it is acknowledged among civilised people,
that nobody has a right of ownership over his fellowmen. Slavery has
been abolished, serfdom has been abolished, so the power which capital
exercises now, will be abolished ; its place will be occupied by the natural
and sacred right of the worker to the proceeds of his work.
But—is not the capital as necessary as the labour ? Can labour pro
duce anything without capital ? There must be raw material, there must
be tools, there must be machines, there must be workshops, warehouses
and so forth ; there must be soil to be tilled, &c. What can mere labour
do without all these ? True! But labour existed before capital, and
made the tools, workshops, &c. Is it necessary that capital, now the
foundation of successful labour, and which has been produced by labour,
be owned by a few individuals ? Has this minority a right to continue
to take the best part of what labour produces ?
The Socialists take the side of Labour. They maintain that it is
every body's duty to work, unless he be sick or crippled. They maintain
that whoever is able to work and is not willing to do it, has no right to
enjoy the fruits of the industry and labour of others.
If capitalists attempt to justify their way of making profit, by saying
that they have to run risks sometimes, that a part of their property
might occasionally.be lost, we answer, that labour has nothing to do with
that. The real cause of it is the competition among the employers, the
custom to produce at random, without investigating whether what is
produced is really wanted. For the class of capitalists there is no risk,
because its wealth increases every day. But there is a great risk for the
working-class. When business is slack, when wages go down, when
many workers are out of employment,—when in consequence of this
mechanics, grocers, and even farmers suffer, the condition of the work
ing part of the people is pitiable and many suffer. The newspapers tell
about that. Have they not had startling accounts of people starving to
death in our great cities ? Look at the local columns of the daily papers
and it is exceptional if there is no account of some family or other being
poverty-stricken, of people driven to despair, driven to commit suicide
by want. And all this in cities that have stores and warehouses crowded
with goods ! Is this no risk ?
�11
But how could this state, of things be changed ?
This, certainly, cannot be done of a sudden. There is a natural pro
cess of development in this, as in all changes that history has recorded
so far. According to the reasoning of the Socialists, this development
will be as follows.
Some time ago the middle-class formed the firm and solid foundation
of society and State. Machinery was invented and a change occurred.
Manufacturing, and even farming to a certain extent, were conducted on
a large scale; the middle-class people were pressed down into a class of
wage-labourers, and were employed in large numbers by the manufac
turers or employers. More and more this middle-class cease to be pro
perty-holders ; it is getting 'more and more difficult for the mechanics
and small farmers to hold their ground ; thus the middle-class is con
stantly decreasing, the class of wage-labourers increasing, until there
will be only two classes of people—rich and poor. In this progress
the number of rich people is diminishing, wealth becoming concen
trated in the hands of comparatively few persons, who are getting
enormously rich.
But this process must soon have its limit. There will be a time, when
the large mass of the working-people will feel its consequences unbear
able, will abolish it. That will be the time, when Communism will enter
into its rights. Labour will then be organised according to a certain
reasonable plan, and since, for that purpose, the use of the existing
capital, comprising soil, houses, railways, shipping, manufactories,
machines, &c., will be necessary, those comparatively few possessors of
all the wealth of the nations will have to be expropriated. Perhaps
they then will consent themselves to such a measure and give up every
thing necessary for production of their own accord, honoured and
praised for their patriotism and humanity, and remunerated deservedly;
perhaps they will use their ample means to resist the common demand,
and will perish, overwhelmed by the newly formed organisation of the
State. As I hinted before, in the new order of things all branches of
labour will be organised, similar to the arrangements we see to-day in
large factories, large estates, or institutions of the Government. Un
necessary work will be avoided and the reward for work done will be
greater. Labour will not be wasted in making luxuries for the idle, but
be usefully employed in making the necessaries of life for other workers.
It will be everybody’s duty to work, hence everybody will have ample
leisure for recreation and mental development. All will strive to amelio
rate the conditions of the community they belong to ; for, by doing so,
everybody will improve his own private situation.
The basis of this state of things will be abolition of private property
of individuals in such things as are necessary for production and trans
portation, such as factories, machines, railroads, &c., or which have
been created for instruction and amusement, such as schools, colleges,
museums, parks, &c.
Personal property will be what is necessary
or useful for private life. These are the outlines of a picture of future
times. Nobody is able to state whether the development will go on
exactly in the way we sketch out; but that does not matter, if only the
underlying idea of Communism is right. When Stephenson, more than
fifty years ago, built the first railroad, he certainly did not plan all the
locomotives, rails, signals, stations, etc., the way we find them to-day,
but his idea was right, and it conquered the world. Thus the idea of
�12
Socialism will conquer the world, for this idea is nothing but the real,
well understood interest of mankind. It is injustice, that a large majority,
to-day must work hard and suffer want, in order to procure an affluence of enjoyment
for an minority of people, who do not work. And who would deny, that, if it
is everybody s duty to work, if the production of unnecessary, nay even
injurious articles is abolished, if production is organised m conformity
with the real wants and pleasures of mankind—who would deny, that
■the standard of life of the whole human race might be raised infinitely
above its present grade, that the great mass of human beings might enter
the sphere of a life worthy of a human being ; from which they have been
excluded so far ?
Let me point out to you an example of organised labour in one branch,
to show the benefit of such an arrangement. How would it be possible
to send a letter to any place in the United Kingdom for a penny, a post
card for a half-penny, a letter to America for 2-J-d., if the postmasters in
the different parts of the world were private like the merchants and
manufacturers of to-day, if we had not the communistic arrangement of the
post ? Formerly the post was also a private business in nearly all the
•countries of Europe, like our railroads, and the owners of this institution
derived a princely income from it, although its use was very limited.
And well arranged, as our post-office may be.called, it might be better
yet, and will be more convenient in time.
Similar benefits would arise from all branches of human activity.
Look at our railroads—might they not be the property of the community
at large, as.well as the high roads, instead of being a monopoly in the
hands of private persons, whose sole object is to enrich themselves at the
cost of their fellow-citizens? If so, it has been proved that you could
go to any part of these islands with a shilling ticket, just as a letter goes
now, by post, with a penny stamp. In this manner one branch after
the other will be organised according to the ideas of communism, perhaps
by classes of people who are far from confessing to the principles of
Socialism, of Communism, by classes who are inimical to it—because
they do not understand it—and are narrow-minded enough to shut their
ears and their eyes to everything that does not tend to their private
interest.
This is not yet enough. All means for transportation, such as ships, etc.,
must come into the hands of the community at large ; so must all means
for production. This demand of Socialism has been the cause for accusing
them of hostility to property, even to the property of those who own but
a little. But who is it actually who drive the owner of small means
from his house, from his soil? Is it the Socialist? It is the large
capitalist, the large landowner ! As the magnet attracts iron filings, so
large capital attracts the small sums round it. And the same capitalists
who in all directions seize what they can get, try to persuade the small
•owners to beware of Socialism, this being ready to tear their property
from them. What a shameful falsehood ! Socialism only teaches the
way in which in a future time people will try to re-establish justice and
a more equal condition of life for the whole people while the owners of
small property are being robbed of the little they own, not by Socislists
—they have no power to do so, nor the desire for doing it—but by the
rich capitalists.
And this way is well-organised labour !
This certainly includes expropriation of those who have expropriated
�*3
he mass of the people, restitution of all means of production to those
who made them. Socialism is the true and only friend of the man of
small means, for it is the party of the working people. Large property
is the natural enemy of small property, as long as it has not been able to.
seize and devour it.
Moreover, Socialism, far from intending to abolish any property to-day
or to-morrow, only predicts that there will be a time, not suddenly pro
voked, but brought on by historical development, when the working
people will insist upon their right to the product of their own work, against
the privilege which property enjoys with regard to the work of others.
The conception, of. “ property of capital" will be transformed gradually
into the conception of “property of work."
Nowhere, you will perceive, abolition of property is thought of by
Socialists, and nobody I trust, will object to the change just mentioned.
The development of mankind to greater perfection never was and never
will be arrested by the prevailing laws concerning property, as for instance,
it was not arrested, when humanity demanded abolition of slavery, by
the pretended divine right of the slave owners. And if such rights and
laws demand that humanity stop its progress, such demand is madness.
Laws and rights concerning property are subjected to constant changes,
when such changes are in the interest of progress. But even in our
better institutions injustice is ruling, and the change just spoken of will
abolish that injustice and lead mankind to a higher state of perfection.
At the bottom of our institutions there is a remnant of slavery; as soon
as capital shall cease to govern, wage-labour and the rest of slavery will
be abolished.
Freedom and equality will then be no longer empty and cheap phrases,
but will have a meaning ; when all men are really free and equal, they
will honour and advance one another. The working man will then no
longer be deprived of the fruit of his work, his property, and everybody
who will work will be able to spend a good deal more in food, clothing,
lodging, recreation, pleasure and instruction than he can spend at
present.
If the Socialists had nothing to offer to the suffering people but the
consolation that Communism will bring help at some future time, when
the conditions for life, nearly unbearable now, will have become quite so, ■
this consolation would be poor. Long enough a future state of bliss has
been held out to suffering mankind, in which they would be rewarded for
all the wants and sufferings and pains of this world, and now most people
have lost confidence in such empty promises. They demand an ameliora
tion, not words, not promises, but facts. They do not want to expect
with resignation what may come after death, they demand a change of
their unfortunate situation while living on earth.
The interests of all workers are the same ! This is best shown by the fact
that in many strikes working shopkeepers are in favour of the wage
labourers. Low wages are unfavourable to the farmer as well as to the
mechanic, for when wages are low, the struggle for economical indepen
dence is more difficult; large capital increases, and at the expense of
small property. If working people would only learn to comprehend
the solidarity of their interest !
As it is with the increase of wages, so it is with the decrease of workmg-hours. Eight hours work a day is judged sufficient by physicians.
A person that has worked properly eight hours a day, ought to have
�*4
done his duty and has a right to request some hours for recreation, for
instruction, and for his family. Those who are the loudest in complaining
of the laziness of the working men, would soon make wry faces if they
were compelled to work only six hours a day. This decreasing the
working-hours will better the condition of the whole working-class.
Everybody can easily see that. Even in the country it could be done,
although there such a shortening will meet with the greatest objections,
and it will de done. What a great benefit will be achieved by this mea
sure alone! Whole armies of paupers, tramps, etc., will find useful em
ployment, they will disappear and with them a great deal of mischief
and crime.
Now if the wage-labourers of the cities and manufacturing places will
be ready to lead the van in the struggle for the interest of labour, the
rest of the whole working-class have no right to put themselves in the
position of idle, indifferent, or even grudging and hostile spectators. On
the contrary, it is the duty of the whole working-class to participate in
this struggle, for this war is carried on in the interest of all workers, and
the wage-labourers who have taken up the gauntlet are the Pioneers for
the human race.
But in order to carry on this war successfully, the workers must be
organised. Singly and isolated they are powerless; if all would unite
for the same purpose, they would be a formidable power, which nothing
could resist. You may easily break many single matches, a whole bundle
of them tied together, you would try in vain to break.
With regard to this, the Socialists have the gratification of seeing, that
their endeavours have not been fruitless. In Germany Socialism already
forms a respectable power, which commences to puzzle even the great
Bismark. They have been able to elect twenty-four representatives into
the Parliament of the German Empire, who, by their untiring activity, bv
the speeches they have delivered, have opened the eyes of hundreds of
thousands of people in Germany. And who would venture to pretend
that those men strove for something that was bad, that they betrayed
the interests of their constituents ? But not only in the parliament, in a
great many municipal assemblies also we find members belonging to the
working-class or representing its interests.
And all this has been accomplished in a few’ years: It is only 24 years
since the labour party unfurled its banner there. And what has been
tried and done during those 22 years to suppress this labour movement!
It has been ridiculed, scorned, incriminated. Many of its prominent
leaders have been put into prison. Many were deprived of their offices
and situations, of their customers. In spite of all this it grew and
thrived. In France, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Austria, Russia,
Italy, Spain, and now in England—everywhere throughout the civilised
world Socialism has taken root. Everywhere it has begun the struggle
against capital, monopoly, and classrule, and its victory is assured.
Concerning Socialism there might be said, what was said in olden times
about Christianity: If it is bad, it will die of its own badness ; if it is
good, it will conquer the world, in spite of all persecutions !
And Socialism will conquer the world, its principles will carry the whole
human race to a higher state of perfection.
Reader, you may judge for yourself and decide either in favour of or
against Socialism. If you think the aims and endeavours of the Socialists
deserve your hatred, try to crush them ; if on the contrary, you are con-
�*5
vinced that they are good, that the Socialists endeavour to promote the
happiness and welfare of mankind, join them I And if you do not like
to act publicly, help them secretly. Try to propagate their principles
among your acquaintances, explaining them in your intercourse, destroy
ing the falsehoods brought against them. Tell them that Socialists
form the true and only party of the working people. And if you are a
capitalist yourself, reflect how much nobler it is to help to promote the
welfare of the many, than to serve only your own interest, ugly and
hideous Egoism.
All who are interested, in Socialism
should, read.
The Historical Basis of Socialism in England.
By H. M. Hyndman.
Paul, Trench, & Co.
Crown 8-vo., price 8s. 6d
London: Kegan
This is the only Book in the English Language which gives the Historical and
Economical Theories of Organised Socialism. It should be carefully studied by all who
desire to understand why Socialists are enthusiastic for their cause, and confident of
ucces s in the near future.
Woman in the Past, Present and Future.
By
August ' Bebel, Deputy in the Reichstag. Translated from the
German by H. B. Adams Walther. Demy 8-vo., cloth, price 5s.
This work by the best known of the German Socialists aims at showing that the
social condition of women can be permanently improved only by the solution of the
whole social problem,
The Co-operative Commonwealth: an Exposition
of Modern Socialism. By Laurence Gronlund, of Philadelphia.
Demy 8-vo., paper cover, is.
This book supplies the want, frequently complained of, of definite proposals for the
administration of a Socialistic State. Mr. Gronlund has reconciled the teaching of
Marx with the influence of Carlyle in the constructive part of his work, which is
specially recommended to English Socialists.
“ JUSTICE,” the Organ, of the Social Democracy. Every
Saturday, one penny.
Socialism and Soldiering; with some comments on the
Army Enlistment Fraud. By George Bateman (Late 23rd Regi
ment), with Portrait. With an introduction by H. H. Champion
(Late Royal Artillery). Price One Penny.
Summary of the Principles of Socialism
By
H. M. Hyndman and William Morris.
Second edition, 64-pp.
crown 8-vo., in wrapper designed by Wm. Morris, price 4b.
This gives an account of the growth of capitalist production, and concludes with a
statement of the demands of English Socialists for the immediate future.
THE MODERN PRESS, 13, Paternoster Row, London, E.C.
(The Publications of the Modern Press can be obtained from W. L.
Rosenberg, 261, East Tenth Street, New York City.)
�Social Progress and Individual Effort.
Desirable Mansions.
Co-operative Production.
England Arise. Song with Music.
By Edward Carpenter.
Price id. each.
Cashel Byron’s Profession: A Novel. By
G. Bernard Shaw.
Royal 8vo, paper covers.
Price is.
The Genesis of Capital. Translated from the
French of Gabriel Deville by B. J.
Royal 8vo. Price id.
The Nationalisation of Societv. By J. Theo
dore D’Auton.
Royal 8vo., price id.
The Australian Labour Market: Startling
Disclosures.
By John Norton, New South Wales
Labour Delegate. Royal 8vo., Price id.
The Industrial Problem Solved. By W. B.
Robertson.
Royal 8vo., Price id.
The Nationalisation of Railways.
F. Keddell. Reprinted from Justice and revised.
8vo., price id.
By
Roval
Mining Rates and Royalties. By J. Morrison
Davidson (Author of “ New Book of Kings,” &c.)
By the REV. MERCER DAVIES, M.A.
The Bishops and their Wealth. Price 2cl.
The Bishops and their Religion. Price id.
The Facts about the Unemployed.
One of the Middle Class.
By
Royal 8vo., price id.
An appeal and a warning issued in October, 1886, showing the causes of
the present distress, how they can be removed, what steps have already
been taken, and what are the consequences of continued indifference to
hunger and despair.
Also the following Leaflets for Distribution.
The Use of a Vote.
Royal 8-vo. Handbill.
Price 2s. per 500, post free.
Work for all, Overwork for none. Royal
8-vo. Handbill.
2s. per 500, post free.
�
Dublin Core
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Title
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Victorian Blogging
Description
An account of the resource
A collection of digitised nineteenth-century pamphlets from Conway Hall Library & Archives. This includes the Conway Tracts, Moncure Conway's personal pamphlet library; the Morris Tracts, donated to the library by Miss Morris in 1904; the National Secular Society's pamphlet library and others. The Conway Tracts were bound with additional ephemera, such as lecture programmes and handwritten notes.<br /><br />Please note that these digitised pamphlets have been edited to maximise the accuracy of the OCR, ensuring they are text searchable. If you would like to view un-edited, full-colour versions of any of our pamphlets, please email librarian@conwayhall.org.uk.<br /><br /><span><img src="http://www.heritagefund.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/attachments/TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" width="238" height="91" alt="TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" /></span>
Creator
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Conway Hall Library & Archives
Date
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2018
Publisher
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Conway Hall Ethical Society
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Pamphlet
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Socialism and the worker
Description
An account of the resource
Edition: New ed.
Place of publication: London; New York City
Collation: 15, [1] p. ; 23 cm.
Notes: Stamp on title page: 'South Place Chapel Finsbury, Lending Library'. Publisher's list on preliminary pages unnumbered pages at the end. Information on the Social-Democratic Federation on title page verso.
Creator
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Sorge, Friedrich Adolph
Publisher
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The Modern Press; W.L. Rosenberg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
[1886]
Identifier
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G4979
Subject
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Socialism
Labour
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/"><img src="http://i.creativecommons.org/p/mark/1.0/88x31.png" alt="Public Domain Mark" /></a><span> </span><br /><span>This work (Socialism and the worker), identified by </span><a href="https://conwayhallcollections.omeka.net/items/show/www.conwayhall.org.uk"><span>Humanist Library and Archives</span></a><span>, is free of known copyright restrictions.</span>
Format
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application/pdf
Type
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Text
Language
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English
Socialism
Working Classes