Young's that one cannot pay too much for good land, or too little for bad land. The same remark applies to labour. Capitalist employers rarely make the mistake of paying too much for bad labour, but they have constantly, as a matter of history, committed the worse error of paying too little for good labour. There are, however, signs at present that But at the beginning this state of things is being altered. of this century, as has been shown, the coming of the § 264. The Power of Labour. Trades Unions For the labourers of to-day are a very different class from their ancestors of fifty or seventy years ago. They have learnt, at least the most advanced among them, the power of combination, a remedy which at one time was forbidden them, but which is now fortunately once more theirs. The steady growth of Trades Unions and of Co-operative Societies has taught them habits of self-reliance and of thrift, and has made them look more closely into the economic conditions of industry. These unions and societies do not yet embrace more than a small fraction of English workmen, but they contain the best and worthiest of them, and their members are able to preserve a certain independence of attitude in treating with their employers. Even as it is, the gigantic power of modern capital finds itself occasionally confronted by the united forces of modern labour. But these occasions are rare, and more often an isolated body of workmen engages in a futile conflict with superior strength. The great Dock Strike of 1889 showed, indeed, what power the union of labour might possess, but the success of that famous conflict was, after all, due to other causes than the solidarity of labour, and many subsequent events have shown the weakness of the workmen who enter upon these deplorable struggles. It may be deplored that the relations of employer to employed are such as to necessitate these combinations, but it cannot always be said that it is the fault of the labourer if the relations of labour and capital are somewhat strained. Whether he looks back to the days of assessment of wages and the Law of Settlement; to the Statutes of Labourers of the Middle Ages, or the Combination Laws of more modern times; whether he remembers the degradation and horrors of the first factories and mines, or the grinding misery of agricultural life after his common rights had been taken from him, and he and his children worked in gangs not so well cared for as foreign slaves-when he hears of all these things he naturally does not credit the employer of his labour with the best intentions towards him. Nothing is so wasteful and nothing so dangerous as industrial strife; but before the labourer can fairly be called upon to desist from it he must have some guarantee of his own industrial freedom and safety. This he is rapidly gaining, and when masters and men recognise alike the identity of interest and the equal rights of Capital and Labour, the industrial history of England will have entered upon a new era of unassailable prosperity. At present the position of the working-classes has been vastly improved in their political relations, and there are many signs that they are using political means-as other classes have done-to gain economic ends. The spirit of democracy is gaining strength, and the wave of democratic progress is washing down the ancient barriers of privilege and rank. Its advance has been welcomed by thinkers and statesmen of no mean order, and the advent of political power is hailed as bringing with it material prosperity. Yet there must remain, even in the minds of many who sympathise with the industrial classes, grave doubts as to the ultimate benefits of a popular government; and the gravest doubt of all arises when it becomes increasingly evident that the advance of democracy practically involves the acquisition of irresponsible power by the working-classes, who form already the majority of parliamentary voters. No man, and no mass of men, has yet been found fit to be trusted for long with such a power, for it is a weapon which wounds. equally those who use it and those against whom it is directed. And unless the working-classes of England can learn a lesson from the errors of their former rulers in the past, there can be but little hope that they will reach the highest level of national prosperity in the future. § 265. The Necessity of Studying Economic Factors in History. For, hitherto, our prosperity, great as it is, has frequently had its drawbacks, and has passed through many vicissitudes. Our ancestors and ourselves have made many mistakes, and till recently, as we have seen, the growth of our national wealth has been slow. But a study of industrial history is not without its uses, if it helps us to-day to understand how we have come into our present position, and what faults and follies we must avoid in order to retain it. Unfortunately, few historians have thought it worth their while to study seriously the economic factors in the history of nations. They have contented themselves with the intrigues and amusements of courtiers and kings, the actions of individual statesmen, or the destructive feats of military heroes. They have often failed to explain properly the great causes which necessitated the results they claim to investigate. But just as it is impossible to understand the growth of England without a proper appreciation of the social and industrial events which rendered that growth possible, and provided the expenses which that growth entailed, so it will be impossible to proceed in the future without a systematic study of economic and industrial affairs. For the great political questions of the day are becoming more and more economic questions. We have only to look round Europe to-day and we may judge from the occurrences of the present how far economic questions are in the forefront of politics. Continental nations are struggling under the double burden of military necessities and protective tariffs, and are trying to find a market for their protected manufactures by an aggressive colonisation that is increasingly likely to involve them in international difficulties. France has sought fresh colonies in Madagascar, Africa, and the Far East; and her interests are continually clashing with those of England. Germany and our own country are face to face in Africa. Both France and Germany are seriously threatened from time to time with internal dissensions proceeding entirely from labour troubles, and the same causes are operating in Spain and Austria. The agricultural crisis that has long prevailed in Russia only aggravates the general financial difficulties of that much-disturbed and much-disturbing empire. Every foreign power, whether in the Old World or the New, which either has colonies now or intends to have them soon, regards England's colonial empire with an unceasing jealousy, and does not even attempt to conceal its delight when any difficulty arises that may compromise England's position. This jealousy is the natural feeling of the poor towards the rich, and of the debtor towards the creditor. It finds its economic interpretation in the fact that England has planted her flag, sold her goods, and lent her money in every quarter of the globe. Yet at home, with all our riches, we have plenty of trouble. The agrarian difficulties in Ireland have proceeded largely from economic as well as from national and political causes, and may lead us into an expenditure which will severely tax our industrial resources. The Eight Hours' Movement has already developed into a political question, and industrial legislature is more and more becoming the order of the day. Our relations with our colonies, and especially with India, require most careful treatment upon an economic basis. Commercial and industrial considerations must weigh more and more heavily with us if we are thoroughly to secure our position as a united and stable empire. They are not by any means the only considerations, yet those of us who wish to help in maintaining and in forwarding the progress of modern England must seek to answer clearly the economic questions that are pressing themselves upon us, by looking at them in the light afforded by the industrial history of a great industrial nation. A INDEX C Aboriginal races of Britain, 5 Accounts, agricultural, 113 Cabot, 193, 218 Agrarian difficulties (sixteenth cen- Canals, 355 in Roman period, 25; early in- America, discovery of, 218; colonies Apprentice system, 95; (Elizabethan Arkwright, 343 Assessment of wages, 253-259, 281 Assize, 139 B Bailiff, 114, 174 Bakewell, 429 Cape Colony, 462 Capitalists, rise of, 324 381 Cattle, ancient, 7; improvements in, 271 Cartwright, 344 Celts in England, 5, 8; (Pytheas on), Chancellor, Richard, 231 Children in factories, 388-402 Coal and coal mining, 310-312, 353, Cobbett, 376 Cockayne's monopoly, 306 Colonies, 290, 293, 295; (policy to- Combination Acts, 416 Commendation, 53, 61 Commerce in sixteenth and following centuries, 284-304, and see Trade Communal ownership, see Manor Communal land, 115 Banking, 299; (Bank of England), Communication, improvements in, Barter, 43 300, 322, 374 Bordars, 72 Bounties on corn, 433 Brickmaking, 316 Bright, John, on factory acts, 405 Bye-industries, 325, 329; (loss of), 385 354; (recent), 458 Co-operative societies, 471 Corn laws, 432, 435 Cotton manufactures, 346 Counties, population and wealth of, |