,,knowledge ,,is ,,power3    ,a ,,view  
,,of    ,,the ,,productive ,,forces ,,of
 ,,modern ,,society1    ,,and ,,the     
,,results ,,of ,,labour1 ,,capital1     
,,and ,,skill4    ,,by ,,charles        
,,knight4     ,illustrated with numerous
 ,woodcuts4     ,the empire of man over 
material things has for its only        
foundation   the sciences and the       
arts4--,,bacon4       ,,the ,,second    
,,edition4     ,,with ,,twenty-,,four   
,,additional ,,cuts ,,of ,,manufacturing
 ,,processes4       ,,london3   ,,john  
,,murray1 ,,albemarle ,,street4   #ahei4
    ,the right of ,translation is       
reserved4       ,,extract ,,from ,,the  
,,introduction4       ,without          
attempting to give this volume the      
formal shape of a     treatise on       
,political ,economy1 it is the wish of  
the author to     convey the broad parts
 of that science in a somewhat desultory
     manner1 but one which is not       
altogether devoid of logical            
arrangement4 ,he desires especially to  

be understood by the young2     for upon
 their right appreciation of the        
principles which govern     society will
 depend much of the security and        
happiness of our own     and the coming 
time4       ,,london3 ,,printed ,,by ,w4
 ,,clowes ,,and ,,sons1                 
,,stamford-,,street1   ,,and ,,charing  
,,cross4     ,,to  ,,neil ,,arnott1     
,,esq41 ,m4,d41  ,,with ,,sincere       
,,admiration ,,of ,,the ,,disinterested 
,,spirit ,,in ,,which ,,he ,,has        
,,devoted ,,his ,,scientific ,,knowledge
 ,,to ,,the ,,public ,,good2 ,,and ,,in 
,,grateful ,,acknowledgment ,,of ,,his  
,,never-,,failing ,,kindness ,,during ,a
 ,,long ,,friendship1  ,,this ,,volume  
,,is ,,affectionately ,,inscribed4      
,,contents4   ,,introduction            
,page #a  ,,chapter ,i4      ,feeble    
resources of civilized man in a         
desert--,ross ,cox1     ,peter the ,wild
 ,boy1 and the ,savage of ,aveyron--,a  
,moskito     ,indian on ,juan           
,fernandez--,conditions necessary for   

the     production of utility           
#f  ,,chapter ,,ii4      ,society a     
system of exchanges--,security of       
individual     property the principle of
 exchange--,alexander ,selkirk and      
,robinson ,crusoe--,imperfect           
appropriation and unprofitable          
labour                                  
#ad  ,,chapter ,,iii4      ,adventures  
of ,john ,tanner--,habits of the        
,american     ,indians--,their          
sufferings from famine1 and from the    
absence     among them of the principle 
of division of labour--,evils of        
irregular labour--,respect to           
property--,their present improved       
condition--,hudson's ,bay ,indians      
#bc  ,,chapter ,,iv4      ,the          
,prodigal--,advantages of the poorest   
man in civilized life     over the      
richest savage--,savings-banks1         
deposits1 and     interest--,progress of
 accumulation--,insecurity of capital1  
its causes and results--,property1 its  
constituents--     ,accumulation of     

capital                                 
#ch  ,,chapter ,v4      ,common         
interests of ,capital and               
,labour--,labour directed by            
,accumulation--,capital enhanced by     
,labour--,balance of rights     and     
duties--,relation of demand and         
supply--,money     exchanges--,intrinsic
 and representative value of money      
#di  ,,chapter ,,vi4      ,importance of
 capital to the profitable employment of
     labour--,contrast between the      
prodigal and the prudent man3     the   
,dukes of ,buckingham and               
,bridgewater--,making good for          
trade--,unprofitable consumption--,war  
against capital in the     middle       
ages--,evils of corporate               
privileges--,condition of the     people
 under ,henry ,,viii4                   
#fj  ,,chapter ,,vii4      ,rights of   
labour--,effects of slavery on          
production--,condition     of the ,anglo
 ,saxons--,progress of freedom in       
,england--,laws     regulating          

labour--,wages and                      
prices--,poor-law--,law of              
settlement                              
#ga  ,,chapter ,,viii4      ,possessions
 of the different classes in            
,england--,condition of     ,colchester 
in #acja--,tools1 stock-in-trade1       
furniture1     c4--,supply of           
food--,comparative duration of human    
life--,want     of facilities for       
commerce--,plenty and civilization not  
productive of effeminacy--,colchester in
 the present day         #hb  ,,chapter 
,,ix4      ,certainty the stimulus to   
industry--,effects of                   
insecurity--,instances of unprofitable  
labour--,former notions     of          
commerce--,national and class           
prejudices1 and their remedy    #if     
,,chapter ,x4      ,employment of       
machinery in manufactures and           
agriculture--,erroneous notions formerly
 prevalent on this     subject--,its    
advantages to the                       
labourer--,spade-husbandry--,the        

principle of machinery--,machines and   
tools--,change in the     condition of  
,england consequent on the introduction 
of     machinery--,modern ,new          
,zealanders and ancient ,greeks--       
,hand-mills and water-mills             
#ajf  ,,chapter ,,xi4      ,present and 
former condition of the                 
country--,progress of                   
cultivation--,evil influence of         
feudalism--,state of     agriculture in 
the sixteenth century--,modern          
improvements--,prices of                
wheat--,increased breadth of land       
under cultivation--,average consumption 
of wheat--,implements     of agriculture
 now in use--,number of agriculturists  
in     ,great ,britain                  
#abd  ,,chapter ,,xii4      ,production 
of a knife--,manufacture of             
iron--,raising coal--,the               
hot-blast--,iron bridges--,rolling      
bar-iron--,making     steel--,sheffield 
manufactures--,mining in ,great         
,britain--,numbers engaged in mines and 

metal manufactures       #aci  ,,chapter
 ,,xiii4      ,conveyance and extended  
use of coal--,consumption at various    
periods--,condition of the roads in the 
seventeenth and     eighteenth          
centuries--,advantages of good          
roads--,want of roads     in            
,australia--,turnpike-roads--,canals--,r
ailway of     #afhj--,railway statistics
                                        
#aeg  ,,chapter ,,xiv4                  
,houses--,the ,pyramids--,mechanical    
power--,carpenters'     tools--,american
 machinery for                          
building--,bricks--,slate--             
,household fittings and                 
furniture--,paper-hangings--,carpets--  
,glass--,pottery--,improvements effected
 through the     reduction or repeal of 
duties on domestic requirements         
#agd  ,,chapter ,,xv4      ,dwellings of
 the people--,oberlin--,the             
,highlander's     candlesticks--,supply 
of water--,london waterworks--          
,street-lights--,sewers                 

#aii  ,,chapter ,,xvi4      ,early      
intercourse with foreign                
nations--,progress of the     cotton    
manufacture--,hand-spinning--,arkwright-
-,crompton--                            
,power-loom--,cartwright--,especial     
benefits of machinery in     this       
manufacture                             
#bac  ,,chapter ,,xvii4      ,the       
woollen manufacture--,divisions of      
employment--,early                      
history--,prohibitory laws--,the        
,jacquard loom--,middle-age             
legislation--,sumptuary laws--,the silk 
manufacture--     ,ribbon-weaving--,the 
linen manufacture--,cloth-printing--    
,bleaching                              
#bcc  ,,chapter ,,xviii4      ,hosiery  
manufacture--,the stocking-frame--,the  
circular                                
hosiery-machine--,hats--,gloves--,boots 
and shoes--,straw-plat--     ,artificial
 flowers--,fans--,lace--,bobbin-net     
machine--,pins--                        
,needles--,buttons--,toys--,lucifer-matc

hes--,envelopes             #bee        
,,chapter ,,xix4      ,labour-saving    
contrivances--,the nick in ,types--,tags
 of     laces--,casting                 
shot--,candle-dipping--,tiring a wheel--
     ,globe-making--,domestic aids to   
labour--,aids to mental                 
labour--,effects of severe bodily labour
 on health and     duration of life     
#bgf  ,,chapter ,,xx4      ,influences  
of knowledge in the direction of labour 
and     capital--,astronomy3            
,chronometer--,mariner's compass--      
,scientific travellers--,new materials  
of manufactures--                       
,india-rubber--,gutta-percha--,palm-oil-
-,geology--,inventions     that diminish
 risk--,science raising up new          
employments--                           
,electricity--,galvanism--,sun-light--,m
ental labourers--     ,enlightened      
public sentiment                        
#bie  ,,chapter ,,xxi4      ,invention  
of printing--,effects of that art--,a   
daily     newspaper--,provincial        

newspapers--,news-writing of former     
periods--,changes in the character of   
newspapers--,steam                      
conveyance--,electric                   
telegraph--,organization of a ,london   
newspaper-office--,the                  
printing-machine--,the                  
paper-machine--,bookbinding--,paper-duty
                         #cbc  ,,chapter
 ,,xxii4      ,power of skill--,cheap   
production--,population and             
production--,partial and temporary      
evils--,intelligent                     
labour--,division of labour--,general   
knowledge--',the ,lowell                
,offering'--,union of forces            
#cdd  ,,chapter ,,xxiii4                
,accumulation--,productive and          
unproductive consumption--,use of       
capital--,credit--,security of          
property--,production applied to     the
 satisfaction of common wants--,increase
 of     comforts--,relations of         
capitalist and labourer                 
#cfa  ,,chapter ,,xxiv4      ,natural   

law of wages--,state-laws regulating    
wages--,enactments     regulating       
consumption--,the labour-fund and the   
want-fund--,ratio of capital to         
population--,state of industry     at   
the end of the seventeenth              
century--,rise of                       
manufactures--,wages and                
prices--,turning over capital           
#cha  ,,chapter ,,xxv4      ,what       
political economy teaches--,skilled     
labour and trusted                      
labour--,competition of unskilled       
labour--,competition of     uncapitalled
 labour--,itinerant traders--,the       
contrast of     organized               
industry--,factory-labour and           
garret-labour--                         
,communism--,proposals for state        
organization of labour--     ,social    
,publishing ,establishment--,practical  
co-operation        #cih     ,,list ,,of
 ,,illustrations4                       
,,page     #a4 ,african ,hut            
#ab    #b4 ,robinson ,crusoe 7from a    

design by ,stothard7                    
#bj    #c4 ,dying lion                  
#be    #d4 ,penn's treaty with the      
,indians                                
#cc    #e4 ,pine-marten                 
#cg    #f4 ,treasure-finding            
#de    #g4 ,brindley                    
#fc    #h4 ,the hock-cart               
#ff    #i4 ,adam ,smith                 
#ga   #aj4 ,under his own vine          
#ajj   #aa4 ,centre of gravity          
#aac   #ab4 ,a tool made a machine      
#aae   #ac4 ,spinning a rope            
#aah   #ad4 ,analysis of a cable        
#aai   #ae4 ,mill at ,guy's ,cliff      
#abb   #af4 ,oriental plough            
#abf   #ag4 ,clod-crusher               
#acb   #ah4 ,scarifier                  
#acc   #ai4 ,horse-hoe                  
#acd   #bj4 ,moveable steam-engine and  
thrashing-machine                  #ace 
#ba4 ,thrashing-machine with horse-power
                           #acf   #bb4  
,draining-tile machine                  
#acg   #bc4 ,the first iron bridge1     

,colebrook ,dale                        
#adg   #bd4 ,rolling bar-iron           
#adi   #be4 ,file-cutters               
#aeb   #bf4 ,cupids forging arrows 7from
 ,albani7                          #aef 
#bg4 ,telford                           
#afb   #bh4 ,modern ,syrian cart        
#afe   #bi4 ,brindley's aqueduct over   
the ,irwell                             
#afh   #cj4 ,railway locomotive         
#aga   #ca4 ,reindeer                   
#agc   #cb4 ,beaver                     
#agd   #cc4 ,pyramid and sphinx         
#agf   #cd4 ,boulton                    
#agi   #ce4 ,carpenters and their tools 
7from an old ,german woodcut7      #aha 
#cf4 ,egyptian labour in the brick-field
                           #ahc   #cg4  
,scotch carpet-loom                     
#ahh   #ch4 ,sheet-glass making         
#aib   #ci4 ,potter's wheel of modern   
,egypt                                  
#aie   #dj4 ,moulds for porcelain1 and  
casts                              #aif 
#da4 ,wedgwood                          

#aig   #db4 ,ancient shadoof            
#bjb   #dc4 ,conduit in ,westcheap      
#bjf   #dd4 ,old water-carrier of       
,london                                 
#bjh   #de4 ,plug in a frost            
#bji   #df4 ,london street-lights1 #agfj
                                   #baa 
#dg4 ,cotton2 showing a pod bursting    
#bad   #dh4 ,distaff                    
#baf   #di4 ,a ,hindoo woman spinning   
cotton                                  
#bag   #ej4 ,sir ,richard ,arkwright    
#bai   #ea4 ,arkwright's original       
spinning-machine                        
#bbj   #eb4 ,samuel ,crompton1 inventor 
of the spinning-mule               #bbb 
#ec4 ,hindoo weaver at work in a field  
#bbh   #ed4 ,dr4 ,cartwright1 inventor  
of the power-loom                   #bbi
   #ee4 ,flemish weaver 7from a print of
 #aefh7                        #bcj     
#ef4 ,mechanism of power-loom           
#bdb   #eg4 ,jacquard cards             
#bdc   #eh4 ,hanks of silk              
#bdg   #ei4 ,egyptian winding-reel      

#bdg   #fj4 ,silk-winding machine       
#bdh   #fa4 ,indigo-harvest ,in the     
,west ,indies                           
#beb   #fb4 ,gloves for the great       
#bfj   #fc4 ,cobbler's stall1 about     
#agfj                                   
#bfa   #fd4 ,men'seg1 or ,egyptian      
embroidery frame                        
#bfc   #fe4 ,bobbin-net meshes          
#bfd   #ff4 ,essential parts of the     
bobbin-net machine                      
#bfe   #fg4 ,stamping the eye of a      
needle                                  
#bfi   #fh4 ,stamping1 pressing1 and    
punching buttons4--,elliott's           
factory                                 
#bga   #fi4 ,envelope-making machine    
#bge   #gj4 ,compositor at work         
#bgg   #ga4 ,machine for fixing tags to 
laces                             #bgh  
#gb4 ,inclined plane for separating shot
                           #bgi   #gc4  
,candle-dipping machine                 
#bha   #gd4 ,tiring a wheel             
#bha   #ge4 ,harrison                   

#bih   #gf4 ,greenwich ,observatory     
#bii   #gg4 ,linnaeus in his ,lapland   
dress                                   
#cjb   #gh4 ,elaeis ,guineensis1 and    
,cocoa butyracea1 yielding palm-oil     
#cjf   #gi4 ,franklin medal             
#caj   #hj4 ,newton                     
#cac   #ha4 ,ambrose ,pare              
#cad   #hb4 ,sir ,walter ,scott 7from   
,sir ,f4 ,chantrey's bust7              
#cai   #hc4 ,statue of ,bacon           
#cbb   #hd4 ,old hand-gunner            
#ccj   #he4 ,carrier-pigeon             
#ccb   #hf4 ,cowper's printing-machine  
#cce   #hg4 ,the ',times'               
printing-machine                        
#cch   #hh4 ,papyrus                    
#cdc   #hi4 ,medal to ,locke            
#chj   #ij4 ,vision of ,henry ,i        
#cha   #ia4 ,irish mud cabin            
#cic   #ib4 ,feed the hungry 7from      
,flaxman7                               
#dja   #ic4 ,costermonger               
#djg   #id4 ,pots to mend               
#daa   #ie4 ,statue of ,watt            

#dbd          99       99       99      
99       99      ,,the ,,present        
,,edition ,,is ,,illustrated ,,with     
,,twenty-,,four     ,,additional ,,cuts1
 ,,on ,,separate ,,pages1 ,,of          
,,manufacturing     ,,processes1 ,c41   
,,which ,,are ,,to ,,be ,,placed ,,as   
,,follows3--     ,bursting of ,dykes4   
,the forces of ,nature overcoming the   
industry of ,man                        
#ii   ,making ropes by machinery        
#aai   ,steam-boiler making             
#ade   ,shear and tilt-hammers--,steel  
,manufacture                        #aea
   ,ancient lead-mine in ,derbyshire    
#aed   ,coal-railway                    
#aeg   ,locomotive-engine factory       
#agj   ,stone quarry1 ,portland         
#agg   ,timber rafts of the ,tyrol      
#agh   ,glass-cutting                   
#aia   ,plate-glass factory             
#aib   ,the ,english potter             
#aid   ,mill-room of a pottery          
#aif   ,cotton mule-spinning            
#bbb   ,power-looms                     

#bbi   ,jacquard power-looms            
#bda   ,interior of ,marshall's         
flax-mill1 ,leeds                       
#bej   ,calico-printing by cylinder     
#beb   ,bleaching-ground at ,glasgow    
#bed   ,electro-gilding                 
#caa   ,pianoforte manufactory          
#cbj   ,bas-relief on ,gutenberg's      
monument                                
#cbc   ,paper-making by hand            
#cda   ,processes of bookbinding        
#cdb     ,,knowledge ,,is ,,power4      
,,introduction4   ,it has been wisely   
said by a ,french writer who has        
scattered abroad sound and foolish      
opinions with a pretty equal hand1 that 
it requires a great deal of philosophy  
to observe once what is seen every      
day4#a ,to no branch of human knowledge 
can this remark be more fitly applied   
than to that which relates to the       
commonest things of the world1--namely1 
the ,wants of ,man and the ,means of    
satisfying them4  ,man1 it has been     
maintained1 has greater natural wants   

and fewer natural means than any other  
animal4 ,that his wants are greater1    
even in the rudest state of the species1
 than the wants of any quadruped--to say
 nothing of animals lower in the scale  
of being--there can be no doubt4 ,but   
that his natural means are feebler and  
fewer we cannot believe2 for the        
exercise of his understanding1 in a     
variety of ways which no brute          
intelligence can reach1 is the greatest 
of his natural means1--and that power   
enables him to subdue all things to his 
use4  ,it is the almost unlimited extent
 of the wants of man in the social      
state1 and the consequent multiplicity  
and complexity of his means--both his   
wants and means proceeding from the     
range of his mental faculties--which    
have rendered it so difficult to observe
 and explain the laws which govern the  
production1 distribution1 and           
consumption of those articles of        
utility1 essential to the subsistence   
and comfort of the human race1 which we 

call ,wealth4 ,it is not more than a    
century ago that even those who had a   
great deal of philosophy first began to 
apply themselves to observe what is seen
 every day exercising1 in the course of 
human industry1 the greatest influence  
on the condition and character of       
individuals and nations4 ,the properties
 of light were ascertained by ,sir      
,isaac ,newton long before men were     
agreed upon the circumstances which     
determined the production of a loaf of  
bread2 and the return of a comet after  
an interval of seventy-six years was    
pretty accurately foretold by ,dr4      
,halley1 when legislators were in almost
 complete ignorance of the principle    
which regularly brought as many cabbages
 to ,covent ,garden as there were       
purchasers to demand them4  ,since those
 days immense efforts have been made to 
determine the great circumstances of our
 social condition1 which have such      
unbounded influence on the welfare of   
mankind4 ,but1 unhappily for themselves 

and for others1 many of every nation    
still remain in comparative darkness1   
with regard even to the elementary      
truths which the labours of some of the 
most acute and benevolent inquirers that
 the world has produced have succeeded  
in establishing4 ,something of this     
defect may be attributed to the fact    
that subjects of this nature are        
considered difficult of comprehension4  
,even the best educated sometimes shrink
 from the examination of questions of   
political economy when presented in     
their scientific form4 ,charles ,fox    
said that he could not understand ,adam 
,smith4 ,and yet ,adam ,smith's ',wealth
 of ,nations' is essentially an amusing 
book in many parts4 ,matters affecting  
the interests of every human being1 and 
involving a variety of facts having     
relation to the condition of mankind in 
every age and country1 are not          
necessarily1 as has been supposed1 dry  
and difficult to understand1 and        
consequently only to be approached by   

systematic students4 ,in this belief it 
is proposed in this volume to exhibit   
the natural operation of the principles 
by which ,industry1 as well as every    
other exchangeable property1 must be    
governed4 ,the writer has to apply all  
the universal laws which regulate the   
exchanges of mankind to the direction of
 that exchange which the great bulk of  
the people are most interested in       
carrying forward rapidly1 certainly1 and
 uninterruptedly--the exchange of       
,labour for ,capital4 ,but he has also  
to regard those laws with especial      
reference to that mighty ,power which   
has become so absorbing and controlling 
in our own day--the ,power of ,science  
applied to the ,arts1 or1 in other      
words1 ,knowledge4 ,it is not too much  
to assert that1 henceforth1 ,labour must
 take its absolute direction from that  
,power4 ,it is now the great instrument 
of ,capital4 ,in time it will be        
understood universally to be the best   
partner of ,labour4 ,wherever education 

and an unrestricted press are allowed   
full scope to exercise their united     
influence1 progress and improvement are 
the certain results1 and among the many 
benefits which arise from their joint   
co-operation may be ranked most         
prominently the value which they teach  
men to place upon intelligent           
contrivance2 the readiness with which   
they cause new improvements to be       
received2 and the impulse which they    
thus unavoidably give to that inventive 
spirit which is gradually emancipating  
man from the rude forms of labour1 and  
making what were regarded as the        
luxuries of one age to be looked upon in
 the next as the ordinary and necessary 
conditions of human existence4#b  ,the  
present volume is founded upon two      
little works which the author wrote more
 than twenty years ago1 and which were  
widely circulated4 ,one of these books1 
',the ,results of ,machinery1' was      
published1 in connexion with the        
,society for the ,diffusion of ,useful  

,knowledge1 at a period of great        
national alarm1 when a blind rage       
against a power supposed to interfere   
with the claims of labour was generally 
prevalent1 and led1 in the southern     
agricultural districts especially1 to   
many acts of daring violence4 ,happily  
that spirit is passed away4 ,the spirit 
of knowledge has arisen2 and we are told
 now1 by an unquestionable authority1   
that labourers themselves begin to      
regard the tedious work of the flail as 
too irksome#c--the same class that in   
#ahcj broke the thrashing machines4 ,in 
remodelling that portion of the present 
volume it is unnecessary to deprecate   
the evils of hostility to machinery2 but
 rather to look forward to its more     
complete union with skilled labour as   
the triumph of the productive forces of 
modern society4 ,in the other little    
book upon which this volume is founded1 
',capital and ,labour1' the general     
subject of the ,production of wealth was
 popularly treated1 and the argument is 

here carried forward4 ,but in the       
present work it will be the further     
endeavour of the writer not to overlook 
the general relations of ,capital and   
,labour in the ,distribution of wealth4 
,as the mistakes about ,production have 
yielded1 in a great degree1 to improved 
education1 so may those which belong to 
,distribution also yield to the progress
 of ,knowledge4 ,these are not mistakes 
which are confined to one class1 and    
that the most numerous4 ,the freedom of 
,industry has as much claim to be       
regarded as the security of ,capital4   
,we have distinct evidence that in      
another country these principles are    
better understood4      ,the results    
which have been obtained in the ,united 
,states1 by the application of machinery
 wherever it has     been practicable to
 manufactures1 are rendered still more  
remarkable by the fact that combinations
 to resist its     introduction there   
are unheard of4 ,the workmen hail with  
satisfaction all mechanical             

improvements1 the importance     and    
value of which1 as releasing them from  
the drudgery of     unskilled labour1   
they are enabled by education to        
understand and appreciate4 ,with the    
comparatively     superabundant supply  
of hands in this country1 and           
therefore a proportionate difficulty in 
obtaining     remunerative employment1  
the working classes have less           
sympathy with the progress of invention4
 ,their condition     is a less         
favourable one than that of their       
,american     brethren for forming a    
just and unprejudiced estimate of       
the influence which the introduction of 
machinery is     calculated to exercise 
on their state and prospects4 ,i        
cannot resist the conclusion1 however1  
that the different     views taken by   
our operatives and those of the ,united 
,states upon this subject are determined
 by other and     powerful causes1      
besides those dependent on the supply of
     labour in the two countries4 ,the  

principles which ought to     regulate  
the relations between the employer and  
the     employed seem to be thoroughly  
understood and appreciated     in the   
,united ,states2 and while the law of   
limited     liability affords the most  
ample facilities for the     investment 
of capital in business1 the intelligent 
and     educated artisan is left equally
 free to earn all that he     can1 by   
making the best use of his hands1       
without let or     hindrance by his     
fellows4#d  ,without attempting to give 
this volume the formal shape of a       
treatise on ,political ,economy1 it is  
the wish of the author to convey the    
broad parts of his subject in a somewhat
 desultory manner1 but one which is not 
altogether devoid of logical            
arrangement4 ,he desires especially to  
be understood by the young2 for upon    
their right appreciation of the         
principles which govern society will    
depend much of the security and         
happiness of our own and the coming     

time4 ,the danger of our present period 
of transition is1 that theory should    
expect too much1 and that practice      
should do too little1 in the            
amelioration of the condition of the    
people4  ,a great number of woodcuts    
have been for the first time introduced 
into this volume1 which illustrate      
mechanical inventions4 ,but the author  
begs distinctly to be understood that   
his object here is not to describe      
processes4 ,his notices of them1 more or
 less extended1 are simply to illustrate
 the course of his argument2 and in that
 way to make the book more useful1      
because more attractive1 for purposes of
 education4    #a ,j4 ,j4 ,rousseau4    
#b ,special ,report of ,mr4 ,joseph     
,whitworth on the ,new ,york ,industrial
       ,exhibition4    #c ,mr4 ,pusey's 
,report on ,agricultural ,implements4   
#d ,mr4 ,whitworth's ,special ,report4  
,,chapter ,i4        ,feeble resources  
of civilized man in a desert--,ross     
,cox1      ,peter the ,wild ,boy1 and   

the ,savage of ,aveyron--,a ,moskito    
,indian on ,juan ,fernandez--,conditions
 necessary for the      production of   
utility4   ,let us suppose a man brought
 up in civilized life1 cast upon a      
desert land--without food1 without      
clothes1 without fire1 without tools4   
,we see the human being in the very     
lowest state of helplessness4 ,most of  
the knowledge he had acquired would be  
worse than useless2 for it would not be 
applicable in any way to his new        
position4 ,let the land upon which he is
 thrown produce spontaneous fruits--let 
it be free from ferocious animals--let  
the climate be most genial--still the   
man would be exceedingly powerless and  
wretched4 ,the first condition of his   
lot1 to enable him to maintain existence
 at all1 would be that he should labour4
 ,he must labour to gather the berries  
from the trees--he must labour to obtain
 water from the rivulets--he must labour
 to form a garment of leaves1 or of some
 equally accessible material1 to shield 

his body from the sun--he must labour to
 render some cave or hollow tree a      
secure place of shelter from the dews of
 night4 ,there would be no intermission 
of the labour necessary to provide a    
supply of food from hand to mouth1 even 
in the season when wild fruits were     
abundant4 ,if this labour1 in the most  
favourable season1 were interrupted for 
a single day1 or at most for two or     
three days1 by sickness1 he would in all
 probability perish4 ,but1 when the     
autumn was past1 and the wild fruits    
were gone1 he must prolong existence as 
some savage tribes are reported to      
do--by raw fish and undressed roots4    
,the labour of procuring these would be 
infinitely greater than that of climbing
 trees for fruit4 ,to catch fish without
 nets1 and scratch up roots with naked  
hands1 is indeed painful toil4 ,the     
helplessness of this man's condition    
would principally be the effect of one  
circumstance2--he would possess no      
accumulation of former labour by which  

his present labour might be profitably  
directed4 ,the power of labour would in 
his case be in its least productive     
state4 ,he would partly justify the     
assertion that man has the feeblest     
natural means of any animal2--because he
 would be utterly unpossessed of those  
means which the reason of man has       
accumulated around every individual in  
the social state4  ,we asked the reader 
to suppose a civilized man in the very  
lowest state in which the power of      
labour may be exercised1 because there  
is no record of any civilized man being 
for any length of time in such a state4 
,ross ,cox1 a ,hudson's ,bay trader1    
whose adventures were given to the world
 some twenty years ago1 was in this     
state for a fortnight2 and his          
sufferings may furnish some idea of the 
greater miseries of a continuance in    
such a powerless condition4 ,having     
fallen asleep in the woods of the       
north-west of ,america1 which he had    
been traversing with a large party1 he  

missed the traces of his companions4    
,the weather being very hot1 he had left
 nearly all his clothes with his horse  
when he rambled from his friends4 ,he   
had nothing to defend himself against   
the wolves and serpents but a stick2 he 
had nothing of which to make his bed but
 long grass and rushes2 he had nothing  
to eat but hips and wild cherries4 ,the 
man would doubtless have perished1      
unless he had met with some ,indians1   
who knew better how to avail themselves 
of the spontaneous productions around   
them4 ,but this is not an instance of   
the continuance of ,labour in the lowest
 state of its power4  ,the few          
individuals1 also1 who have been found  
exposed in forests1 such as ,peter the  
,wild ,boy1 and the ,savage of          
,aveyron1--who were discovered1 the one 
about a century ago1 in ,germany1 the   
other about forty years since1 in       
,france1--differed from the civilized   
man cast naked upon a desert shore in   
this particular--their wants were of the

 lowest nature4 ,they were not raised   
above the desires of the most brutish   
animals4 ,they supplied those desires   
after the fashion of brutes4 ,peter was 
enticed from the woods by the sight of  
two apples1 which the man who found him 
displayed4 ,he did not like bread1 but  
he eagerly peeled green sticks1 and     
chewed the rind4 ,he had1 doubtless1    
subsisted in this way in the woods4 ,he 
would not1 at first1 wear shoes1 and    
delighted to throw the hat which was    
given him into the river4 ,he was       
brought to ,england1 and lived many     
years with a farmer in ,hertfordshire4  
,during the ,scotch ,rebellion1 in      
#agde1 he wandered into ,norfolk2 and   
having been apprehended as a suspicious 
character1 was sent to prison4 ,the gaol
 was on fire2 and ,peter was found in a 
corner1 enjoying the warmth of the      
flames without any fear4 ,the ,savage of
 ,aveyron1 in the same manner1 had the  
lowest desires and the feeblest powers4 
,he could use his hands1 for instance1  

for no other purpose than to seize upon 
an object2 and his sense of touch was so
 defective1 that he could not           
distinguish a raised surface1 such as a 
carving1 from a painting4 ,this         
circumstance of the low physical and    
intellectual powers of these unfortunate
 persons prevents us exhibiting them as 
examples of the state which we asked the
 reader to suppose4  ,let us advance    
another step in our view of the power of
 ,labour4 ,let us take a man in one     
respect in the same condition that we   
supposed--left upon a desert land1      
without any direct social aid2 but with 
some help to his labour by a small      
,accumulation of former industry4 ,we   
have instances on record of this next   
state4  ,in the year #afha a ,moskito   
,indian was left by accident on the     
island of ,juan ,fernandez1 in the      
,pacific ,ocean2 the ,english ship in   
which he was a sailor having been chased
 off the coast by some hostile ,spanish 
vessels4 ,captain ,dampier describes    

this man's condition in the following   
words3--      ,this ,indian lived here  
alone above three years2 and            
although he was several times sought    
after by the     ,spaniards1 who knew he
 was left on the island1 yet they       
could never find him4 ,he was in the    
woods hunting for     goats1 when       
,captain ,watlin drew off his men1 and  
the ship     was under sail before he   
came back to shore4 ,he had with     him
 his gun1 and a knife1 with a small horn
 of powder1 and     a few shot2 which   
being spent1 he contrived a way1 by     
notching his knife1 to saw the barrel of
 his gun into     small pieces1         
wherewith he made harpoons1 lances1     
hooks1     and a long knife2 heating the
 pieces first in the fire1     which he 
struck with his gun-flint1 and a piece  
of the     barrel of his gun1 which he  
hardened1 having learnt to do     that  
among the ,english4 ,the hot pieces of  
iron he would     hammer out and bend as
 he pleased with stones1 and saw        

them with his jagged knife1 or grind    
them to an edge by     long labour1 and 
harden them to a good temper as there   
was     occasion4#e ,with such          
instruments as he made in that          
manner1 he got such provisions as the   
island afforded1     either goats or    
fish4 ,he told us that at first he was  
forced to eat seal1 which is very       
ordinary meat1 before he     had made   
hooks2 but afterwards he never killed   
any seals     but to make lines1 cutting
 their skins into thongs4 ,he had     a 
little house1 or hut1 half a mile from  
the sea1 which     was lined with goat's
 skin2 his couch1 or barbecu of         
sticks1 lying along about two feet      
distance from the     ground1 was spread
 with the same1 and was all his bedding4
     ,he had no clothes left1 having    
worn out those he brought     from      
,watlin's ship1 but only a skin about   
his waist4 ,he     saw our ship the day 
before we came to an anchor1 and did    
believe we were ,english2 and therefore 

killed three goats     in the morning1  
before we came to an anchor1 and dressed
     them with cabbage1 to treat us when
 we came ashore4  ,here1 indeed1 is a   
material alteration in the wealth of a  
man left on an uninhabited island4 ,he  
had a regular supply of goats and fish2 
he had the means of cooking this food2  
he had a house lined with goats' skins1 
and bedding of the same2 his body was   
clothed with skins2 he had provisions in
 abundance to offer1 properly cooked1   
when his old companions came to him     
after three years' absence4 ,what gave  
him this power to labour profitably8--to
 maintain existence in tolerable        
comfort8 ,simply1 the gun1 the knife1   
and the flint1 which he accidentally had
 with him when the ship sailed away4    
,the flint and the bit of steel which he
 hardened out of the gun-barrel gave him
 the means of procuring fire2 the gun   
became the material for making harpoons1
 lances1 and hooks1 with which he could 
obtain fish and flesh4 ,till he had     

these tools1 he was compelled to eat    
seal's flesh4 ,the instant he possessed 
the tools1 he could make a selection of 
what was most agreeable to his taste4   
,it is almost impossible to imagine a   
human being with less accumulation about
 him4 ,his small stock of powder and    
shot was soon spent1 and he had only an 
iron gun-barrel and a knife left1 with  
the means of changing the form of the   
gun-barrel by fire4 ,yet this single    
accumulation enabled him to direct his  
labour1 as all labour is directed even  
in its highest employment1 to the change
 of form and change of place of the     
natural supplies by which he was        
surrounded4 ,he created nothing2 he only
 gave his natural supplies a value by   
his labour4 ,until he laboured1 the     
things about him had no value1 as far as
 he was concerned2 when he did obtain   
them by labour1 they instantly acquired 
a value4 ,he brought the wild goat from 
the mountain to his hut in the          
valley--he changed its place2 he        

converted its flesh into cooked food1   
and its skin into a lining for his      
bed--he changed its form4 ,change of    
form and change of place are the        
beginning and end of all human labour2  
and the ,moskito ,indian only employed  
the same principle for the supply of his
 wants which directs the labour of all  
the producers of civilized life into the
 channels of manufactures or commerce4  
,but the ,moskito ,indian1 far removed  
as his situation was above the condition
 of the man without any accumulation of 
former labour--that is1 of the man      
without any capital about him--was only 
in the second stage in which the power  
of labour can be exercised1 and in which
 it is comparatively still weak and     
powerless4 ,he laboured--he laboured    
with accumulation--but he laboured      
without that other power which gives the
 last and highest direction to          
profitable labour4  ,let us state all   
the conditions necessary for the        
production of ,utility1 or of what is   

essential to the support1 comfort1 and  
pleasure of human life3--  #a4 ,that    
there shall be ,labour4  ,the man thrown
 upon a desert island without           
accumulation1--the half-idiot boy who   
wandered into the ,german forests at so 
early an age that he forgot all the     
usages of mankind1--were each compelled 
to labour1 and to labour unceasingly1 to
 maintain existence4 ,even with an      
unbounded command of the spontaneous    
productions of nature1 this condition is
 absolute4 ,it applies to the inferior  
animals as well as to man4 ,the bee     
wanders from flower to flower1 but it is
 to labour for the honey4 ,the sloth    
hangs upon the branches of a tree1 but  
he labours till he has devoured all the 
leaves1 and then climbs another tree4   
,the condition of the support of        
animation is labour2 and if the labour  
of all animals were miraculously        
suspended for a season1 very short as   
compared with the duration of individual
 life1 the reign of animated nature upon

 this globe would be at an end4         
,illustration3 ,african ,hut4  ,the     
second condition in the production of   
utility is1--  #b4 ,that there shall be 
accumulation of former labour1 or       
,capital4  ,without accumulation1 as we 
have seen1 the condition of man is the  
lowest in the scale of animal existence4
 ,the reason is obvious4 ,man requires  
some accumulation to aid his natural    
powers of labouring2 for he is not      
provided with instruments of labour to  
anything like the perfection in which   
they exist amongst the inferior animals4
 ,he wants the gnawing teeth1 the       
tearing claws1 the sharp bills1 the     
solid mandibles that enable quadrupeds1 
and birds1 and insects to secure their  
food1 and to provide shelter in so many 
ingenious ways1 each leading us to      
admire and reverence the directing      
,providence which presides over such    
manifold contrivances4 ,he must1        
therefore1 to work profitably1          
accumulate instruments of work4 ,but he 

must do more1 even in the unsocial      
state1 where he is at perfect liberty to
 direct his industry as he pleases1     
uncontrolled by the rights of other men4
 ,he must accumulate stores of covering 
and of shelter4 ,he must have a hut and 
a bed of skins1 which are all           
accumulations1 or capital4 ,he must1    
further1 have a stock of food1 which    
stock1 being the most essential for     
human wants1 is called provisions1 or   
things provided4 ,he would require this 
provision against the accidents which   
may occur to his own health1 and the    
obstacles of weather1 which may prevent 
him from fishing or hunting4 ,the lowest
 savages have some stores4 ,many of the 
inferior animals display an equal care  
to provide for the exigencies of the    
future4 ,but still1 all such labour is  
extremely limited4 ,when a man is       
occupied only in providing immediately  
for his own wants--doing everything for 
himself1 consuming nothing but what he  
produces himself1--his labour must have 

a very narrow range4 ,the supply of the 
lowest necessities of our nature can    
only be attended to1 and these must be  
very ill supplied4 ,the ,moskito ,indian
 had fish1 and goats' flesh1 and a rude 
hut1 and a girdle of skins2 and his     
power of obtaining this wealth was      
insured to him by the absence of other  
individuals who would have been his     
competitors for what the island         
spontaneously produced4 ,had other      
,indians landed in numbers on the       
island1 and had each set about procuring
 everything for himself1 as the active  
,moskito did1 they would have soon      
approached the point of starvation2 and 
then each would have begun to plunder   
from the other1 unless they had found   
out the principle that would have given 
them all plenty4 ,there wanted1 then1   
another power to give the labour of the 
,indian a profitable direction1 besides 
that of accumulation4 ,it is a power    
which can only exist where man is       
social1 as it is his nature to be2--and 

where the principles of civilization are
 in a certain degree developed4 ,it is1 
indeed1 the beginning and the end of all
 civilization4 ,it is itself            
civilization1 partial or complete4 ,it  
is the last and the most important      
condition in the production of useful   
commodities1--  #c4 ,that there shall be
 exchanges4  ,there can be no exchanges 
without accumulation--there can be no   
accumulation without labour4 ,exchange  
is that step beyond the constant labour 
and the partial accumulation of the     
lower animals1 which makes man the lord 
of the world4  #e ,it is difficult to   
understand how the ,indian could convert
 the iron gun-barrel into steel1 which  
it appears from ,dampier's account that 
he did4 ,steel is produced by a         
scientific admixture of carbon with     
iron4 ,but we assume that the statement 
is correct1 and that a conversion1      
partial doubtless1 of iron into steel   
did take place4   ,,chapter ,,ii4       
,society a system of                    

exchanges--,security of individual      
property the principle of               
exchange--,alexander ,selkirk and       
,robinson ,crusoe--,imperfect           
appropriation and unprofitable          
labour4   ,society1 both in its rudest  
form and in its most refined and        
complicated relations1 is nothing but a 
system of ,exchanges4 ,an exchange is a 
transaction in which both the parties   
who make the exchange are               
benefited2--and1 consequently1 society  
is a state presenting an uninterrupted  
succession of advantages for all its    
members4 ,every time that we make a free
 exchange we have a greater desire for  
the thing which we receive than for the 
thing which we give2--and the person    
with whom we make the exchange has a    
greater desire for that which we offer  
him than for that which he offers us4   
,when one gives his labour for wages1 it
 is because he has a higher estimation  
of the wages than of the profitless ease
 and freedom of remaining               

unemployed2--and1 on the contrary1 the  
employer who purchases his labour feels 
that he shall be more benefited by the  
results of that labour than by retaining
 the capital which he exchanges for it4 
,in a simple state of society1 when one 
man exchanges a measure of wheat for the
 measure of wine which another man      
possesses1 it is evident that the one   
has got a greater store of wheat than he
 desires to consume himself1 and that   
the other1 in the same way1 has got a   
greater store of wine2--the one         
exchanges something to eat for something
 to drink1 and the other something to   
drink for something to eat4 ,in a       
refined state of society1 when money    
represents the value of the exchanges1  
the exchange between the abundance      
beyond the wants of the possessor of one
 commodity and of another is just as    
real as the barter of wheat for wine4   
,the only difference is1 that the       
exchange is not so direct1 although it  
is incomparably more rapid4 ,but1       

however the system of exchange be       
carried on1--whether the value of the   
things exchanged be determined by barter
 or by a price in money1--all the       
exchangers are benefited1 because all   
obtain what they want1 through the store
 which they possess of what they do not 
want4  ,it has been well said that ,man 
might be defined to be an animal that   
makes exchanges4#f ,there are other     
animals1 indeed1 such as bees and ants  
amongst insects1 and beavers amongst    
quadrupeds1 which to a certain extent   
are social2 that is1 they concur        
together in the execution of a common   
work for a common good3 but as to their 
individual possessions1 each labours to 
obtain what it desires from sources     
accessible to all1 or plunders the      
stores of others4 ,not one insect or    
quadruped1 however wonderful may be its 
approaches to rationality1 has the least
 idea of making a formal exchange with  
another4 ,the modes by which the        
inferior animals communicate their      

thoughts are probably not sufficiently  
determinate to allow of any such        
agreement4 ,the very foundation of that 
agreement is a complicated principle1   
which man alone can understand4 ,it is  
the ,security of individual ,property4  
,immediately that this principle is     
established1 labour begins to work      
profitably1 for it works with exchange4 
,if the principle of appropriation were 
not acted upon at all1 there could be no
 exchange1 and consequently no          
production4 ,the scanty bounty of nature
 might be scrambled for by a few        
miserable individuals--and the strongest
 would obtain the best share2 but this  
insecurity would necessarily destroy all
 accumulation4 ,each would of course    
live from hand to mouth1 when the means 
of living were constantly exposed to the
 violence of the more powerful4 ,this is
 the state of the lowest savages1 and as
 it is an extreme state it is a rare    
one1--no security1 no exchange1 no      
capital1 no labour1 no production4 ,let 

us apply the principle to an individual 
case4  ,the poet who has attempted to   
describe the feelings of a man suddenly 
cut off from human society1 in ,verses  
supposed to be written by ,alexander    
,selkirk during his solitary abode in   
the island of ,juan ,fernandez1         
represents him as saying1 ,i am monarch 
of all ,i survey4#g ,alexander ,selkirk 
was left upon the same island as the    
,moskito ,indian2 and his adventures    
there have formed the groundwork of the 
beautiful romance of ,robinson ,crusoe4 
,the meaning of the poet is1 that the   
unsocial man had the same right over all
 the natural productive powers of the   
country in which he had taken up his    
abode1 as we each have over light and   
air4 ,he was alone2 and therefore he    
exercised an absolute although a barren 
sovereignty1 over the wild animals by   
which he was surrounded--over the land  
and over the water4 ,he was1 in truth1  
the one proprietor--the one capitalist1 
and the one labourer--of the whole      

island4 ,his absolute property in the   
soil1 and his perfect freedom of action1
 were both dependent upon one           
condition--that he should remain alone4 
,if the ,moskito ,indian1 for instance1 
had remained in the island1 ,selkirk's  
entire sovereignty must have been       
instantly at an end4 ,some more definite
 principle of appropriation must have   
been established1 which would have given
 to ,selkirk1 as well as to the ,moskito
 ,indian1 the right to appropriate      
distinct parts of the island each to his
 particular use4 ,selkirk1 for example1 
might have agreed to remain on the      
eastern coast1 while the ,indian might  
have established himself on the western2
 and then the fruits1 the goats1 and the
 fish of the eastern part would have    
been appropriated to ,selkirk1 as       
distinctly as the clothes1 the musket1  
the iron pot1 the can1 the hatchet1 the 
knife1 the mathematical instruments1 and
 the ,bible which he brought on shore4#h
 ,if the ,indian's territory had        

produced something which ,selkirk had   
not1 and if ,selkirk's land had also    
something which the ,indian's had not1  
they might have become exchangers4 ,they
 would have passed into that condition  
naturally enough2--imperfectly perhaps1 
but still as easily as any barbarous    
people who do not cultivate the earth1  
but exchange her spontaneous products4  
,the poet goes on to make the solitary  
man say1 ,my right there is none to     
dispute4 ,the condition of ,alexander   
,selkirk was unquestionably one of      
absolute liberty4 ,his rights were not  
measured by his duties4 ,he had all     
rights and no duties4 ,many writers on  
the origin of society have held that    
man1 upon entering into union with his  
fellow-men1 and submitting1 as a        
necessary consequence of this union1 to 
the restraints of law and government1   
sacrifices a portion of his liberty1 or 
natural power1 for the security of that 
power which remains to him4 ,no such    
agreement amongst mankind could ever    

have possibly taken place2 for man is by
 his nature1 and without any agreement1 
a social being4 ,he is a being whose    
rights are balanced by the              
uncontrollable force of their relation  
to the rights of others4 ,the succour   
which the infant man requires from its  
parents1 to an extent1 and for a        
duration1 so much exceeding that        
required for the nurture of other       
creatures1 is the natural beginning of  
the social state1 established insensibly
 and by degrees4 ,the liberty which the 
social man is thus compelled by the     
force of circumstances to renounce      
amounts only to a restraint upon his    
brute power of doing injury to his      
fellow-men3 and for this sacrifice1 in  
itself the cause of the highest         
individual and therefore general good1  
he obtains that dominion over every     
other being1 and that control over the  
productive forces of nature1 which alone
 can render him the monarch of all he   
surveys4 ,the poor sailor1 who for four 

years was cut off from human aid1 and   
left alone to struggle for the means of 
supporting existence1 was an exception1 
and a very rare one1 to the condition of
 our species all over the world4 ,his   
absolute rights placed him in the       
condition of uncontrolled feebleness2 if
 he had become social1 he would have put
 on the regulated strength of rights    
balanced by duties4  ,alexander ,selkirk
 was originally left upon the           
uninhabited island of ,juan ,fernandez  
at his own urgent desire4 ,he was       
unhappy on board his ship1 in           
consequence of disputes with his        
captain2 and he resolved to rush into a 
state which might probably have         
separated him for ever from the rest of 
mankind4 ,in the belief that he should  
be so separated1 he devoted all his     
labour and all his ingenuity to the     
satisfaction of his own wants alone4 ,by
 continual exercise1 he was enabled to  
run down the wild goat upon the         
mountains2 and by persevering search1 he

 knew where to find the native roots    
that would render his goat's flesh      
palatable4 ,he never thought1 however1  
of providing any store beyond the supply
 of his own personal necessities4 ,he   
had no motive for that thought2 because 
there was no human being within his     
reach with whom he might exchange that  
store for other stores4 ,the very       
instant1 however1 that the ,english     
ships1 which finally gave him back to   
society1 touched upon his               
shores1--before he communicated by      
speech with any of his fellow-men1 or   
was discovered by them1--he became      
social4 ,he saw that he must be an      
exchanger4 ,before the boat's crew      
landed he had killed several goats1 and 
prepared a meal for his expected guests4
 ,he knew that he possessed a commodity 
which they did not possess4 ,he had     
fresh meat1 whilst they had only salt4  
,of course what he had to offer was     
acceptable to the sailors2 and he       
received in exchange protection1 and a  

place amongst them4 ,he renounced his   
sovereignty1 and became once more a     
subject4 ,it was better for him1 he     
thought1 to be surrounded with the      
regulated power of civilization1 than to
 wield at his own will the uncertain    
strength of solitary uncivilization4    
,but1 had he chosen to remain upon his  
island1 as in after-years he regretted  
he had not done1 although a solitary man
 he would not have been altogether cut  
off from the hopes and the duties of the
 social state4 ,if he had chosen to     
remain after that visit from his        
fellow-men1 he would have said to them1 
before they had left him once more      
alone1 ,i have hunted for you my goats1 
,i have dug for you my roots1 ,i have   
shown you the fountains which issue out 
of my rocks2--these are the resources of
 my dominion3 give me in exchange for   
them a fresh supply of gunpowder and    
shot1 some of your clothes1 some of the 
means of repairing these clothes1 some  
of your tools and implements of cookery1

 and more of your books to divert my    
solitary hours4 ,having enjoyed the     
benefits which he had bestowed1 they    
would1 as just men1 have paid the debt  
which they had incurred1 and the        
exchange would have been completed4     
,immediately that they had quitted his  
shores1 ,selkirk would have looked at   
his resources with a new eye4 ,his hut  
was rudely fashioned and wretchedly     
furnished4 ,he had fashioned1 and       
furnished it as well as he could by his 
own labour1 working upon his own        
materials4 ,the visit which he had      
received from his fellow-men1 after he  
had abandoned every hope of again       
looking upon their faces1 would have led
 him to think that other ships would    
come1 with whose crews he might make    
other exchanges1--new clothes1 new      
tools1 new materials1 received as the   
price of his own accumulations4 ,to make
 the best of his circumstances when that
 day should arrive1 he must redouble his
 efforts to increase his stock of       

commodities1--some for himself1 and some
 to exchange for other commodities1 if  
the opportunity for exchange should ever
 come4 ,he must therefore transplant his
 vegetables1 so as to be within instant 
reach when they should be wanted4 ,he   
must render his goats domestic1 instead 
of chasing them upon the hills4 ,he must
 go forward from the hunting state1 into
 the pastoral and agricultural4         
,illustration3 ,robinson ,crusoe4 7,from
 a design by ,stothard47  ,in ,defoe's  
story1 ,robinson ,crusoe is represented 
as going into this pastoral and         
agricultural state4 ,but he had more    
resources than ,selkirk2 and he at last 
obtained one resource which carried him 
back1 however incompletely1 into the    
social condition4 ,he acquired a        
fellow-labourer4 ,he made a boat by his 
own unassisted labour2 but he could not 
launch it4 ,when ,friday came1 and was  
henceforth his faithful friend and      
willing servant1 he could launch his    
boat4 ,crusoe ultimately left his       

island2 for the boat had given him a    
greater command over his circumstances4 
,but had he continued there in          
companionship with ,friday1 there must  
have been such a compact as would have  
prevented either struggling for the     
property which had been created4 ,the   
course of improvement that we have      
imagined for ,selkirk supposes that he  
should continue in his state of         
exclusive proprietor--that there should 
be none to dispute his right4 ,if other 
ships had come to his shores--if they   
had trafficked with him from time to    
time--exchanged clothes and household   
conveniences1 and implements of         
cultivation1 for his goats' flesh and   
roots--it is probable that other sailors
 would in time have desired to partake  
his plenty2--that a colony would have   
been founded--that the island would have
 become populous4 ,it is perfectly clear
 that1 whether for exchange amongst     
themselves1 or for exchange with others1
 the members of this colony could not   

have stirred a step in the cultivation  
of the land without appropriating its   
produce2--and they could not have       
appropriated its produce without        
appropriating the land itself4          
,cultivation of the land for a common   
stock would have gone to the            
establishment precisely of the same     
principle2--they would still have been  
exchangers amongst themselves1 and the  
partnership would not have lasted a day1
 unless each man's share of what the    
partnership produced had been rendered  
perfectly secure to him4 ,without       
security they could not have            
accumulated--without accumulations they 
could not have exchanged--without       
exchanges they could not have carried   
forward their labours with any          
compensating productiveness4  ,imperfect
 appropriation--that is1 an             
appropriation which respects personal   
wealth1 such as the tools and           
conveniences of an individual1 and even 
secures to him the fruits of the earth  

when he has gathered them1 but which has
 not reached the last step of a division
 of land--imperfect appropriation such  
as this raises up the same invincible   
obstacles to the production of utility2 
because1 with this original defect1     
there must necessarily be unprofitable  
labour1 small accumulation1 limited     
exchange4 ,let us exemplify this by     
another individual case4  ,we have seen1
 in the instances of the ,moskito       
,indian and of ,selkirk1 how little a   
solitary man can do for himself1        
although he may have the most unbounded 
command of natural supplies--although   
not an atom of those natural supplies1  
whether produced by the earth or the    
water1 is appropriated by others--when1 
in fact1 he is monarch of all he        
surveys4 ,let us trace the course of    
another man1 advanced in the ability to 
subdue all things to his use by         
association with his fellow-men2 but    
carrying on that association in the rude
 and unproductive relations of savage   

life2--not desiring to replenish the    
earth by cultivation1 but seeking only  
to appropriate the means of existence   
which it has spontaneously              
produced2--labouring1 indeed1 and       
exchanging1 but not labouring and       
exchanging in a way that will permit the
 accumulation of wealth1 and therefore  
remaining poor and miserable4 ,we are   
not about to draw any fanciful picture1 
but merely to select some facts from a  
real narrative4    #f ,dr4 ,whately's   
,lectures on ,political ,economy4    #g 
,cowper's ,miscellaneous ,poems4    #h  
,these circumstances are recorded in    
,captain ,woodes ,rogers' ,cruising     
,voyage round the ,world1 #agab4        
,,chapter ,,iii4       ,adventures of   
,john ,tanner--,habits of the ,american 
,indians--,their sufferings from famine1
 and from the absence     among them of 
the principle of division of            
labour--,evils of     irregular         
labour--,respect to property--,their    
present improved                        

condition--,hudson's ,bay ,indians4     
,in the year #ahbh there came to ,new   
,york a white man named ,john ,tanner1  
who had been thirty years a captive     
amongst the ,indians in the interior of 
,north ,america4 ,he was carried off by 
a band of these people when he was a    
little boy1 from a settlement on the    
,ohio river1 which was occupied by his  
father1 who was a clergyman4 ,the boy   
was brought up in all the rude habits of
 the ,indians1 and became inured to the 
abiding miseries and uncertain pleasures
 of their wandering life4 ,he grew in   
time to be a most skilful huntsman1 and 
carried on large dealings with the      
agents of the ,hudson's ,bay ,company1  
in the skins of beavers and other       
animals which he and his associates had 
shot or entrapped4 ,the history of this 
man was altogether so curious1 that he  
was induced to furnish the materials for
 a complete narrative of his adventures2
 and1 accordingly1 a book1 fully        
descriptive of them1 was prepared for   

the press by ,dr4 ,edwin ,james1 and    
printed at ,new ,york1 in #ahcj4 ,it is 
of course not within the intent of our  
little work to furnish any regular      
abridgment of ,john ,tanner's story2 but
 it is our wish to direct attention to  
some few particulars1 which appear to us
 strikingly to illustrate some of the   
positions which we desire to enforce1 by
 thus exhibiting their practical        
operation4  ,the country in which this  
man lived so many years is that immense 
territory belonging to the ,united      
,states1 which at that period was       
covered by boundless forests which the  
progress of civilization had not then   
cleared away4 ,in this region a number  
of scattered ,indian tribes maintained a
 precarious existence by hunting the    
moose-deer and the buffalo for their    
supply of food1 and by entrapping the   
foxes and martens of the woods and the  
beavers of the lakes1 whose skins they  
generally exchanged with the white      
traders of ,europe for articles of      

urgent necessity1 such as ammunition and
 guns1 traps1 axes1 and woollen         
blankets2 but too often for ardent      
spirits1 equally the curse of savage and
 of civilized life4 ,the contact of     
savage man with the outskirts of        
civilization perhaps afflicts him with  
the vices of both states4 ,but the      
principle of exchange1 imperfectly and  
irregularly as it operated amongst the  
,indians1 furnished some excitement to  
their ingenuity and their industry4     
,habits of providence were thus to a    
certain degree created2 it became       
necessary to accumulate some capital of 
the commodities which could be rendered 
valuable by their own labour1 to        
exchange for commodities which their own
 labour1 without exchange1 was utterly  
unable to procure4 ,the principle of    
exchange1 too1 being recognised amongst 
them in their dealings with foreigners1 
the security of property--without which1
 as we have shown1 that principle cannot
 exist at all--was one of the great     

rules of life amongst themselves4 ,but  
still these poor ,indians1 from the mode
 which they proposed to themselves for  
the attainment of property1 which       
consisted only in securing what nature  
had produced1 without directing the     
course of her productions1 were very far
 removed from the regular attainment of 
those blessings which civilized society 
alone offers4 ,we shall exemplify these 
statements by a few details4            
,illustration3 ,dying ,lion  ,the       
country over which these people ranged  
occupies a surface that may be roughly  
described as five or six times as large 
as all ,england4 ,they had the unbounded
 command of all the natural resources of
 that country2 and yet their entire     
numbers did not equal the population of 
a moderately sized ,english county4 ,it 
may be fairly said that each ,indian    
required a thousand acres for his       
maintenance4 ,the supplies of food were 
so scanty--a scantiness which would at  
once have ceased to exist had there been

 any cultivation--that if a large number
 of these ,indians assembled together to
 co-operate in their hunting            
expeditions1 they were very soon        
dispersed by the urgent desire of       
satisfying hunger4 ,tanner says1 ,we all
 went to hunt beavers in concert4 ,in   
hunts of this kind the proceeds are     
sometimes equally divided2 but in this  
instance every man retained what he had 
killed4 ,in three days ,i collected as  
many skins as ,i could carry4 ,but in   
these distant and hasty hunts little    
meat could be brought in2 and the whole 
band was soon suffering with hunger4    
,many of the hunters1 and ,i among      
others1 for want of food became         
extremely weak1 and unable to hunt far  
from home4 ,what an approach is this to 
the case of the lower animals2 and how  
forcibly it reminds us of the passage in
 ,job 7c4 iv41 v4 #aa71 ,the fierce lion
 perisheth for lack of prey4#i ,in      
another place he says1 ,i began to be   
dissatisfied at remaining with large    

bands of ,indians1 as was usual for     
them1 after having remained a short time
 in a place1 to suffer from hunger4     
,these sufferings were not1 in many     
cases1 of short duration1 or of trifling
 intensity4 ,tanner describes one       
instance of famine in the following     
words3--,the ,indians gathered around1  
one after another1 until we became a    
considerable band1 and then we began to 
suffer from hunger4 ,the weather was    
very severe1 and our suffering          
increased4 ,a young woman was the first 
to die of hunger4 ,soon after this1 a   
young man1 her brother1 was taken with  
that kind of delirium or madness which  
precedes death in such as die of        
starvation4 ,in this condition he had   
left the lodge of his debilitated and   
desponding parents2 and when1 at a late 
hour in the evening1 ,i returned from my
 hunt1 they could not tell what had     
become of him4 ,i left the camp about   
the middle of the night1 and1 following 
his track1 ,i found him at some         

distance1 lying dead in the snow4  ,this
 worst species of suffering equally     
existed at particular periods1 whether  
food was sought for by large or by small
 parties1 by bands or by individuals4   
,tanner was travelling with the family  
of the woman who had adopted him4 ,he   
says1 ,we had now a short season of     
plenty2 but soon became hungry again4   
,it often happened that for two or three
 days we had nothing to eat2 then a     
rabbit or two1 or a bird1 would afford  
us a prospect of protracting the        
sufferings of hunger a few days longer4 
,again he says1 ,having subsisted for   
some time almost entirely on the inner  
bark of trees1 and particularly of a    
climbing vine found there1 our strength 
was much reduced4  ,the misery which is 
thus so strikingly described proceeded  
from the circumstance that the labour of
 the ,indians did not take a profitable 
direction2 and that this waste of labour
 7for unprofitable applications of      
labour are the greatest of all wastes7  

arose from the one fact1 that in certain
 particulars these ,indians laboured    
without appropriation4 ,they depended   
upon the chance productions of nature1  
without compelling her to produce2 and  
they did not compel her to produce1     
because there was no appropriation of   
the soil1 the most efficient natural    
instrument of production4 ,if the       
,indians had directed the productive    
powers of the earth to the growth of    
corn1 instead of to the growth of foxes'
 skins1 they would have become rich4    
,but they could not have reached this   
point without appropriation of the soil4
 ,they had learnt the necessity of      
appropriating the products of the soil1 
when they had bestowed labour upon      
obtaining them2 but the last step       
towards productiveness was not taken4   
,the ,indians therefore were poor2 the  
,european settlers who had taken this   
last step were rich4  ,the imperfect    
appropriation which existed amongst the 
,indians1 preventing1 as it did1 the    

accumulation of capital1 prevented the  
application of that skill and knowledge 
which is preserved and accumulated by   
the ,division of employment4 ,tanner    
describes a poor fellow who was wounded 
in the arm by the accidental discharge  
of a gun4 ,as there was little surgical 
skill amongst the community1 because no 
one could devote himself to the business
 of surgery1 the ,indian1 as the only   
chance of saving his life1 resolved to  
cut off his own arm2 and taking two     
knives1 the edge of one of which he had 
hacked into a sort of saw1 he with his  
right hand and arm cut off his left1 and
 threw it from him as far as he could4  
,the labour which an individual must go 
through when the state of society is so 
rude that there is scarcely any division
 of employment1 and consequently        
scarcely any exchanges1 is exhibited in 
many passages of ,tanner's narrative4   
,we select one4 ,i had no pukkavi1 or   
mats for a lodge1 and therefore had to  
build one of poles and long grass4 ,i   

dressed more skins1 made my own         
mocassins and leggings1 and those for my
 children2 cut wood and cooked for      
myself and family1 made my snow-shoes1  
c4 c4 ,all the attention and labour ,i  
had to bestow about home sometimes kept 
me from hunting1 and ,i was occasionally
 distressed for want of provisions4 ,i  
busied myself about my lodge in the     
night-time4 ,when it was sufficiently   
light ,i would bring wood1 and attend to
 other things without2 at other times ,i
 was repairing my snow-shoes1 or my own 
or my children's clothes4 ,for nearly   
all the winter ,i slept but a very small
 part of the night4  ,tanner was thus   
obliged to do everything for himself1   
and consequently to work at very great  
disadvantage1 because the principle of  
exchange was so imperfectly acted upon  
by the people amongst whom he lived4    
,this principle of exchange was         
imperfectly acted upon1 because the     
principle of appropriation was          
imperfectly acted upon4 ,the occupation 

of all1 and of each1 was to hunt game1  
to prepare skins1 to sell them to the   
traders1 to make sugar from the juice of
 maple-trees1 to build huts1 and to sew 
the skins which they dressed and the    
blankets which they bought into rude    
coverings for their bodies4 ,every one  
of them did all of these things for     
himself1 and of course he did them very 
imperfectly4 ,the people were not       
divided into hunters1 and furriers1 and 
dealers1 and sugar-makers1 and builders1
 and tailors4 ,every man was his own    
hunter1 furrier1 dealer1 sugar-maker1   
builder1 and tailor2 and consequently1  
every man1 like ,tanner1 was so occupied
 by many things1 that want of food and  
want of rest were ordinary sufferings4  
,he describes a man who was so borne    
down and oppressed by these manifold    
wants1 that1 in utter despair of being  
able to surmount them1 he would lie     
still till he was at the point of       
starvation1 replying to those who tried 
to rouse him to kill game1 that he was  

too poor and sick to set about it4 ,by  
describing himself as poor1 he meant to 
say that he was destitute of all the    
necessaries and comforts whose          
possession would encourage him to add to
 the store4 ,he had little capital4 ,the
 skill which he possessed of hunting    
game gave him a certain command over the
 spontaneous productions of the forest2 
but1 as his power of hunting depended   
upon chance supplies of game1 his labour
 necessarily took so irregular a        
direction1 and was therefore so         
unproductive1 that he never accumulated 
sufficient for his support in times of  
sickness1 or for his comfortable support
 at any time4 ,he became1 therefore1    
despairing2 and had that perfect apathy1
 that indifference to the future1 which 
is the most pitiable evidence of extreme
 wretchedness4 ,this man felt his       
powerless situation more keenly than his
 companions2 but with all savage tribes 
there is a want of steady and           
persevering exertion1 proceeding from   

the same cause4 ,severe labour is       
succeeded by long fits of idleness1     
because their labour takes a chance     
direction4 ,this is a universal case4   
,habits of idleness1 of irregularity1 of
 ferocity1 are the characteristics of   
all those who maintain existence by the 
pursuit of the unappropriated           
productions of nature2 while constant   
application1 orderly arrangement of     
time1 and civility to others1 result    
from systematic industry4 ,the savage   
and the poacher are equally the slaves  
of violent impulses--equally disgusted  
at the prospect of patient application4 
,when the support of life depends upon  
chance supplies1 the reckless spirit of 
a gambler is sure to take possession of 
the whole man2 and the misery which     
results from these chance supplies      
produces either dejection or ferocity4  
,the author of this book used to observe
 the habits of a class of such persons1 
who frequent the ,thames at ,eton2 and  
he thus described them in verses of his 

boyhood3--    ,what boat is this which  
creeps so lazily   ,up the still stream8
 ,how quietly falls the drip   ,of the  
slow paddle6 ,now it shoots along1   ,as
 if that lone man fear'd us4 ,well ,i   
ken   ,his rough and dangerous trade4   
,he knows each hole   ,where the        
quick-sighted eel delights to swim      
,when clouds obscure the moon2 and there
 he lays   ,his traps and gins1 and then
 he sleeps awhile2   ,but rouses up     
before the prying dawn   ,betrays his   
course2 and out he cautiously glides    
,to try his doubtful luck4 ,perchance he
 finds   ,stores that may buy him bread2
 but oft'ner still   ,his toil is       
fruitless1 and deject he comes   ,home  
to his emberless hearth1 and sits him   
down1   ,idle and starving through the  
busy day4  ,mungo ,park describes the   
wretched condition of the inhabitants of
 countries in ,africa where small       
particles of gold are found in the      
rivers4 ,their lives were spent in      
hunting for the gold to exchange for    

useful commodities1 instead of raising  
the commodities themselves2 and they    
were consequently poor and miserable1   
listless and unsteady4 ,their fitful    
industry had too much of chance mixed up
 with it to afford a certain and general
 profit4 ,the accounts which of late    
years we have received from the         
gold-diggings of ,california and        
,australia exhibit the same suffering   
from the same cause4 ,the natives of    
,cape de la ,hogue1 in ,normandy1 were  
the most wretched and ferocious people  
in all ,france1 because they depended   
principally for support on the wrecks   
that were frequent on their coasts4     
,when there were no tempests1 they made 
an easy transition from the character of
 wreckers to that of robbers4 ,a        
benefactor of his species taught these  
unhappy people to collect a marine plant
 to make potash4 ,they immediately      
became profitable labourers and         
exchangers2 they obtained a property in 
the general intelligence of civilized   

life2 the capital of society raised them
 from misery to wealth1 from being      
destroyers to being producers4  ,the    
,indians1 as we thus see1 were poor and 
wretched1 because they had no           
appropriation beyond articles of        
domestic use2 because they had no       
property in land1 and consequently no   
cultivation4 ,yet even they were not    
insensible to the importance of the     
principle1 for the preservation of the  
few advantages that belonged to their   
course of life4 ,tanner says1 ,i have   
often known a hunter leave his traps for
 many days in the woods1 without        
visiting them1 or feeling any anxiety   
about their safety4 ,the ,indians even  
carried the principle of appropriation  
almost to a division of land2 for each  
tribe1 and sometimes each individual1   
had an allotted                         
hunting-ground--imperfectly             
appropriated1 indeed1 by the first      
comer1 and often contested with violence
 by other hunters1 but still showing    

that they approached the limit which    
divides the savage from the civilized   
state1 and that1 if cultivation were    
introduced amongst them1 there would be 
a division of land1 as a matter of      
necessity4 ,the security of individual  
property is the foundation of all social
 improvement4 ,it is impossible to speak
 of the productive power of labour in   
the civilized state1 without viewing it 
in connexion with that great principle  
of society which considers all capital  
as appropriated4  ,when ',capital and   
,labour' was written twenty years ago1  
the ,indian tribes who were abiding in  
the territory of the ,united ,states    
were principally in the condition which 
has been described by ,tanner4 ,the want
 of resources in the country of the     
,indians was so manifest1 that1 when    
commissioners from the government of the
 ,united ,states1 in #ahjb1 gathered    
together the chiefs of the various      
tribes of the ,creek ,indians in their  
own country1 to propose to them a plan  

for their civilization1 it became       
necessary to provide for the support of 
the people so assembled by conveying    
food into the forests from the stores of
 the ,american towns4 ,the ,indians have
 now vanished from their old            
hunting-grounds4 ,where they so recently
 maintained a precarious existence1     
there are populous cities1 navigable    
rivers1 roads1 railways4 ,the clink of  
the hammer is heard in the forge1 and   
the rush of the stream from the mill-dam
 tells of agriculture and commerce4 ,but
 even the ,indians themselves have      
become labourers4 ,they have been       
removed to a large tract of country1 far
 away from the settled parts of the     
,united ,states1 and have been raised   
into the dignity of cultivators4 ,the   
,cherokees1 the ,creeks1 and the        
,choctaws1 with many smaller tribes1 now
 breed cattle instead of hunting        
martens4 ,they have houses in the place 
of huts2 they have schools and churches4
 ,instead of being extirpated by famine 

or the sword1 they have been adopted    
into the great family of civilized man4 
,illustration3 ,penn's ,treaty with the 
,indians4  ,but this wise and humane    
arrangement of the ,united ,states has  
not wholly removed the ,indians from the
 wide regions of ,north ,america4 ,in   
the ,hudson's ,bay territories the life 
which ,tanner described still goes      
forward4 ,the wants of civilized        
society--the desire to possess the      
earth--have transported the ,indians    
from the banks of the ,ohio to the lands
 watered by the ,arkansas4 ,the opposite
 principle has retained them on the     
shores of ,hudson's ,bay4 ,they are     
wanted there as hunters1 and are not    
encouraged as cultivators4 ,they are    
kept out of the pale of civilization1   
and not received within it4 ,the rude   
industry of the ,hudson's ,bay ,indians 
is stimulated by the luxury of ,europe  
into an employ which would cease to     
exist if the people became civilized4   
,if agriculture were introduced amongst 

them--if they were to grow corn and keep
 domestic animals--they would cease to  
be hunters of foxes and martens1 because
 their wants would be much better       
supplied by other modes of labour1      
involving less suffering and less       
uncertainty4 ,as it is1 the traders1 who
 want skins1 do not think of giving the 
,indians tools to work the ground1 and  
seeds to put in it1 and cows and sheep  
to breed other cows and sheep4 ,they    
avail themselves of the uncivilized     
state of these poor tribes1 to render   
them the principal agents in the        
manufacture of fur1 to supply the       
luxuries of another hemisphere4 ,but    
still the exchange which the hunters    
carry on with the ,european traders1    
imperfect as it is in all cases1 and    
unjust as it is in many1 is better for  
the ,indians than no exchange2 although 
we fear that ardent spirits take away   
from the ,indians the greater number of 
the advantages which would otherwise    
remain with them as exchangers4 ,if the 

,indians had no skins to give to        
,europe1 ,europe would have no blankets 
and ammunition to give to them4 ,they   
would obtain their food and clothing by 
the use of the bow alone4 ,they would   
live entirely from hand to mouth4 ,they 
would have no motive for accumulation1  
because there would be no exchanges2 and
 they would consequently be even poorer 
and more helpless than they are now as  
exchangers of skins4 ,they are suffering
 from the effects of small accumulations
 and imperfect exchange2 but these are  
far better than no accumulation and no  
exchange4 ,if the course of their       
industry were to be changed by perfect  
appropriation--if they were consequently
 to become cultivators and              
manufacturers1 instead of wanderers in  
the woods to hunt for wild and noxious  
animals--they would1 in the course of   
years1 have abundance of profitable     
labour1 because they would have         
abundance of capital4 ,this is the      
better lot of the tribes with whom the  

government of the ,united ,states has   
made a far nobler treaty than ,penn made
 with his ,indians4 ,as it is1 their    
accumulations are so small1 that they   
cannot proceed with their own uncertain 
labour of hunting without an advance of 
capital on the part of the traders2 and 
thus1 even in the rude tradings of these
 poor ,indians1 credit1 that complicated
 instrument of commercial exchange1     
operates upon the direction of their    
labour4 ,of course credit would not     
exist at all without appropriation4     
,their rights of property are perfect as
 far as they go2 but they are not       
carried far enough to direct their      
labour into channels which would ensure 
sufficient production for the labourers4
 ,their labour is unproductive because  
they have small accumulations2--their   
accumulations are small because they    
have imperfect exchange2--their exchange
 is imperfect because they have limited 
appropriation4 ,we may illustrate this  
state of imperfect production by another

 passage from ,tanner's story3--        
,the ,hudson's ,bay ,company had now no 
post in that part of the     country1   
and the ,indians were soon made         
conscious of the advantage     which had
 formerly resulted to them from the     
competition between     rival trading   
companies4 ,mr4 ,wells1 at the          
commencement of winter1     called us   
all together1 gave the ,indians a       
ten-gallon keg of rum     and some      
tobacco1 telling them at the same time  
he would not     credit one of them the 
value of a single needle4 ,when they    
brought     skins he would buy them1 and
 give in exchange such articles as      
were necessary for their comfort and    
subsistence during the     winter4 ,i   
was not with the ,indians when this talk
 was held4 ,when     it was reported to 
me1 and a share of the presents offered 
me1 ,i     not only refused to accept   
anything1 but reproached the ,indians   
for their pusillanimity in submitting to
 such terms4 ,they had been             

accustomed for many years to receive    
credits in the fall2 they     were now  
entirely destitute not of clothing      
merely1 but of     ammunition1 and many 
of them of guns and traps4 ,how were    
they1     without the accustomed aid    
from the traders1 to subsist themselves 
and their families during the ensuing   
winter8 ,a few days     afterwards ,i   
went to ,mr4 ,wells1 and told him that  
,i was poor1 with     a large family to 
support by my own exertions2 and that ,i
 must     unavoidably suffer1 and       
perhaps perish1 unless he would give me 
such a credit as ,i had always in the   
fall been accustomed to     receive4 ,he
 would not listen to my representation1 
and told me     roughly to be gone from 
his house4 ,i then took eight silver    
beavers1 such as are worn by the women  
as ornaments on their     dress1 and    
which ,i had purchased the year before  
at just twice the     price that was    
commonly given for a capote2#aj ,i laid 
them before     him on the table1 and   

asked him to give me a capote for them1 
or     retain them as a pledge for the  
payment of the price of the     garment1
 as soon as ,i could procure the        
peltries4#aa ,he took up     the        
ornaments1 threw them in my face1 and   
told me never to come     inside of his 
house again4 ,the cold weather of the   
winter had not     yet set in1 and ,i   
went immediately to my hunting-ground1  
killed a     number of moose1 and set my
 wife to make the skins into such       
garments as were best adapted to the    
winter season1 and which ,i     now saw 
we should be compelled to substitute for
 the blankets and     woollen clothes we
 had been accustomed to receive from the
     traders4  ,this incident at once   
shows us that the great blessing of the 
civilized state is its increase of the  
powers of production4 ,here we see the  
,indians1 surrounded on all sides by    
wild animals whose skins might be made  
into garments1 reduced to the extremity 
of distress because the traders refused 

to advance them blankets and other      
necessaries1 to be used during the      
months when they were employed in       
catching the animals from which they    
might obtain the skins4 ,it is easy to  
see that the ,indians were a long way   
removed from the power of making        
blankets themselves4 ,before they could 
reach this point1 their forests must    
have been converted into                
pasture-grounds2--they must have raised 
flocks of sheep1 and learnt all the     
various complicated arts1 and possessed 
all the ingenious machinery1 for        
converting wool into cloth4 ,by their   
exchange of furs for blankets1 they     
obtained a share in the productiveness  
of civilization2--they obtained         
comfortable clothing with much less     
labour than they could have made it out 
of the furs4 ,if ,tanner had not        
considered the capote which he desired  
to obtain from the traders1 better1 and 
less costly1 than the garment of        
moose-skins1 he would not have carried  

on any exchange of the two articles with
 the traders4 ,the skins of martens and 
foxes were only valuable to the         
,indians1 without exchange1 for the     
purpose of sewing together to make      
covering4 ,they had a different value in
 ,europe as articles of luxury2 and     
therefore the ,indians by exchange      
obtained a greater plenty of superior   
clothing than if they had used the skins
 themselves4 ,but the very nature of the
 trade1 depending upon chance supplies1 
rendered it impossible that they should 
accumulate4 ,they had such pressing need
 of ammunition1 traps1 and blankets1    
that the produce of the labour of one   
hunting season was not more than        
sufficient to procure the commodities   
which they required to consume in the   
same season4 ,but supposing the ,indians
 could have bred foxes and martens and  
beavers1 as we breed rabbits1 for the   
supply of the ,european demand for fur1 
doubtless they would have then advanced 
many steps in the character of          

producers4 ,the thing is perhaps        
impossible2 but were it possible1 and   
were the ,indians to have practised it1 
they would immediately have become      
capitalists1 to an extent that would    
have soon rendered them independent of  
the credit of the traders4 ,they must1  
however1 have previously established a  
more perfect appropriation4 ,each must  
have enclosed his own hunting-ground2   
and each must have raised some food for 
the maintenance of his own stock of     
beavers1 foxes1 and martens4 ,it would  
be easier1 doubtless1 to raise the food 
for themselves1 and ultimately to       
exchange corn for clothing1 instead of  
furs for clothing4 ,when this           
happens--and it will happen sooner or   
later1 unless the remnant of the hunting
 ,indians are extirpated by their       
poverty1 which proceeds from their      
imperfect production--,europe must go   
without the brilliant variety of skins  
which we procure at the cost of so much 
labour1 accompanied with so much        

wretchedness1 because the labour is so  
unproductive to the labourers4 ,when the
 ladies of ,london and ,paris are       
compelled to wear boas of rabbits       
instead of sables1 and when the hair of 
the beaver ceases to be employed in the 
manufacture of our hats1 the wooded     
regions of ,hudson's ,bay will have been
 cleared--the fur-bearing animals will  
have perished--corn will be growing in  
the forest and the marsh--the           
inhabitants will be building houses     
instead of trapping foxes2--there will  
be appropriation and capital1 profitable
 labour and comfort4 ,three hundred     
thousand mink and marten-skins will no  
longer be sent from those shores to     
,london in one year2 but ,liverpool may 
send to those shores woven cottons and  
worsteds1 pottery and tools1 in exchange
 for products whose cultivation will    
have exterminated the minks and martens4
    ,illustration3 ,pine-,marten4     #i
 ,the authorized version has old2 the   
more correct translation is             

fierce4    #aj ,a sort of great-coat4   
#aa ,skins4     ,,chapter ,,iv4         
,the ,prodigal--,advantages of the      
poorest man in civilized      life over 
the richest savage--,savings-banks1     
deposits1 and      interest--,progress  
of accumulation--,insecurity of capital1
      its causes and results--,property1
 its      constituents--,accumulation of
 capital4   ,there is an account in     
,foster's ,essays of a man who1 having  
by a short career of boundless          
extravagance dissipated every shilling  
of a large estate which he inherited    
from his fathers1 obtained possession   
again of the whole property by a course 
which the writer well describes as a    
singular illustration of decision of    
character4 ,the unfortunate prodigal1   
driven forth from the home of his early 
years by his own imprudence1 and reduced
 to absolute want1 wandered about for   
some time in a state of almost          
unconscious despair1 meditating         
self-destruction1 till he at last sat   

down upon a hill which overlooked the   
fertile fields that he once called his  
own4 ,he remained1 says the narrative1  
fixed in thought a number of hours1 at  
the end of which he sprang from the     
ground with a vehement exulting emotion4
 ,he had formed his resolution1 which   
was1 that all these estates should be   
his again2 he had formed his plan1 too1 
which he instantly began to execute4 ,we
 shall show1 by and by1 how this plan   
worked in detail2--it will be           
sufficient1 just now1 to examine the    
principles upon which it was founded4   
,he looked to no freak of fortune to    
throw into his lap by chance what he had
 cast from him by wilfulness4 ,he       
neither trusted to inherit those lands  
from their present possessor by his     
favour1 nor to wring them from him by a 
course of law4 ,he was not rash and     
foolish enough to dream of obtaining    
again by force those possessions which  
he had exchanged for vain superfluities4
 ,but he resolved to become once more   

their master by the operation of the    
only principle which could give them to 
him in a civilized society4 ,he resolved
 to obtain them again by the same agency
 through which he had lost them--by     
exchange4 ,but what had he to exchange8 
,his capital was gone1 even to the      
uttermost farthing2 he must labour to   
obtain new capital4 ,with a courage     
worthy of imitation he resolved to      
accept the very first work that should  
be offered to him1 and1 however low the 
wages of that work1 to spend only a part
 of those wages1 leaving something for a
 store4 ,the day that he made this      
resolution he carried it into execution4
 ,he found some service to be           
performed--irksome1 doubtless1 and in   
many eyes degrading4 ,but he had a      
purpose which made every occupation     
appear honourable1 as every occupation  
truly is that is productive of utility4 
,incessant labour and scrupulous        
parsimony soon accumulated for him a    
capital2 and the store1 gathered        

together with such energy1 was a rapidly
 increasing one4 ,in no very great      
number of years the once destitute      
labourer was again a rich proprietor4   
,he had earned again all that he had    
lost4 ,the lands of his fathers were    
again his4 ,he had accomplished his     
plan4  ,a man so circumstanced--one who 
possesses no capital1 and is only master
 of his own natural powers--if suddenly 
thrown down from a condition of ease1   
must look upon the world1 at the first  
view1 with deep apprehension4 ,he sees  
everything around him appropriated4 ,he 
is in the very opposite condition of    
,alexander ,selkirk1 when he is made to 
exclaim ,i am monarch of all ,i survey4 
,instead of feeling that his right there
 is none to dispute1 he knows that every
 blade of corn that covers the fields1  
every animal that grazes in the         
pastures1 is equally numbered as the    
property of some individual owner1 and  
can only pass into his possession by    
exchange4 ,in the towns it is the same  

as in the country4 ,the dealer in bread 
and in clothes1--the victualler from    
whom he would ask a cup of beer and a   
night's lodging1--will give him nothing1
 although they will exchange everything4
 ,he cannot exist1 except as a beggar1  
unless he puts himself in the condition 
to become an exchanger4  ,but still1    
with all these apparent difficulties1   
his prospects of subsisting1 and of     
subsisting comfortably1 are far greater 
than in any other situation in which he 
must labour to live4 ,as we have already
 seen1 the condition of by far the      
greater number of the millions that     
constitute the exchangers of civilized  
society is greatly superior to that of  
the few thousands who exist upon the    
precarious supplies of the              
unappropriated productions of nature in 
the savage life4 ,although an exchange  
must always be made--although in very   
few cases the fowl and the brute offer  
themselves to the wayfaring man for his 
daily food--although no herbs worth the 

gathering can be found for the support  
of life in the few uncultivated parts of
 a highly cultivated country--the       
aggregate riches are so abundant1 and   
the facilities which exist for          
exchanging capital for labour are       
therefore so manifold1 that the poorest 
man in a state of civilization has a    
much greater certainty of supplying all 
his wants1 and of supplying them with   
considerably more ease1 than the richest
 man in a state of uncivilization4 ,the 
principle upon which he has to rely is1 
that in a highly civilized country there
 is large production4 ,there is large   
production because there is profitable  
labour2--there is profitable labour     
because there is large                  
accumulation2--there is large           
accumulation because there is unlimited 
exchange2--there is unlimited exchange  
because there is universal              
appropriation4 ,john ,tanner was        
accounted a rich man by the             
,indians--doubtless because he was more 

industrious than the greater number of  
them2 but we have seen what privations  
he often suffered4 ,he suffered         
privations because there was no capital1
 no accumulation of the products of     
labour1 in the country in which he      
lived4 ,where such a store exists1 the  
poorest man has a tolerable certainty   
that he may obtain his share of it as an
 exchanger2 and the greater the store   
the greater the certainty that his      
labour1 or power of adding to the store1
 will obtain a full proportion of what  
previous labour has gathered together4  
,in #ahec the amount of stock vested to 
the account of depositors in            
savings-banks in the ,united ,kingdom   
was #cd1edf1dcdl4 ,since the            
establishment of savings-banks1         
#fh1hhe1bhcl4 had been so invested2 and 
the gross amount of interest paid to the
 depositors had been #be1gcc1ggal4 ,this
 large capital1 which had so fructified 
as to produce more than twenty-five     
millions as interest1 was an            

accumulation1 penny by penny1 shilling  
by shilling1 and pound by pound1 of the 
savings of that class of persons who1 in
 every country1 have the greatest       
difficulty in accumulating4 ,habitual   
efforts of self-denial1 and a rigid     
determination to postpone temporary     
gratification to permanent good1 could  
alone have enabled these accumulators to
 retain so much of what they had        
produced beyond the amount of what they 
consumed4  ,the capital sum of more than
 thirty-four millions now belonging to  
the depositors in #ege savings-banks1   
represents as many products of industry 
as could be bought by that sum4 ,it is a
 capital which remains for the          
encouragement of productive consumption2
 that is1 it is now applied as a fund   
for setting others to produce1--to      
enable them to consume while they       
produce1--and in like manner to         
accumulate some part of their           
productions beyond what they consume4   
,the millions of interest which the     

depositors have received is the price   
paid for the use of the capital by      
others who require its employment4 ,the 
whole amount of our national riches--the
 capital of this and of every other     
country--has been formed by the same    
slow but certain process of individual  
savings1 and the accumulations of       
savings1 stimulating new industry1 and  
yielding new accumulations4  ,the       
consumption of any production is the    
destruction of its value4 ,the          
production was created by industry to   
administer to individual wants1 to be   
consumed1 to be destroyed4 ,when a thing
 capable of being consumed is produced1 
a value is created2 when it is consumed1
 that value is destroyed4 ,the general  
mass of riches then remains the same as 
it was before that production took      
place4 ,if the power to produce1 and the
 disposition to consume1 were equal and 
constant1 there could be no saving1 no  
accumulation1 no capital4 ,if mankind1  
by their intelligence1 their skill1     

their division of employments1 their    
union of forces1 had not put themselves 
in a condition to produce more than is  
consumed while the great body of        
industrious undertakings is in progress1
 society would have been                
stationary1--civilization could never   
have advanced4  ,it may assist us in    
making the value of capital more clear1 
if we take a rapid view of the most     
obvious features of the accumulation of 
a highly civilized country4  ,the first 
operation in a newly settled country is 
what is termed to clear it4 ,look at a  
civilized country1 such as ,england4 ,it
 is cleared4 ,the encumbering woods are 
cut down1 the unhealthy marshes are     
drained4 ,the noxious animals which were
 once the principal inhabitants of the  
land are exterminated2 and their place  
is supplied with useful creatures1 bred1
 nourished1 and domesticated by human   
art1 and multiplied to an extent exactly
 proportioned to the wants of the       
population4 ,forests remain for the     

produce of timber1 but they are confined
 within the limits of their             
utility2--mountains where the nibbling  
flocks do stray1 have ceased to be      
barriers between nations and districts4 
,every vegetable that the diligence of  
man has been able to transplant from the
 most distant regions is raised for     
food4 ,the fields are producing a       
provision for the coming year2 while the
 stock for immediate consumption is     
ample1 and the laws of demand and supply
 are so perfectly in action1 and the    
facilities of communication with every  
region so unimpeded1 that scarcity      
seldom occurs1 and famine never4 ,rivers
 have been narrowed to bounds which     
limit their inundations1 and they have  
been made navigable wherever their      
navigation could be profitable4 ,the    
country is covered with roads1 with     
canals1 and now1 more especially1 with  
railroads1 which render distant         
provinces as near to each other for     
commercial purposes as neighbouring     

villages in less advanced countries4    
,science has created the electric       
telegraph1 by which prices are equalized
 through every district1 by an instant  
communication between producers and     
consumers4 ,houses1 all possessing some 
comforts which were unknown even to the 
rich a few centuries ago1 cover the     
land1 in scattered farm-houses and      
mansions1 in villages1 in towns1 in     
cities1 in capitals4 ,these houses are  
filled with an almost inconceivable     
number of conveniences and              
luxuries--furniture1 glass1 porcelain1  
plate1 linen1 clothes1 books1 pictures4 
,in the stores of the merchants and     
traders the resources of human ingenuity
 are displayed in every variety of      
substances and forms that can exhibit   
the multitude of civilized wants2 and in
 the manufactories are seen the         
wonderful adaptations of science for    
satisfying those wants at the cheapest  
cost4 ,the people who inhabit such a    
civilized land have not only the        

readiest communication with each other  
by the means of roads and canals1 but   
can trade by the agency of ships with   
all parts of the world4 ,to carry on    
their intercourse amongst themselves    
they speak one common language1 reduced 
to certain rules1 and not broken into an
 embarrassing variety of unintelligible 
dialects4 ,their written communications 
are convoyed to the obscurest corners of
 their own country1 and even to the most
 remote lands1 with prompt and unfailing
 regularity1 and now with a cheapness   
which makes the poorest and the richest 
equal in their power to connect the     
distant with their thoughts by mutual   
correspondence4 ,whatever is transacted 
in such a populous hive1 the knowledge  
of which can afford profit or amusement 
to the community1 is recorded with a    
rapidity which is not more astonishing  
than the general accuracy of the record4
 ,what is more important1 the           
discoveries of science1 the elegancies  
of literature1 and all that can advance 

the general intelligence1 are preserved 
and diffused with the utmost ease1      
expedition1 and security1 so that the   
public stock of knowledge is constantly 
increasing4 ,lastly1 the general        
well-being of all is sustained by       
laws--sometimes indeed imperfectly      
devised and expensively administered1   
but on the whole of infinite value to   
every member of the community2 and the  
property of all is defended from        
external invasion and from internal     
anarchy by the power of government1     
which will be respected only in         
proportion as it advances the general   
good of the humblest of its subjects1 by
 securing their capital from plunder and
 defending their industry from          
oppression4  ,this capital is ready to  
be won by the power of every man capable
 of work4 ,but he must exercise this    
power in complete subjection to the     
natural laws by which every exchange of 
society is regulated4 ,these laws       
sometimes prevent labour being instantly

 exchanged with capital1 for an exchange
 necessarily requires a balance to be   
preserved between what one man has to   
supply and what another man has to      
demand2 but in their general effect they
 secure to labour the certainty that    
there shall be abundance of capital to  
exchange with2 and that1 if prudence and
 diligence go together1 the labourer may
 himself become a capitalist1 and even  
pass out of the condition of a labourer 
into that of a proprietor1 or one who   
lives upon accumulated produce4 ,the    
experience of every day shows this      
process going forward--not in a solitary
 instance1 as in that of the ruined and 
restored man whose tale we have just    
told1 but in the case of thriving       
tradesmen all around us1 who were once  
servants4 ,but if the labourer or the   
great body of labourers were to imagine 
that they could obtain such a proportion
 of the capital of a civilized country  
except as exchangers1 the store would   
instantly vanish4 ,they might perhaps   

divide by force the crops in barns and  
the clothes in warehouses--but there    
would be no more crops or clothes4 ,the 
principle upon which all accumulation   
depends1 that of security of property1  
being destroyed1 the accumulation would 
be destroyed4 ,whatever tends to make   
the state of society insecure1 tends to 
prevent the employment of capital4 ,in  
despotic countries1 that insecurity is  
produced by the tyranny of one4 ,in     
other countries1 where the people1      
having been misgoverned1 are badly      
educated1 that insecurity is produced by
 the tyranny of many4 ,in either case1  
the bulk of the people themselves are   
the first to suffer1 whether by the     
outrages of a tyrant1 or by their own   
outrages4 ,they prevent labour1 by      
driving away to other channels the funds
 which support labour4 ,in some eastern 
countries1 where1 when a man becomes    
rich1 his property is seized upon by the
 one tyrant1 nobody dares to avow that  
he has any property4 ,capital is not    

employed2 it is hidden3 and the people  
who have capital live not upon its      
profits1 but by the diminution of the   
capital itself4 ,in the very earliest   
times we hear of concealed riches4 ,in  
the book of ,job those who long for     
death are said to dig for it more than  
for hid treasures4 ,the tales of the    
,east are full of allusions to money    
buried and money dug up4 ,the poor      
woodman1 in making up his miserable     
faggot1 discovers a trap-door1 and      
becomes rich4 ,in ,india1 where the rule
 of ,mohammedan princes was usually one 
of tyranny1 even now the search after   
treasure goes on4 ,the popular mind is  
filled with the old traditions2 and so  
men dream of bags of gold to be         
discovered in caves and places of       
desolation1 and they forthwith dig1 till
 hope is banished1 and the real treasure
 is found in systematic industry4 ,it   
was the same in the feudal times in     
,england1 when the lord tyrannized over 
his vassals1 and no property was safe   

but in the hands of the strongest4 ,in  
those times people who had treasure     
buried it4 ,who thinks of burying       
treasure now in ,england8 ,in the plays 
and story-books which depict the manners
 of our own early times1 we constantly  
read of people finding bags of money4   
,we never find bags of money now1 except
 when a very old hoard1 hidden in some  
time of national trouble1 comes to      
light4 ,so little time ago as the reign 
of ,charles ,,ii4 we read of the        
,secretary to the ,admiralty going down 
from ,london to his country-house1 with 
all his money in his carriage1 to bury  
it in his garden4 ,what ,samuel ,pepys  
records of his doings with his own      
money1 was a natural consequence of the 
practices of a previous time4 ,he also  
chronicles1 in several places of his    
curious ,diary1 his laborious searches1 
day by day1 for #gjjjl4 hid in butter   
firkins in the cellars of the ,tower of 
,london4 ,why is money not hidden and   
not sought for now8 ,because people have

 security for the employment of it1 and 
by the employment of it in creating new 
produce the nation's stock of capital   
goes on hourly increasing4 ,when we read
 in ,blackstone's ',commentaries on the 
,laws of ,england1' that the concealment
 of treasure-trove1 or found treasure1  
from the king1 is a misdemeanour        
punishable by fine and imprisonment1 and
 that it was formerly a capital offence1
 we at once see that this is a law no   
longer for our time2 and we learn from  
this instance1 as from many others1 how 
the progress of civilization silently   
repeals laws which belong to another    
condition of the people4                
,illustration3 ,treasure-finding4  ,when
 we look at the nature of the           
accumulated wealth of society1 it is    
easy to see that the poorest member of  
it who dedicates himself to profitable  
labour is in a certain sense rich--rich1
 as compared with the unproductive and  
therefore poor individuals of any       
uncivilized tribe4 ,the very            

scaffolding1 if we may so express it1 of
 the social structure1 and the moral    
forces by which that structure was      
reared1 and is upheld1 are to him       
riches4 ,to be rich is to possess the   
means of supplying our wants--to be poor
 is to be destitute of those means4     
,riches do not consist only of money and
 lands1 of stores of food or clothing1  
of machines and tools4 ,the particular  
knowledge of any art--the general       
understanding of the laws of nature--the
 habit from experience of doing any work
 in the readiest way--the facility of   
communicating ideas by written          
language--the enjoyment of institutions 
conceived in the spirit of social       
improvement--the use of the general     
conveniences of civilized life1 such as 
roads--these advantages1 which the      
poorest man in ,england possesses or may
 possess1 constitute individual         
property4 ,they are means for the supply
 of wants1 which in themselves are      
essentially more valuable for obtaining 

his full share of what is appropriated1 
than if all the productive powers of    
nature were unappropriated1 and if1     
consequently1 these great elements of   
civilization did not exist4 ,society    
obtains its almost unlimited command    
over riches by the increase and         
preservation of knowledge1 and by the   
division of employments1 including union
 of power4 ,in his double capacity of a 
consumer and a producer1 the humblest   
man has the full benefit of these means 
of wealth--of these great instruments by
 which the productive power of labour is
 carried to its highest point4  ,but if 
these common advantages1 these public   
means of society1 offering so many      
important agents to the individual for  
the gratification of his wants1 alone   
are worth more to him than all the      
precarious power of the savage          
state--how incomparably greater are his 
advantages when we consider the         
wonderful accumulations1 in the form of 
private wealth1 which are ready to be   

exchanged with the labour of all those  
who are in a condition to add to the    
store4 ,it has been truly said by ,m4   
,say1 a ,french economist1 ,it is a     
great misfortune to be poor1 but it is a
 much greater misfortune for the poor   
man to be surrounded only with other    
poor like himself4 ,the reason is       
obvious4 ,the productive power of labour
 can be carried but a very little way   
without accumulation of capital4 ,in a  
highly civilized country1 capital is    
heaped up on every side by ages of toil 
and perseverance4 ,a succession1 during 
a long series of years1 of small        
advantages to individuals unceasingly   
renewed and carried forward by the      
principle of exchanges1 has produced    
this prodigious amount of the aggregate 
capital of a country whose civilization 
is of ancient date4 ,this accumulation  
of the means of existence1 and of all   
that makes existence comfortable1 is    
principally resulting from the labours  
of those who have gone before us4 ,it is

 a stock which was beyond their own     
immediate wants1 and which was not      
extinguished with their lives4 ,it is   
our capital4 ,it has been produced by   
labour alone1 physical and mental4 ,it  
can be kept up only by the same power   
which has created it1 carried to the    
highest point of productiveness by the  
arrangements of society4     ,,chapter  
,v4       ,common interests of ,capital 
and ,labour--,labour directed by        
,accumulation--,capital enhanced by     
,labour--,balance of rights      and    
duties--,relation of demand and         
supply--,money                          
exchanges--,intrinsic and representative
 value of money4   ,there is an old     
proverb1 that ,when two men ride on one 
horse1 one man must ride behind4        
,capital and ,labour are1 as we think1  
destined to perform a journey together  
to the end of time4 ,we have shown how  
they proceed on this journey4 ,we have  
shown that1 although ,labour is the     
parent of all wealth1 its struggles for 

the conversion of the rude supplies of  
nature into objects of utility are most 
feeble in their effects till they are   
assisted by accumulation4 ,before the   
joint interests of ,labour and ,capital 
were at all understood1 they kept       
separate2 when they only began to be    
understood1 as we shall show1 they were 
constantly pulling different ways1      
instead of giving a long pull1 a strong 
pull1 and a pull altogether2 and even   
now1 when these interests in many       
respects are still imperfectly          
understood1 they occasionally quarrel   
about the conditions upon which they    
will continue to travel in company4 ,in 
the very outset of the journey1 ,labour1
 doubtless1 took the lead4 ,in the dim  
morning of society ,labour was up and   
stirring before ,capital was awake4     
,labour did not then ride2 he travelled 
slowly on foot through very dirty ways4 
,capital1 at length1 as slowly followed 
after1 through the same mire1 but at an 
humble distance from his parent4 ,but   

when ,capital grew into strength1 he saw
 that there were quicker and more       
agreeable modes of travelling for both1 
than labour had found out4 ,he procured 
that fleet and untiring horse ,exchange2
 and when he proposed to ,labour that   
they should mount together1 he claimed  
the right1 and kept it1 for their mutual
 benefit1 of taking the direction of the
 horse4 ,for this reason1 as it appears 
to us1 we are called upon to assign to  
one of the companions1 according to the 
practice of the old ,knights ,templars1 
the privilege of sitting before the     
other--holding the reins1 indeed1 but in
 all respects having a community of     
interests1 and an equality of duties1 as
 well as rights1 with his               
fellow-traveller4  ,let us endeavour to 
advance another step in the illustration
 of these positions1 by going back to   
the prodigal who had spent all his      
substance4 ,let us survey him at the    
moment when he had made the wise1 and in
 many respects heroic1 resolution to    

pass from the condition of a consumer   
into that of a producer4 ,the story     
says1 ,the first thing that drew his    
attention was a heap of coals shot out  
of a cart on the pavement before a      
house4 ,he offered himself to shovel or 
wheel them into the place where they    
were to be laid1 and was employed4      
,here1 then1 we see that the labour of  
this man was wholly and imperatively    
directed by accumulation4 ,it was       
directed as absolutely by the           
accumulation of others as the labour of 
,dampier's ,moskito ,indian was directed
 by his own accumulation4 ,the ,indian  
could not labour profitably--he could   
not obtain fish and goats for his food1 
instead of seal's flesh--till he had    
called into action the power which he   
possessed in his knife and his          
gun-barrel4 ,the prodigal had no        
accumulation whatever of his own4 ,he   
had not even the accumulation of        
peculiar skill in any mode of           
labour2--for a continual process of     

waste enlarges neither the mental nor   
physical faculties1 and generally leaves
 the wretched being who has to pass into
 the new condition of a producer as     
helpless as the weakest child4 ,he had  
nothing but the lowest power1 of        
labouring without peculiar knowledge or 
skill4 ,he had1 however1 an intensity   
and consistency of purpose which raised 
this humble power into real strength4   
,he was determined never to go          
backward--always to go on4 ,he knew1    
too1 his duties as well as his rights2  
and he saw that he must wholly          
accommodate his power to the greater    
power which was in action around him4   
,when he passed into the condition of a 
producer1 he saw that his powers and    
rights were wholly limited and directed 
by the principles necessary to advance  
production2 and that his own share of   
what he assisted in producing must be   
measured by the laws which enabled him  
to produce at all4 ,he found himself in 
a position where his labour was         

absolutely governed by the system of    
exchanges4 ,no other system could       
operate around him1 because he was in a 
civilized country4 ,had he been thrown  
upon a desert land without food and     
shelter1 his labour must have been      
instantly and directly applied to       
procuring food and shelter4 ,he was     
equally without food and shelter in a   
civilized country4 ,but the system of   
exchanges being in action1 he did not   
apply his labour directly to the        
production of food and lodging for      
himself4 ,he added by his labour a new  
value to a heap of coals2 he enabled    
another man more readily to acquire the 
means of warmth2 and by this service1   
which he exchanged for a few pence and a
 small gratuity of meat and drink1 he   
indirectly obtained food and lodging4   
,he conferred an additional value upon a
 heap of coals2 and that additional     
value was represented by the few pence  
and a small gratuity of meat and drink4 
,had the system of exchange been less   

advanced1 that is1 had society been less
 civilized1 he would probably have      
exchanged his labour for some object of 
utility1 by another and a ruder mode4   
,he would have received a portion of the
 coals as the price of the labour by    
which he gave an additional value to the
 whole heap4 ,but mark the inconvenience
 of such a mode of exchange4 ,his first 
want was food2 his next1 shelter3 had he
 earned the coals1 he must have carried 
them about till he had found some other 
person ready to exchange food and       
lodging for coals4 ,such an occurrence  
might have happened1 but it would have  
been a lucky accident4 ,he could find   
all persons ready to exchange food and  
clothes for money--because money was    
ready again to exchange for other       
articles of utility which they might    
require1 and which they would more      
readily obtain by the money than by the 
food and clothes which our labourer had 
received for them4 ,during the course of
 the unprofitable labour of waiting till

 he had found an exchanger who wanted   
coals1 he might have perished4 ,what    
then gave him the means of profitable   
labour1 and furnished him with an       
article which every one was ready to    
receive in exchange for articles of     
immediate necessity8 ,capital in two    
forms4 ,the heap of coals was capital4  
,the coals represented a very great and 
various accumulation of former labour   
that had been employed in giving them   
value4 ,the coals were altogether       
valueless till labour had been employed 
to raise them from the pit1 and to      
convey them to the door of the man who  
was about to consume them4 ,but with    
what various helps had this labour      
worked6 ,mere manual labour could have  
done little or nothing with the coals in
 the pit4 ,machines had raised them from
 the pit4 ,machines had transported them
 from the pit to the door of the        
consumer4 ,they would have remained     
buried in the earth but for large       
accumulations of knowledge1 and large   

accumulations of pecuniary wealth to set
 that knowledge in action by exchanging 
with it4 ,the heap of coals represented 
all this accumulation2 and it more      
immediately represented the ,circulating
 ,capital of consumable articles of     
utility1 which had been paid in the     
shape of wages1 at every stage of the   
labour exercised in raising the coals   
from the mine1 and conveying them to the
 spot in which the prodigal found them  
laid4 ,the coals had almost attained    
their highest value by a succession of  
labour2 but one labour was still wanting
 to give them the highest value4 ,they  
were at their lowest value when they    
remained unbroken in the coal-pit2 they 
were at their highest value when they   
were deposited in the cellar of the     
consumer4 ,for that last labour there   
was circulating capital ready to be     
exchanged4 ,the man whose course of     
production we have been tracing imparted
 to them this last value1 and for this  
labour he received a few pence and a    

gratuity of meat and drink4 ,these      
consumable commodities1 and the money   
which might be exchanged for other      
consumable commodities1 were circulating
 capital4 ,they supplied his most       
pressing wants with incomparably more   
readiness and certainty than if he had  
been turned loose amongst the           
unappropriated productions of nature1   
with unlimited freedom and absolute     
rights4 ,in the state in which he was   
actually placed his rights were limited 
by his duties1--but this balance of     
rights and duties was the chief         
instrument in the satisfaction of his   
wants4 ,let us examine the principle a  
little more in detail4  ,an exchange was
 to be carried on between the owner of  
the coals and the man who was willing to
 shovel them into the owner's cellar4   
,the labourer did not want any distinct 
portion of the coals1 but he wanted some
 articles of more urgent necessity in   
exchange for the new value which he was 
ready to bestow upon the coals4 ,the    

object of each exchanger was1 that      
labour should be exchanged with capital4
 ,that object could not have been       
accomplished1 or it would have been     
accomplished slowly1 imperfectly1 and   
therefore unprofitably1 unless there had
 been interchangeable freedom and       
security for both exchangers1--for the  
exchanger of capital1 and the exchanger 
of labour4 ,the first right of the      
labourer was1 that his labour should be 
free2--the first right of the capitalist
 was1 that his capital should be free4  
,the rights of each were built upon the 
security of property4 ,could this       
security have been violated1 it might   
have happened1 either that the labourer 
should have been compelled to shovel in 
the coals--or1 that the capitalist      
should have been compelled to employ the
 labourer to shovel them in4 ,had the   
lot of the unfortunate prodigal been    
cast in such a state of society as would
 have allowed this violation of the     
natural rights of the labourer and the  

capitalist1 he would have found little  
accumulation to give a profitable       
direction to his labour4 ,he would have 
found production suspended1 or          
languishing4 ,there would probably have 
been no heap of coals wanting his labour
 to give them the last value2--for the  
engines would have been idle that raised
 them from the pit1 and the men would   
have been idle that directed the        
engines4 ,the circulating capital that  
found wages for the men1 and fuel for   
the engines1 would have been idle1      
because it could not have worked with   
security4 ,accumulation1 therefore1     
would have been suspended2--and all     
profitable labour would1 in consequence1
 have been suspended4 ,it was the       
unquestionable right of the labourer    
that his labour should be free2 but it  
was balanced by the right of the        
capitalist that his accumulation should 
be secure4 ,could the labour have seized
 upon the capital1 or the capital upon  
the labour1 production would have been  

stopped altogether1 or in part4 ,the    
mutual freedom and security of labour   
and capital compel production to go     
forward2 and labour and capital take    
their respective stations1 and perform  
their respective duties1 altogether with
 reference to the laws which govern     
production4 ,these laws are founded upon
 the natural action of the system of    
exchange1 carrying forward all its      
operations by the natural action of the 
great principle of demand and supply4   
,when capital and labour know how to    
accommodate themselves to the direction 
of these natural laws1 they are in a    
healthy state with respect to their     
individual rights1 and the rights of    
industry generally4 ,they are in that   
state in which each is working to the   
greatest profit in carrying forward the 
business of production4  ,the story of  
the prodigal goes on to say1 ,he then   
looked out for the next thing that might
 chance to offer2 and went with         
indefatigable industry through a        

succession of servile employments1 in   
different places1 of longer and shorter 
duration4 ,here we see the principle of 
,demand and ,supply still in active     
operation4 ,he looked out for the next  
thing that might chance to offer4 ,he   
was ready with his supply of labour     
immediately that he saw a demand for it4
 ,doubtless1 the indefatigable industry 
with which he was ready with his supply 
created a demand1 and thus he had in    
some degree a control over the demand4  
,but in most cases the demand went      
before the supply1 and he had thus to   
watch and wait upon the demand4 ,in many
 instances demand and supply exercise a 
joint influence and control1 each with  
regard to the other4 ,pliny1 the ,roman 
naturalist1 relates that in the year    
#ded of the building of ,rome 7#cjj     
years before ,christ7 a number of       
barbers came over from ,sicily to shave 
the ,romans1 who till that time had worn
 long beards4 ,but the barbers came in  
consequence of being sent for by a man  

in authority4 ,the demand here          
distinctly went before the supply2 but  
the supply1 doubtless1 acted greatly    
upon the demand4 ,during a time of wild 
financial speculation in ,paris1 created
 by what is called the ,mississippi     
bubble1 a hump-backed man went daily    
into the street where the stock-jobbers 
were accustomed to assemble1 and earned 
money by allowing them to sign their    
contracts upon the natural desk with    
which he was encumbered4 ,the hump-back 
was doubtless a shrewd fellow1 and saw  
the difficulty under which the          
stock-jobbers laboured4 ,he supplied    
what they appeared to want2 and a demand
 was instantly created for his hump4 ,he
 was well paid1 says the story4 ,that   
was because the supply was smaller than 
the demand4 ,if other men with humps had
 been attracted by the demand1 or if    
persons had come to the street with     
portable desks more convenient than the 
hump1 the reward of his service would   
naturally have become less4 ,he must    

have yielded to the inevitable law by   
which the amount of circulating capital1
 as compared with the number of         
labourers1 prescribes the terms upon    
which capital and labour are united4    
,by following the direction which       
capital gave to his industry1 the       
prodigal1 whose course we have traced up
 to the point when he went into the     
condition of a labourer1 became at      
length a capitalist4 ,he had gained1    
after a considerable time1 money enough 
to purchase1 in order to sell again1 a  
few cattle1 of which he had taken pains 
to understand the value4 ,he speedily1  
but cautiously1 turned his first gains  
into second advantages2 retained1       
without a single deviation1 his extreme 
parsimony2 and thus advanced by degrees 
into larger transactions and incipient  
wealth4 ,the final result was that he   
more than recovered his lost            
possessions1 and died an inveterate     
miser1 worth #fj1jjjl4  ,he gained      
money1 and he purchased cattle4 ,in the 

simple transaction which has been       
recorded of the first exchange of the   
prodigal's labour for capital1 we find  
the circumstances which represent every 
exchange of labour for capital4 ,the    
prodigal wanted meat and drink1 and he  
gave labour in exchange for meat and    
drink2 the capitalist wanted the produce
 of labour--he wanted a new value       
bestowed upon his coals by labour--and  
he gave meat and drink in exchange for  
the labour which the prodigal had to    
give4 ,but the prodigal wanted something
 beyond the meat and drink which was    
necessary for the supply of the day4 ,he
 had other immediate necessities beyond 
food2 and he had determined to          
accumulate capital4 ,he therefore       
required a few pence in addition to the 
meat and drink4 ,the capitalist held    
that the labour performed had conferred 
a value upon his property1 which would  
be fairly exchanged for the pence in    
addition to the food1 and he gave1      
therefore1 in exchange1 that portion of 

his capital which was represented by the
 money and by the food4 ,this blending  
of one sort of consumable commodity1 and
 of the money which represented any     
other consumable commodity which the    
money could be exchanged with1 was an   
accident arising out of the peculiar    
circumstances in which the prodigal     
happened to be placed4 ,in ordinary     
cases he would have received the money  
alone1--that is1 he would have received 
a larger sum of money to enable him to  
exchange for meat and drink1 instead of 
receiving them in direct payment4 ,it is
 clear1 therefore1 that as the money    
represented one portion of the          
consumable commodities which were ready 
to pay for the labour employed in giving
 a new value to the coals1 it might     
represent another portion--the meat1 for
 instance1 without the drink2 or it     
might represent all the consumable      
commodities1 meat1 drink1 lodging1      
clothes1 fuel1 which that particular    
labourer might want2 and even represent 

the accumulation which he might extract 
out of his self-denial as to the amount 
of meat1 drink1 lodging1 clothes1 and   
fuel which he might require as a        
consumer2 and the farthing saved out of 
his money-payment might be the nest-egg 
which was to produce the increase out of
 which he purchased cattle1 and died a  
rich miser4  ,we may be excused for     
calling attention to the fact1 which is 
a very obvious one1 that if the         
labourer1 whose story we have told1 had 
received a portion of the coals upon    
which he had conferred a new value in   
exchange for the labour which produced  
that value1 he would have been paid in a
 way very unfavourable for production4  
,it would have required a new labour    
before the coals could have procured him
 the meat1 and drink1 and lodging of    
which he had an instant want2 and he    
therefore must have received a larger   
portion of coals to compensate for his  
new labour1 or otherwise his labour must
 have been worse paid4 ,there would have

 been unprofitable labour1 whose loss   
must have fallen somewhere1--either upon
 the capitalist or the labourer in the  
first instance1 but upon both           
ultimately1 because there would have    
been less production4 ,all the          
unprofitable labour employed in bringing
 the exchange of the first labour for   
capital to maturity would have been so  
much power withdrawn from the efficiency
 of the next labour to be performed2 and
 therefore production would have been   
impeded to the extent of that           
unprofitable labour4 ,the same thing    
would have happened if1 advancing a step
 forward in the science of exchange1 the
 labourer had received an entire payment
 in meat and drink1 instead of a portion
 of the coals1 which he could have      
exchanged for meat and drink4 ,wanting  
lodging1 he would have had to seek a    
person who wanted meat and drink in     
exchange for lodging1 before he could   
have obtained lodging4 ,but he had a few
 pence1--he had money4 ,he had a        

commodity to exchange that he might     
divide and subdivide as long as he      
pleased1 whilst he was carrying on an   
exchange1--that is1 he might obtain as  
much lodging as he required for an      
equivalent portion of his money4 ,if he 
kept his money1 it would not injure by  
keeping as the food would4 ,he might    
carry it from place to place more easily
 than he could carry the food4 ,he would
 have a commodity to exchange1 whose    
value could not be made matter of       
dispute1 as the value of meat and drink 
would unquestionably have been4 ,this   
commodity would represent the same      
value1 with little variation1 whether he
 kept it a day1 or a week1 or a month1  
or a year2 and therefore would be the   
only commodity whose retention would    
advance his design of accumulating      
capital with certainty and steadiness4  
,it is evident that a commodity         
possessing all these advantages must    
have some intrinsic qualities which all 
exchangers would recognise--that it must

 be a standard of value--at once a      
commodity possessing real value1 and a  
measure of all other values4 ,this      
commodity exists in all commercial or   
exchanging nations in the shape of      
coined metal4 ,the metal itself         
possesses a real value1 which represents
 the labour employed in producing it2   
and1 in the shape of coin1 represents   
also a measure of other value1 because  
the value of the coin has been          
determined by the sanction of some      
authority which all admit4 ,that        
authority is most conveniently expressed
 by a ,government1 as the representative
 of the aggregate power of society4 ,the
 metal itself1 unless in the shape of   
coined money1 would not represent a     
definite value2 because the metal might 
be depreciated in value by the admixture
 of baser or inferior metals1 unless it 
bore the impress of authority to        
determine its value4 ,the exchangers of 
the metal for other articles of utility 
could not1 without great loss of labour1

 be constantly employed in reducing it  
to the test of value1 even if they had  
the knowledge requisite for so          
ascertaining its value4 ,it used to cost
 #ajjjl4 a year to the ,bank of ,england
 for the wages of those who weighed the 
gold coin brought to the ,bank2 and it  
has been estimated that #cj1jjj         
sovereigns pass over the ,bank counter  
daily4 ,a machine is now used at the    
,bank1 which separates the full-weight  
sovereigns and the light ones1 at the   
rate of #aj1jjj an hour4 ,in ,greece a  
piece of gold in the rude times was     
stamped with the figure of an ox1 to    
indicate that it would exchange for an  
ox4 ,in modern ,england1 a piece of     
gold1 called a sovereign1 represents a  
certain weight in gold uncoined1 and the
 ,government stamp indicates its purity2
 whilst the perpetual separation of the 
light sovereigns from those of          
full-weight affords a security that very
 few light ones are in general          
circulation4 ,a sovereign purchases so  

many pounds weight of an ox1 and a whole
 ox purchases so many sovereigns4 ,the  
great use of the coined metal is to save
 labour in exchanging the ox for other  
commodities4 ,the money purchases the   
ox1 and a portion of the ox again       
purchases some other commodity1 such as 
a loaf of bread from the baker1 who     
obtains a portion of the ox through the 
medium of the money1 which is a standard
 of value between the bread and the     
beef4 ,our great poetical satirist1     
,pope1 in conducting his invective      
against the private avarice and         
political corruption of his day1        
imagines a state of things in which1    
money and credit being abolished1       
ministers would bribe and be bribed in  
kind4 ,it is a true picture of what     
would be universal1 if the exchanges of 
men resolved themselves into barter3    
,a statesman's slumbers how this speech 
would spoil6   ',sir1 ,spain has sent a 
thousand jars of oil2   ,huge bales of  
,british cloth blockade the door2   ,a  

hundred oxen at your levee roar4'       
,,chapter ,,vi4       ,importance of    
capital to the profitable employment of 
labour--,contrast between the prodigal  
and the prudent man3      the ,dukes of 
,buckingham and ,bridgewater--,making   
good for      trade--,unprofitable      
consumption--,war against capital in the
      middle ages--,evils of corporate  
privileges--,condition of the           
people under ,henry ,,viii4   ,if we    
have succeeded in making our meaning    
clear1 by stating a general truth1 not  
in an abstract form1 but as brought out 
by various instances of the modes in    
which it is exhibited1 we shall have led
 the reader to the conclusion that      
accumulation1 or capital1 is absolutely 
essential to the profitable employment  
of labour2 and that the greater the     
accumulation the greater the extent of  
that profitable employment4 ,this truth1
 however1 has been denied altogether by 
some speculative writers2--and1 what is 
more important1 has been practically    

denied by the conduct of nations and    
individuals in the earlier state of     
society1--and is still denied by        
existing prejudices1 derived from the   
current maxims of former days of        
ignorance and half-knowledge4 ,with the 
speculative writers we have little to   
do4 ,when ,rousseau1 for instance1      
advises governments not to secure       
property to its possessors1 but to      
deprive them of all means of            
accumulating1 it is sufficient to know  
that the same writer advocated the      
savage state1 in which there should be  
no property1 in preference to the       
social1 which is founded on             
appropriation4 ,knowing this1 and being 
convinced that the savage state1 even   
with imperfect appropriation1 is one of 
extreme wretchedness1 we may safely     
leave such opinions to work their own   
cure4 ,for it is not likely that any    
individual1 however disposed to think   
that accumulation is an evil1 would     
desire1 by destroying accumulation1 to  

pass into the condition1 described by   
,john ,tanner1 of a constant encounter  
with hunger in its most terrific forms3 
and seeing1 therefore1 the fallacy of   
such an opinion1 he will also see that1 
if he partially destroys accumulation1  
he equally impedes production1 and      
equally destroys his share in the       
productive power of capital and labour  
working together for a common good in   
the social state4  ,but1 without going  
the length of wishing to destroy        
capital1 there are many who think that  
accumulation is a positive evil1 and    
that consumption is a positive benefit2 
and1 therefore1 that economy is an evil1
 and waste a benefit4 ,the course of a  
prodigal man is by many still viewed    
with considerable admiration4 ,he sits  
up all night in frantic riot--he        
consumes whatever can stimulate his     
satiated appetite--he is waited upon by 
a crowd of unproductive and equally     
riotous retainers--he breaks and        
destroys everything around him with an  

unsparing hand--he rides his horses to  
death in the most extravagant attempts  
to wrestle with time and space2 and when
 he has spent all his substance in these
 excesses1 and dies an outcast and a    
beggar1 he is said to have been a hearty
 fellow1 and to have made good for      
trade4 ,when1 on the contrary1 a man of 
fortune economizes his revenue--lives   
like a virtuous and reasonable being1   
whose first duty is the cultivation of  
his understanding--eats and drinks with 
regard to his health--keeps no more     
retainers than are sufficient for his   
proper comfort and decency--breaks and  
destroys nothing--has respect to the    
inferior animals1 as well from motives  
of prudence as of mercy--and dies       
without a mortgage on his lands2 he is  
said to have been a stingy fellow who   
did not know how to circulate his money4
 ,to circulate money1 to make good for  
trade1 in the once common meaning of the
 terms1 is for one to consume           
unprofitably what1 if economized1 would 

have stimulated production in a way that
 would have enabled hundreds1 instead of
 one1 to consume profitably4 ,let us    
offer two historical examples of these  
two opposite modes of making good for   
trade1 and circulating money4 ,the ,duke
 of ,buckingham1 having been possessed  
of about #ej1jjjl4 a year1 died in      
#afhg1 in a remote inn in ,yorkshire1   
reduced to the utmost misery4#ab ,after 
a life of the most wanton riot1 which   
exhausted all his princely resources1 he
 was left at the last hour1 under       
circumstances which are well described  
in the following lines by ,pope3--      
,in the worst inn's worst room1 with mat
 half hung1   ,the floors of plaster1   
and the walls of dung1   ,on once a     
flock bed1 but repair'd with straw1     
,with tape-tied curtains never meant to 
draw1   ,the ,george and ,garter        
dangling from that bed   ,where tawdry  
yellow strove with dirty red2   ,great  
,villiers lies4444   ,no wit to flatter 
left of all his store1   ,no fool to    

laugh at1 which he valued more1         
,there1 victor of his health1 of        
fortune1 friends1   ,and fame1 this lord
 of useless thousands ends4  ,contrast  
the course of this unhappy man with that
 of the ,duke of ,bridgewater1 who      
devoted his property to really making   
good for trade1 by constructing the     
great canals which connect ,manchester  
with the coal countries and with        
,liverpool4 ,the ,duke of ,buckingham   
lived in a round of sensual folly3 the  
,duke of ,bridgewater limited his       
personal expenditure to #djjl4 a-year1  
and devoted all the remaining portion of
 his revenues to the construction of a  
magnificent work of the highest public  
utility4 ,the one supported a train of  
cooks and valets and horse-jockeys3 the 
other called into action the labour of  
thousands1 and employed in the direction
 of that labour the skill of ,brindley1 
one of the greatest engineers that any  
country has produced4 ,the one died     
without a penny1 loaded with debt1      

leaving no trace behind him but the ruin
 which his waste had produced3 the other
 bequeathed almost the largest property 
in ,europe to his descendants1 and      
opened a channel for industry which     
afforded1 and still affords1 employment 
to thousands4    ,illustration3         
,brindley4  ,when a mob amused          
themselves by breaking windows1 as was  
once a common recreation on an          
illumination night1 by way of showing   
the amount of popular intelligence1 some
 were apt to say they have made good for
 trade4 ,is it not evident that the     
capital which was represented by the    
unbroken windows was really so much     
destroyed of the national riches when   
the windows were broken8--for if the    
windows had remained unbroken1 the      
capital would have remained to stimulate
 the production of some new object of   
utility4 ,the glaziers1 indeed1 replaced
 the windows2 but there having been a   
destruction of windows1 there must have 
been a necessary retrenchment in some   

other outlay1 that would have afforded  
benefit to the consumer4 ,doubtless1    
when the glazier is called into activity
 by a mob breaking windows1 some other  
trade suffers2 for the man who has to   
pay for the broken windows must retrench
 somewhere1 and1 if he has less to lay  
out1 some other person has less to lay  
out4 ,the glass-maker1 probably1 makes  
more glass at the moment2 but he does so
 to exchange with the capital that would
 otherwise have gone to the maker of    
clothes or of furniture3 and1 there     
being an absolute destruction of the    
funds for the maintenance of labour1 by 
an unnecessary destruction of what      
former labour has produced1 trade       
generally is injured to the extent of   
the destruction4 ,some now say that a   
fire makes good for trade4 ,the only    
difference of evil between the fire     
which destroys a house1 and the mob     
which breaks the windows1 is1 that the  
fire absorbs capital for the maintenance
 of trade1 or labour1 in the proportion 

of a hundred to one when compared with  
the mob4 ,some say that war makes good  
for trade4 ,the only difference of      
pecuniary evil 7the moral evils admit of
 no comparison7 between the fire and the
 war is1 that the war absorbs capital   
for the maintenance of trade1 or labour1
 in the proportion of a million to a    
hundred when compared with the fire4 ,if
 the incessant energy of production were
 constantly repressed by mobs1 and      
fires1 and wars1 the end would be that  
consumption would altogether exceed     
production2 and that then the producers 
and the consumers would both be starved 
into wiser courses1 and perceive that   
nothing makes good for trade but        
profitable industry and judicious       
expenditure4 ,prodigality devotes itself
 too much to the satisfaction of present
 wants3 avarice postpones too much the  
present wants to the possible wants of  
the future4 ,real economy is the happy  
measure between the two extremes2 and   
that only makes good for trade1 because1

 while it carries on a steady demand for
 industry1 it accumulates a portion of  
the production of a country to stimulate
 new production4 ,that judicious        
expenditure consists in    ,the sense to
 value riches1 with the art   ,t' enjoy 
them4  ,the fashion of making good for  
trade by unprofitable consumption is a  
relic of the barbarous ages4 ,in the    
twelfth century a count of ,france      
commanded his vassals to plough up the  
soil round his castle1 and he sowed the 
ground with coins of gold1 to the amount
 of fifteen hundred guineas1 that he    
might have all men talk of his          
magnificence4 ,piqued at the lordly     
prodigality of his neighbour1 another   
noble ordered thirty of his most        
valuable horses to be tied to a stake   
and burnt alive1 that he might exhibit a
 more striking instance of contempt for 
accumulation4 ,in the latter part of the
 fourteenth century1 a ,scotch noble1   
,colin ,campbell1 on receiving a visit  
from the ,o',neiles of ,ireland1        

ostentatiously burnt down his house at  
,inverary upon their departure2 and an  
,earl of ,athol pursued the same course 
in #aebh1 after having entertained the  
papal legate1 upon the pretence that it 
was the constant habitude of the        
high-landers to set on fire in the      
morning the place which had lodged them 
the night before4 ,when the feudal lords
 had so little respect for their own    
property1 it was not likely that they   
would have much regard for the          
accumulation of others4 ,the ,jews1 who 
were the great capitalists of the middle
 ages1 and who really merit the         
gratitude of ,europeans for their       
avarice1 as that almost alone enabled   
any accumulation to go forward1 and any 
production to increase1 were1 as it is  
well known1 persecuted in every         
direction by the crown1 by the nobles1  
by the people4 ,when a solitary farmer  
or abbot attempted to accumulate corn1  
which accumulation could alone prevent  
the dreadful famines invariably         

resulting from having no stock that     
might be available upon a bad harvest1  
the people burnt the ricks of the       
provident men1 by way of lessening the  
evils of scarcity4 ,the consequence was1
 that no person thought of accumulating 
at all1 and that the price of wheat     
often rose1 just before the harvest1    
from five shillings a quarter to five   
pounds4  ,we are accustomed to read and 
talk of merry ,england1 but we sometimes
 fail to think how much real suffering  
lay beneath the surface of the          
merriment4 ,herrick1 one of our charming
 old lyric poets1 has sung the glories  
of the hock-cart--the cart that bore the
 full sheaves to the empty barn3--      
,the harvest swains and wenches bound   
,for joy1 to see the hock-cart crown'd2 
,about the cart hear how the rout   ,of 
rural younglings raise the shout1       
,pressing before1 some coming after1    
,those with a shout1 and these with     
laughter4   ,some bless the cart1 some  
kiss the sheaves1   ,some prank them up 

with oaken leaves2   ,some cross the    
fill-horse1 some with great   ,devotion 
stroke the home-borne wheat4  ,assuredly
 there was joy and there was devotion2  
for the laden cart made the difference  
between plenty and starvation4 ,before  
that harvest-home came there had been   
many an aching heart in the village     
hovels1 for there was no store to       
equalize prices1 and no communication to
 make the abundance of one              
district--much less of one              
country--mitigate the scarcity of       
another4 ,it was not a question of the  
rise or the fall of a penny or two in   
the price of a loaf of bread2 it was a  
question of bread or no bread4          
,illustration3 ,the ,hock-,cart4        
,during those dark periods the crown    
carried on the war against capital with 
an industry that could not be exceeded  
by that of the nobles or the people4    
,before the great charter the ,commons  
complained that ,king ,henry seized upon
 whatever was suited to his royal       

pleasure--horses1 implements1 food1     
anything that presented itself in the   
shape of accumulated labour4 ,in the    
reign of ,henry ,,iii4 a statute was    
passed to remedy excessive distresses2  
from which it appeared that it was no   
unfrequent practice for the king's      
officers to take the opportunity of     
seizing the farmer's oxen at the moment 
when they were employed in ploughing1   
or1 as the statute says1 winning the    
earth1--taking them off1 and starving   
them to death1 or only restoring them   
with new and enormous exactions for     
their keep4 ,previous to the ,charter of
 the ,forest no man could dig a marl-pit
 on his own ground1 lest the king's     
horses should fall into it when he was  
hunting4 ,as late as the time of ,james 
,i4 we find1 from a speech of the great 
,lord ,bacon1 that it was a pretty      
constant practice of the king's         
purveyors to extort large sums of money 
by threatening to cut down favourite    
trees which grew near a mansion-house or

 in avenues4 ,despotism1 in all ages1   
has depopulated the finest countries1 by
 rendering capital insecure1 and        
therefore unproductive2 insomuch that   
,montesquieu lays it down as a maxim1   
that lands are not cultivated in        
proportion to their fertility1 but in   
proportion to their freedom4 ,in the    
fifteenth century1 in ,england1 we find 
sums of money voted for the restoration 
of decayed towns and villages4 ,just    
laws would have restored them much more 
quickly and effectually4 ,the state of  
agriculture was so low that the most    
absurd enactments were made to compel   
farmers to till and sow their own lands1
 and calling upon every man to plant at 
least forty beans4 ,all the laws for the
 regulation of labourers1 at the same   
period1 assumed that they should be     
compelled to work1 and not wander about 
the country1--just in the same way that 
farmers should be compelled to sow and  
till4 ,it is perfectly clear that the   
towns would not have been depopulated1  

and gone to decay1 if the accumulation  
of capital had not been obstructed by   
insecurity and wasted by ignorance1 and 
that the same insecurity and the same   
waste rendered it necessary to assume   
that the farmer would not till and sow1 
and the labourer would not labour1      
without compulsion4 ,the natural        
stimulus to industry was wanting1 and   
therefore there was no industry1 or only
 unprofitable industry4 ,the towns      
decayed1 the country was                
uncultivated--production languished--the
 people were all poor and wretched2 and 
the government dreamt that acts of      
parliament and royal ordinances could   
rebuild the houses and cultivate the    
land1 when the means of building and    
cultivation1 namely1 the capital of the 
country1 was exhausted by injustice     
producing insecurity4  ,but if the king1
 the nobles1 and the people of the      
middle ages conspired together1 or acted
 at least as if they conspired1 to      
prevent the accumulation of capital1 the

 few capitalists themselves1 by their   
monstrous regulations1 which still throw
 some dark shadows over our own days1   
prevented that freedom of industry      
without which capital could not         
accumulate4 ,undoubtedly the commercial 
privileges of corporations originally   
offered some barriers against the       
injustice of the crown and of the       
nobility2 but the good was always       
accompanied with an evil1 which rendered
 it to a certain extent valueless4      
,where these privileges gave security1  
they were a good2 where they destroyed  
freedom1 they were an injury4 ,instead  
of encouraging the intercourse between  
one trade and another1 they encircled   
every trade with the most absurd        
monopolies and exclusive privileges4    
,instead of rendering commerce free     
between one district and another1 they1 
even in the same country1 encompassed   
commerce with the most harassing        
restrictions1 which separated county    
from county1 and town from town1 as if  

seas ran between them4 ,if a man of     
,coventry came to ,london with his      
wares1 he was encountered at every step 
with the privileges of companies2 if the
 man of ,london sought to trade at      
,coventry1 he was obstructed by the same
 corporate rights1 preventing either the
 ,londoner or the ,coventry man trading 
with advantage4 ,the revenues of every  
city were derived from forfeitures upon 
trades1 almost all established upon the 
principle that1 if one trade became too 
industrious or too clever1 it would be  
the ruin of another trade4 ,every trade 
was fenced round with secrets2 and the  
commonest trade1 as we know from the    
language of an apprentice's indenture1  
was called an art and mystery4 ,all     
these follies went upon the presumption 
that one man's gain is another man's    
loss1 instead of vanishing before the   
truth1 that1 in proportion as the       
industry of all men is free1 so will it 
be productive2 and that production on   
all sides ensures a state of things in  

which every exchanger is a gainer1 and  
no one a loser4  ,it is not to be       
wondered at that1 while such opinions   
existed1 the union of capital and labour
 should have been very imperfect2 and   
that1 while the capitalists oppressed   
the labourers1 in the same way that they
 oppressed each other1 the labourers    
should have thought it not unreasonable 
to plunder the capitalists4 ,it is      
stated by ,harrison1 an old writer of   
credit1#ac that during the single reign 
of ,henry ,,viii4 seventy-two thousand  
thieves were hanged in ,england4 ,no    
fact can exhibit in a stronger light the
 universal misery that must have existed
 in those days4 ,the whole kingdom did  
not contain half a million grown-up     
males1 so that1 considering that the    
reign of ,henry ,,viii4 extended over   
two generations1 about one man in ten   
must have been1 to use the words of the 
same historian1 devoured and eaten up by
 the gallows4 ,in the same reign the    
first statute against ,egyptians        

7gipsies7 was passed4 ,these people went
 from place to place in great           
companies--spoke a cant language1 which 
,harrison calls ,pedler's ,french--and  
were subdivided into fifty-two different
 classes of thieves4 ,the same race of  
people prevailed throughout ,europe4    
,cervantes1 the author of ',don         
,quixote1' says of the ,egyptians or    
,bohemians1 that they seem to have been 
born for no other purpose than that of  
pillaging4 ,while this universal plunder
 went forward1 it is evident that the   
insecurity of property must have been so
 great that there could have been little
 accumulation1 and therefore little     
production4 ,capital was destroyed on   
every side2 and because profitable      
labour had become so scarce by the      
destruction of capital1 one-half of the 
community sought to possess themselves  
of the few goods of the other half1 not 
as exchangers but as robbers4 ,as the   
robbers diminished the capital1 the     
diminution of capital increased the     

number of robbers2 and if the           
unconquerable energy of human industry  
had not gone on producing1 slowly and   
painfully indeed1 but still producing1  
the country would have soon fallen back 
to the state in which it was a thousand 
years before1 when wolves abounded more 
than men4 ,one great cause of all this  
plunder and misery was the oppression of
 the labourers4    #ab ,ruffhead's      
,pope4    #ac ,preface to the           
,chronicles of ,holinshed4              
,illustration3 ,adam ,smith4            
,,chapter ,,vii4       ,rights of       
labour--,effects of slavery on          
production--      ,condition of the     
,anglo-,saxons--,progress of freedom    
in ,england--,laws regulating           
labour--,wages and                      
prices--,poor-law--,law of settlement4  
,adam ,smith1 in his great work1 ',the  
,wealth of ,nations1' says1 ,the        
property which every man has in his own 
labour1 as it is the original foundation
 of all other property1 so it is the    

most sacred and inviolable4 ,the        
patrimony of a poor man lies in the     
strength and dexterity of his hands2 and
 to hinder him from employing this      
strength and dexterity in what manner he
 thinks proper1 without injury to his   
neighbour1 is a plain violation of this 
most sacred property4 ,the right of     
property1 in general1 has been defined  
by another writer1 ,m4 ,say1 to be the  
exclusive faculty guaranteed to a man1  
or body of men1 to dispose1 at their own
 pleasure1 of that which belongs to     
them4 ,there can be no doubt that labour
 is entitled to the same protection as a
 property that capital is entitled to4  
,there can be no doubt that the labourer
 has rights over his labour which no    
government and no individual should     
presume to interfere with4 ,there can be
 no doubt that1 as an exchanger of      
labour for capital1 the labourer ought  
to be assured that the exchange shall in
 all respects be as free as the         
exchanges of any other description of   

property4 ,his rights as an exchanger   
are1 that he shall not be compelled to  
part with his property1 by any arbitrary
 enactments1 without having as ample an 
equivalent as the general laws of       
exchange will afford him2 that he shall 
be free to use every just means1 either 
by himself or by union with others1 to  
obtain such an equivalent2 that he shall
 be at full liberty to offer that       
property in the best market that he can 
find1 without being limited to any      
particular market2 that he may give to  
that property every modification which  
it is capable of receiving from his own 
natural or acquired skill1 without being
 narrowed to any one form of producing  
it4 ,in other words1 natural justice    
demands that the working-man shall work 
when he please1 and be idle when he     
please1 always providing that1 if he    
make a contract to work1 he shall not   
violate that engagement by remaining    
idle2 that no labour shall be forced    
from him1 and no rate of payment for    

that labour prescribed by statutes or   
ordinances2 that he shall be free to    
obtain as high wages as he can possibly 
get1 and unite with others to obtain    
them1 always providing that in his union
 he does not violate that freedom of    
industry in others which is the         
foundation of his own attempts to       
improve his condition2 that he may go   
from place to place to exchange his     
labour without being interfered with by 
corporate rights or monopolies of any   
sort1 whether of masters or workmen2 and
 that he may turn from one employment to
 the other1 if he so think fit1 without 
being confined to the trade he          
originally learnt1 or may strike into   
any line of employment without having   
regularly learnt it at all4 ,when the   
working-man has these rights secured to 
him by the sanction of the laws1 and the
 concurrence of the institutions and    
customs of the country in which he      
lives1 he is in the condition of a free 
exchanger4 ,he has the full1            

uninterrupted1 absolute possession of   
his property4 ,he is upon a perfect     
legal equality with the capitalist4 ,he 
may labour cheerfully with the          
well-founded assurance that his labour  
will be profitably exchanged for the    
goods which he desires for the          
satisfaction of his wants1 as far as    
laws and institutions can so provide4   
,in a word1 he may assure himself that1 
if he possesses anything valuable to    
offer in exchange for capital1 the      
capital will not be fenced round with   
any artificial barriers1 or invested    
with any unnatural preponderance1 to    
prevent the exchange being one of       
perfect equality1 and therefore a real  
benefit to both exchangers4  ,we are    
approaching this desirable state in     
,england4 ,indeed1 there is scarcely any
 legal restriction acted upon which     
prevents the exchange of labour with    
capital being completely unembarrassed4 
,yet it is only within a few centuries  
that the working-men of this country    

have emerged from the condition of      
actual slaves into that of free         
labourers2 it is only a few hundred     
years ago since the cultivator of the   
ground1 the domestic servant1 and       
sometimes even the artisan1 was the     
absolute property of another            
man--bought1 sold1 let1 without any will
 of his own1 like an ox or a            
horse--producing nothing for            
himself--and transmitting the miseries  
of his lot to his children4 ,the        
progress of civilization destroyed this 
monstrous system1 in the same way that  
at the present day it is destroying it  
in ,russia and other countries where    
slavery still exists4 ,but it was by a  
very slow process that the ,english     
slave went forward to the complete      
enjoyment of the legal rights of a free 
exchanger4 ,the transition exhibits very
 many years of gross injustice1 of      
bitter suffering1 of absurd and         
ineffectual violations of the natural   
rights of man2 and of struggles between 

the capitalist and the labourer1 for    
exclusive advantages1 perpetuated by    
ignorant lawgivers1 who could not see   
that the interest of all classes of     
producers is one and the same4 ,we may  
not improperly devote a little space to 
the description of this dark and evil   
period4 ,we shall see that while such a 
struggle goes forward--that is1 while   
security of property and freedom of     
industry are not held as the            
interchangeable rights of the capitalist
 and the labourer--there can be little  
production and less accumulation4       
,wherever positive slavery              
exists--wherever the labourers are      
utterly deprived of their property in   
their labour1 and are compelled to      
dispose of it without retaining any part
 of the character of voluntary          
exchangers--there are found idleness1   
ignorance1 and unskilfulness2 industry  
is enfeebled--the oppressor and the     
oppressed are both poor--there is no    
national accumulation4 ,the existence of

 slavery amongst the nations of         
antiquity was a great impediment to     
their progress in the arts of life4 ,the
 community1 in such nations1 was divided
 into a caste of nobles called citizens1
 and a caste of labourers called slaves4
 ,the ,romans were rich1 in the common  
sense of the word1 because they         
plundered other nations2 but they could 
not produce largely when the individual 
spirit to industry was wanting4 ,the    
industry of the freemen was rapine3 the 
slaves were the producers4 ,no man will 
work willingly when he is to be utterly 
deprived of the power of disposing at   
his own will of the fruits of his       
labour2 no man will work skilfully when 
the same scanty pittance is doled out to
 each and all1 whatever be the          
difference in their talents and         
knowledge4 ,wherever the freedom of     
industry is thus violated1 property     
cannot be secure4 ,if ,rome had         
encouraged free labourers1 instead of   
breeding menial slaves1 it could not    

have happened that the thieves1 who were
 constantly hovering round the suburbs  
of the city1 like vultures looking out  
for carrion1 should have been so        
numerous that1 during the insurrection  
of ,catiline1 they formed a large       
accession to his army4 ,but ,rome had to
 encounter a worse evil than that of the
 swarms of highwaymen who were ready to 
plunder whatever had been produced4     
,production itself was so feeble when   
carried on by the labour of slaves1 that
 ,columella1 a writer on rural affairs1 
says the crops continued so gradually to
 fall off that there was a general      
opinion that the earth was growing old  
and losing its power of productiveness4 
,wherever slavery exists at the present 
day1 there we find feeble production and
 national weakness4 ,poland1 the most   
prolific corn-country in ,europe1 is    
unquestionably the poorest country4     
,poland has been partitioned1 over and  
over again1 by governments that knew her
 weakness2 and she has been said to have

 fallen without a crime4 ,that is not   
correct4 ,her crime was1 and is1 the    
slavery of her labourers4 ,there is no  
powerful class between the noble and the
 serf or slave2 and whilst this state of
 things endures1 ,poland can never be   
independent1 because she can never be   
industrious1 and therefore never        
wealthy4  ,england1 as we have said1    
once groaned under the evils of positive
 slavery4 ,the ,anglo-,saxons had what  
they called live money1 such as sheep   
and slaves4 ,to this cause may be       
doubtless attributed the easy conquest  
of the country by the ,norman invaders1 
and the oppression that succeeded that  
conquest4 ,if the people had been free1 
no king could have swept away the entire
 population of a hundred thousand souls 
that dwelt in the country between the   
,humber and the ,tees1 and converted a  
district of sixty miles in length into a
 dreary desert1 which remained for years
 without houses and without inhabitants4
 ,this the ,conqueror did4 ,in the reign

 of ,henry ,,ii4 the slaves of ,england 
were exported in large numbers to       
,ireland4 ,these slaves1 or villeins1 as
 is the case in ,russia and ,poland at  
the present day1 differed in the degree 
of the oppression which was exercised   
towards them4 ,some1 called villeins in 
gross1 were at the absolute disposal of 
the lord--transferable from one owner to
 another1 like a horse or a cow4        
,others1 called villeins regardant1 were
 annexed to particular estates1 and were
 called upon to perform whatever        
agricultural offices the lord should    
demand from them1 not having the power  
of acquiring any property1 and their    
only privilege being that they were     
irremoveable except with their own      
consent4 ,these distinctions are not of 
much consequence1 for1 by a happy       
combination of circumstances1 the       
bondmen of every kind1 in the course of 
a century or two after the ,conquest1   
were rapidly passing into the condition 
of free labourers4 ,but still capital   

was accumulated so slowly1 and labour   
was so unproductive1 that the land did  
not produce the tenth part of a modern  
crop2 and the country was constantly    
exposed to the severest inflictions of  
famine1 whenever a worse than usual     
harvest occurred4  ,in the reign of     
,edward ,,iii4 the woollen manufacture  
was introduced into ,england4 ,it was at
 first carried on exclusively by        
foreigners2 but as the trade extended1  
new hands were wanting1 and the bondmen 
of the villages began to run away from  
their masters1 and take refuge in the   
towns4 ,if the slave could conceal      
himself successfully from the pursuit of
 his lord for a year and a day1 he was  
held free for ever4 ,the constant       
attraction of the bondmen to the towns1 
where they could work for hire1         
gradually emboldened those who remained 
as cultivators to assert their own      
natural rights4 ,the nobility complained
 that the villeins refused to perform   
their accustomed services2 and that corn

 remained uncut upon the ground4 ,at    
length1 in #acea1 the #beth year of     
,edward ,,iii41 the class of free       
labourers was first recognised by the   
legislature2 and a statute was passed1  
oppressive indeed1 and impolitic1 but   
distinctly acknowledging the right of   
the labourer to assume the character of 
a free exchanger4 ,slavery1 in ,england1
 was not wholly abolished by statute    
till the time of ,charles ,,ii43 it was 
attempted in vain to be abolished in    
#aebf4 ,as late as the year #agge1 the  
colliers of ,scotland were accounted    
ascripti glebae--that is1 as belonging  
to the estate or colliery where they    
were born and continued to work4 ,it is 
not necessary for us further to notice  
the existence of villeinage or slavery  
in these kingdoms4 ,our business is with
 the slow progress of the establishment 
of the rights of free labourers--and    
this principally to show that1 during   
the long period when a contest was going
 forward between the capitalists and the

 labourers1 industry was comparatively  
unproductive4 ,it was not so            
unproductive1 indeed1 as during the     
period of absolute slavery2 but as long 
as any man was compelled to work1 or to 
continue at work1 or to receive a fixed 
price1 or to remain in one place1 or to 
follow one employment1 labour could not 
be held to be free--property could not  
be held to be secure--capital and labour
 could not have cordially united for    
production--accumulation could not have 
been certain and rapid4  ,in the year   
#acdi there was a dreadful pestilence in
 ,england1 which swept off large numbers
 of the people4 ,those of the labourers 
that remained1 following the natural    
course of the great principle of demand 
and supply1 refused to serve1 unless    
they were paid double the wages which   
they had received five years before4    
,then came the ',statute of ,labourers1'
 of #acea1 to regulate wages2 and this  
statute enacted what should be paid to  
haymakers1 and reapers1 and thrashers2  

to carpenters1 and masons1 and tilers1  
and plasterers4 ,no person was to quit  
his own village1 if he could get work at
 these wages2 and labourers and         
artificers flying from one district to  
another in consequence of these         
regulations1 were to be imprisoned4     
,good laws1 it has been said1 execute   
themselves4 ,when legislators make bad  
laws1 there requires a constant increase
 of vigilance and severity1 and constant
 attempts at reconciling                
impossibilities1 to allow such laws to  
work at all4 ,in #acfj the ,statute of  
,labourers was confirmed with new       
penalties1 such as burning in the       
forehead with the letter ,f those       
workmen who left their usual abodes4    
,having controlled the wages of         
industry1 the next step was for these   
blind lawgivers to determine how the    
workmen should spend their scanty       
pittance2 and accordingly1 in #acfc1 a  
statute was passed to compel workmen and
 all persons not worth forty shillings  

to wear the coarsest cloth called       
russet1 and to be served once a day with
 meat1 or fish1 and the offal of other  
victuals4 ,we were not without          
imitations of such absurdities in other 
nations4 ,an ordinance of the ,king of  
,france1 in #adfa1 determined that good 
and fat meat should be sold to the rich1
 while the poor should be allowed only  
to buy the lean and stinking4  ,while   
the wages of labour were fixed by       
statute1 the price of wheat was         
constantly undergoing the most          
extraordinary fluctuations1 ranging from
 #bs4 a quarter to #al4 #fs4 #h;d4 ,it  
was perfectly impossible that any       
profitable industry could go forward in 
the face of such unjust and ridiculous  
laws4 ,in #acgf the ,commons complained 
that masters were obliged to give their 
servants higher wages to prevent their  
running away2 and that the country was  
covered with staf-strikers and sturdy   
rogues1 who robbed in every direction4  
,the villages were deserted by the      

labourers resorting to the towns1 where 
commerce knew how to evade the          
destroying regulations of the statutes2 
and to prevent the total decay of       
agriculture1 labourers were not allowed 
to move from place to place without     
letters patent3--any labourer1 not      
producing such a letter1 was to be      
imprisoned and put in the stocks4 ,if a 
lad had been brought up to the plough   
till he was twelve years of age1 he was 
compelled to continue in husbandry all  
his life2 and in #adjf it was enacted   
that all children of parents not        
possessed of land should be brought up  
in the occupation of their parents4     
,while the legislature1 however1 was    
passing these abominable laws1 it was   
most effectually preparing the means for
 their extermination4 ,children were    
allowed to be sent to school in any part
 of the kingdom4 ,when the light of     
education dawned upon the people1 they  
could not long remain in the darkness   
visible that succeeded the night of     

slavery4  ,when the industry of the     
country was nearly annihilated by the   
laws regulating wages1 it was found out 
that something like a balance should be 
preserved between wages and prices2 and 
the magistrates were therefore empowered
 twice a year to make proclamation1     
according to the price of provisions1   
how much every workman should receive4  
,the system1 however1 would not work    
well4 ,in #adif a new statute of wages  
was passed1 the preamble of which       
recited that the former statutes had not
 been executed1 because the remedy by   
the said statutes is not very perfect4  
,then came a new remedy3 that is1 a new 
scale of wages for all trades2          
regulations for the hours of work and of
 rest2 and penalties to prevent labour  
being transported from one district to  
another4 ,as a necessary consequence of 
a fixed scale for wages1 came another   
fixed scale for regulating the prices of
 provisions2 till at last1 in the reign 
of ,henry ,,viii41 lawgivers began to   

open their eyes to the folly of their   
proceedings1 and the preamble of a      
statute says that dearth1 scarcity1 good
 cheap1 and plenty of cheese1 butter1   
capons1 hens1 chickens1 and other       
victuals necessary for man's sustenance1
 happeneth1 riseth1 and chanceth1 of so 
many and divers occasions1 that it is   
very hard and difficile to put any      
certain prices to any such things4 ,yet 
they went on with new scales1 in spite  
of the hardness of the task2 till at    
last some of the worst of these absurd  
laws were swept from the statute-book4  
,the justices1 whose principal          
occupation was to balance the scale of  
wages and labour1 complained incessantly
 of the difficulty of the attempt2 and  
the statute of the #eth ,elizabeth      
acknowledged that these old laws could  
not be carried into execution without   
the great grief and burden of the poor  
labourer and hired man4 ,still new laws 
were enacted to prevent the freedom of  
industry working out plenty for         

capitalists as well as labourers2 and at
 length1 in #afja1 a general assessment 
was directed for the support of the     
impotent poor1 and for setting the      
unemployed poor to work4 ,the           
capitalists at length paid a grievous   
penalty for their two centuries of      
oppression2 and had to maintain a host  
of paupers1 that had gradually filled   
the land during these unnatural         
contests4 ,it would be perhaps incorrect
 to say1 that these contests alone      
produced the paupers that required this 
legislative protection in the reign of  
,elizabeth2 but certainly the number of 
those paupers would have been far less1 
if the laws of industry had taken their 
healthy and natural course1--if capital 
and labour had gone hand in hand to     
produce abundance for all1 and fairly to
 distribute that abundance in the form  
of profits and wages1 justly balanced by
 the steady operation of demand and     
supply in a free and extensive market4  
,the whole of these absurd and          

iniquitous laws1 which had succeeded the
 more wicked laws of absolute slavery1  
proceeded from a struggle on the part of
 the capitalists in land against the    
growing power and energy of free labour4
 ,if the capitalists had rightly        
understood their interests1 they would  
have seen that the increased production 
of a thriving and happy peasantry would 
have amply compensated them for all the 
increase of wages to which they were    
compelled to submit2 and that at every  
step by which the condition of their    
labourers was improved their own        
condition was also improved4 ,if then   
capital had worked naturally and        
honestly for the encouragement of       
labour1 there would have been no lack of
 labourers2 and it would not have been  
necessary to pass laws to compel        
artificers1 under the penalty of the    
stocks1 to assist in getting in the     
harvest 7#e ,eliz474 ,if the labourers  
in agriculture had been adequately paid1
 they would not have fled to the towns2 

and if they had not been liable to cruel
 punishments for the exercise of this   
their natural right1 the country would  
not have been covered with valiant      
rogues and sturdy beggars4  ,the ,law of
 ,settlement1 which1 however modified1  
yet remains upon our statute-book1 has  
been the curse of industry for nearly   
two centuries4 ,all the best men of past
 times have cried out against its       
oppression4 ,roger ,north1 soon after   
its enactment1 in the time of ,charles  
,,ii41 clearly enough showed its general
 operation3--,where most work is1 there 
are fewest people1 and e contra4 ,in    
,norfolk1 ,suffolk1 and ,essex1 a       
labourer hath #ab;d4 a day2 in          
,oxfordshire1 #h;d42 in the ,north1     
#f;d41 or less2 and ,i have been        
credibly informed that in ,cornwall a   
poor man will be thankful for #b;d4 a   
day and poor diet3 and the value of     
provisions in all these places is much  
the same4 ,whence should the difference 
proceed8 ,even from plenty and scarcity 

of work and men1 which happens          
crossgrainedly1 so that one cannot come 
to the other4 ,when men honestly went   
from home to seek work1 they were called
 vagrants1 and were confounded with the 
common beggars1 for whom every severity 
was provided by the law--the stocks1 the
 whip1 the pillory1 the brand4 ,it was  
all in vain4 ,happy would it have been  
for the land if the law had left honest 
industry free1 and in the case of       
dishonesty had applied itself to more   
effectual work than punishments and     
terror4 ,one of our great judges1 ,sir  
,matthew ,hale1 said1 long ago1 what we 
even now too often forget--,the         
prevention of poverty1 idleness1 and a  
loose and disorderly education1 even of 
poor children1 would do more good to    
this kingdom than all the gibbets1 and  
cauterizations1 and whipping-posts1 and 
jails in this kingdom4 ,the whole scheme
 of legislation for the poor was to set 
the poor to work by forced contributions
 from capital4 ,if the energy of the    

people had not found out how to set     
themselves to work in spite of bad laws1
 we might have remained a nation of     
slaves and paupers4     ,,chapter       
,,viii4       ,possessions of the       
different classes in                    
,england--,condition      of ,colchester
 in #acja--,tools1 stock-in-trade1      
furniture1      c4--,supply of          
food--,comparative duration of human    
life--,want of facilities for           
commerce--,plenty and      civilization 
not productive of                       
effeminacy--,colchester in the          
present day4   ,it will be desirable to 
exhibit something like an average view  
of the extent of the possessions of all 
classes of society1 and especially of   
the middling and labouring classes1 in  
this country1 at a period when the      
mutual rights of capitalists and        
labourers were so little understood as  
in the fourteenth century4 ,we have     
shown how1 at that time1 there was a    
general round of oppression1 resulting  

from ignorance of the proper interests  
of the productive classes2 and it would 
be well also to show that during this   
period of disunion and contest between  
capital and labour1 each plundering the 
other1 and both plundered by arbitrary  
power1 whether of the nobles or the     
crown1 production went on very slowly   
and imperfectly1 and that there was     
little to plunder and less to exchange4 
,it is difficult to find the materials  
for such an inquiry4 ,there is no very  
accurate record of the condition of the 
various classes of society before the   
invention of printing2 and even after   
that invention we must be content to    
form our conclusions from a few         
scattered facts not recorded for any    
such purpose as we have in view1 but to 
be gathered incidentally from slight    
observations which have come down to us4
 ,yet enough remains to enable us to    
form a picture of tolerable accuracy2   
and in some points to establish         
conclusions which cannot be disputed4   

,it is in the same way that our         
knowledge of the former state of the    
physical world must be derived from     
relics of that former state1 to which   
the inquiries and comparisons of the    
present times have given an historical  
value4 ,we know1 for instance1 that the 
animals of the southern countries once  
abounded in these islands1 because we   
occasionally find their bones in        
quantities which could not have been    
accumulated unless such animals had been
 once native to these parts2 and the    
remains of sea-shells upon the tops of  
hills now under the plough show us that 
even these heights have been heaved up  
from the bosom of the ocean4 ,in the    
same way1 although we have no complete  
picture of the state of property at the 
period to which we allude1 we have      
evidence enough to describe that state  
from records which may be applied to    
this end1 although preserved for a very 
different object4  ,in the reign of     
,edward ,,iii41 ,colchester1 in ,essex1 

was considered the tenth city in        
,england in point of population4 ,it    
then paid a poll-tax for #biee lay      
persons4 ,in #acja1 about half a century
 before1 the number of inhabitant       
housekeepers was #cij2 and the whole    
household furniture1 utensils1 clothes1 
money1 cattle1 corn1 and every other    
property found in the town1 was valued  
at #eahl4 #afs4 #j-c_/d;d4 ,this        
valuation took place on occasion of a   
subsidy or tax to the crown1 to carry on
 a war against ,france2 and the         
particulars1 which are preserved in the 
,rolls of ,parliament1 exhibit with     
great minuteness the classes of persons 
then inhabiting that town1 and the sort 
of property which each respectively     
possessed4 ,the trades exercised in     
,colchester were the following3--baker1 
barber1 blacksmith1 bowyer1 brewer1     
butcher1 carpenter1 carter1 cobbler1    
cook1 dyer1 fisherman1 fuller1 furrier1 
girdler1 glass-seller1 glover1          
linen-draper1 mercer and spice-seller1  

miller1 mustard and vinegar seller1 old 
clothes seller1 saddler1 tailor1 tanner1
 tiler1 weaver1 wood-cutter1 and        
wool-comber4 ,if we look at a small town
 of the present day1 where such a       
variety of occupations are carried on1  
we shall find that each tradesman has a 
considerable stock of commodities1      
abundance of furniture and utensils1    
clothes in plenty1 some plate1 books1   
and many articles of convenience and    
luxury to which the most wealthy dealers
 and mechanics of ,colchester of the    
fourteenth century were utter strangers4
 ,that many places at that time were    
much poorer than ,colchester there can  
be no doubt3 for here we see the        
division of labour was pretty extensive1
 and that is always a proof that        
production is going forward1 however    
imperfectly4 ,we see1 too1 that the     
tradesmen were connected with           
manufactures in the ordinary use of the 
term2 or there would not have been the  
dyer1 the glover1 the linen-draper1 the 

tanner1 the weaver1 and the wool-comber4
 ,there must have been a demand for     
articles of foreign commerce1 too1 in   
this town1 or we should not have had the
 spice-seller4 ,yet1 with all these     
various occupations1 indicating         
considerable profitable industry when   
compared with earlier stages in the     
history of this country1 the whole stock
 of the town was valued at little more  
than #ejjl4 ,nor let it be supposed that
 this smallness of capital can be       
accounted for by the difference in the  
standard of money2 although that        
difference is considerable4 ,we may     
indeed satisfy ourselves of the small   
extent of the capital of individuals at 
that day1 by referring to the inventory 
of the articles upon which the tax we   
have mentioned was laid at ,colchester4 
,the whole stock of a carpenter's tools 
was valued at one shilling4 ,they       
altogether consisted of two broad axes1 
an adze1 a square1 and a navegor or     
spoke-shave4 ,rough work must the       

carpenter have been able to perform with
 these humble instruments2 but then let 
it be remembered that there was little  
capital to pay him for finer work1 and  
that very little fine work was          
consequently required4 ,the three       
hundred and ninety housekeepers of      
,colchester then lived in mud huts1 with
 a rough door and no chimney4 ,harrison1
 speaking of the manners of a century   
later than the period we are describing1
 says1 ,there were very few chimneys    
even in capital towns3 the fire was laid
 to the wall1 and the smoke issued out  
at the roof1 or door1 or window4 ,the   
houses were wattled1 and plastered over 
with clay2 and all the furniture and    
utensils were of wood4 ,the people slept
 on straw pallets1 with a log of wood   
for a pillow4 ,when this old historian  
wrote1 he mentions the erection of      
chimneys as a modern luxury4 ,we had    
improved little upon our ,anglo-,saxon  
ancestors in the article of chimneys4   
,in their time ,alcuin1 an abbot who had

 ten thousand vassals1 writes to the    
emperor at ,rome that he preferred      
living in his smoky house to visiting   
the palaces of ,italy4 ,this was in the 
ninth century4 ,five hundred years had  
made little difference in the chimneys  
of ,colchester4 ,the nobility had       
hangings against the walls to keep out  
the wind1 which crept in through the    
crevices which the builder's bungling   
art had left3 the middle orders had no  
hangings4 ,shakspere alludes to this    
rough building of houses even in his    
time3--    ,imperial ,caesar1 dead and  
turn'd to clay1   ,might stop a hole to 
keep the wind away4  ,even the nobility 
went without glass to their windows in  
the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries4 
,of old time1 says ,harrison1 our       
country houses1 instead of glass1 did   
use much lattice1 and that made either  
of wicker or fine rifts of oak1 in      
checkerwise4 ,when glass was introduced1
 it was for a long time so scarce that  
at ,alnwick ,castle1 in #aefg1 the glass

 was ordered to be taken out of the     
windows1 and laid up in safety1 when the
 lord was absent4  ,the mercer's        
stock-in-trade at ,colchester was much  
upon a level with the carpenter's tools4
 ,it was somewhat various1 but very     
limited in quantity4 ,the whole         
comprised a piece of woollen cloth1 some
 silk and fine linen1 flannel1 silk     
purses1 gloves1 girdles1 leather purses1
 and needle-work2 and it was altogether 
valued at #cl4 ,there appears to have   
been another dealer in cloth and linen  
in the town1 whose store was equally    
scanty4 ,we were not much improved in   
the use of linen a century later4 ,we   
learn from the ,earl of                 
,northumberland's household book1 whose 
family was large enough to consume one  
hundred and sixty gallons of mustard    
during the winter with their salt meat1 
that only seventy ells of linen were    
allowed for a year's consumption4 ,in   
the fourteenth century none but the     
clergy and nobility wore white linen4   

,as industry increased1 and the         
cleanliness of the middle classes       
increased with it1 the use of white     
linen became more general2 but even at  
the end of the next century1 when       
printing was invented1 the paper-makers 
had the greatest difficulty in procuring
 rags for their manufacture2 and so     
careful were the people of every class  
to preserve their linen1 that           
night-clothes were never worn4 ,linen   
was so dear that ,shakspere makes       
,falstaff's shirts eight shillings an   
ell4 ,the more sumptuous articles of a  
mercer's stock were treasured in rich   
families from generation to generation2 
and even the wives of the nobility did  
not disdain to mention in their wills a 
particular article of clothing1 which   
they left to the use of a daughter or a 
friend4 ,the solitary old coat of a     
baker came into the ,colchester         
valuation2 nor is this to be wondered   
at1 when we find that even the soldiers 
at the battle of ,bannockburn1 about    

this time1 were described by an old     
rhymer as well near all naked4  ,the    
household furniture found in use amongst
 the families of ,colchester consisted1 
in the more wealthy1 of an occasional   
bed1 a brass pot1 a brass cup1 a        
gridiron1 and a rug or two1 and perhaps 
a towel4 ,of chairs and tables we hear  
nothing4 ,we learn from the ,chronicles 
of ,brantome1 a ,french historian of    
these days1 that even the nobility sat  
upon chests in which they kept their    
clothes and linen4 ,harrison1 whose     
testimony we have already given to the  
poverty of these times1 affirms1 that if
 a man in seven years after marriage    
could purchase a flock bed1 and a sack  
of chaff to rest his head upon1 he      
thought himself as well lodged as the   
lord of the town1 who peradventure lay  
seldom on a bed entirely of feathers4   
,an old tenure in ,england1 before these
 times1 binds the vassal to find straw  
even for the king's bed4 ,the beds of   
flock1 the few articles of furniture1   

the absence of chairs and tables1 would 
have been of less consequence to the    
comfort and health of the people1 if    
they had been clean2 but cleanliness    
never exists without a certain          
possession of domestic conveniences4    
,the people of ,england1 in the days of 
which we are speaking1 were not famed   
for their attention to this particular4 
,thomas a ,becket was reputed           
extravagantly nice1 because he had his  
parlour strewed every day with clean    
straw4 ,as late as the reign of ,henry  
,,viii41 ,erasmus1 a celebrated scholar 
of ,holland1 who visited ,england1      
complains that the nastiness of the     
people was the cause of the frequent    
plagues that destroyed them2 and he     
says1 their floors are commonly of clay1
 strewed with rushes1 under which lie   
unmolested a collection of beer1 grease1
 fragments1 bones1 spittle1 excrements  
of dogs and cats1 and of everything that
 is nauseous4 ,the elder ,scaliger1     
another scholar who came to ,england1   

abuses the people for giving him no     
convenience to wash his hands4 ,glass   
vessels were scarce1 and pottery was    
almost wholly unknown4 ,the ,earl of    
,northumberland1 whom we have mentioned1
 breakfasted on trenchers and dined on  
pewter4 ,while such universal           
slovenliness prevailed as ,erasmus has  
described1 it is not likely that much   
attention was generally paid to the     
cultivation of the mind4 ,before the    
invention of printing1 at the time of   
the valuation of ,colchester1 books in  
manuscript1 from their extreme          
costliness1 could be purchased only by  
princes4 ,the royal library of ,paris1  
in #acgh1 consisted of nine hundred and 
nine volumes1--an extraordinary number4 
,the same library now comprises upwards 
of four hundred thousand volumes4 ,but  
it may fairly be assumed that1 where one
 book could be obtained in the          
fourteenth century by persons of the    
working classes1 four hundred thousand  
may be as easily obtained now4 ,here    

then was a privation which existed five 
hundred years ago1 which debarred our   
ancestors from more profit and pleasure 
than the want of beds1 and chairs1 and  
linen2 and probably1 if this privation  
had continued1 and men therefore had not
 cultivated their understandings1 they  
would not have learnt to give any really
 profitable direction to their labour1  
and we should still have been as        
scantily supplied with furniture and    
clothes as the good people of           
,colchester of whom we have been        
speaking4  ,let us see what accumulated 
supply1 or capital1 of food the         
inhabitants of ,england had five        
centuries ago4 ,possessions in cattle   
are the earliest riches of most         
countries4 ,we have seen that cattle was
 called live money2 and it is supposed  
that the word capital1 which means stock
 generally1 was derived from the ,latin 
word capita1 or heads of beasts4 ,the   
law-term chattels is also supposed to   
come from cattle4 ,these circumstances  

show that cattle were the chief property
 of our ancestors4 ,vast herds of swine 
constituted the great provision for the 
support of the people2 and these were   
principally fed1 as they are even now in
 the ,new ,forest1 upon acorns and      
beech-mast4 ,in ,domesday ,book1 a      
valuation of the time of ,william the   
,conqueror1 it is always mentioned how  
many hogs each estate can maintain4     
,hume the historian1 in his ,essays1    
alluding to the great herds of swine    
described by ,polybius as existing in   
,italy and ,greece1 concludes that the  
country was thinly peopled and badly    
cultivated2 and there can be no doubt   
that the same argument may be applied to
 ,england in the fourteenth century1    
although many swine were maintained in  
forests preserved for fuel4 ,the hogs   
wandered about the country in a         
half-wild state1 destroying1 probably1  
more than they profitably consumed2 and 
they were badly fed1 if we may judge    
from a statute of #adjb1 which alleges  

the great decrease of fish in the       
,thames and other rivers1 by the        
practice of feeding hogs with the fry   
caught at the weirs4 ,the hogs' flesh of
 ,england was constantly salted for the 
winter's food4 ,the people had little   
fodder for cattle in the winter1 and    
therefore they only tasted fresh meat in
 the summer season4 ,the mustard and    
vinegar seller formed a business at     
,colchester1 to furnish a relish for the
 pork4 ,stocks of salted meat are       
mentioned in the inventory of many      
houses there1 and live hogs as commonly4
 ,but salted flesh is not food to be    
eaten constantly1 and with little       
vegetable food1 without severe injury to
 the health4 ,in the early part of the  
reign of ,henry ,,viii41 not a cabbage1 
carrot1 turnip1 or other edible root1   
grew in ,england4 ,two or three         
centuries before1 certainly1 the        
monasteries had gardens with a variety  
of vegetables2 but nearly all the       
gardens of the laity were destroyed in  

the wars between the houses of ,york and
 ,lancaster4 ,harrison speaks of wheaten
 bread as being chiefly used by the     
gentry for their own tables2 and adds   
that the artificer and labourer are     
driven to content themselves with       
horse-corn1 beans1 peason1 oats1 tares1 
and lentils4 ,there is no doubt that the
 average duration of human life was at  
that period not one-half as long as at  
the present day4 ,the constant use of   
salted meat1 with little or no vegetable
 addition1 doubtless contributed to the 
shortening of life1 to say nothing of   
the large numbers constantly swept away 
by pestilence and famine4 ,till         
lemon-juice was used as a remedy for    
scurvy amongst our seamen1 who also are 
compelled to eat salted meat without    
green vegetables1 the destruction of    
life in the navy was something          
incredible4 ,admiral ,hosier buried his 
ships' companies twice during a ,west   
,india voyage in #agbf1 partly from the 
unhealthiness of the ,spanish coast1 but

 chiefly from the ravages of scurvy4    
,bad food and want of cleanliness swept 
away the people of the middle ages1 by  
ravages upon their health that the      
limited medical skill of those days     
could never resist4 ,matthew ,paris1 an 
historian of that period1 states that   
there were in his time twenty thousand  
hospitals for lepers in ,europe4  ,the  
slow accumulation of capital in the     
early stages of the civilization of a   
country is in a great measure caused by 
the indisposition of the people to unite
 for a common good in public works1 and 
the inability of governments to carry on
 these works1 when their principal      
concern is war1 foreign or domestic4    
,the foundations of the civilization of 
this country were probably laid by our  
,roman conquerors1 who carried roads    
through the island1 and taught us how to
 cultivate our soil4 ,yet improvement   
went on so slowly that1 even a hundred  
years after the ,romans were settled    
here1 the whole country was described as

 marshy4 ,for centuries after the       
,romans made the ,watling-street and a  
few other roads1 one district was       
separated from another by the general   
want of these great means of            
communication4 ,bracton1 a law-writer of
 the period we have been so constantly  
mentioning1 holds that1 if a man being  
at ,oxford engage to pay money the same 
day in ,london1 he shall be discharged  
of his contract1 as he undertakes a     
physical impossibility4 ,we find1 as    
late as the time of ,elizabeth1 that her
 ,majesty would not stay to breakfast at
 ,cambridge because she had to travel   
twelve miles before she could come to   
the place1 ,hinchinbrook1 where she     
desired to sleep4 ,where there were no  
roads1 there could be few or no markets4
 ,an act of parliament of #abgb says    
that the religious houses should not be 
compelled to sell their provisions--a   
proof that there were no considerable   
stores except in the religious houses4  
,the difficulty of navigation was so    

great1 that ,william ,longsword1 son of 
,henry ,,ii41 returning from ,france1   
was during three months tossed upon the 
sea before he could make a port in      
,cornwall4 ,looking1 therefore1 to the  
want of commerce proceeding from the    
want of communication--looking to the   
small stock of property accumulated to  
support labour--and looking1 as we have 
previously done1 to the incessant       
contests between the small capital and  
the misdirected labour1 both feeble1    
because they worked without skill--we   
cannot be surprised that the poverty of 
which we have exhibited a faint picture 
should have endured for several         
centuries1 and that the industry of our 
forefathers must have had a long and    
painful struggle before it could have   
bequeathed to us such magnificent       
accumulations as we now enjoy4  ,the    
writers who lived at the periods when   
,europe was slowly emerging from        
ignorance and poverty1 through the first
 slight union of capital and labour as  

voluntary exchangers1 complain of the   
increase of comforts as indications of  
the growing luxury and effeminacy of the
 people4 ,harrison says1 ,in times past 
men were contented to dwell in houses   
builded of sallow1 willow1 plum-tree1 or
 elm2 so that the use of oak was        
dedicated to churches1 religious houses1
 princes' palaces1 noblemen's lodgings1 
and navigation4 ,but now1 these are     
rejected1 and nothing but oak any whit  
regarded4 ,and yet see the change2 for  
when our houses were builded of willow1 
then had we oaken men2 but now that our 
houses are made of oak1 our men are not 
only become willow1 but many1 through   
,persian delicacy crept in among us1    
altogether of straw1 which is a sore    
alteration4 ,in those days1 the courage 
of the owner was a sufficient defence to
 keep the house in safety2 but now1 the 
assurance of the timber1 double doors1  
locks1 and bolts1 must defend the man   
from robbing4 ,now have we many         
chimneys1 and our tenderlings complain  

of rheums1 catarrhs1 and poses4 ,then   
had we none but rere-dosses1 and our    
heads did never ache4 ,these complaints 
go upon the same principle that made it 
a merit in ,epictetus1 the ,greek       
philosopher1 to have had no door to his 
hovel4 ,we think he would have been a   
wiser man if he had contrived to have   
had a door4 ,a story is told of a       
,highland chief1 ,sir ,evan ,cameron1   
that himself and a party of his         
followers being benighted1 and compelled
 to sleep in the open air1 when his son 
rolled up a ball of snow and laid his   
head upon it for a pillow1 the rough old
 man kicked it away1 exclaiming1 ,what1 
sir6 are you turning effeminate8 ,we    
doubt whether ,sir ,evan ,cameron and   
his men were braver than the ,english   
officers who fought at ,waterloo2 and   
yet many of these marched from the      
ball-room at ,brussels in their holiday 
attire1 and won the battle in silk      
stockings4 ,it is an old notion that    
plenty of the necessaries and           

conveniences of life renders a nation   
feeble4 ,we are told that the           
,carthaginian soldiers whom ,hannibal   
carried into ,italy were suddenly       
rendered effeminate by the abundance    
which they found around them at ,capua4 
,the commissariat of modern nations goes
 upon another principle2 and believes   
that unless the soldier has plenty of   
food and clothing he will not fight with
 alacrity and steadiness4 ,the          
half-starved soldiers of ,henry ,v4 won 
the battle of ,agincourt2 but it was not
 because they were half-starved1 but    
because they roused their native courage
 to cut their way out of the peril by   
which they were surrounded4 ,the        
,russians of our time had a notion that 
the ,english could not fight on land1   
because for forty years we had been a   
commercial instead of a military nation4
 ,the battle of the ,alma corrected     
their mistake4 ,when we hear of ancient 
nations being enervated by abundance1 we
 may be sure that the abundance was     

almost entirely devoured by a few       
tyrants1 and that the bulk of the people
 were rendered weak by the destitution  
which resulted from the unnatural       
distribution of riches4 ,we read of the 
luxury of the court of ,persia--the pomp
 of the seraglios1 and of the           
palaces--the lights1 the music1 the     
dancing1 the perfumes1 the silks1 the   
gold1 and the diamonds4 ,the people are 
held to be effeminate4 ,the ,russians1  
from the hardy north1 can lay the       
,persian monarchy any day at their feet4
 ,is this national weakness caused by   
the excess of production amongst the    
people1 giving them so extravagant a    
command over the necessaries and        
luxuries of life that they have nothing 
to do but drink of the full cup of      
enjoyment8 ,mr4 ,fraser1 an ,english    
traveller1 thus describes the appearance
 of a part of the country which he      
visited in #ahba3--,the plain of        
,yezid-,khaust presented a truly        
lamentable picture of the general       

decline of prosperity in ,persia4 ,ruins
 of large villages thickly scattered    
about with the skeleton-like walls of   
caravansaries and gardens1 all telling  
of better times1 stood like memento     
moris 7remembrances of death7 to        
kingdoms and governments2 and the whole 
plain was dotted over with small mounds1
 which indicate the course of cannauts  
7artificial streams for watering the    
soil71 once the source of riches and    
fertility1 now all choked up and dry2   
for there is neither man nor cultivation
 to require their aid4 ,was it the      
luxury of the people which produced this
 decay--the increase of their means of  
production--their advancement in skill  
and capital2 or some external cause     
which repressed production1 and         
destroyed accumulation both of outward  
wealth and knowledge8 ,such is the      
character of their rulers1 says ,mr4    
,fraser1 that the only measure of their 
demands is the power to extort on one   
hand1 and the ability to give or retain 

on the other4 ,where such a system      
prevails1 all accumulated labour is     
concealed1 for it would otherwise be    
plundered4 ,it does not freely and      
openly work to encourage new labour4    
,burckhardt1 the traveller of ,nubia1   
saw a farmer who had been plundered of  
everything by the pacha1 because it came
 to the ears of the savage ruler that   
the unhappy man was in the habit of     
eating wheaten bread2 and that1 he      
thought1 was too great a luxury for a   
subject4 ,if such oppressions had not   
long ago been put down in ,england1 we  
should still have been in the state of  
,colchester in the fourteenth century4  
,when these iniquities prevailed1 and   
there was neither freedom of industry   
nor security of property--when capital  
and labour were not united--when all men
 consequently worked unprofitably1      
because they worked without division of 
labour1 accumulation of knowledge1 and  
union of forces--there was universal    
poverty1 because there was feeble       

production4 ,slow and painful were the  
steps which capital and labour had to   
make before they could emerge1 even in  
part1 from this feeble and degraded     
state4 ,but that they have made a       
wonderful advance in five hundred years 
will not be difficult to show4 ,it may  
assist us in this view if we compare the
 ,colchester of the nineteenth century  
with the ,colchester of the fourteenth1 
in a few particulars4  ,in the reign of 
,edward ,,iii4 ,colchester numbered #cei
 houses of mud1 without chimneys1 and   
with latticed windows4 ,in the reign of 
,queen ,victoria1 according to the      
census of #ahea1 it has #dade inhabited 
houses1 containing a population of      
#ai1ddc males and females4 ,the houses  
of the better class1 those rented at ten
 pounds a year and upwards1 are commonly
 built of brick1 and slated or tiled2   
secured against wind and weather2 with  
glazed windows and with chimneys2 and   
generally well ventilated4 ,the worst of
 these houses are supplied1 as fixtures1

 with a great number of conveniences1   
such as grates1 and cupboards1 and      
fastenings4 ,to many of such houses     
gardens are attached1 wherein are raised
 vegetables and fruits that kings could 
not command two centuries ago4 ,houses  
such as these are composed of several   
rooms--not of one room only1 where the  
people are compelled to eat and sleep   
and perform every office1 perhaps in    
company with pigs and cattle--but of a  
kitchen1 and often a parlour1 and       
several bedrooms4 ,these rooms are      
furnished with tables1 and chairs1 and  
beds1 and cooking-utensils4 ,there is   
ordinarily1 too1 something for ornament 
and something for instruction2--a piece 
or two of china1 silver spoons1 books1  
and not unfrequently a watch or clock4  
,the useful pottery is abundant and of  
really elegant forms and colours2       
drinking-vessels of glass are universal4
 ,the inhabitants are not scantily      
supplied with clothes4 ,the females are 
decently dressed1 having a constant     

change of linen1 and gowns of various   
patterns and degrees of fineness4 ,some1
 even of the humbler classes1 are not   
thought to exceed the proper appearance 
of their station if they wear silk4 ,the
 men have decent working habits1 strong 
shoes and hats1 and a respectable suit  
for ,sundays1 of cloth often as good as 
is worn by the highest in the land4     
,every one is clean2 for no house above 
the few hovels which still deform the   
country is without soap and bowls for   
washing1 and it is the business of the  
females to take care that the linen of  
the family is constantly washed4 ,the   
children1 very generally1 receive       
instruction in some public              
establishment2 and when the labour of   
the day is over1 the father thinks the  
time unprofitably spent unless he burns 
a candle to enable him to read a book or
 the newspaper4 ,the food which is      
ordinarily consumed is of the best      
quality4 ,wheaten bread is no longer    
confined to the rich2 animal food is not

 necessarily salted1 and salt meat is   
used principally as a variety2          
vegetables of many sorts are plenteous  
in every market1 and these by a         
succession of care are brought to higher
 perfection than in the countries of    
more genial climate from which we have  
imported them2 the productions too of   
distant regions1 such as spices1 and    
coffee1 and tea1 and sugar1 are         
universally consumed almost by the      
humblest in the land4 ,fuel1 also1 of   
the best quality1 is abundant and       
comparatively cheap4  ,if we look at the
 public conveniences of a modern        
,english town1 we shall find the same   
striking contrast4 ,water is brought not
 only into every street1 but into every 
house2 the dust and dirt of a family is 
regularly removed without bustle or     
unpleasantness2 the streets are paved1  
and lighted at night2 roads in the      
highest state of excellence connect the 
town with the whole kingdom1 and by     
means of railroads a man can travel     

several hundred miles in a few hours1   
and more readily than he could ten miles
 in the old time2 and canal and sea     
navigation transport the weightiest     
goods with the greatest facility from   
each district to the other1 and from    
each town to the other1 so that all are 
enabled to apply their industry to what 
is most profitable for each and all4    
,every man1 therefore1 may satisfy his  
wants1 according to his means1 at the   
least possible expense of the transport 
of commodities4 ,every tradesman has a  
stock ready to meet the demand2 and thus
 the stock of a very moderately wealthy 
tradesman of the ,colchester of the     
present day is worth more than all the  
stock of all the different trades that  
were carried on in the same place in the
 fourteenth century4 ,the condition of a
 town like ,colchester--a flourishing   
market-town in an agricultural          
district--offers a fair point of        
comparison with a town of the time of   
,edward ,,iii4     ,,chapter ,,ix4      

,certainty the stimulus to              
industry--,effects of                   
insecurity--,instances of unprofitable  
labour--,former notions      of         
commerce--,national and class           
prejudices1 and their      remedy4      
,two of the most terrific famines that  
are recorded in the history of the world
 occurred in ,egypt--a country where    
there is greater production1 with less  
labour1 than is probably exhibited in   
any other region4 ,the principal        
labourer in ,egypt is the river ,nile1  
whose periodical overflowings impart    
fertility to the thirsty soil1 and      
produce in a few weeks that abundance   
which the labour of the husbandman might
 not hope to command if employed during 
the whole year4 ,but the ,nile is a     
workman that cannot be controlled and   
directed1 even by capital1 the great    
controller and director of all work4    
,the influences of heat1 and light1 and 
air1 are pretty equal in the same       
places4 ,where the climate is most      

genial1 the cultivators have least      
labour to perform in winning the earth2 
where it is least genial1 the           
cultivators have most labour4 ,the      
increased labour balances the small     
natural productiveness4 ,but the        
inundation of a great river cannot be   
depended upon like the light and heat of
 the sun4 ,for two seasons the ,nile    
refused to rise1 and labour was not     
prepared to compensate for this refusal2
 the ground refused to produce2 the     
people were starved4  ,we mention these 
famines of ,egypt to show that certainty
 is the most encouraging stimulus to    
every operation of human industry4 ,we  
know that production as invariably      
follows a right direction of labour1 as 
day succeeds to night4 ,we believe that 
it will be dark to-night and light again
 to-morrow1 because we know the general 
laws which govern light and darkness1   
and because our experience shows us that
 those laws are constant and uniform4   
,we know that if we plough1 and manure1 

and sow the ground1 a crop will come in 
due time1 varying indeed in quantity    
according to the season1 but still so   
constant upon an average of years1 that 
we are justified in applying large      
accumulations and considerable labour to
 the production of this crop4 ,it is    
this certainty that we have such a      
command of the productive powers of     
nature as will abundantly compensate us 
for the incessant labour of directing   
those forces1 which has during a long   
course of industry heaped up our        
manifold accumulations1 and which       
enables production annually to go       
forward to an extent which even half a  
century ago would have been thought     
impossible4 ,the long succession of     
labour1 which has covered this country  
with wealth1 has been applied to the    
encouragement of the productive forces  
of nature1 and the restraint of the     
destroying4 ,no one can doubt that1 the 
instant the labour of man ceases to     
direct those productive natural forces1 

the destroying forces immediately come  
into action4 ,take the most familiar    
instance--a cottage whose neat thatch   
was never broken1 whose latticed windows
 were always entire1 whose whitewashed  
walls were ever clean1 round whose porch
 the honeysuckle was trained in         
regulated luxuriance1 whose garden bore 
nothing but what the owner planted4     
,remove that owner4 ,shut up the cottage
 for a year1 and leave the garden to    
itself4 ,the thatched roof is torn off  
by the wind and devoured by mice1 the   
windows are driven in by storms1 the    
walls are soaked through with damp and  
are crumbling to ruin1 the honeysuckle  
obstructs the entrance which it once    
adorned1 the garden is covered with     
weeds which years of after-labour will  
have difficulty to destroy3--           
,it was a plot   ,of garden-ground run  
wild1 its matted weeds   ,mark'd with   
the steps of those whom1 as they pass'd1
   ,the gooseberry-trees that shot in   
long lank slips1   ,or currants1 hanging

 from their leafless stems   ,in scanty 
strings1 had tempted to o'erleap   ,the 
broken wall4  ,apply this principle upon
 a large scale4 ,let the productive     
energy of a country be suspended through
 some great cause which prevents its    
labour continuing in a profitable       
direction4 ,let it be overrun by a      
conqueror1 or plundered by domestic     
tyranny of any kind1 so that capital    
ceases to work with security4 ,the      
fields suddenly become infertile1 the   
towns lose their inhabitants1 the roads 
grow to be impassable1 the canals are   
choked up1 the rivers break down their  
banks1 the sea itself swallows up the   
land4 ,shakspere1 a great political     
reasoner as well as a great poet1 has   
described such effects in that part of  
',henry ,v4' when the ,duke of ,burgundy
 exhorts the rival kings to peace3--    
,let it not disgrace me1   ,if ,i       
demand1 before this royal view1   ,what 
rub1 or what impediment1 there is1      
,why that the naked1 poor1 and mangled  

peace1   ,dear nurse of arts1 plenties1 
and joyful births1   ,should not1 in    
this best garden of the world1   ,our   
fertile ,france1 put up her lovely      
visage8   ,alas6 she hath from ,france  
too long been chas'd2   ,and all her    
husbandry doth lie on heaps1            
,corrupting in its own fertility4   ,her
 vine1 the merry cheerer of the heart1  
,unpruned1 dies2 her hedges             
even-pleach'd1   ,like prisoners wildly 
overgrown with hair   ,put forth        
disorder'd twigs3 her fallow leas1      
,the darnel1 hemlock1 and rank fumitory 
,doth root upon2 while that the coulter 
rusts1   ,that should deracinate such   
savagery3   ,the even mead1 that erst   
brought sweetly forth   ,the freckled   
cowslip1 burnet1 and green clover1      
,wanting the scythe1 all uncorrected1   
rank1   ,conceives by idleness2 and     
nothing teems   ,but hateful docks1     
rough thistles1 kecksies1 burs1         
,losing both beauty and utility3   ,and 
as our vineyards1 fallows1 meads1 and   

hedges1   ,defective in their natures1  
grow to wildness2   ,even so our houses1
 and ourselves and children1   ,have    
lost1 or do not learn1 for want of time1
   ,the sciences that should become our 
country4    ,illustration3 ,dykes of    
,holland3 destruction by bursting4  ,we 
have heard it said that ,tenterden      
steeple was the cause of ,goodwin       
,sands4 ,the meaning of the saying is1  
that the capital which was appropriated 
to keep out the sea from that part of   
the ,kentish coast was diverted to the  
building of ,tenterden steeple2 and     
there being no funds to keep out the    
sea1 it washed over the land4#ad ,the   
,goodwin ,sands remain to show that man 
must carry on a perpetual contest to    
keep in subjection the forces of nature1
 which1 as is said of fire1 one of the  
forces1 are good servants but bad       
masters4 ,but these examples show1 also1
 that in the social state our control of
 the physical forces of nature depends  
upon the right control of our own moral 

forces4 ,there was injustice1 doubtless1
 in misappropriating the funds which    
restrained the sea from devouring the   
land4 ,till men know that they shall    
work with justice on every side1 they   
work feebly and unprofitably4 ,england  
did not begin to accumulate largely and 
rapidly till the rights both of the poor
 man and the rich were to a certain     
degree established--till industry was   
free and property secure4 ,our great    
dramatic poet has described this        
security as the best characteristic of  
the reign of ,queen ,elizabeth3--    ,in
 her days every man shall eat in safety 
,under his own vine what he plants4     
,illustration3 ,under his own vine      
,shakspere derived his image from the   
,bible1 where a state of security is    
frequently indicated by direct allusion 
to a man sitting under the shade of his 
own fig-tree or his own vine4 ,in the   
days of ,elizabeth1 as compared with    
previous eras1 there was safety1 and a  
man might                               

sing   ,the merry songs of peace to all 
his neighbours4  ,we have gone on       
constantly improving these blessings4   
,but let any circumstances again arise  
which may be powerful enough to destroy1
 or even molest1 the freedom of industry
 and the security of property1 and we   
should work once more without certainty4
 ,the elements of prosperity would not  
be constant and uniform4 ,we should work
 with the apprehension that some        
hurricane of tyranny1 no matter from    
what power1 would arise1 which would    
sweep away accumulation4 ,when that     
hurricane did not rise1 we might have   
comparative abundance1 like the people  
of ,egypt during the inundation of the  
,nile4 ,we then should have an          
inundation of tranquillity4 ,but if the 
tranquillity were not present--if       
lawless violence stood in the place of  
justice and security--we should be like 
the people of ,egypt when the ,nile did 
not overflow4 ,we should suffer the     
extremity of misery2 and that possible  

extremity would produce an average      
misery1 even if tranquillity did return1
 because security had not returned4 ,we 
should1 if this state of things long    
abided1 by degrees go back to the       
condition of ,colchester in the         
fourteenth century1 and thence to the   
universal marsh of two thousand years   
ago4 ,the place where ,london stands    
would be1 as it once was1 a wilderness  
for howling wolves4 ,the few that       
produced would again produce laboriously
 and painfully1 without skill and       
without division of labour1 because     
without accumulation2 and it would      
probably take another thousand years1 if
 men again saw the absolute need of     
security1 to re-create what security has
 accumulated for our present use4  ,from
 the moment that the industry of this   
country began to work with security1 and
 capital and labour applied themselves  
in union--perhaps not a perfect union1  
but still in union--to the great        
business of production1 they worked with

 less and less expenditure of           
unprofitable labour4 ,they continued to 
labour more and more profitably1 as they
 laboured with knowledge4 ,the labour of
 all rude nations1 and of all           
uncultivated individuals1 is labour with
 ignorance4 ,peter the wild boy1 whom we
 have already mentioned1 could never be 
made to perceive the right direction of 
labour1 because he could not trace it   
through its circuitous courses for the  
production of utility4 ,he would work   
under control1 but1 if left to himself1 
he would not work profitably4 ,having   
been trusted to fill a cart with manure1
 he laboured with diligence till the    
work was accomplished2 but no one being 
at hand to direct him1 he set to work as
 diligently to unload the cart again4   
,he thought1 as too many think even now1
 that the good was in the labour1 and   
not in the results of the labour4 ,the  
same ignorance exhibits itself in the   
unprofitable labour and unprofitable    
application of capital1 even of persons 

far removed beyond the half-idiocy of   
,peter the wild boy4 ,in the thirteenth 
century many of the provinces of ,france
 were overrun with rats1 and the people1
 instead of vigorously hunting the rats1
 were persuaded to carry on a process   
against them in the ecclesiastical      
courts2 and there1 after the cause of   
the injured people and the injuring rats
 was solemnly debated1 the rats were    
declared cursed and excommunicated if   
they did not retire in six days4 ,the   
historian does not add that the rats    
obeyed the injunction2 and doubtless the
 farmers were less prepared to resort to
 the profitable labour of chasing them  
to death when they had paid the         
ecclesiastics for the unprofitable      
labour of their excommunication4 ,there 
is a curious instance of unprofitable   
labour given in a book on the ,coal     
,trade of ,scotland1 written as recently
 as #ahab4 ,the people of ,edinburgh had
 a passion for buying their coals in    
immense lumps1 and1 to gratify this     

passion1 the greatest care was taken not
 to break the coals in any of the       
operations of conveying them from the   
pit to the cellar of the consumer4 ,a   
wall of coals was first built within the
 pit1 another wall under the pit's      
mouth1 another wall when they were      
raised from the pit1 another wall in the
 waggon which conveyed them to the port 
where they were shipped1 another wall in
 the hold of the ship1 another wall in  
the cart which conveyed them to the     
consumer1 and another wall in the       
consumer's cellar2 and the result of    
these seven different buildings-up and  
takings-down was1 that after the        
consumer had paid thirty per cent4 more 
for these square masses of coal than for
 coal shovelled together in large and   
small pieces1 his servant had daily to  
break the large coals to bits to enable 
him to make any use of them4 ,it seems  
extraordinary that such waste of labour 
and capital should have existed amongst 
a highly acute and refined community    

within the last forty years4 ,they1     
perhaps1 thought they were making good  
for trade1 and therefore submitted to   
the evil2 while the ,glasgow people1 on 
the contrary1 by saving thirty per cent4
 in their coals1 had that thirty per    
cent4 to bestow upon new enterprises of 
industry1 and for new encouragements to 
labour4  ,the unprofitable applications 
of capital and labour which the early   
history of the civilization of every    
people has to record1 and which1 amongst
 many1 have subsisted even whilst they  
held themselves at the height of        
refinement1 have been fostered by the   
ignorance of the great1 and even of the 
learned1 as to the causes which1        
advancing production or retarding it1   
advanced or retarded their own          
interests1 and the interests of all the 
community4 ,princes and statesmen1      
prelates and philosophers1 were equally 
ignorant of    ,what makes a nation     
happy1 and keeps it so2   ,what ruins   
kingdoms1 and lays cities flat4  ,it was

 enough for them to consume2 they       
thought it beneath them to observe even1
 much less to assist in1 the direction  
of production4 ,this was ignorance as   
gross as that of ,peter the wild boy1 or
 the excommunication of rats4 ,it has   
always been the fashion of ignorant     
greatness to despise the mechanical     
arts4 ,the pride of the ,chinese        
mandarins was to let their nails grow as
 long as their fingers1 to show that    
they never worked4 ,even ,european      
nobles once sought the same absurd      
distinction4 ,in ,france1 under the old 
monarchy1 no descendant of a nobleman   
could embark in trade without the       
highest disgrace2 and the principle was 
so generally recognised as just1 that a 
,french writer1 even as recently as     
#ageh1 reproaches the sons of the       
,english nobility for the contrary      
practice1 and asks1 with an air of      
triumph1 how can a man be fit to serve  
his country in ,parliament after having 
meddled with such paltry concerns as    

those of commerce8 ,montesquieu1 a      
writer in most respects of enlarged     
views1 holds that it is beneath the     
dignity of governments to interfere with
 such trumpery things as the regulation 
of weights and measures4 ,society might 
have well spared the interference of    
governments with weights and measures if
 they had been content to leave all     
commerce equally free4 ,but1 in truth1  
the regulation of weights and measures  
is almost a solitary exception to the   
great principle which governments ought 
to practise1 of not interfering1 or     
interfering little1 with commerce4      
,louis ,,xiv4 did not waste more capital
 and labour by his ruinous wars1 and by 
his covering ,france with fortifications
 and palaces1 than by the perpetual     
interferences of himself and his        
predecessors with the freedom of trade1 
which compelled capital and labour to   
work unprofitably4 ,the naturally slow  
progress of profitable industry is      
rendered more slow by the perpetual     

inclination of those in authority to    
divert industry from its natural and    
profitable channels4 ,it was therefore  
wisely said by a committee of merchants 
to ,colbert1 the prime minister of      
,france in the reign of ,louis ,,xiv41  
when he asked them what measures        
government could adopt to promote the   
interests of commerce1--,let us alone1  
permit us quietly to manage our own     
business4 ,it is undeniable that the    
interests of all are best promoted when 
each is left free to attend to his own  
interests1 under the necessary social   
restraints which prevent him doing a    
positive injury to his neighbour4 ,it is
 thus that agriculture and manufactures 
are essentially allied in their         
interests2 that unrestrained commerce is
 equally essential to the real and      
permanent interests of agriculture and  
manufactures2 that capital and labour   
are equally united in their interests1  
whether applied to agriculture1         
manufactures1 or commerce2 that the     

producer and the consumer are equally   
united in their most essential interest1
 which is1 that there should be cheap   
production4 ,while these principles are 
not understood at all1 and while they   
are imperfectly understood1 as they     
still are by many classes and           
individuals1 there must be a vast deal  
of unprofitable expenditure of capital1 
a vast deal of unprofitable labour1 a   
vast deal of bickering and heart-burning
 between individuals who ought to be    
united1 and classes who ought to be     
united1 and nations who ought to be     
united2 and as long as it is not felt by
 all that their mutual rights are       
understood and will be respected1 there 
is a feeling of insecurity which more or
 less affects the prosperity of all4    
,the only remedy for these evils is the 
extension of knowledge4 ,louis ,,xv4    
proclaimed to the ,french that the      
,english were their veritables ennemis1 
their true enemies4 ,when knowledge is  
triumphant it will be found that there  

are no veritables ennemis1 either among 
nations1 or classes1 or individuals4    
,the prejudices by which nations1       
classes1 and individuals are led to     
believe that the interest of one is     
opposed to the interest of another1 are1
 nine times out of ten1 as utterly      
absurd as the reason which a ,frenchman 
once gave for hating the ,english--which
 was1 that they poured melted butter on 
their roast veal2 and this was not more 
ridiculous than the old denunciation of 
the ,english against the ,french1 that  
they ate frogs1 and wore wooden shoes4  
,when the world is disabused of the     
belief that the wealth of one nation1   
class1 or individual must be created by 
the loss of another's wealth1 then1 and 
then only1 will all men steadily and    
harmoniously apply to produce and to    
enjoy--to acquire prosperity and        
happiness--lifting themselves to the    
possession of good    ,by ,reason's     
light1 on ,resolution's wings4    #ad   
,grey's ,notes to ,hudibras4            

,,chapter ,x4       ,employment of      
machinery in manufactures and           
agriculture--,erroneous notions formerly
 prevalent on this      subject--,its   
advantages to the                       
labourer--,spade-husbandry--      ,the  
principle of machinery--,machines and   
tools--,change in      the condition of 
,england consequent on the introduction 
of      machinery--,modern ,new         
,zealanders and ancient                 
,greeks--,hand-mills and water-mills4   
,one of the most striking effects of the
 want of knowledge producing disunions  
amongst mankind that are injurious to   
the interests of each and all1 is the   
belief which still exists amongst many  
well-meaning but unreflecting persons1  
that the powers and arrangements which  
,capital has created and devised for the
 advancement of production are injurious
 to the great body of working-men in    
their character of producers4 ,the great
 forces by which capital and labour now 
work1--forces which are gathering       

strength every day1--are accumulation of
 skill and division of employments4 ,it 
will be for us to show that the         
applications of science to the          
manufacturing arts have the effect of   
ensuring cheap production and increased 
employment4 ,these applications of      
science are principally displayed in the
 use of ,,machinery2 and we shall       
endeavour to prove that1 although       
individual labour may be partially      
displaced1 or unsettled for a time1 by  
the use of this cheaper and better power
 than unassisted manual labour1 all are 
great gainers by the general use of that
 power4 ,through that power all         
principally possess1 however poor they  
may be1 many of the comforts which make 
the difference between man in a         
civilized and man in a savage state2 and
 further1 that1 in consequence of       
machinery having rendered productions of
 all sorts cheaper1 and therefore caused
 them to be more universally purchased1 
it has really increased the demand for  

that manual labour1 which it appears to 
some1 reasoning only from a few         
instances1 it has a tendency to         
diminish4  ,in the year #ahbg a         
,committee of the ,house of ,commons was
 appointed to examine into the subject  
of ,emigration4 ,the first person       
examined before that ,committee was     
,joseph ,foster1 a working weaver of    
,glasgow4 ,he told the ,committee that  
he and many others1 who had formed      
themselves into a society1 were in great
 distress2 that numbers of them worked  
at the hand-loom from eighteen to       
nineteen hours a day1 and that their    
earnings1 at the utmost1 did not amount 
to more than seven shillings a-week1 and
 that sometimes they were as low as four
 shillings4 ,that twenty years before   
that time they could readily earn a     
pound a-week by the same industry2 and  
that as power-loom weaving had          
increased1 the distress of the          
hand-weavers also had increased in the  
same proportion4 ,the ,committee then   

put to ,joseph ,foster the following    
questions1 and received the following   
answers3--      ,q4 ,are the ,committee 
to understand that you attribute the    
insufficiency of your remuneration for  
your labour to the     introduction of  
machinery8      ,a4 ,yes4      ,q4 ,do  
you consider1 therefore1 that the       
introduction of     machinery is        
objectionable8      ,a4 ,we do not4 ,the
 weavers in general1 of ,glasgow and its
     vicinity1 do not consider that     
machinery can or ought to be            
stopped1 or put down4 ,they know        
perfectly well that machinery must      
go on1 that it will go on1 and that it  
is impossible to stop it4     ,they are 
aware that every implement of           
agriculture or manufacture     is a     
portion of machinery1 and1 indeed1      
everything that goes     beyond the     
teeth and nails 7if ,i may use the      
expression7 is a     machine4 ,i am     
authorized1 by the majority of our      
society1 to say     that ,i speak their 

minds1 as well as my own1 in stating    
this4  ,it is worthy of note how the    
common sense of this working-man1 a     
quarter of a century ago1 saw clearly   
the great principle which overthrows1 in
 the outset1 all unreasoning hostility  
to machinery4 ,let us follow out his    
principle4  ,amongst the many accounts  
which the newspapers in ,december1      
#ahcj1 gave of the destruction of       
machinery by agricultural labourers1 we 
observed that in the neighbourhood of   
,aylesbury a band of mistaken and       
unfortunate men destroyed all the       
machinery of many farms1 down even to   
the common drills4 ,the men conducted   
themselves1 says the county newspaper1  
with civility2 and such was their       
consideration1 that they moved the      
machines out of the farm-yards1 to      
prevent injury arising to the cattle    
from the nails and splinters that flew  
about while the machinery was being     
destroyed4 ,they could not make up their
 minds as to the propriety of destroying

 a horse-churn1 and therefore that      
machine was passed over4  ,a quarter of 
a century has made a remarkable         
difference in the feelings1 even in the 
least informed1 with regard to          
machinery4 ,the majority of the people  
now know1 as the weavers of ,glasgow    
knew in #ahbg1 that machinery must go   
on1 that it will go on1 and that it is  
impossible to stop it4 ,we therefore1   
adapting this volume to the improved    
times in which it is now published1     
think it needless to urge1 as fully as  
we once did1 any of the notions of the  
labourers of ,aylesbury to their        
inevitable conclusions4 ,it is          
sufficient briefly to show1 that1 if the
 labourers had been successful in their 
career1 had broken all those ingenious  
implements which have aided in rendering
 ,british agriculture the most perfect  
in the world1 they would not have       
advanced a single step in obtaining more
 employment1 or being better paid4  ,we 
will suppose1 then1 that the farmer has 

yielded to this violence2 that the      
violence has had the effect which it was
 meant to have upon him2 and that he    
takes on all the hands which were out of
 employ1 to thrash and winnow1 to cut   
chaff1 to plant with a dibber instead of
 with a drill1 to do all the work1 in   
fact1 by the dearest mode instead of the
 cheapest4 ,but he employs just as many 
people as are absolutely necessary1 and 
no more1 for getting his corn ready for 
market1 and for preparing1 in a slovenly
 way1 for the seed-time4 ,in a month or 
two the victorious destroyers find that 
not a single hand the more of them is   
really employed4 ,and why not8 ,there   
are no drainings going forward1 the     
hedges and ditches are neglected1 the   
dung-heap is not turned over1 the chalk 
is not fetched from the pit2 in fact1   
all those labours are neglected which   
belong to a state of agricultural       
industry which is brought to perfection4
 ,the farmer has no funds to employ in  
such labours2 he is paying a great deal 

more than he paid before for the same1  
or a less1 amount of work1 because his  
labourers choose to do certain labours  
with rude tools instead of perfect ones4
  ,we will imagine that this state of   
things continues till the next spring4  
,all this while the price of grain has  
been rising4 ,many farmers have ceased  
to employ capital at all upon the land4 
,the neat inventions1 which enabled them
 to make a living out of their business1
 being destroyed1 they have abandoned   
the business altogether4 ,a day's work  
will now no longer purchase as much     
bread as before4 ,the horse1 it might be
 probably found out1 was as great an    
enemy as the drill-plough2 for1 as a    
horse will do the field-work of six men1
 there must be six men employed1 without
 doubt1 instead of one horse4 ,but how  
would the fact turn out8 ,if the farmer 
still went on1 in spite of all these    
losses and crosses1 he might employ men 
in the place of horses1 but not a single
 man more than the number that would    

work at the price of the keep of one    
horse4 ,to do the work of each horse    
turned adrift1 he would require six men2
 but he would only have about a shilling
 a-day to divide between these six--the 
amount which the horse consumed4  ,as   
the year advanced1 and the harvest      
approached1 it would be discovered that 
not one-tenth of the land was sown3 for 
although the ploughs were gone1 because 
the horses were turned off1 and there   
was plenty of labour for those who chose
 to labour for its own sake1 or at the  
price of horse-labour1 this amazing     
employment for human hands1 somehow or  
other1 would not quite answer the       
purpose4 ,it has been calculated that   
the power of horses1 oxen1 c41 employed 
in husbandry in ,great ,britain is ten  
times the amount of human power4 ,if the
 human power insisted upon doing all the
 work with the worst tools1 the         
certainty is that not even one-tenth of 
the land could be cultivated4 ,where1   
then1 would all this madness end8 ,in   

the starvation of the labourers         
themselves1 even if they were allowed to
 eat up all they had produced by such   
imperfect means4 ,they would be just in 
the condition of any other barbarous    
people1 that were ignorant of the       
inventions that constitute the power of 
civilization4 ,they would eat up the    
little corn which they raised           
themselves1 and have nothing to give in 
exchange for clothes1 and coals1 and    
candles1 and soap1 and tea1 and sugar1  
and all the many comforts which those   
who are even the worst off are not      
wholly deprived of4  ,all this may      
appear as an extreme statement2 and     
certainly we believe that no such evils 
could have happened3 for if the laws had
 been passive1 the most ignorant of the 
labourers themselves would1 if they had 
proceeded to carry their own principle  
much farther than they had done1 see in 
their very excesses the real character  
of the folly and wickedness to which it 
had led1 and would lead them4 ,why      

should the labourers of ,aylesbury not  
have destroyed the harrows as well as   
the drills8 ,why leave a machine which  
separates the clods of the earth1 and   
break one which puts seed into it8 ,why 
deliberate about a horse-churn1 when    
they were resolved against a            
winnowing-machine8 ,the truth is1 these 
poor men perceived1 even in the midst of
 their excesses1 the gross deception of 
the reasons which induced them to commit
 them4 ,their motive was a natural1 and1
 if lawfully expressed1 a proper        
impatience1 under a condition which had 
certainly many hardships1 and those     
hardships in great part produced by the 
want of profitable labour4 ,but in      
imputing those hardships to machinery1  
they were at once embarrassed when they 
came to draw distinctions between one   
sort of machine and another4 ,this      
embarrassment decidedly shows that there
 were fearful mistakes at the bottom of 
their furious hostility to machinery4   
,it has been said1 by persons whose     

opinions are worthy attention1 that     
spade-husbandry is1 in some cases1      
better than plough-husbandry2--that is1 
that the earth1 under particular        
circumstances of soil and situation1 may
 be more fitly prepared for the         
influences of the atmosphere by digging 
than by ploughing4 ,it is not our       
business to enter into a consideration  
of this question4 ,the growth of corn is
 a manufacture1 in which man employs the
 chemical properties of the soil and of 
the air in conjunction with his own     
labour1 aided by certain tools or       
machines1 for the production of a crop2 
and that power1 whether of chemistry or 
machinery1--whether of the salt1 or the 
chalk1 or the dung1 or the guano1 which 
he puts upon the earth1 or the spade or 
the plough which he puts into it1--that 
power which does the work easiest is    
necessarily the best1 because it        
diminishes the cost of production4 ,if  
the plough does not do the work so well 
as the spade1 it is a less perfect      

machine2 but the less perfect machine   
may be preferred to the more perfect1   
because1 taking other conditions into   
consideration1 it is a cheaper machine4 
,if the spade1 applied in a peculiar    
manner by the strength and judgment of  
the man using it1 more completely turns 
up the soil1 breaks the clods1 and      
removes the weeds than the plough1 which
 receives one uniform direction from man
 with the assistance of other animal    
power1 then the spade is a more perfect 
machine in its combination with human   
labour than the plough is1 worked with a
 lesser degree of the same combination4 
,but still it may be a machine which    
cannot be used with advantage to the    
producer1 and is therefore not desirable
 for the consumer4 ,all such questions  
must be determined by the cost of       
production2 and that cost in agriculture
 is made up of the rent of land1 the    
profit of capital1 and the wages of     
labour--or the portions of the produce  
belonging to the landlord1 the farmer1  

and the labourer4 ,where rent is high1  
as in the immediate neighbourhood of    
large towns1 it is important to have the
 labour performed as carefully as       
possible1 and the succession of crops   
stimulated to the utmost extent by      
manure and labour4 ,it is economy to    
turn the soil to the greatest account1  
and the land is cultivated as a garden4 
,where rent is low1 it is important to  
have the labour performed upon other    
principles1 because one acre cultivated 
by hand may cost more than two          
cultivated by the plough2 and though it 
may be the truest policy to carry the   
productiveness of the earth as far as   
possible1 field cultivation and garden  
cultivation must have essential         
differences4 ,in one case1 the machine  
called a spade is used2 in the other1   
the machine called a plough is employed4
 ,the use of the one or the other       
belongs to practical agriculture1 and is
 a question only of relative cost4      
,illustration3 ,centre of gravity  ,and 

this brings us to the great principle of
 all machinery4 ,a tool of the simplest 
construction is a machine2 a machine of 
the most curious construction is only a 
complicated tool4 ,there are many cases 
in the arts1 and there may be cases in  
agriculture1 in which the human arm and 
hand1 with or without a tool1 may do    
work that no machine can so well        
perform4 ,there are processes in        
polishing1 and there is a process in    
copper-plate printing1 in which no      
substance has been found to stand in the
 place of the human hand4 ,and1 if      
therefore the man with a spade alone    
does a certain agricultural work more   
completely than a man guiding a plough1 
and a team of horses dragging it 7which 
we do not affirm or deny71 the only     
reason for this is1 that the man with   
the spade is a better machine than the  
man with the plough and the horses4 ,the
 most stupid man that ever existed is1  
beyond all comparison1 a machine more   
cunningly made by the hands of his      

,creator1 more perfect in all his       
several parts1 and with all his parts   
more exquisitely adapted to the         
regulated movement of the whole body1   
less liable to accidents1 and less      
injured by wear and tear1 than the most 
beautiful machine that ever was1 or ever
 will be1 invented4 ,there is no        
possibility of supplying in many cases a
 substitute for the simplest movements  
of a man's body1 by the most complicated
 movements of the most ingenious        
machinery4 ,the laws of mechanism are   
the same whether applied to a man1 or to
 a lever1 or a wheel2 but the man has   
more pliability than any combination of 
wheels and levers4 ,when a porter       
carries a burden1 the attitude of the   
body must accommodate itself to the     
position of the common centre of gravity
 of himself and his load4 ,thus1 in the 
accompanying figures it will be observed
 that when the man stands upright the   
centre of gravity of the man ,g falls   
within the base of support2 and if his  

load ,l falls without the base1 as does 
likewise g1 the common centre of gravity
 of the man and load1 the consequence   
would be that he would fall backwards2  
but this is prevented1 or1 which is the 
same thing1 the point g is brought      
within the base by the man bending his  
body forward4#ae ,what is called the lay
 figure of the painter--a wooden image  
with many joints--may be bent here and  
there2 but the artist who wanted to draw
 a porter with a load could not put a   
hundredweight upon the back of his image
 and keep it upon its legs4 ,the natural
 machinery by which a man even lifts his
 hand to his head is at once so complex 
and so simple1 so apparently easy and   
yet so entirely dependent upon the right
 adjustment of a great many contrary    
forces1 that no automaton1 or machine   
imitating the actions of man1 could ever
 be made to effect this seemingly simple
 motion1 without showing that the       
contrivance was imperfect1--that it was 
a mere imitation1 and a very clumsy one4

 ,what an easy thing it appears to be   
for a farming man to thrash his corn    
with a flail2 and yet what an expensive 
arrangement of wheels is necessary to   
produce the same effects with a         
thrashing-machine6 ,the truth is1 that  
the man's arm and the flail form a much 
more curious machine than the other     
machine of wheels1 which does the same  
work2 and the real question as regards  
the value of the two machines is1 which 
machine in the greater degree lessens   
the cost of production8  ,we state this 
principle broadly1 in our examination   
into the value of machinery in          
diminishing the cost of producing human 
food4 ,a machine is not perfect because 
it is made of wheels or cylinders1      
employs the power of the screw or the   
lever1 is driven by wind or water or    
steam1 but because it best assists the  
labour of man1 by calling into action   
some power which he does not possess in 
himself4 ,if we could imagine a man     
entirely dispossessed of this power1 we 

should see the feeblest of animal       
beings4 ,he has no tools which are a    
part of himself1 to build houses like   
the beaver1 or cells like the bee4 ,he  
has not even learnt from nature to      
build1 instinctively1 by certain and    
unchangeable rules4 ,his power is in his
 mind2 and that mind teaches him to     
subject all the physical world to his   
dominion1 by availing himself of the    
forces which nature has spread around   
him4 ,to act upon material objects he   
arms his weakness with tools and with   
machines4 ,as we have before said1 tools
 and machines are in principle the same4
 ,when we strike a nail upon the head   
with a hammer1 we avail ourselves of a  
power which we find in nature--the      
effect produced by the concussion of two
 bodies2 when we employ a water-wheel to
 beat out a lump of iron with a much    
larger hammer1 we still avail ourselves 
of the same power4 ,there is no         
difference in the nature of the         
instruments1 although we call the one a 

tool1 and the other a machine4 ,neither 
the tool nor the machine has any force  
of itself4 ,in one case the force is in 
the arm1 in the other in the weight of  
water which turns the wheel4 ,the       
distinctions which have been taken      
between a tool and a machine are really 
so trivial1 and the line of separation  
between the one and the other is so     
slight1 that we can only speak of both  
as common instruments for adding to the 
efficiency of labour4 ,the simplest     
application of a principle of mechanics 
to an every-day hand-tool may convert it
 into what is called a machine4 ,take a 
three-pronged fork--one of the universal
 tools2--fasten a rope to the end of the
 handle2 put a log under the fork as a  
fulcrum2 and we have a lever1 when      
pulled down by the rope1 which will grub
 up a strongly-rooted large shrub in a  
few minutes4 ,the labourer has called in
 a powerful ally4 ,the tool has become a
 machine4    ,illustration3 ,a tool made
 a machine  ,the chief difference       

between man in a rude1 and man in a     
civilized state of society is1 that the 
one wastes his force1 whether natural or
 acquired1--the other economizes1 that  
is1 saves it4 ,the man in a rude state  
has very rude instruments2 he therefore 
wastes his force3 the man in a civilized
 state has very perfect ones2 he        
therefore economizes it4 ,should we not 
laugh at the gardener who went to hoe   
his potatoes with a stick having a short
 crook at the end8 ,it would be a tool1 
we should say1 fit only for children to 
use4 ,yet such a tool was doubtless     
employed by some very ancient nations2  
for there is an old medal of ,syracuse  
which represents this very tool4 ,the   
common hoe of the ,english gardener is a
 much more perfect tool1 because it     
saves labour4 ,could we have any doubt  
of the madness of the man who would     
propose that all iron hoes should be    
abolished1 to furnish more extensive    
employ to labourers who should be       
provided only with a crooked stick cut  

out of a hedge8 ,the truth is1 if the   
working men of ,england had no better   
tools than crooked sticks1 they would be
 in a state of actual starvation4 ,one  
of the chiefs of ,new ,zealand1 before  
that country had been colonized by us1  
told ,mr4 ,marsden1 a missionary1 that  
his wooden spades were all broken1 and  
he had not an axe to make any more2--his
 canoes were all broken1 and he had not 
a nail or a gimlet to mend them         
with2--his potato-grounds were          
uncultivated1 and he had not a hoe to   
break them up with2--and that for want  
of cultivation he and his people would  
have nothing to eat4 ,this shows the    
state of a people without tools4 ,the   
man had seen ,english tools1 and knew   
their value4  ,about three or four      
hundred years ago1 from the times of    
king ,henry ,,iv4 to those of king      
,henry ,,vi41 and1 indeed1 long before  
these reigns1 there were often1 as we   
have already mentioned1 grievous famines
 in this country1 because the land was  

very wretchedly cultivated4 ,men1 women1
 and children perished of actual hunger 
by thousands2 and those who survived    
kept themselves alive by eating the bark
 of trees1 acorns1 and pig-nuts4 ,there 
were no machines then2 but the condition
 of the labourers was so bad1 that they 
could not be kept to work upon the land 
without those very severe and tyrannical
 laws noticed in ,chap4 ,,vii41 which   
absolutely forbade them to leave the    
station in which they were born as      
labourers1 for any hope of bettering    
their condition in the towns4 ,there    
were not labourers enough to till the   
ground1 for they worked without any     
skill1 with weak ploughs and awkward    
hoes4 ,they were just as badly off as   
some of the people of ,portugal and     
,spain1 who are miserably poor1 because 
they have bad machines2 or as the       
,chinese labourers1 who have scarcely   
any machines1 and are the poorest in the
 world4 ,there was plenty of labour to  
be performed1 but the tools were so bad1

 and the want of agricultural knowledge 
so universal1 that the land was never   
half cultivated1 and therefore all      
classes were poorly off4 ,they had      
little corn to exchange for             
manufactures1 and in consequence the    
labourer was badly clothed1 badly       
lodged1 and had a very indifferent share
 of the scanty crop which he raised4    
,the condition of the labourer would    
have proceeded from bad to worse1 had   
agricultural improvement not gone       
forward to improve the general condition
 of all classes4 ,commons were enclosed2
 arable land was laid down to pasture2  
sheep were kept upon grass-land where   
wretched crops had before been growing4 
,this was superseding labour to a great 
extent1 and much clamour was raised     
about this plan1 and probably a large   
amount of real distress was produced4   
,but mark the consequence4 ,although the
 money wages of labour were lowered1    
because there were more labourers in the
 market1 the real amount of wages was   

higher1 for better food was created by  
pasturage at a cheaper rate4 ,the       
labourer then got meat who had never    
tasted it before2 and when the use of   
animal food became general1 there were  
cattle and corn enough to be exchanged  
for manufactured goods1 and the labourer
 got a coat and a pair of shoes1 who had
 formerly gone half naked4 ,step by step
 have we been going in the same         
direction for two centuries2 and the    
agricultural industry of ,great ,britain
 is now as much directed to the         
production of meat1 milk1 butter1       
cheese1 as to the growth of corn and    
other cereals4 ,the once simple         
husbandry of our forefathers has become 
a scientific manufacture4               
,illustration3 ,spinning4  ,there may be
 some persons still who object to       
machinery1 because1 having grown up     
surrounded with the benefits it has     
conferred upon them1 without            
understanding the source of these       
benefits1 they are something like the   

child who sees nothing but evil in a    
rainy day4 ,the people of ,new ,zealand 
very rarely came to us2 but when they   
did come they were acute enough to      
perceive the advantages which machinery 
has conferred upon us1 and the great    
distance in point of comfort between    
their state and ours1 principally for   
the reason that they have no machinery1 
while we have a great deal4 ,one of     
these men burst into tears when he saw a
 rope-walk2 because he perceived the    
immense superiority which the process of
 spinning ropes gave us over his own    
countrymen4 ,he was ingenious enough1   
and so were many of his fellow          
islanders1 to have twisted threads      
together after a rude fashion2 but he   
knew that he was a long way off from    
making a rope4 ,the ,new ,zealander saw 
the spinner in the rope-walk1 moving    
away from a wheel1 and gradually forming
 the hemp round his body into a strong  
cord4 ,by the operation of the wheel he 
is enabled so to twine together a number

 of separate fibres1 that no one fibre  
can be separated from the mass1 but     
forms part of a hard and compact body4  
,a series of these operations produces a
 cable1 such as may hold a barge at     
anchor4 ,the twisted fibres of hemp     
become yarn2 many yarns become a strand2
 three strands make a rope2 and three   
ropes make a cablet1 or small cable4 ,by
 carefully untwisting all its separate  
parts1 the principle upon which it is   
constructed is evident4 ,the operation  
is a complex one2 and the rope-maker is 
a skilled workman4 ,rope-making         
machinery is now carried much farther4  
,but the wheel that twisted the hemp    
into yarn was a prodigy to the inquiring
 savage4    ,illustration3 ,making      
,ropes by ,huddart's ,machinery4        
,illustration3 ,analysis of a ,cablet4  
,another of these ,new ,zealanders1 and 
he was a very shrewd and intelligent    
person1 carried back to his country a   
small hand-mill for grinding corn1 which
 he prized as the greatest of all       

earthly possessions4 ,and well might he 
prize it6 ,he had no machine for        
converting corn into meal1 but two      
stones1 such as were used in the remote 
parts of the highlands of ,scotland some
 years ago4 ,and to beat the grain into 
meal by these two stones 7a machine1    
remember1 however imperfect7 would      
occupy the labour of one-fourth of his  
family1 to procure subsistence for the  
other three-fourths4 ,the ancient       
,greeks1 three thousand years ago1 had  
improved upon the machinery of the      
hand-stones1 for they had hand-mills4   
,but ,homer1 the old ,greek poet1       
describes the unhappy condition of the  
slave who was always employed in using  
this mill4 ,the groans of the slave were
 unheeded by those who consumed the     
produce of his labour2 and such was the 
necessity for meal1 that the women were 
compelled to turn these mills when there
 were not slaves enough taken in war to 
perform this irksome office4 ,there was 
plenty of labour then to be performed1  

even with the machinery of the          
hand-mill2 but the slaves and the women 
did not consider that labour was a good 
in itself1 and therefore they bitterly  
groaned under it4 ,by and bye the       
understandings of men found out that    
water and wind would do the same work   
that the slaves and the women had done2 
and that a large quantity of labour was 
at liberty to be employed for other     
purposes4 ,does any one ask if society  
was in a worse state in consequence8 ,we
 answer1 labour is worth nothing without
 results4 ,its value is only to be      
measured by what it produces4 ,if1 in a 
country where hand-mills could be had1  
the people were to go on beating grain  
between two stones1 all would pronounce 
them fools1 because they could obtain an
 equal quantity of meal with a much less
 expenditure of labour4 ,some have a    
general prejudice against that sort of  
machinery which does its work with very 
little human assistance2 it is not quite
 so certain1 therefore1 that they would 

agree that a people would be equal fools
 to use the hand-mill when they could   
employ the wind-mill or the water-mill4 
,but we believe they would think that1  
if flour could drop from heaven1 or be  
had like water by whoever chose to seek 
it1 it would be the height of folly to  
have stones1 or hand-mills1 or          
water-mills1 or wind-mills1 or any      
machine whatever for manufacturing      
flour4 ,does any one ever think of      
manufacturing water8 ,the cost of water 
is only the cost of the labour which    
brings it to the place in which it is   
consumed4 ,yet this admission overturns 
all objections against machinery4 ,we   
admit that it is desirable to obtain a  
thing with no labour at all2 can we     
therefore doubt that it is desirable to 
obtain it with the least possible       
labour8 ,the only difference between no 
labour and a little labour is the       
difference of the cost of production4   
,and the only difference between little 
labour and much labour is precisely the 

same4 ,in procuring anything that       
administers to his necessities1 man     
makes an exchange of his labour for the 
thing produced1 and the less he gives of
 his labour the better of course is his 
bargain4  ,to return to the hand-mill   
and the water-mill4 ,an ordinary        
water-mill for grinding corn will grind 
about thirty-six sacks a day4 ,to do the
 same work with a hand-mill would       
require #aej men4 ,at two shillings a   
day the wages of these men would amount 
to #ael41 which1 reckoning six working  
days1 is #ijl4 a week1 or #dfhjl4 a     
year4 ,the rent and taxes of a mill     
would be about #aejl4 a year1 or #ajs4 a
 working day4 ,the cost of machinery    
would be certainly more for the         
hand-mills than the water-mill1         
therefore we will not take the cost of  
machinery into calculation4 ,to produce1
 therefore1 thirty-six sacks of flour by
 hand we should pay #ael42 by the       
water-mill we should pay #ajs43 that is1
 we should pay thirty times as much by  

the one process as by the other4 ,the   
actual saving is something about the    
price of the flour in the market2 that  
is1 the consumer1 if the corn were      
ground by hand1 would pay double what he
 pays now for flour ground at a mill4   
,but if the system of grinding corn by  
hand were a very recent system of       
society1 and the introduction of so     
great a benefit as the water-mill had   
all at once displaced the hand-grinders1
 as the spinning machinery displaced the
 spinning-wheel1 what must become1 it is
 said1 of the one hundred and fifty men 
who earned the #ael4 a-day1 of which sum
 the consumer has now got #adl4 #ajs4 in
 his pocket8 ,they must go to other     
work4 ,and what is to set them to that  
work8 ,the same #adl4 #ajs42 which1     
being saved in the price of flour1 gives
 the poor man1 as well as the rich man1 
more animal food and fuel2 a greater    
quantity of clothes1 and of a better    
quality2 a better house than his        
hand-labouring ancestors used to have1  

much as his house might yet be improved2
 better furniture1 and more of it2      
domestic utensils2 and books4 ,to       
produce these things there must be more 
labourers employed than before4 ,the    
quantity of labour is1 therefore1 not   
diminished1 while its productiveness is 
much increased4 ,it is as if every man  
among us had become suddenly much       
stronger and more industrious4 ,the     
machines labour for us1 and are yet     
satisfied without either food or        
clothing4 ,they increase all our        
comforts1 and they consume none         
themselves4 ,the hand-mills are not     
grinding1 it is true3 but the ships are 
sailing that bring us foreign produce2  
the looms are moving that give us more  
clothes2 the potter1 and glass-maker1   
and joiner1 are each employed to add to 
our household goods2 we are each of us  
elevated in the scale of society2 and   
all these things happen because         
machinery has diminished the cost of    
production4    ,illustration3 ,mill at  

,guy's ,cliff4  ,the water-mill is1     
however1 a simple machine compared with 
some mills of modern times4 ,we are     
familiar with the village-mill4 ,as we  
walk by the side of some gentle stream1 
such as that which turns the mill at    
,guy's ,cliff1 in ,warwickshire1 we hear
 at a distance the murmur of water and  
the growl of wheels4 ,we come upon the  
old mill1 such as it has stood for a    
couple of centuries4 ,no peasant        
quarrels with the mill4 ,it is an object
 almost of his love2 for he knows that  
it cheapens his food4 ,it seems a part  
of the natural scenery amidst which he  
has been reared4  ,but let a more       
efficient machine for grinding corn be  
introduced1 such as the ,americans have 
at ,pittsburgh1 and the peasant might   
think that the working millers would be 
ruined4 ,and yet the mill at ,pittsburgh
 is making flour cheaper in ,england1 by
 that competition which here forces     
onward improvement in mill-machinery2   
and by increasing the consumption of    

flour calls into action more            
superintending labour for its           
production4 ,that particular ,american  
mill produces #ejj barrels of flour per 
day1 each containing #aif lbs41 and it  
employs forty managing persons4 ,it     
produces cheap flour by saving labour in
 all its processes4 ,it stands on the   
bank of a navigable river--a high       
building into which the corn for        
grinding must be removed from boats     
alongside4 ,is the grain necessary to   
produce these #ejj barrels of flour per 
day1 amounting to #ih1jjj lbs41 carried 
by man's labour to the topmost floor of 
that high mill8 ,it is raised by an     
elevator consisting of an endless band1 
to which are fixed a series of metal    
cans revolving in a long wooden trough1 
which is lowered through the respective 
hatchways into the boat1 and is         
connected at its upper end with the     
building where its belt is driven4 ,the 
lower end of the trough is open1 and1 as
 the endless band revolves1 six or eight

 men shovel the grain into the ascending
 cans1 which raise it so rapidly that   
#djjj bushels can be lifted and         
deposited in the mill in an hour4#af    
,the drudging and unskilled labourers   
who would have toiled in carrying up the
 grain are free to do some skilled      
labour1 of which the amount required is 
constantly increasing2 and the cost     
saved by the elevator goes towards the  
great universal fund1 out of which more 
labour and better labour are to find the
 means of employment4    #ae ,see an    
article by ,mr4 ,bishop1 on ',locomotion
 of ,animals1' in        ',english      
,cyclopaedia4'    #af ,whitworth's      
,special ,report4     ,,chapter ,,xi4   
,present and former condition of the    
country--,progress of                   
cultivation--,evil influence of         
feudalism--,state of      agriculture in
 the sixteenth century--,modern         
improvements--,prices of                
wheat--,increased breadth of land       
under cultivation--,average consumption 

of wheat--,implements      of           
agriculture now in use--,number of      
agriculturists in ,great      ,britain4 
,it is the remark of foreigners1 as they
 travel from the sea-coast to ,london1  
that the country is a garden4 ,it has   
taken nineteen centuries to make it such
 a garden4 ,the marshes in which the    
legions of ,julius ,caesar had to fight1
 up to their loins1 with the ,britons1  
to whom these swamps were habitual1 are 
now drained4 ,the dense woods in which  
the ,druids worshipped are now cleared4 
,populous towns and cheerful villages   
offer themselves on every side4         
,wherever the eye reaches there is      
cultivation4 ,instead of a few scattered
 families painfully earning a           
subsistence by the chace1 or by tilling 
the land without the knowledge and the  
instruments that science has given to   
the aid of manual labour1--that         
cultivation is carried on with a        
systematic routine that improves the    
fertility of a good season1 and         

diminishes the evils of a bad4 ,instead 
of the country being divided amongst    
hostile tribes1 who have little         
communication1 the whole territory is   
covered with a network of roads1 and    
canals1 and navigable rivers1 and       
railroads1 through which means there is 
an universal market1 and wherever there 
is demand there is instant supply4      
,rightly considered1 there is no branch 
of production which has so largely      
benefited by the power of knowledge as  
that of agriculture4 ,it was ages before
 the great physical changes were        
accomplished which we now behold on     
every side2 and we are still in a state 
of progress towards the perfection of   
those results which an over-ruling      
,providence had in store for the human  
race1 in the gradual manifestation of   
those discoveries which have already so 
changed our condition and the condition 
of the world4  ,the history of          
cultivation in ,great ,britain is full  
of instruction as regards the           

inefficiency of mere traditional        
practice and the slowness with which    
scientific improvement establishes its  
dominion4 ,it is no part of our plan to 
follow out this history2 but a few      
scattered facts may not be without their
 value4    ,illustration3 #a4 ,the      
plough4 #b4 ,the pole4 #c4 ,the share   
7various74 #d4   ,the handle1 or        
plough-tail4 #e4 ,yokes4  ,the          
oppressions of tenants that were        
perpetrated under the feudal system1    
when ignorant lords of manors impeded   
production by every species of          
extortion1 may be estimated by one or   
two circumstances4 ,there can be no     
doubt that the prosperity of a tenant is
 the best security for the landlord's   
due share of the produce of the land4   
,without manure1 in some form or other1 
the land cannot be fertilized3 the      
landlords knew this1 but they required  
to have a monopoly of the fertility4    
,their tenants kept a few sheep1 but the
 landlords reserved to themselves the   

exclusive privilege of having a         
sheepfold2 so that the little tenants   
could not fold their own sheep on their 
own lands1 but were obliged to let them 
be folded with those of their lord1 or  
pay a fine4#ag ,the flour-mill was the  
exclusive property of the manorial lord1
 whether lay or ecclesiastical2 and     
whatever the distance1 or however bad   
the road1 the tenant could grind nowhere
 but at the lord's mill4 ,no doubt the  
rent of land was exceedingly low1 and   
the lord was obliged to maintain himself
 and his dependents by adding something 
considerable to his means by many forms 
of legalized extortion4 ,the rent of    
land was so low because the produce was 
inconsiderable1 to an extent which will 
be scarcely comprehended by modern      
husbandmen4 ,in the law-commentary      
called ',fleta1' written about the end  
of the thirteenth century1 the author   
says the farmer will be a loser unless  
corn be dear1 if he obtains from an acre
 of wheat only three times the seed     

sown4 ,he calculated the low produce at 
six bushels an acre3 the average produce
 was perhaps little higher2 we have     
distinct records of its being no higher 
a century afterwards4 ,in #acij1 at     
,hawsted1 near ,bury1 the produce of the
 manor-farm was forty-two quarters of   
wheat1 or three hundred and thirty-six  
bushels1 from fifty-seven acres2 and    
upon an average of three years sixty-one
 acres produced only seventy quarters1  
or five hundred and sixty bushels4 ,sir 
,john ,cullum1 who collected these      
details from the records of his own     
property1 says1 no particular dearness  
of corn followed1 so that1 probably1    
those very scanty crops were the usual  
and ordinary effects of the imperfect   
husbandry then practised4 ,the husbandry
 was so imperfect that an unfavourable  
season for corn-crops1 which in our days
 would have been compensated by a       
greater production of green crops1 was  
followed by famine4 ,when the ground was
 too hard1 the seed could not be sown   

for want of the sufficient machine-power
 of plough and harrow4 ,the chief       
instrument used was as weak and         
imperfect as the plough which we see    
depicted in ,egyptian monuments1 and    
which is still found in parts of ,syria4
 ,the ,oriental ploughman was with such 
an instrument obliged to bend over his  
plough1 and load it with all the weight 
of his body1 to prevent it merely       
scratching the ground instead of turning
 it up4 ,his labour was great and his   
care incessant1 as we may judge from the
 words of our ,saviour1--,no man having 
put his hand to the plough1 and looking 
back1 is fit for the kingdom of ,god4   
,latimer1 the ,protestant martyr1 in his
 ',sermon of the ,plough1' in which he  
holds that preaching of the ,gospel is  
one of ,god's plough-works1 and the     
preacher is one of ,god's ploughmen1    
describes the labour upon which he      
raises his parallel3 ,for as the        
ploughman first setteth forth his       
plough1 and then tilleth his land and   

breaketh it in furrows1 and sometimes   
ridgeth it up again2 and at another time
 harroweth it and clotteth it1 and      
sometimes dungeth it and hedgeth it1    
diggeth it and weedeth it1 purgeth it   
and maketh it clean1--so the prelate1   
the preacher1 hath many divers offices  
to do4 ,latimer was the son of a        
,liecestershire farmer1 and knew        
practically what he was talking about4  
,he knew that the land would not bear an
 adequate crop without all this various 
and often-repeated labour4 ,and yet the 
labour was so inadequately performed1   
that a few years after he had preached  
this famous sermon1 we are told by a    
credible writer of the times of ,queen  
,mary--,william ,bulleyn1 a physician   
and botanist--that in #aeee bread was so
 scant1 insomuch that the plain poor    
people did make very much of acorns4 ,a 
few years onward a great impulse was    
given to husbandry through various      
causes1 amongst which the increased     
abundance of the precious metals through

 the opening of the mines of ,south     
,america had no inconsiderable          
influence4 ,the industrious spirit of   
,england was fairly roused from a long  
sleep in the days of ,queen ,elizabeth4 
,harrison1 in his ',description of      
,britain1' says1 ,the soil is even now  
in these our days grown to be much more 
fruitful than it hath been in times     
past4 ,this historian of manners saw the
 reason4 ,in times past there was idle  
and negligent occupation2 but when he   
wrote 7#aeic7 our countrymen are grown  
to be more painful1 skilful1 and        
careful1 through recompense of gain4    
,the cultivators had their share of the 
benefits of cultivation2 they had their 
recompense of gain4 ,capital had been   
spread amongst the class of tenants3    
they were no longer miserable dependents
 upon their grasping lords4 ,for a      
century or so onward the improvements in
 agriculture were not very decided4 ,the
 rotation of crops was unknown2 and     
winter food for sheep and cattle not    

being raised1 the greater number were   
slaughtered and salted at ,martinmas4   
,the fleeces were wretchedly small1 for 
the few sheep nibbled the stubbles and  
commons bare till the spring-time4 ,the 
carcases of beef were not half their    
present size4 ,at the beginning of the  
last century the turnip cultivation was 
introduced1 and in the middle of the    
century the horse-hoeing husbandry came 
into use4 ,our agricultural revolution  
was fairly begun a hundred years ago2   
and yet for many years the value of     
manure was very imperfectly understood1 
and even up to our own time it has been 
wasted in every direction4 ,there is    
given in ,sir ,john ,cullum's book an   
abstract of the lease of a farm in      
#agec4 ,the tenant was to be allowed two
 shillings for every load of manure that
 he brought from ,bury1 about four miles
 distant4 ,during twenty-one years the  
landlord was charged with only one load4
 ,at that period all agriculture was in 
a great degree traditional4 ,there were 

no agricultural societies--no special   
journals for this great branch of       
national industry4 ,arthur ,young       
applied his shrewd and observing talent 
to the dissemination of farming         
knowledge2 but the agricultural mind1   
with very few exceptions1 rejected      
book-knowledge as vain and impertinent4 
,chemistry applied to the soil was as   
unknown to the cultivator as the        
perturbations of the planets4 ,geology  
was an affair of conjecture1 and had    
assumed no form of utility4 ,meteorology
 entered into no farmer's mode of       
estimating the comparative value of one 
site and another4 ,sir ,john ,cullum    
made a most curious and instructive     
estimate of the science of the ,suffolk 
farmers in #aghd1 when he wrote1--,the  
farm-houses are in general well         
furnished with every convenient         
accommodation4 ,into many of them a     
barometer has of late years been        
introduced--a most useful instrument for
 the husbandman1 and which is mentioned 

here as a striking instance of the      
intelligence of this period4  ,the wars 
of the ,french ,revolution1 and the high
 prices consequent upon the almost utter
 absence of foreign supplies1 gave a    
stimulus to agriculture1 which          
principally displayed itself in the     
effort to bring waste lands into        
cultivation4 ,from #agij to #ahai1 a    
period of thirty years1 there were two  
thousand one hundred and sixty-nine     
,inclosure ,bills passed by ,parliament4
 ,in the first ten years of this period 
the average price of wheat had increased
 ten shillings above the average of the 
ten years from #aghj to #aghi4 ,in the  
second ten years it had increased       
thirty-six shillings above that average4
 ,in the third ten years it was very    
nearly double1 being #hhs4 #h;d4 from   
#ahaj to #ahai1 and #des4 #i;d4 from    
#aghj to #aghi4 ,a portion of these     
prices1 however1 must be attributed to a
 depreciated currency4 ,during that     
period of thirty years1 very few of the 

great scientific improvements which have
 cheapened production had been          
introduced1 although better modes of    
cultivation unquestionably prevailed4   
,during the twenty years from #ahbj to  
#ahci there were only three hundred and 
thirty-one ,inclosure ,bills passed2 and
 the price of wheat had fallen to about 
the average of the ten years from #agij 
to #agii1 and it continued at that      
average for another ten years4 ,in the  
ten years from #ahdj to #ahdi1 we cannot
 gather the amount of land brought into 
new cultivation from the number of      
,inclosure ,bills1 as there was a       
,general ,inclosure ,act passed in      
#ahce1 to prevent the expense of        
particular bills for small tracts of    
land4 ,but it has been calculated that1 
while more than three million acres were
 brought into cultivation in the twenty 
years from #ahjj to #ahai1 about one    
million acres only were inclosed in the 
thirty years from #ahbj to #ahdi4ah ,if 
we look then1 as we shall briefly do1 at

 the wonderfully increased production of
 ,great ,britain1 we shall be naturally 
led to the conclusion that some cause1  
much more efficient than the inclosure  
of waste lands1 has given us the means  
of feeding a population which has       
doubled since the beginning of the      
century4 ,this production is the result 
of the whole course of improvement      
effected by science1 and stimulated by  
capital4 ,the ,bedford ,level was       
drained by our ancestors4 ,the fens of  
,cambridgeshire and ,lincolnshire have  
been drained effectually in our time4   
,that luxuriant flat now rejoices in    
waving corn-crops over many a mile4 ,a  
few years ago it was a land of stagnant 
ditches2 where little wind-mills1 that  
looked to the solitary traveller through
 that cold district like the toys of    
children1 lifted the water out of the   
trenches1 and left an isolated acre or  
two of dry earth for man to toil in4    
,now mighty steam-pumps carry the water 
into artificial rivers1 and the whole   

region is unrivalled for fertility4  ,it
 is estimated by some statists that the 
average consumption of wheat for each   
individual of the population is eight   
bushels4 ,others estimate that          
consumption at six bushels4 ,it will be 
sufficient for a broad view of the      
increase of production1 as compared with
 the increase of population1 to take the
 consumption at eight bushels1 or a     
quarter of wheat per head4 ,in the ten  
years from #ahja to #ahaj1 deducting an 
annual average of #fjj1jjj quarters of  
foreign wheat and flour imported1 the   
population in #ahaa being #aa1gfi1gbe1  
the number fed by wheat of home growth  
was somewhat above eleven millions4 ,in 
the ten years from #ahda to #ahej1      
deducting an annual average of          
#c1jjj1jjj quarters of foreign wheat and
 flour1 the population in #ahea being   
#ba1aba1ifg1 the number fed by wheat of 
home growth was somewhat above eighteen 
millions4 ,the productive power of the  
country had increased1 in the course of 

fifty years1 to the enormous extent of  
giving subsistence1 in one article of   
agricultural produce alone1 to seven    
millions of people4 ,the population in  
#agea was estimated at little more than 
seven millions4 ,it has trebled in a    
century2 and we may be perfectly sure   
that the production of the land has far 
more than trebled in that period4 ,the  
probability is that it has quadrupled2  
for there is no doubt that the great    
bulk of the people are better fed than  
in #agea1 when rye-bread was the common 
sustenance of the great body of         
labourers throughout the country4  ,let 
us endeavour to take a rapid view of the
 implements of agriculture in common use
 at the present time--implements which  
have been described as intended not to  
bring about new conditions of soil1 nor 
to yield new products of any kind1 but  
to do with more certainty and cheapness 
what had been done hitherto by employing
 the rude implements of former          
centuries4 ,such are the words of ,mr4  

,pusey's admirable ,report on the       
,agricultural ,implements in the        
',exhibition of the ,works of ,industry 
of all ,nations4' ,we cannot do better  
than furnish a few slight notices of the
 leading subjects of this report4  ,the 
plough and the harrow were the sole     
instruments of tillage at the beginning 
of this century4 ,bloomfield1 in his    
',farmer's ,boy1' describes them3--     
,the ploughs move heavily1 and strong   
the soil1   ,and clogging harrows with  
augmented toil   ,dive deep4  ,the old  
plough used to be drawn with four       
horses2 and they were needed4 ,it was a 
cumbrous instrument1 adapted to the clay
 soils when those soils were the chief  
source of corn to the country1 and had  
been handed down from father to son1    
after the heavy lands had been widely   
laid down to grazing-ground1 and the    
former downs had become our principal   
arable land4 ,the modern plough is an   
implement constructed on mathematical   
principles1 which1 by its mould-board1  

raising each slice of earth             
7furrow-slice7 from its flat position1  
through an upright one1 lays it over    
half inclined on the preceding slice4   
,the perfect instrument produces the    
skilled labourer4 ,a good ploughman will
 set up a pole a quarter of a mile      
distant1 and trace a furrow so true up  
to that goal that no eye can detect any 
divergence from absolute straightness4  
,mr4 ,pusey justly says that this is a  
triumph of art4  ,with an agriculture   
that permits no waste1 much of the      
picturesque has fled from our fields4   
,bloomfield describes the repose of the 
ploughman after he has driven his team  
to the boundary of his furrow3--        
,welcome green headland6 firm beneath   
his feet2   ,welcome the friendly bank's
 refreshing seat2   ,there1 warm with   
toil1 his panting horses browse   ,their
 sheltering canopy of pendent boughs4   
,gone is the green headland2 gone the   
cowslip bank2 gone the pendent boughs4  
,the furrow runs up to the extremest    

point of a vast field without hedges4   
,gone1 too1 are the green slips between 
the lands of common fields4 ,their very 
names of balk and feather are obsolete4 
,these adornments of the landscape are  
inconsistent with the demands of a      
population that doubles itself in half a
 century4 ,the labourer has small rest1 
and the soil has less4 ,under the old   
husbandry1 before the culture of the    
green crops1 one-third of the arable    
land was always idle4 ,two years of     
grain-crop1 and one year of fallow1 was 
the invariable rule4 ,look how the land 
is worked now4 ,the plough and the      
harrow turn up and pulverize the soil1  
but they do it much more effectually    
than of old4 ,the roller is a noble iron
 instrument1 instead of an old pollard4 
,modern ingenuity has added the         
clod-crusher4 ,but something was still  
wanting for the better preparation of   
land for seed--this is the scarifier or 
cultivator2 which1 according to ,mr4    
,pusey1 will save one half of the       

horse-labour employed upon the plough4  
,into the details of this saving it is  
no part of our purpose to enter4#ai ,we 
give a cut of the implement1 covering as
 much ground in width as #h-a_/b        
ploughs4    ,illustration3              
,clod-crusher4    ,illustration3        
,scarifier4  ,we proceed to ,instruments
 used in the ,cultivation of ,crops4    
,mr4 ,pusey tells us that the sower with
 his seed-lip has almost vanished from  
southern ,england1 driven out by a      
complicated machine1 the drill1         
depositing the seed in rows1 and drawn  
by several horses4 ,we miss the sower2  
and the next generation may require a   
commentary upon the many religious and  
moral images that arose out of his      
primitive occupation4 ,when ,james      
,montgomery says of the seed of         
knowledge1 broadcast it o'er the land1  
some may one day ask what broadcast     
means4 ,but the drill does not only sow 
the seed2 it deposits artificial manures
 for the reception of the seed4 ,the    

bones that were thrown upon the dunghill
 are now crushed4 ,the mountains of     
fertilizing matter that have been       
accumulated through ages on islands of  
the ,pacific1 from the deposits of birds
 resting in their flight upon rocks of  
that ocean1 and which we call guano1 now
 form a great article of commerce4      
,superphosphate1 prepared from bones1 or
 from the animal remains of geological  
ages1 is another of the precious dusts  
which the drill economizes4 ,there are  
even drills for dropping water combined 
with superphosphate4 ,such1 says ,mr4   
,pusey1 is the elastic yet accurate     
pliability with which1 in agriculture1  
mechanism has seconded chemistry4 ,the  
system of horse-hoeing1 which is the    
great principle of modern husbandry1    
entirely depends upon the use of the    
drill4 ,the horse-hoe cannot be worked  
unless the plants are in rows4 ,such a  
hoe as this will clean at once nine rows
 of wheat1 six of beans1 and four of    
turnips4 ,to manage such an instrument  

requires a steady and cool hand4 ,the   
skilled labourer is as essential as the 
beautiful machine4    ,illustration3    
,horse-hoe4  ,of instruments for        
gathering the harvest1 the most         
important are reaping-machines4 ,in the 
,united ,states they are sold to a great
 extent4 ,mr4 ,m',cormick1 who completed
 his invention in #ahde1 states that the
 demand reaches to a thousand annually4 
,mr4 ,pusey says of this machine that1  
in bad districts and late seasons1 it   
may often enable the farmer to save the 
crop4 ,in ,scotland and the north of    
,england ,mr4 ,bell's reaping-machine is
 coming into extensive use4 ,the        
,americans have also their              
mowing-machines1 drawn by two horses1   
which mow1 upon an average1 six acres of
 grass per day4 ,the haymaking machines1
 as labour-saving instruments1 are not  
uncommon in ,england4  ,machines for    
preparing corn for market are amongst   
the most important inventions of modern 
times4 ,here1 indeed1 agriculture       

assumes many of the external features of
 a manufacture4 ,steam comes prominently
 into action4 ,in many large farms there
 is fixed steam-power2 and most         
efficient it is4 ,but the moveable      
steam-engine comes to the aid of the    
small farmer2 and in some districts that
 power is let out to those who want it4 
,by this little engine applied to a     
thrashing-machine1 corn is thrashed at  
once from the rick1 instead of being    
carried into the barn4 ,here is a       
representation of the combined          
steam-engine and thrashing-machine4 ,the
 thrashing-machine with horse-power is  
that generally used in ,england4        
,rarely1 now1 can the beautiful         
description of ,cowper be realized3--   
,thump after thump resounds the constant
 flail1   ,that seems to swing          
uncertain1 and yet falls   ,full on the 
destined ear4     ,illustration3        
,moveable steam-engine and              
thrashing-machine4  ,few now wield that 
ancient instrument4 ,nor is the chaff   

now separated from the corn by the      
action of the wind1 which was called    
winnowing1 but we have the              
winnowing-machine1 by which forty       
quarters of wheat can be taken from the 
thrashing-machine and prepared for the  
market in five hours4  ,but machinery   
does not end here4 ,the food of stock is
 prepared by machines4 ,first1 there is 
the turnip-cutter4 ,our ',farmer's ,boy'
 will tell us how his sheep and kine    
were fed in the winter fifty years      
ago3--    ,illustration3                
,thrashing-machine with horse-power4    
,no tender ewe can break her nightly    
fast1   ,nor heifer strong begin the    
cold repast1   ,till ,giles with        
ponderous beetle foremost go1   ,and    
scattering splinters fly at every blow2 
,when1 pressing round him1 eager for the
 prize1   ,from their mix'd breath warm 
exhalations rise4  ,we are told that    
lambs fed with a turnip-cutter would be 
worth more at the end of a winter by    
eight shillings a head than lambs fed on

 whole turnips4 ,the chaff-cutter is an 
instrument equally valuable4  ,the last 
machine which we shall mention is       
connected with the greatest of all      
improvements in the crop-producing power
 of ,british land--the system of        
tile-draining4 ,pipes are now made by   
machinery2 and land may be effectually  
drained at a cost of #dl4 per acre4     
,illustration3 ,draining-tile machine4  
,the farmers of ,england have made what 
we may fairly call heroic efforts to    
meet foreign competition2 but their     
efforts would have been comparatively   
vain had science not come to the aid of 
production4  ,according to the ,census  
of #ahea1 the total population of ,great
 ,britain is #bj1iei1dgg--;in round     
numbers1 twenty-one millions4 ,in the   
',return of ,occupations1' one-half of  
this entire population is found under   
the family designation--such as child at
 home1 child at school1 wife1 daughter1 
sister1 niece1 with no particular       
occupation attributed to them4 ,they are

 important members of the state2 they   
are growing into future producers1 or   
they preside over the household         
comforts1 without which there is little 
systematic industry4 ,but they are not  
direct producers4 ,of this half of the  
entire population1 one-fifth belong to  
the class of cultivators1 viz43--       
,male4              ,female4   ,holders 
of farms                 #bge1fgf       
#bh1jdd   ,farmers' relatives1 in-door  
#acg1ddf   ,out-door labourers          
#a1jjf1gbh              #gj1hii         
,farm-servants1 in-door                 
#bce1idc             #abh1bea           
,shepherds1 out-door                    
#ai1jge   ,woodmen                      
#i1hcb   ,gardeners                     
#gh1dfb               #b1dhd   ,farm    
bailiffs                     #ab1hje    
,graziers                               
#c1jcf                                  
#a1ggi1jjc             #bbi1fgh  ,this  
total 7in which we omit the farmers'    
wives and daughters1 amounting to about 

#bdj1jjj7 shows that one-fifth of the   
working population provide food1 with   
the exception of foreign produce1 for   
themselves and families and the other   
four-fifths of the population4 ,such a  
result could not be accomplished without
 the appliances of scientific power     
which we have described in this chapter4
 ,in the early steps of ,british society
 a very small proportion of labour could
 be spared for other purposes than the  
cultivation of the soil4 ,it has been   
held that a community is considerably   
advanced when it can spare one man in   
three from working upon the land4 ,only 
twenty-six per cent of our adult males  
are agricultural--that is1 three men    
labour at some other employment1 while  
one cultivates the land4 ,during the    
last forty years the proportion of      
agricultural employment1 in comparison  
with manufacturing and commercial1 has  
been constantly decreasing2 and is now  
about twenty per cent41 whereas in #ahaa
 it was thirty-five per cent4 of all    

occupations4    #ag ,cullum's ',history 
of ,hawsted4'    #ah ,see various tables
 in ,porter's ',progress of the         
,nation4'    #ai ,see ',journal of      
,royal ,agricultural ,society1' vol4    
xii4 p4 #eie4     ,,chapter ,,xii4      
,production of a knife--,manufacture of 
iron--,raising      coal--,the          
hot-blast--,iron bridges--,rolling      
bar-iron--,making      steel--,sheffield
 manufactures--,mining in ,great        
,britain--,numbers engaged in mines and 
metal manufactures4   ,we have been     
speaking somewhat fully of agricultural 
instruments and agricultural labour1    
because they are at the root of all     
other profitable industry4 ,bread and   
beef make the bone and sinew of the     
workman4 ,ploughs and harrows and drills
 and thrashing-machines are combinations
 of wood and iron4 ,rude nations have   
wooden ploughs4 ,unless the ,english    
labourer made a plough out of two pieces
 of stick1 and carried it upon his      
shoulder to the field1 as the toil-worn 

and poor people of ,india do1 he must   
have some iron about it4 ,he cannot get 
iron without machinery4 ,he cannot get  
even his knife1 his tool of all-work1   
without machinery4 ,from the first step 
to the last in the production of a      
knife1 machinery and scientific         
appliances have done the chief work4    
,people that have no science and no     
machinery sharpen a stone1 or bit of    
shell or bone1 and cut or saw with it in
 the best way they can2 and after they  
have become very clever1 they fasten it 
to a wooden handle with a cord of bark4 
,an ,englishman examines two or three   
dozens of knives1 selects which he      
thinks the best1 and pays a shilling for
 it1 the seller thanking him for his    
custom4 ,the man who has nothing but the
 bone or the shell would gladly toil a  
month for that which does not cost an   
,english labourer half a day's wages4   
,and how does the ,englishman obtain his
 knife upon such easy terms8 ,from the  
very same cause that he obtains all his 

other accommodations cheaper1 in        
comparison with the ordinary wages of   
labour1 than the inhabitant of most     
other countries--that is1 from the      
operations of science1 either in the    
making of the thing itself1 or in       
procuring that without which it could   
not be made4 ,we must always remember   
that1 if we could not get the materials 
without scientific application1 it would
 be impossible for us to get what is    
made of those materials--even if we had 
the power of fashioning those materials 
by the rudest labour4  ,keeping this in 
mind1 let us see how a knife could be   
obtained by a man who had nothing to    
depend upon but his hands4  ,ready-made1
 without the labour of some other man1 a
 knife does not exist2 but the iron1 of 
which the knife is made1 is to be had4  
,very little iron has ever been found in
 a native state1 or fit for the         
blacksmith4 ,the little that has been   
found in that state has been found only 
very lately2 and if human art had not   

been able to procure any in addition to 
that1 gold would have been cheap as     
compared with iron4  ,iron is1 no doubt1
 very abundant in nature2 but it is     
always mixed with some other substance  
that not only renders it unfit for use1 
but hides its qualities4 ,it is found in
 the state of what is called iron-stone1
 or iron-ore4 ,sometimes it is mixed    
with clay1 at other times with lime or  
with the earth of flint2 and there are  
also cases in which it is mixed with    
sulphur4 ,in short1 in the state in     
which iron is frequently met with1 it is
 a much more likely substance to be     
chosen for paving a road1 or building a 
wall1 than for making a knife4  ,but    
suppose that the man knows the          
particular ore or stone that contains   
the iron1 how is he to get it out8 ,mere
 force will not do1 for the iron and the
 clay1 or other substance1 are so nicely
 mixed1 that1 though the ore were ground
 to the finest powder1 the grinder is no
 nearer the iron than when he had a lump

 of a ton weight4  ,a man who has a     
block of wood has a wooden bowl in the  
heart of it2 and he can get it out too  
by labour4 ,the knife will do it for him
 in time2 and if he take it to the      
turner1 the turner with his machinery1  
his lathe1 and his gouge1 will work it  
out for him in half an hour4 ,the man   
who has a lump of iron-ore has just as  
certainly a knife in the heart of it2   
but no mere labour can work it out4     
,shape it as he may1 it is not a knife1 
or steel1 or even iron--it is iron-ore2 
and dress it as he will1 it would not   
cut better than a brickbat--certainly   
not so well as the shell or bone of the 
savage4  ,there must be knowledge before
 anything can be done in this case4 ,we 
must know what is mixed with the iron1  
and how to separate it4 ,we cannot do it
 by mere labour1 as we can chip away the
 wood and get out the bowl2 and         
therefore we have recourse to fire4  ,in
 the ordinary mode of using it1 fire    
would make matters worse4 ,if we put the

 material into the fire as a stone1 we  
should probably receive it back as slag 
or dross4 ,we must1 therefore1 prepare  
our fuel4 ,our fire must be hot1 very   
hot2 but if our fuel be wood we must    
burn it into charcoal1 or if it be coal 
into coke4  ,the charcoal1 or coke1     
answers for one purpose2 but we have    
still the clay or other earth mixed with
 our iron1 and how are we to get rid of 
that8 ,pure clay1 or pure lime1 or pure 
earth of flint1 remains stubborn in our 
hottest fires2 but when they are mixed  
in a proper proportion1 the one melts   
the other4  ,so charcoal or coke1 and   
iron-stone or iron-ore1 and limestone1  
are put into a furnace2 the charcoal or 
coke is lighted at the bottom1 and wind 
is blown into the furnace1 at the bottom
 also4 ,if that wind is not sent in by  
machinery1 and very powerful machinery  
too1 the effect will be little1 and the 
work of the man great2 but still it can 
be done4  ,in this furnace the lime and 
clay1 or earth of flint1 unite1 and form

 a sort of glass1 which floats upon the 
surface4 ,at the same time the carbon1  
or pure charcoal1 of the fuel1 with the 
assistance of the limestone1 mixes with 
the stone1 or ore1 and melts the iron1  
which1 being heavier than the other     
matters1 runs down to the bottom of the 
furnace1 and remains there till the     
workman lets it out by a hole made at   
the bottom of the furnace for that      
purpose1 and plugged with sand4 ,when   
the workman knows there is enough       
melted1 or when the appointed time      
arrives1 he displaces the plug of sand  
with an iron rod1 and the melted iron   
runs out like water1 and is conveyed    
into furrows made in sand1 where it     
cools1 and the pieces formed in the     
principal furrows are called sows1 and  
those in the furrows branching from them
 pigs4  ,we are now advanced a          
considerable way towards the production 
of a knife4 ,we have the materials of a 
knife4 ,we have the iron extracted out  
of the iron-ore4 ,before we trace the   

progress of a knife to its final polish1
 let us see what stupendous efforts of  
machinery have been required to produce 
the cast iron4  ,in every part of the   
operation of making iron--in smelting   
the iron out of the ore2 in moulding    
cast iron into those articles for which 
it is best adapted2 in working malleable
 iron1 and in applying it to use after  
it is made2 nothing can be done without 
fire1 and the fuel that is used in      
almost every stage of the business is   
coal4 ,the coal trade and the iron trade
 are thus so intimately connected1 so   
very much dependent upon each other1    
that neither of them could be carried on
 to any extent without the other4 ,the  
coal-mines supply fuel1 and the         
iron-works give mining tools1 pumps1    
railroads1 wheels1 and steam-engines1 in
 return4 ,a little coal might be got    
without the iron engines1 and a little  
iron might be made without coals1 by the
 charcoal of wood4 ,but the quantity of 
both would be trifling in comparison4   

,the wonderful amount of the production 
of iron in ,great ,britain1 and the     
cheapness of iron1 as compared with the 
extent of capital required for its      
manufacture1 arises from the fact that  
the coal-beds and the beds of iron-ore  
lie in juxta-position4 ,the iron-stones 
alternate with the beds of coal in      
almost all our coal-fields2 and thus the
 same mining undertakings furnish the   
ore out of which iron is made and the   
fuel by which it is smelted4 ,if the    
coal were in the north1 and the fuel in 
the south1 the carriage of the one to   
the other would double the cost4  ,there
 was a time when iron was made in this  
country with very little machinery4     
,iron was manufactured here in the time 
of the ,romans2 but it was made with    
great manual labour1 and was            
consequently very dear4 ,hutton1 in his 
',history of ,birmingham1' tells us that
 there is a large heap of cinders near  
that town which have been produced by an
 ancient iron-furnace2 and that from the

 quantity of cinders1 as compared with  
the mechanical powers possessed by our  
forefathers1 the furnace must have been 
constantly at work from the time of     
,julius ,caesar4 ,a furnace with a steam
 blast would produce as large a heap in 
a few years4  ,at present a cottager in 
the south of ,england1 where there is no
 coal in the earth1 may have a bushel of
 good coals delivered at the door of his
 cottage for eighteen pence2 although   
that is far more than the price of coal 
at the pit's mouth4 ,if he had even the 
means of transporting himself and his   
family to the coal district1 he could   
not1 without machinery1 get a bushel of 
coals at the price of a year's work4    
,let us see how a resolute man would    
proceed in such an undertaking4  ,the   
machinery1 we will say1 is gone4 ,the   
mines are filled up1 which the greater  
part of them would be1 with water1 if   
the machinery were to stop a single     
week4 ,let us suppose that the          
adventurous labourer knows exactly the  

spot where the coal is to be found4     
,this knowledge1 in a country that has  
never been searched for coals before1 is
 no easy matter1 even to those who      
understand the subject best3 it is the  
province of geology to give that        
knowledge4 ,but we shall suppose that he
 gets over that difficulty too1 for     
after it there is plenty of difficulty  
before him4  ,well1 he comes to the     
exact spot that he seeks1 and places    
himself right over the seam of coal4    
,that seam is only a hundred fathoms    
below the surface1 which depth he will1 
of course1 reach in good time4 ,to work 
he goes2 pares off the green sod with   
his shovel1 loosens the earth with his  
pickaxe1 and1 in the course of a week1  
is twenty feet down into the loose earth
 and gravel1 and clears the rock at the 
bottom4 ,he rests during the ,sunday1   
and comes refreshed to his work on      
,monday morning2 when1 behold1 there are
 twelve feet of water in his pit4       
,suppose he now calls in the aid of a   

bucket and rope1 and that he bales away1
 till1 as night closes1 he has lowered  
the water three feet4 ,next morning it  
is up a foot and a half3 but no matter2 
he has done something1 and next day he  
redoubles his efforts1 and brings the   
water down to only four feet4 ,that is  
encouraging2 but1 from the depth1 he now
 works his bucket with more difficulty1 
and it is again a week before his pit is
 dry4 ,the weather changes2 the rain    
comes down heavily2 the surface on which
 it falls is spongy2 the rock which he  
has reached is water-tight2 and in      
twelve hours his pit is filled to the   
brim4 ,it is in vain to go on4  ,the    
sinking of a pit1 even to a less depth  
than a hundred fathoms1 sometimes       
demands1 notwithstanding all the        
improvements by machinery1 a sum of not 
less than a hundred pounds a fathom1 or 
ten thousand pounds for the whole pit2  
and therefore1 supposing it possible for
 a single man to do it at the rate of   
eighteen pence a day1 the time which he 

would require would be between four     
hundred and five hundred years4  ,whence
 comes it that the labour of between    
four hundred and five hundred years is  
reduced to a single day8 and that which1
 independently of the carriage1 would   
have cost ten thousand pounds1 is got   
for eighteen pence8 ,it is because man  
joins with man1 and machinery is        
employed to do the drudgery4 ,nations   
that have no machinery have no coal     
fires1 and are ignorant that there is   
hidden under the earth a substance which
 contributes more1 perhaps1 to the      
health and comfort of the inhabitants of
 ,britain than any other commodity which
 they enjoy4  ,no nations have worked   
coal to anything approaching the extent 
in which it has been worked by our      
countrymen4 ,it has been calculated that
 ,france1 ,belgium1 ,spain1 ,prussia1   
,bohemia1 and the ,united ,states of    
,america1 do not annually produce more  
than seventeen million tons of coal1    
which is about half of our annual       

produce4#bj    ,illustration3           
,steam-,boiler making4  ,the greater    
part of the coal now raised in ,britain 
is produced by the employment of the    
most enormous mechanical power4 ,there  
are in some places shallow and narrow   
pits1 where coals may be raised to the  
surface by a windlass2 and there are    
others where horse-power is employed4   
,but the number of men that can work at 
a windlass1 or the number of horses that
 can be yoked to a gin1 is limited4 ,the
 power of the steam-engine is limited   
only by the strength of the materials of
 which it is formed4 ,the power of a    
hundred horses1 or of five hundred men1 
may be very easily made by the          
steam-engine to act constantly1 and on a
 single point2 and thus there is        
scarcely anything in the way of mere    
force which the engine cannot be made to
 do4 ,we have seen a pit in             
,staffordshire1 which hardly gave coal  
enough to maintain a cottager and his   
family1 for he worked the pit with      

imperfect machinery--with a half-starved
 ass applied to a windlass4 ,a mile off 
was a steam-engine of #bjj-;horse power1
 raising tons of coals and pumping out  
rivers of water with a force equal to at
 least a thousand men4 ,this vast force 
acted upon a point2 and therefore no    
advantage was gained over the machine by
 the opposing force of water1 or the    
weight of the material to be raised4    
,before the steam-engine was invented1  
the produce of the coal-mines barely    
paid the expense of working and keeping 
them dry2 and had it not been for the   
steam-engines and other machinery1 the  
supply would long before now have       
dwindled into a very small quantity1 and
 the price would have become ten or     
twenty times its present amount4 ,the   
quantity of coal raised in ,great       
,britain was estimated by ,professor    
,ansted in #ahea at thirty-five million 
tons2 and the value at nine millions    
sterling at the pit-mouth1 and eighteen 
millions at the place of consumption4   

,the capital engaged in the coal trade  
was then valued at ten millions4 ,in    
#ahdg the annual value of all the       
precious metals raised throughout the   
world was estimated at thirteen millions
 sterling4 ,that value has been         
increased within a few years4 ,but the  
coal of ,great ,britain1 as estimated by
 the cost at the pit's mouth1 is above  
two-thirds of this value of the precious
 metals seven years ago2 and the mean   
annual value1 at the furnace1 of iron   
smelted by ,british coal being eight    
millions sterling1 the value together of
 our iron and our coal exceeds the value
 of all the gold and silver of ,south   
,america1 and ,california1 and          
,australia1 however large that amount   
has now become4  ,how the value of our  
cast iron has been increased by modern  
science may be in some degree estimated 
by a consideration of what the hot-blast
 has accomplished4 ,the hot-blast blows 
hot air into the iron-furnace instead of
 cold air4 ,the notion seems simple1 but

 the results are wonderful4 ,the        
inventor1 ,mr4 ,neilson1 has seen since 
#ahbg the production of iron raised from
 less than seven hundred thousand tons  
to two million two hundred thousand     
tons4 ,the iron is greatly cheaper than 
a quarter of a century ago1 for only    
about one-half the coal formerly used is
 necessary for its production4 ,that    
production is almost unlimited in       
amount4 ,in #aghh we produced only sixty
 thousand tons1 or one-thirty-sixth part
 of what we now produce4 ,the beautiful 
iron bridge of ,colebrook-dale1 erected 
in #aggi1 consumed three hundred and    
seventy-eight tons of cast iron4 ,the   
wonderful ,britannia ,bridge which has  
been carried over the ,menai ,strait1   
hung in mid air at the height of a      
hundred feet above the stream1 has      
required ten thousand tons of iron for  
its completion4 ,if chemistry and       
machinery had not been at work to       
produce more iron and cheaper iron1 how 
would our great modern improvements have

 stopped short--our railroads1 our      
water-pipes1 our gas-pipes1 our         
steam-ships6 ,how should we have lacked 
the great material of every useful      
implement1 from the gigantic anchor that
 holds the man-of-war firm in her       
moorings1 and the mighty gun that1 in   
the last resort1 asserts a spirit       
without which all material improvement  
cannot avert a nation's decay1--to the  
steel pen with which thoughts are       
exchanged between friends at the        
opposite ends of the earth1 and the     
needle by which the poor seamstress in  
her garret maintains her place amongst  
competing numbers4    ,illustration3    
,the first iron bridge1 ,colebrook      
,dale4  ,nearly all the people now      
engaged in iron-works are supported by  
the improvements that have been made in 
the manufacture1 by machinery1 since    
#aghh4 ,yes1 wholly by the machinery2   
for before then the quantity made by the
 charcoal of wood had fallen off        
one-fourth in forty-five years4 ,the    

wood for charcoal was becoming          
exhausted1 and nothing but the powerful 
blast of a machine will make iron with  
coke4 ,without the aid of machinery the 
trade would have become extinct4 ,the   
iron and the coal employed in making it 
would have remained useless in the      
mines4  ,and now1 having seen what is   
required to produce a pig of cast iron1 
let us return to the knife1 whose course
 of manufacture we traced a little way4 
,the lump of cast iron as it leaves the 
furnace has many processes to go through
 before it becomes fit for making a     
knife4 ,it cannot be worked by the      
hammer1 or sharpened to a cutting edge2 
and so it must be made into malleable   
iron1--into a kind of iron which1       
instead of melting in the fire1 will    
soften1 and admit of being hammered into
 shape1 or united by the process of     
welding4  ,the methods by which this is 
accomplished vary2 but they in general  
consist in keeping the iron melted in a 
furnace1 and stirring it with an iron   

rake1 till the blast of air in the      
furnace burns the greater part of the   
carbon out of it4 ,by this means it     
becomes tough2 and1 without cooling1 is 
taken from the furnace and repeatedly   
beaten by large hammers1 or squeezed    
through large rollers1 until it becomes 
the bar-iron of which so much use is    
made in every art of life4              
,illustration3 ,rolling bar-iron4       
,about the close of the last century the
 great improvement in the manufacture of
 bar-iron was introduced by passing it  
through grooved rollers1 instead of     
hammering it on the anvil2 but in our   
own time the invention has become most  
important4 ,the inventor1 ,mr4 ,coet1   
spent a fortune on the enterprise and   
died poor4 ,his son1 in #ahab1          
petitioned ,parliament to assign him    
some reward for the great gift that his 
father had bestowed upon the nation4 ,he
 asked in vain4 ,it is the common fate  
of the ingenious and the learned2 and it
 is well that life has some other       

consolations for the man that has       
exercised his intellect more profitably 
for the world than for himself1 than the
 pride of the mere capitalist1 who      
thinks accumulation1 and accumulation   
only1 the chief business of existence4  
,rolling bar-iron is one of the great   
labour-saving principles that especially
 prevail in every branch of manufacture 
in metals4 ,the unaided strength of all 
the men in ,britain could not make all  
the iron which is at present made1      
though they did nothing else4 ,machinery
 is therefore resorted to2 and          
water-wheels1 steam-engines1 and all    
sorts of powers are set to work in      
moving hammers1 turning rollers1 and    
drawing rods and wires through holes1   
till every workman can have the         
particular form which he wants4 ,if it  
were not for the machinery that is      
employed in the manufacture1 no man     
could obtain a spade for less than the  
price of a year's labour2 the yokes of a
 horse would cost more than the horse   

himself2 and the farmer would have to   
return to wooden plough-shares1 and hoes
 made of sticks with crooked ends4      
,after all this1 the iron is not yet fit
 for a knife1 at least for such a knife 
as an ,englishman may buy for a         
shilling4 ,many nations would1 however1 
be thankful for a little bit of it1 and 
nations too in whose countries there is 
no want of iron-ore4 ,but they have no  
knowledge of the method of making iron1 
and have no furnaces or machinery4 ,when
 our ships sail among the people of the 
eastern islands1 those people do not ask
 for gold4 ,iron1 iron6 is the call2 and
 he who can exchange his best commodity 
for a rusty nail or a bit of iron hoop  
is a fortunate individual4  ,we are not 
satisfied with that in the best form1   
which is a treasure to those people in  
the worst4 ,we must have a knife1 not of
 iron1 but of steel1--a substance that  
will bear a keen edge without either    
breaking or bending4 ,in order to get   
that1 we must again change the nature of

 our material4  ,how is that to be done8
 ,the oftener that iron is heated and   
hammered1 it becomes the softer and more
 ductile2 and as the heating and        
hammering forced the carbon out of it1  
if we give it the carbon back again1 we 
shall harden it2 but it happens that we 
also give it other properties1 by       
restoring its carbon1 when the iron has 
once been in a ductile state4  ,for this
 purpose1 bars or pieces of iron are    
buried in powdered charcoal1 covered up 
in a vessel1 and kept at a red heat for 
a greater or less number of hours1      
according to the object desired4 ,there 
are niceties in the process1 which it is
 not necessary to explain1 that produce 
the peculiar quality of steel1 as       
distinguished from cast iron4 ,if the   
operation of heating the iron in        
charcoal is continued too long1 or the  
heat is too great1 the iron becomes cast
 steel1 and cannot be welded2 but if it 
is not melted in the operation1 it can  
be worked with the hammer in the same   

manner as iron4  ,in each case1 however1
 it has acquired the property upon which
 the keenness of the knife depends2 and 
the chief difference between the cast   
steel1 and the steel that can bear to be
 hammered is1 that cast steel takes a   
keener edge1 but is more easily broken4 
,illustration3 ,shear and ,tilt         
,hammers3 ,steel-manufacture4  ,the     
property which it has acquired is that  
of bearing to be tempered4 ,if it be    
made very hot1 and plunged into cold    
water1 and kept there till it is quite  
cooled1 it is so hard that it will cut  
iron1 but it is brittle4 ,in this state 
the workman brightens the surface1 and  
lays the steel upon a piece of hot iron1
 and holds it to the fire till it       
becomes of a colour which he knows from 
experience is a test of the proper state
 of the process4 ,then he plunges it    
again into water1 and it has the degree 
of hardness that he wants4  ,the        
grinding a knife1 and the polishing it1 
even when it has acquired the requisite 

properties of steel1 if they were not   
done by machinery1 would cost more than 
the whole price of a knife upon which   
machinery is used4 ,a travelling        
knife-grinder1 with his treadle and     
wheels1 has a machine1 but not a very   
perfect one4 ,the ,sheffield knife-maker
 grinds the knife at first upon wheels  
of immense size1 turned by water or     
steam1 and moving so quickly that they  
appear to stand still--the eye cannot   
follow the motion4 ,with these aids the 
original grinding and polishing cost    
scarcely anything2 while the travelling 
knife-grinder charges two pence for the 
labour of himself and his wheel in just 
sharpening it4    ,illustration3        
,file-cutters4  ,the ,sheffield whittle 
is as old as the time of ,edward ,,iii41
 as we know from the poet ,chaucer4     
,sheffield is still the metropolis of   
steel4 ,it is in the change of iron into
 steel by a due admixture of carbon--by 
hammering1 by casting1 by melting--that 
the natural powers of ,sheffield1 her   

water and her coal1 have become of such 
value4 ,wherever there is a stream with 
a fall1 there is the grinding-wheel at  
work3 and in hundreds of workshops the  
nicer labour of the artificer is        
fashioning the steel into every         
instrument which the art of man can     
devise1 from the scythe of the mower to 
the lancet of the surgeon4 ,the         
machinery that made the steel has called
 into action the skill that makes the   
file-cutter4 ,no machine can make a     
file4 ,the file-cutter with a small     
hammer can cut notch after notch in a   
piece of softened steel1 without a guide
 or gauge1--even to the number of a     
hundred notches in an inch4 ,it is one  
out of many things in which skilled     
labour triumphs over the uniformity of  
operation which belongs to a machine4   
,the cutting of files alone in ,great   
,britain gives employment to more than  
six thousand persons4 ,this is one of   
the many instances in which it is       
evident that the application of         

machinery to the arts calls into action 
an almost infinite variety of           
handicrafts4 ,an ordinary workman can   
obtain a knife for the price of a few   
hours' labour4 ,the causes are easily   
seen4 ,every part of the labour that can
 be done by machinery is so done4 ,one  
turn of a wheel1 one stroke of a        
steam-engine1 one pinch of a pair of    
rollers1 or one blow of a die1 will do  
more in a second than a man could do in 
a month4 ,one man1 also1 has but one    
thing to do in connexion with the       
machinery2 and when the work of the hand
 succeeds to the work of the wheel or   
the roller1 the one man1 like the       
file-cutter1 has still but one thing to 
do4 ,in course of time he comes to do   
twenty times as much as if he were      
constantly shifting from one thing to   
another4 ,the value of the work that a  
man does is not to be measured in all   
cases by the time and trouble that it   
cost him individually1 but by the market
 value of what he produces2 which value 

is determined1 as far as labour is      
concerned1 by the price paid for doing  
it in the best and most expeditious     
mode4  ,and does not all this machinery1
 and this economy of labour1 it may     
still be said1 deprive many workmen of  
employment8 ,no4 ,by these means the    
iron trade gives bread to hundreds1     
where otherwise it would not have given 
bread to one4 ,there are more hands     
employed at the iron-works than there   
would have been if there had been no    
machinery2 because without machinery men
 could not produce iron cheap enough to 
be generally used4  ,the machinery that 
is now employed in the iron trade1 not  
only enables the people to be supplied  
cheaply with all sorts of articles of   
iron1 but it enables a great number of  
people to find employment1 not in the   
iron trade only1 but in all other       
trades1 who otherwise could not have    
been employed2 and it enables everybody 
to do more work with the same exertion  
by giving them better tools2 while it   

makes all more comfortable by furnishing
 them with more commodious domestic     
utensils4  ,there are thousands of      
families on the face of the earth1 that 
would be glad to exchange all they have 
for a tin kettle1 or an iron pot1 which 
can be bought anywhere in the three     
kingdoms for a shilling or two4 ,and    
could the poor man in this country but  
once see how even the rich man in some  
other places must toil day after day    
before he can scrape or grind a stone so
 as to be able to boil a little water in
 it1 or make it serve for a lamp1 he    
would account himself a poor man no     
more4 ,an ,english gipsy carries about  
with him more of the conveniences of    
life than are enjoyed by the chiefs or  
rulers in countries which naturally have
 much finer climates than that of       
,england4 ,but they have no machinery1  
and therefore they are wretched4  ,great
 ,britain is a country rich in other    
minerals than iron-stone and coal4 ,our 
earliest ancestors are recorded to have 

exchanged tin with maritime people who  
came to our shores4 ,they had lead also1
 which was cast into oblong blocks      
during the ,roman occupation of the     
island1 and which bear the imperial     
stamp4 ,at the beginning of the         
eighteenth century we worked tin into   
pewter1 which1 in the shape of plates1  
had superseded wooden trenchers4 ,but we
 raised and smelted no copper1 importing
 it unwrought4 ,the valuable tin and    
copper mines of ,cornwall were          
imperfectly worked in the middle of the 
last century1 because the water which   
overflowed them was only removed by     
hydraulic engines1 the best of which was
 introduced in #agjj4 ,when ,watt had   
reconstructed the steam-engine1         
steam-power began to be employed in     
draining the ,cornwall mines4 ,in #aghj1
 #bd1ddc tons of copper-ore were raised1
 producing #bicb tons of copper4 ,in    
#ahej1 #aee1jbe tons of ore were        
obtained1 producing #ab1bed tons of     
copper4 ,the tin-mines produced #afjj   

tons in #agej1 and #aj1gai tons in      
#ahdi4 ,the produce of the lead-mines   
has not been accurately estimated4      
,illustration3 ,entrance to the ,mine of
 ,odin1 an ancient ,lead-mine in        
,derbyshire4  ,in all mining operations1
 conducted as they are in modern times1 
and in our own country1 we must either  
go without the article produced1 whether
 coal1 or iron1 or lead1 or copper1 if  
the machines were abolished1--or we must
 employ human labour1 in works the most 
painful1 at a price which would not only
 render existence unbearable1 but       
destroy it altogether4 ,the people1 in  
that case1 would be in the condition of 
the unhappy natives of ,south ,america1 
when the ,spaniards resolved to get gold
 at any cost of human suffering4 ,the   
,spaniards had no machines but pickaxes 
and spades to put in the hands of the   
poor ,indians4 ,they compelled them to  
labour incessantly with these1 and half 
the people were destroyed4 ,without     
machinery1 in places where people can   

obtain even valuable ore for nothing1   
the collection and preparation of metals
 is hardly worth the labour4 ,mungo     
,park describes the sad condition of the
 ,africans who are always washing       
gold-dust2--and we have seen in         
,derbyshire a poor man separating small 
particles of lead from the limestone1 or
 spar1 of that country1 and unable to   
earn a shilling a day by the process4 ,a
 man of capital erects lead-works1 and  
in a year or two obtains an adequate    
profit1 and employs many labourers4  ,it
 may enable us1 in addition to our      
slight notices of quantities produced1  
to form something like an accurate      
conception of the vast mineral industry 
of this country1 if we give the         
aggregate of men employed as miners and 
metal-workers1 according to the census  
of #ahea4 ,of coal-miners there were    
#baf1cff2 of iron-miners1 #bg1jih2 of   
copper-miners1 #ah1dfh2 of tin-miners1  
#ab1iab2 of lead-miners1 #ba1fag4 ,this 
is a total of #bif1dfa4 ,in the         

manufacture of various articles of iron 
and steel1 in addition to the iron and  
coal miners1 who cannot be accurately   
distinguished1 there are employed       
#bha1egh male workers1 and #ah1hjg      
female2 and in the manufacture of       
articles of brass and other mixed       
metals1 #df1jgf2 of which number #hcgj  
are females4 ,the workers in metal thus 
enumerated amount to #edb1ibb4 ,we may  
add1 from the class of persons engaged  
in mechanic productions1 in which we    
find #dh1jej engine and machine makers1 
and #gdbi gunsmiths1 a number that will 
raise the aggregate of miners and       
workers in metals to #fjj1jjj persons4  
,the boldness of some of the operations 
which are conducted in this department  
of industry1 the various skill of the   
labourers1 and the vastness of the      
aggregate results1 impress the mind with
 a sense of power that almost belongs to
 the sublime4 ,the fables of mythology  
are tame when compared with these       
realities of science4 ,vulcan1 with his 

anvils in ,a,etna1 is a feeble          
instrument by the side of the           
steam-hammer that forges an anchor1 or  
the hydraulic press that lifts a bridge4
 ,a knot of ,cupids co-operating for the
 fabrication of their barbed arrows is  
the poetry of painting applied to the   
arts4 ,but there is higher poetry in    
that triumph of knowledge1 and skill1   
and union of forces1 which fills a      
furnace with fifty thousand pounds of   
molten iron1 and conducts the red-hot   
stream to the enormous mould which is to
 produce a cylinder without a flaw4     
,illustration3 ,cupids forging arrows4  
,from ,albani4    ,illustration3        
,coal-,railway from ,south ,hetton to   
,seaham ,harbour1 with   the ascending  
and descending ,trains4    #bj ,see a   
table by ,professor ,ansted in the      
,great ,exhibition ,catalogue1          
vol4 i4 p4 #aha4     ,,chapter ,,xiii4  
,conveyance and extended use of         
coal--,consumption at various           
periods--,condition of the roads in the 

seventeenth and      eighteenth         
centuries--,advantages of good          
roads--,want of      roads in           
,australia--,turnpike-roads--,canals--,r
ailway of      #afhj--,railway          
statistics4   ,we have seen how by      
machinery more than thirty-five million 
tons of coal--now become one of the very
 first necessaries of life--are         
obtained1 which without machinery could 
not be obtained at all in the thousandth
 part of the quantity2 and which1       
consequently1 would be a thousand times 
the price--would1 in fact1 be precious  
stones1 instead of common fuel4         
,engines or machines1 of some kind or   
other1 not only keep the pits dry and   
raise the coals to the surface1 but     
convey them to the ship upon railroads2 
the ship1 itself a machine1 carries them
 round all parts of the coast2 barges   
and boats convey them along the rivers  
and canals2 and1 within these few years1
 railways have carried the coals of the 
north into remote places in the southern

 and other counties1 where what was     
called sea-coal1 from its being carried 
coastwise1 was scarcely known as an     
article of domestic use4 ,the           
inhabitants of such places had no choice
 but to consume wood and turf for every 
domestic purpose4  ,through the general 
consumption of wood instead of coal1 a  
fire for domestic use in ,france is a   
great deal dearer than a fire in        
,england2 because1 although the         
coal-pits are not to be found at every  
man's door1 nor within many miles of the
 doors of some men1 machinery at the    
pits1 and ships and barges1 and         
railways1 which are also machinery1     
enable most men to enjoy the blessings  
of a coal fire at a much cheaper rate   
than a fire of wood1 which is not       
limited in its growth to any particular 
district4 ,without the machinery to     
bring coals to his door1 not one man out
 of fifty of the present population of  
,england could have had the power of    
warming himself in winter2 any more than

 without the machines and implements of 
farming he could obtain food1 or without
 those of the arts he could procure     
clothing4 ,the sufferings produced by a 
want of fuel cannot be estimated by     
those who have abundance4 ,in ,normandy1
 very recently1 such was the scarcity of
 wood1 that persons engaged in various  
works of hand1 as lace-making by the    
pillow1 absolutely sat up through the   
winter nights in the barns of the       
farmers1 where cattle were littered     
down1 that they might be kept warm by   
the animal heat around them4 ,they slept
 in the day1 and were warmed by being in
 the same outhouse with cows and horses 
at night2--and thus they worked under   
every disadvantage1 because fuel was    
scarce and very dear4  ,coals were      
consumed in ,london in the time of      
,queen ,elizabeth2 but their use was1 no
 doubt1 very limited4 ,shakspere1 who   
always refers to the customs of his own 
time1 makes ,dame ,quickly speak of     
sitting in my ,dolphin-chamber at the   

round table1 by a sea-coal fire1 on     
,wednesday in ,whitsun week4 ,but ,mrs4 
,quickly was a luxurious person1 who had
 plate and tapestry and gilt goblets4   
,harrison1 in his ',description of      
,britain1' at the same period1 says1    
that coal is used in the cities and     
towns that lie about the coast2 but he  
adds1 ,i marvel not a little that there 
is no trade of these into ,sussex and   
,southamptonshire2 for want thereof the 
smiths do work their iron with charcoal4
 ,he adds1 with great truth1 ,i think   
that far carriage be the only cause4    
,the consumption of coal in ,london in  
the last year of ,charles ,,ii4 7#afhe7 
amounted to three hundred and fifty     
thousand tons4 ,this was really a large 
consumption1 however insignificant it   
may sound when compared with the modern 
demand of the metropolis4 ,in #ahja     
there were imported into ,london about a
 million tons of coals4 ,in #ahej1 three
 million six hundred thousand tons were 
brought to the ,london market4 ,the     

average contract price in the ten years 
ending #ahaj was #des4 #f;d42 in the ten
 years ending #ahej it was #ahs4 #f;d4  
,but in #ahbd the oppressive duty of    
#gs4 #f;d4 per ton on seaborne coals was
 reduced to #ds42 and in #ahca the duty 
was wholly repealed4 ,it is the boast of
 our present fiscal system that the     
chief materials of manufacture1 and the 
great necessaries and conveniences of   
life1 are no longer made dear by        
injudicious taxation4  ,the chief power 
which produces coal and iron cheap is   
that of machinery4 ,it is the same power
 which distributes these bulky articles 
through the country1 and equalizes the  
cost in a considerable degree to the man
 who lives in ,london and the man who   
lives in ,durham or ,staffordshire4 ,the
 difference in cost is the price of     
transport2 and machinery1 applied in    
various improved ways1 is every year    
lessening the cost of conveyance1 and   
thus equalizing prices throughout the   
,british ,islands4 ,the same            

applications of mechanical power enable 
a man to move from one place to another 
with equal ease1 cheapness1 and         
rapidity4 ,quick travelling has become  
cheaper than slow travelling4 ,the time 
saved remains for profitable labour4    
,about a hundred and ninety years ago1  
when the first turnpike-road was formed 
in ,england1 a mob broke the toll-gates1
 because they thought an unjust tax was 
being put upon them4 ,they did not      
perceive that this small tax for the use
 of a road would confer upon them       
innumerable comforts1 and double and    
treble the means of employment4  ,if    
there were no road1 and no bridge1 a man
 would take six months in finding his   
way from ,london to ,edinburgh1 if      
indeed he found it at all4 ,he would    
have to keep the line of the hills1 in  
order that he might come upon the rivers
 at particular spots1 where he would be 
able to jump over them with ease1 or    
wade through them without danger4  ,when
 a man has gone up the bank of a river  

for twelve miles in one direction1 in   
order to be able to cross it1 he may    
find that1 before he proceeds one mile  
in the line of his journey1 he has to go
 along the bank of another river for    
twelve miles in the opposite direction2 
and the courses of the rivers may be so 
crooked that he is really farther from  
his journey's end at night than he was  
in the morning4  ,he may come to the    
side of a lake1 and not know the end at 
which the river1 too broad and deep for 
him to cross1 runs out2 and he may go   
twenty miles the wrong way1 and thus    
lose forty4  ,difficulties such as these
 are felt by every traveller in an      
uncivilized country4 ,in reading books  
of travels1 in ,africa for instance1 we 
sometimes wonder how it is that the     
adventurer proceeds a very few miles    
each day4 ,we forget that he has no     
roads4  ,two hundred years ago--even one
 hundred years ago--in some places fifty
 years ago--the roads of ,england were  
wholly unfit for general traffic and the

 conveyance of heavy goods4 ,pack-horses
 mostly carried on the communication in 
the manufacturing districts4 ,the roads 
were as unfit for moving commodities of 
bulk1 such as coal1 wool1 and corn1 as  
the sandy roads of ,poland were thirty  
years ago1 and as many still are4 ,mr4  
,jacob1 who went upon the continent to  
see what stores of wheat existed1 found 
that in many parts the original price of
 wheat was doubled by the price of land 
conveyance for a very few miles4  ,in   
#affc the first turnpike act1 which was 
so offensive to some of the people1 was 
carried through ,parliament4 ,it was for
 the repair of the ancient highway and  
post-road leading from ,london to ,york1
 which was declared to be very ruinous1 
and become almost impassable4 ,this was1
 on many accounts1 one of the most      
important lines of the country4 ,let us 
see in what state it was seventeen years
 after the passing of the act4 ,in the  
',diary of ,ralph ,thoresby1' under the 
date of ,october1 #afhj1 we have this   

entry3--,to ,ware1 twenty-miles from    
,london1 a most pleasant road in summer1
 and as bad in winter1 because of the   
depth of the cart-ruts4 ,take another   
road a little later4 ,in ,december1     
#agjc1 ,charles ,,iii41 ,king of ,spain1
 slept at ,petworth on his way from     
,portsmouth to ,windsor1 and ,prince    
,george of ,denmark went to meet him    
there by desire of the ,queen4 ,the     
distance from ,windsor to ,petworth is  
about forty miles4 ,in the relation of  
the journey given by one of the prince's
 attendants1 he states1--,we set out at 
six in the morning1 by torchlight1 to go
 to ,petworth1 and did not get out of   
the coaches 7save only when we were     
overturned or stuck fast in the mire7   
till we arrived at our journey's end4   
',twas a hard service for the ,prince to
 sit fourteen hours in the coach that   
day without eating anything1 and passing
 through the worst ways ,i over saw in  
my life4 ,we were thrown but once indeed
 in going1 but our coach1 which was the 

leading one1 and his ,highness's        
body-coach1 would have suffered very    
much1 if the nimble poors of ,sussex had
 not frequently poised it1 or supported 
it with their shoulders1 from ,godalming
 almost to ,petworth1 and the nearer we 
approached the duke's house the more    
inaccessible it seemed to be4 ,the last 
nine miles of the way cost us six hours'
 time to conquer them4 ,from ,horsham1  
the county-town of ,sussex1 about the   
beginning of the reign of ,george       
,,iii41 the roads were never in such a  
condition as to allow sheep or cattle to
 be driven on them to the ,london       
market2 and consequently1 there not     
being sufficient demand at home to give 
a remunerating price1 the beef and      
mutton were sold at a rate far below the
 average to the small population in the 
country1 which was thus isolated from   
the common channels of demand and       
supply4    ,illustration3 ,telford4  ,in
 the ,highlands of ,scotland1 at the    
beginning of the present century1 the   

communication from one district to      
another was attended with such          
difficulty and danger1 that some of the 
counties were excused from sending      
jurors to the circuit to assist in the  
administration of justice4 ,the poor    
people inhabiting these districts were  
almost entirely cut off from intercourse
 with the rest of mankind4 ,the         
,highlands were of less advantage to the
 ,british empire than the most distant  
colony4 ,parliament resolved to remedy  
the evil2 and1 accordingly1 from #ahjb  
to #ahag1 the sum of two hundred        
thousand pounds was laid out in making  
roads and bridges in these mountainous  
districts4 ,mark the important          
consequences to the people of the       
,highlands1 as described by ,mr4        
,telford1 the engineer of the roads3--  
,since these roads were made accessible1
 wheelwrights and     cartwrights have  
been established1 the plough has been   
introduced1     and improved tools and  
utensils are used4 ,the plough was not  

previously used in general2 in the      
interior and mountainous parts     they 
frequently used crooked sticks with iron
 on them1 drawn or     pushed along4    
,the moral habits of the great mass of  
the working     classes are changed2    
they see that they may depend on their  
own     exertions for support4 ,this    
goes on silently1 and is scarcely       
perceived until apparent by the results4
 ,i consider these     improvements one 
of the greatest blessings ever conferred
 upon any     country4 ,about two       
hundred thousand pounds has been granted
 in     fifteen years4 ,it has been the 
means of advancing the country at       
least one hundred years4  ,there are    
many parts of ,ireland which sustained  
the same miseries and inconveniences    
from the want of roads as the ,highlands
 of ,scotland did at the beginning of   
the present century4 ,in #ahbc ,mr4     
,nimmo1 the engineer1 stated to         
parliament1 that the fertile plains of  
,limerick1 ,cork1 and ,kerry1 were      

separated from each other by a deserted 
country1 presenting an impassable       
barrier between them4 ,this region was  
the retreat of smugglers1 robbers1 and  
culprits of every description2 for the  
tract was a wild1 neglected1 and        
deserted country1 without roads1        
culture1 or civilization4 ,the          
government ordered roads to be made     
through this barren district4 ,we will  
take one example of the immediate effect
 of this road-making1 as described by a 
witness before ,parliament3--,a hatter1 
at ,castle-island1 had a small field    
through which the new road passed2 this 
part next the town was not opened until 
#ahbf4 ,in making arrangements with him 
for his damages1 he said that he ought  
to make me 7the engineer7 a present of  
all the land he had1 for that the second
 year ,i was at the roads he sold more  
hats to the people of the mountains     
alone than he did for seven years before
 to the high and low lands together4    
,although he never worked a day on the  

roads1 he got comfort and prosperity by 
them4  ,the hatter of ,castle-island got
 comfort and prosperity by the roads1   
because the man who had to sell and the 
man who had to buy were brought closer  
to each other by means of the roads4    
,when there were no roads1 the hatter   
kept his goods upon the shelf1 and the  
labourer in the mountains went without a
 hat4 ,when the labourer and the hatter 
were brought together by the roads1 the 
hatter soon sold off his stock1 and the 
manufacturer of hats went to work to    
produce him a new stock2 while the      
labourer1 who found the advantage of    
having a hat1 also went to work to earn 
more money1 that he might pay for       
another when he should require it4 ,it  
became a fashion to wear hats1 and of   
course a fashion to work hard1 and to   
save time1 to be able to pay for them4  
,thus the road created industry on both 
sides1--on the side of the producer of  
hats and that of the consumer4          
,instances such as these of the want of 

communication between one district and  
another are now very rare indeed in     
these islands4 ,but if we look to       
countries intimately connected with our 
own1 we shall find no lack of examples  
of a state of commercial intercourse    
attending a want of roads4 ,the         
gold-fields of ,australia have largely  
stimulated the export of manufactured   
goods from ,great ,britain4 ,one of the 
colonists at ,sydney writes thus to the 
chief organ of intelligence in          
,england3--,the roads throughout the    
colony1 bad as they were1 are now worse 
than ever4 ,the inland mails cannot run 
by night1 and stick fast and upset in   
all directions by day4 ,communication   
with the interior towns is possible only
 at enormous cost4 ,the price of        
conveying a ton of goods from ,sydney to
 ,bathurst1 about #acj miles1 is eight  
times the freight of the same quantity  
from ,london to ,sydney4 ,in cost of    
conveyance ,london and ,liverpool are1  
in fact1 only sixteen miles from ,sydney

 by land1 though the distance by sea is 
#af1jjj4 ,we here see daily the most    
striking illustration of the truth that 
',seas but join the regions they        
divide4'  ,cargoes are poured into the  
seaports with the greatest facility1 and
 then the distribution is suddenly      
checked4 ,hence the enormous rents of   
stores1 cessation of demand1 and the    
necessity of forced sales1 with the     
natural consequence--heavy losses to the
 exporters1 who perhaps wonder how trade
 with ,australia can be so unprofitable1
 scarcely suspecting one of the main    
causes of its uncertainty4 ,english     
merchants might do worse than help to   
open up the internal communications of  
this continent4  ,the city of ,sydney   
has a wharfage two miles in extent4 ,the
 communication from the port to the     
interior is thus described3--,imagine   
the ,great ,western ,railroad1 instead  
of terminating in a splendid station1   
with every means of conveying and       
removing goods to roads in every        

direction1 ending suddenly in swamp1    
forest1 and sand1 through which1 by dint
 of lashing1 and swearing1 and          
unloading1 and reloading1 a team of     
bullocks and a dray drag their          
,manchester goods ten miles per diem1 at
 #ejl4 or #hjl4 per ton for the journey4
 ,the channel of trade is all that      
civilization1 science1 and capital can  
make it1 from the threshold of the      
,manchester factory to the edge of the  
,sydney wharf4 ,there it breaks         
suddenly1 and beyond all is primitive1  
rude1 and barbarous in the means of     
conveyance4 ,the bale of goods last     
unloaded from the railway train is      
transferred to the bullock dray1 to     
begin its 'crawl' up the country1       
costing all its freight from ,england   
for every twenty miles4 ,it cannot be   
otherwise4 ,there are no passable roads4
    ,illustration3 ,modern ,syrian      
,cart4  ,it is impossible to have a more
 vivid picture than this of the sudden  
impediment which the commercial         

enterprise of one country receives from 
the want of the commonest means of      
communication in another4 ,the          
bullock-cart of ,syria1 and the         
,australian bullock-cart1 would be      
useful instruments if they had roads to 
work in4 ,but there must be general     
civilization before there are extensive 
roads4 ,carts and bullocks are of       
readier creation than roads4 ,it has    
taken eighteen centuries to make our    
,english roads1 and the ,romans1 the    
kings of the world1 were our great      
road-makers1 whose works still remain3--
                            labouring   
pioneers1   ,a multitude with spades and
 axes arm'd1   ,to lay hills plain1 fell
 woods1 or valleys fill1   ,or where    
plain was raise hill1 or overlay   ,with
 bridges rivers proud1 as with a        
yoke4--,,paradise ,,regained4  ,what the
 ,romans were to ,england1 the colonized
 ,english must be to ,australia4 ,but   
the discovery of great natural wealth1  
the vigour of the race1 the intercourse 

with commercial nations of the old and  
new world1 the free institutions which  
have been transplanted there without any
 arbitrary meddling or chilling         
patronage1 will effect in a quarter of a
 century what the parent people1        
struggling with ignorant rulers and     
feeble resources1 have been ages in     
accomplishing4  ,it is encouraging to   
all nations to see what we have         
accomplished in this direction4  ,in    
#ahci the turnpike-roads of ,england and
 ,wales amounted to #ba1ifb miles1 and  
in ,scotland to #cfff miles2 while in   
,england and ,wales the other highways  
amounted to #ajd1ggb miles4 ,the        
turnpike-roads were maintained at a cost
 of a million a year2 and the parish    
highways at a cost of about twelve      
hundred thousand pounds4 ,there were at 
that time nearly eight thousand         
toll-gates in ,england and ,wales4      
,there had been two thousand miles of   
turnpike-roads1 and ten thousand miles  
of other highways1 added to the number  

existing in #ahad4 ,but the improvements
 of all our roads during that period had
 been enormous4 ,science was brought to 
bear upon the turnpike lines4 ,common   
sense changed their form and            
re-organized their material4 ,the most  
beautiful engineering was applied to    
raise valleys and lower hills4          
,mountains were crossed with ease2      
rivers were spanned over by massive     
piers1 or by bridges which hung in the  
air like fairy platforms4 ,the names of 
,m',adam and ,telford became household  
words2 and even parish surveyors1       
stimulated by example1 took thought how 
to mend their ways4  ,the ,canals of    
,england date only for a hundred years  
back4 ,the first ,act of ,parliament for
 the construction of a canal was passed 
in #agee4 ,the ,duke of ,bridgewater    
obtained his first ,act of ,parliament  
in #agei1 for the construction of those 
noble works which will connect his      
memory with those who have been the     
greatest benefactors of their country4  

,the great manufacturing prosperity of  
,england dates from this period2 and it 
will be for ever associated with the    
names of ,watt1 the improver and almost 
the inventor of the steam-engine1--of   
,arkwright1 the presiding genius of     
cotton-spinning1--and of ,brindley1 the 
great engineer of canals4 ,in the       
conception of the vast works which      
,brindley undertook for the ,duke of    
,bridgewater1 there was an originality  
and boldness which may have been carried
 further in recent engineering1 but     
which a century ago were the creators of
 works which were looked upon as        
marvels4 ,to cut tunnels through        
hills--to carry mounds across           
valleys--to build aqueducts over        
navigable rivers--were regarded then as 
wild and impracticable conceptions4     
,another engineer1 at ,brindley's       
desire1 was called in to give an opinion
 as to a proposed aqueduct over the     
river ,irwell4 ,he looked at the spot   
where the aqueduct was to be built1 and 

exclaimed1 ,i have often heard of       
castles in the air1 but never before was
 shown the place where any of them were 
to be erected4 ,brindley's castle in the
 air still stands firm2 and his example1
 and that of his truly illustrious      
employer1 have covered our land with    
many such fabrics1 which owe their      
origin not to the government but to the 
people4    ,illustration3 ,brindley's   
,aqueduct over the ,irwell4  ,the       
navigable canals of ,england are more   
than two thousand miles in length4 ,for 
the slow transport of heavy goods they  
hold their place against the competition
 of railroads1 and continue to be       
important instruments of internal       
commerce4 ,when railways were first     
projected it is said that an engineer1  
being asked what would become of the    
canals if the new mode of transit were  
adopted1 answered that they would be    
drained and become the beds of railways4
 ,like many other predictions connected 
with the last great medium of internal  

communication1 the engineer was wholly  
mistaken in his prophecy4  ,the great   
principle of exchange between one part  
of this empire and another part1 which  
has ceased to be an affair of           
restrictions and jealousies1 has covered
 the island with good roads1 with       
canals1 and finally with railways4 ,the 
railway and the steam-carriage have     
carried the principle of diminishing the
 price of conveyance1 and therefore of  
commodities1 by machinery1 to an extent 
which makes all other illustrations     
almost unnecessary4 ,a road with a      
waggon moving on it is a mechanical     
combination2 a canal1 with its locks1   
and towing-paths1 and boats gliding     
along almost without effort1 is a higher
 mechanical combination2 a railway1 with
 its locomotive engine1 and carriage    
after carriage dragged along at the rate
 of thirty or forty miles an hour1 is   
the highest of such mechanical          
combinations4 ,the force applied upon a 
level turnpike-road1 which is required  

to move #ahjj lbs41 if applied to drag a
 canal-boat will move #ee1ejj lbs41 both
 at the rate of #b-a_/b miles per hour4 
,but we want economy in time as well as 
economy in the application of motive    
power4 ,it has been attempted to apply  
speed to canal travelling4 ,up to four  
miles an hour the canal can convey an   
equal weight more economically than a   
railroad2 but after a certain velocity  
is exceeded1 that is #ac-a_/b miles an  
hour1 the horse on the turnpike-road can
 drag as much as the canal-team4 ,then  
comes in the great advantage of the     
railroad4 ,the same force that is       
required to draw #aijj lbs4 upon a      
canal1 at a rate above #ac-a_/b miles an
 hour1 will draw #ad1djj lbs4 upon a    
railway1 at the rate of #ac-a_/b miles  
an hour4 ,the producers and consumers   
are thus brought together1 not only at  
the least cost of transit1 but at the   
least expenditure of time4 ,the road1   
the canal1 and the railway have each    
their distinctive advantages2 and it is 

worthy of note how they work together4  
,from every railway station there must  
be a road to the adjacent towns and     
villages1 and a better road than was    
once thought necessary4 ,horses are     
required as much as ever1 although mails
 and post-chaises are no longer the     
glories of the road2 and the post finds 
its way into every hamlet by the united 
agency of the road and the railway4     
,roger ,north described a ,newcastle    
railway in #afhj3--;,another thing that 
is remarkable is their way-leaves2 for  
when men have pieces of ground between  
the colliery and the river1 they sell   
leave to lead coals over their ground2  
and so dear that the owner of a rood of 
ground will expect #bjl4 per annum for  
this leave4 ,the manner of the carriage 
is by laying rails of timber1 from the  
colliery down to the river1 exactly     
straight and parallel2 and bulky carts  
are made with four rowlets fitting these
 rails2 whereby the carriage is so easy 
that the horse will draw down four or   

five chaldron of coals1 and is an       
immense benefit to the coal-merchant4   
,who would have thought that this       
contrivance would have led to no large  
results till a hundred and fifty years  
had passed away8 ,who could have        
believed that the rails of timber1      
exactly straight and parallel1 and the  
bulky carts with four rowlets exactly   
fitting the rails1 would have changed   
the face1 and to a great degree the     
destinies1 of the world8  ,if we add to 
the road1 the canal1 and the railway1   
the steam-boat traffic of our own       
coasts1 we cannot hesitate to believe   
that the whole territory of ,great      
,britain and ,ireland is more compact1  
more closely united1 more accessible1   
than was a single county two centuries  
ago4 ,it may be said1 without           
exaggeration1 that it would now be      
impossible for a traveller in ,england  
to set himself down in any accessible   
situation where the post from ,london   
would not reach him in twelve hours4    

,when the first edition of the ',results
 of ,machinery' was published in #ahca1 
we said that the post from ,london would
 reach any part of ,england in three    
days2 and that1 fifty years before1 such
 a quickness of communication would have
 been considered beyond the compass of  
human means4 ,in twenty-four years we   
have so diminished the practical amount 
of distance between one part of ,great  
,britain and another1 that the post from
 ,london to ,aberdeen is carried five   
hundred and forty miles in little more  
than twenty hours4 ,it is this wonderful
 rapidity of communication1 in          
connection with the cheapness of        
postage1 which has multiplied letters   
five-fold since #ahci1 when the penny   
rate was introduced4 ,in that year the  
number of chargeable and franked letters
 distributed in the ,united ,kingdom was
 eighty-two millions2 in #ahec it was   
four hundred and ten millions4          
,illustration3 ,locomotive-,engine      
,factory4  ,the annual returns of our   

railways furnish some of the most       
astounding figures of modern statistics4
 ,on the #ast of ,january #ahed there   
were open in ,england #ehaa miles of    
railway2 in ,scotland1 #iie miles2 in   
,ireland1 #hcd miles4 ,in #ahec there   
were one hundred and two million        
passengers conveyed1 who travelled one  
billion five hundred million miles1     
being an average of nearly fifteen miles
 to each passenger4 ,in ,england        
considerably less than one-half of the  
passengers were by penny-a-mile and     
other third-class trains2 in ,ireland   
one-half2 and in ,scotland two-thirds4  
,the receipts from goods traffic exceed 
those of the passenger traffic in       
,england and ,scotland1 but are less in 
,ireland4 ,these are indeed wonderful   
results from a system which was wholly  
experimental twenty-five years ago4     
,illustration3 ,railway ,locomotive4    
,when ,william ,hutton1 in the middle of
 last century1 started from ,nottingham 
7where he earned a scanty living as a   

bookbinder7 and walked to ,london and   
back for the purpose of buying tools1 he
 was nine days from home1 six of which  
were spent in going and returning4 ,he  
travelled on foot1 dreading robbers1 and
 still more dreading the cost of food   
and lodging at public-houses4 ,his whole
 expenses during this toilsome          
expedition were only ten shillings and  
eight pence2 but he contented himself   
with the barest necessaries1 keeping the
 money for his tools sewed up in his    
shirt-collar4 ,if ,william ,hutton had  
lived in these days1 he would1 upon     
sheer principles of economy1 have gone  
to ,london by the ,nottingham train at a
 cost of twenty shillings for his       
transit1 in one forenoon1 and returned  
in another4 ,the twenty shillings would 
have been sacrificed for his conveyance1
 but he would have had a week's labour  
free to go to work with his new tools2  
he need not have sewed his money in his 
shirt-collar for fear of thieves2 and   
his shoes would not have been worn out  

and his feet blistered in his toilsome  
march of two hundred and fifty miles4   
,a very few years ago it was not        
uncommon to hear men say that this      
wonderful communication1 the greatest   
triumph of modern skill1 was not a      
blessing2--for the machinery had put    
somebody out of employ4 ,baron          
,humboldt1 a traveller in ,south        
,america1 tells us that1 upon a road    
being made over a part of the great     
chain of mountains called the ,andes1   
the government was petitioned against   
the road by a body of men who for       
centuries had gained a living by        
carrying travellers in baskets strapped 
upon their backs over the fearful rocks1
 which only these guides could cross4   
,which was the better course--to make   
the road1 and create the thousand       
employments belonging to freedom of     
intercourse1 for these very carriers of 
travellers1 and for all other men2 or to
 leave the mountains without a road1    
that the poor guides might gain a       

premium for risking their lives in an   
unnecessary peril8 ,but1 looking at     
their direct results1 we have no doubt  
that railroads have greatly multiplied  
the employments connected with the      
conveyance of goods and passengers4 ,in 
#ahec there were eighty thousand persons
 employed upon the railroads of the     
,united ,kingdom in various capacities4 
,we do not include those employed in    
working upon lines that are not open for
 traffic1 which class in ,england       
amounted to twenty-five thousand persons
 in #ahec4 ,but the indirect occupations
 called into activity by railroads are  
so numerous as to defy all attempts at  
calculating the numbers engaged in them4
 ,no doubt many occupations were changed
 by railroads2--there were fewer        
coachmen1 guards1 postboys1 waggoners1  
and others1 on such a post-road as that 
from ,london to ,york4 ,but it is       
equally certain that throughout the     
kingdom there are far more persons      
employed in conducting the internal     

communication of the country1 effecting 
that great addition to its productive   
powers1 without which all other         
production would languish and decay4    
,the census returns of #ahea give the   
number of three hundred and eighty-six  
thousand males so employed1 including   
those engaged on our rivers1 canals1 and
 coast traffic4    ,illustration3       
,reindeer4  ,the vast extension1 and the
 new channels1 of our foreign commerce  
have been greatly affected by the       
prodigious facilities of our internal   
communication4 ,they have created1 in a 
measure1 special departments of         
industry1 which can be most             
advantageously pursued in particular    
localities2 but which railways and      
steam-vessels have united with the whole
 kingdom1 with its colonies1 with the   
habitable globe4 ,the reindeer connects 
the ,laplander with the markets of      
,sweden1 and draws his sledge over the  
frozen wilds at a speed and power of    
continuance only rivalled by the        

locomotive4 ,the same beneficent        
,providence which has given this animal 
to the inhabitant of the polar          
regions1--not only for food1 for        
clothing1 but for transport to associate
 him with some civilization1--has       
bestowed upon us the mighty power of    
steam1 to connect us with the entire    
world1 from which we were once held to  
be wholly separated4     ,illustration3 
,beaver4     ,,chapter ,,xiv4           
,houses--,the pyramids--,mechanical     
power--,carpenters'                     
tools--,american machinery for          
building--,bricks--,slate--             
,household fittings and                 
furniture--,paper-hangings--            
,carpets--,glass--,pottery--,improvement
s effected through      the reduction or
 repeal of duties on domestic           
requirements4   ,the beaver builds his  
huts with the tools which nature has    
given him4 ,he gnaws pieces of wood in  
two with his sharp teeth1 so sharp that 
the teeth of a similar animal1 the      

agouti1 form the only cutting-tool which
 some rude nations possess4 ,when the   
beavers desire to move a large piece of 
wood1 they join in a body to drag it    
along4  ,man has not teeth that will cut
 wood3 but he has reason1 which directs 
him to the choice of much more perfect  
tools4    ,illustration3 ,pyramid and   
sphinx  ,some of the great monuments of 
antiquity1 such as the pyramids of      
,egypt1 are constructed of enormous     
blocks of stone brought from distant    
quarries4 ,we have no means of          
estimating1 with any accuracy1 the      
mechanical knowledge possessed by the   
people engaged in these works4 ,it was1 
probably1 very small1 and1 consequently1
 the human labour employed in such      
edifices was not only enormous in       
quantity1 but exceedingly painful to the
 workmen4 ,the ,egyptians1 according to 
,herodotus1 a ,greek writer who lived   
two thousand five hundred years ago1    
hated the memory of the kings who built 
the pyramids4 ,he tells us that the     

great pyramid occupied a hundred        
thousand men for twenty years in its    
erection1 without counting the workmen  
who were employed in hewing the stones1 
and in conveying them to the spot where 
the pyramid was built4 ,herodotus speaks
 of this work as a torment to the       
people2 and doubtless the labour engaged
 in raising huge masses of stone1 that  
was extensive enough to employ a hundred
 thousand men for twenty years1 which is
 equal to two millions of men for one   
year1 must have been fearfully          
tormenting without machinery1 or with   
very imperfect machinery4 ,it has been  
calculated that about half the          
steam-engines of ,england1 worked by    
thirty-six thousand men1 would raise the
 same quantity of stones from the       
quarry1 and elevate them to the same    
height as the great pyramid1 in the     
short time of eighteen hours4 ,the      
people of ,egypt groaned for twenty     
years under this enormous work4 ,the    
labourers groaned because they were     

sorely taxed2 and the rest of the people
 groaned because they had to pay the    
labourers4 ,the labourers lived1 it is  
true1 upon the wages of their labour1   
that is1 they were paid in food--kept   
like horses--as the reward of their     
work4 ,herodotus says that it was       
recorded on the pyramid that the onions1
 radishes1 and garlic which the         
labourers consumed1 cost sixteen hundred
 talents of silver3 an immense sum1     
equivalent to several million pounds4   
,but the onions1 radishes1 and garlic1  
the bread1 and clothes of the labourer1 
were wrung out of the profitable labour 
of the rest of the people4 ,the building
 of the pyramid was an unprofitable     
labour4 ,there was no immediate or      
future source of produce in the pyramid2
 it produced neither food1 nor fuel1 nor
 clothes1 nor any other necessary4 ,the 
labour of a hundred thousand men for    
twenty years1 stupidly employed upon    
this monument1 without an object beyond 
that of gratifying the pride of the     

tyrant who raised it1 was a direct tax  
upon the profitable labour of the rest  
of the people4    ,instead of useful    
works1 like nature great1   ,enormous   
cruel wonders crush'd the land4  ,but   
admitting that it is sometimes desirable
 for nations and governments to erect   
monuments which are not of direct       
utility1--which may have an indirect    
utility in recording the memory of great
 exploits1 or in producing feelings of  
reverence or devotion1--it is clearly an
 advantage that these works1 as well as 
all other works1 should be performed in 
the cheapest manner2 that is1 that human
 labour should derive every possible    
assistance from mechanical aid4 ,we will
 give an illustration of the differences
 of the application of mechanical aid in
 one of the first operations of         
building1 the moving a block of stone4  
,the following statements are the result
 of actual experiment upon a stone      
weighing ten hundred and eighty pounds4 
,illustration3 ,portland ,quarry4  ,to  

drag this stone along the smoothed floor
 of the quarry required a force equal to
 seven hundred and fifty-eight pounds4  
,the same stone dragged over a floor of 
planks required six hundred and         
fifty-two pounds4 ,the same stone placed
 on a platform of wood1 and dragged over
 the same floor of planks1 required six 
hundred and six pounds4 ,when the two   
surfaces of wood were soaped as they    
slid over each other1 the force required
 to drag the stone was reduced to one   
hundred and eighty-two pounds4 ,when the
 same stone was placed upon rollers     
three inches in diameter1 it required1  
to put it in motion along the floor of  
the quarry1 a force only of thirty-four 
pounds2 and by the same rollers upon a  
wooden floor1 a force only of           
twenty-eight pounds4 ,without any       
mechanical aid1 it would require the    
force of four or five men to set that   
stone in motion4 ,with the mechanical   
aid of two surfaces of wood soaped1 the 
same weight might be moved by one man4  

,with the more perfect mechanical aid of
 rollers1 the same weight might be moved
 by a very little child4  ,from these   
statements it must be evident that the  
cost of a block of stone very much      
depends upon the quantity of labour     
necessary to move it from the quarry to 
the place where it is wanted to be used4
 ,we have seen that with the simplest   
mechanical aid labour may be reduced    
sixty-fold4 ,with more perfect          
mechanical aid1 such as that of         
water-carriage1 the labour may be       
reduced infinitely lower4 ,thus1 the    
streets of ,london are paved with       
granite from ,scotland at a moderate    
expense4  ,the cost of timber1 which    
enters so largely into the cost of a    
house1 is in a great degree the cost of 
transport4 ,in countries where there are
 great forests1 timber-trees are worth  
nothing where they grow1 except there   
are ready means of transport4 ,in many  
parts of ,north ,america1 the great     
difficulty which the people find is in  

clearing the land of the timber4 ,the   
finest trees are not only worthless1 but
 are a positive incumbrance1 except when
 they are growing upon the banks of a   
great river2 in which case the logs are 
thrown into the water1 or formed into   
rafts1 being floated several hundred    
miles at scarcely any expense4 ,the same
 stream which carries them to a seaport 
turns a mill to saw the logs into       
planks2 and when sawn into planks the   
timber is put on shipboard1 and carried 
to distant countries where timber is    
wanted4 ,thus mechanical aid alone gives
 a value to the timber1 and by so doing 
employs human labour4 ,the stream that  
floats the tree1 the sawing-mill that   
cuts it1 the ship that carries it across
 the sea1 enable men profitably to      
employ themselves in working it4        
,without the stream1 the mill1 and the  
ship1 those men would have no labour1   
because none could afford to bring the  
timber to their own doors4              
,illustration3 ,timber ,rafts of the    

,tyrol4  ,what an infinite variety of   
machines1 in combination with the human 
hand1 is found in a carpenter's chest of
 tools6 ,the skilful hand of the workman
 is the power which sets these machines 
in motion2 just as the wind or the water
 is the power of a mill1 or the elastic 
force of vapour the power of a          
steam-engine4 ,when ,mr4 ,boulton1 the  
partner of the great ,james ,watt1      
waited upon ,george ,,iii4 to explain   
one of the improvements of the          
steam-engine which they had effected1   
the king said to him1 ,what do you sell1
 ,mr4 ,boulton8 and the honest engineer 
answered1 ,what kings1 sire1 are all    
fond of--power4 ,there are people at    
,birmingham who let out power1 that is1 
there are people who have steam-engines 
who will lend the use of them1 by the   
day or the hour1 to persons who require 
that saving of labour in their various  
trades2 so that a person who wants the  
strength of a horse1 or half a horse1 to
 turn a wheel for grinding1 or for      

setting a lathe in motion1 hires a room1
 or part of a room1 in a mill1 and has  
just as much as he requires4 ,the power 
of a carpenter is in his hand1 and the  
machines moved by that power are in his 
chest of tools4 ,every tool which he    
possesses has for its object to reduce  
labour1 to save material1 and to ensure 
accuracy--the objects of all machines4  
,what a quantity of waste both of time  
and stuff is saved by his foot-rule6 and
 when he chalks a bit of string and     
stretches it from one end of a plank to 
the other1 to jerk off the chalk from   
the string1 and thus produce an unerring
 line upon the face of the plank1 he    
makes a little machine which saves him  
great labour4 ,every one of his hundreds
 of tools1 capable of application to a  
vast variety of purposes1 is an         
invention to save labour4 ,without some 
tool the carpenter's work could not be  
done at all by the human hand4 ,a knife 
would do very laboriously what is done  
very quickly by a hatchet4 ,the labour  

of using a hatchet1 and the material    
which it wastes1 are saved twenty times 
over by the saw4 ,but when the more     
delicate operations of carpentry are    
required--when the workman uses his     
planes1 his rabbet-planes1 his          
fillisters1 his bevels1 and his         
centre-bits--what an infinitely greater 
quantity of labour is economized1 and   
how beautifully that work is performed1 
which1 without them1 would be rough and 
imperfect6 ,every boy of mechanical     
ingenuity has tried with his knife to   
make a boat2 and with a knife only it is
 the work of weeks4 ,give him a chisel1 
and a gouge1 and a vice to hold his     
wood1 and the little boat is the work of
 a day4 ,let a boy try to make a round  
wooden box1 with a lid1 having only his 
knife1 and he must be expert indeed to  
produce anything that will be neat and  
serviceable4 ,give him a lathe and      
chisels1 and he will learn to make a    
tidy box in half an hour4 ,nothing but  
absolute necessity can render it        

expedient to use an imperfect tool      
instead of a perfect4 ,we sometimes see 
exhibitions of carving1 all done with   
the common penknife4 ,professor ,willis 
has truly said1 with reference to such  
weak boasting1 ,so far from admiring1 we
 should pity the vanity and folly of    
such a display2 and the more1 if the    
work should show a natural aptitude in  
the workman3 for it is certain that1 if 
he has made good work with a bad tool1  
he would make better with a good one4   
,illustration3 ,boulton4  ,the ,emperor 
,maximilian1 at the beginning of the    
sixteenth century1 ordered a woodcut to 
be engraved that should represent the   
carpentry operations of his time and    
country4 ,this prince was1 no doubt1    
proud of the advance of ,germany in the 
useful arts4 ,if the ,president of the  
,united ,states were thus to record the 
advance of the republic of which he is  
the chief1 he would show us his         
saw-mills and his planing-mills4 ,the   
,german carpenters1 as we see1 are      

reducing a great slab of wood into shape
 by the saw and the adze4 ,the          
,americans have planing-mills1 with     
cutters that make #djjj revolutions1 and
 which plane boards eighteen feet long  
at the rate of fifty feet1 per minute2  
and while the face of the board is      
planed1 it is tongued and grooved at the
 same time--that is1 one board is made  
to fit closely into another4 ,but the   
,americans carry machinery much farther 
into the business of carpentry4 ,mr4    
,whitworth tells us that many works in  
various towns are occupied exclusively  
in making doors1 window-frames1 or      
staircases1 by means of self-acting     
machinery1 such as planing1 tenoning1   
morticing1 and jointing machines4 ,they 
are able to supply builders with various
 parts of the wood-work required in     
building at a much cheaper rate than    
they can produce them in their own      
workshops without the aid of such       
machinery4    ,illustration3 ,carpenters
 and their tools4 7,from an old ,german 

woodcut47  ,by the use of those machines
 we are told that twenty men can make   
panelled doors at the rate of a hundred 
a day--that is1 one man can make five   
doors4 ,a panelled door is a very       
expensive part of an ,english house2 and
 so are window-frames and staircases4   
,if doors and windows and staircases can
 be made cheaper1 more houses and better
 houses will be built2 and thus more    
carpenters will be employed in building 
than if those parts of a house were made
 by hand4 ,the same principle applies to
 machines as to tools4 ,if carpenters   
had not tools to make houses1 there     
would be few houses made2 and those that
 were made would be as rough as the hut 
of the savage who has no tools4 ,the    
people would go without houses1 and the 
carpenter would go without work1--to say
 nothing of the people1 who would also  
go without work1 that now make tools for
 the carpenter4  ,we build in this      
country more of brick than of stone1    
because brick-earth is found almost     

everywhere1 and stone fit for building  
is found only in particular districts4  
,bricks used to pay the state a duty of 
five shillings and ten pence a thousand2
 and yet at the kilns they were to be   
bought under forty shillings a thousand1
 which is less than a halfpenny apiece4 
,the government wisely resolved1 in     
#ahej1 to repeal the excise-duty on     
bricks4 ,in #ahde the duty on glass was 
repealed4 ,in #ahdg the timber-duties   
were reduced2 and in #ahdh they were    
further reduced4 ,the ever-present      
necessities of the people--the absolute 
want of house-accommodation for a       
population increasing so                
rapidly--rendered it a paramount duty of
 the government no longer to let tax    
interfere with the cheap building of    
houses4 ,every invention that adds to   
cheapness acts in the same direction2   
for although the direct taxes cease to  
press upon the various trades of        
building1 the constant demand keeps     
bricks and timber at a price almost as  

high as before the removal or mitigation
 of the tax4 ,but bricks1 regarded as   
the production of a vast amount of      
labour1 are intrinsically cheap4 ,and   
why8 ,because they are made by what is  
truly machinery2 as they were made three
 thousand years ago by the ,egyptians4  
,the clay is ground in a horse-mill2 the
 wooden mould1 in which every brick is  
made singly1 is a copying machine4 ,one 
brick is exactly like another brick4    
,every brick is of the form of the mould
 in which it is made4 ,without the mould
 the workman could not make the brick of
 uniform dimensions2 and without this   
uniformity the after labour of putting  
bricks together would be greatly        
increased4 ,without the mould the       
workman could not form the bricks       
quickly2--his own labour would be       
increased ten-fold4 ,the simple machine 
of the mould not only gives employment  
to a great many brickmakers who would   
not be employed at all1 but also to a   
great many bricklayers who would also   

want employment if the original cost of 
production were so enormously increased4
    ,illustration3 ,egyptian labour in  
the brick-field4  ,there is another     
material for building which was little  
used at the beginning of the century4   
,the consumption of slate in ,london    
alone was1 in #ahea1 from thirty        
thousand to forty thousand tons per     
annum4 ,the quarries of ,wales          
principally supply this immense         
quantity2 but some slates are shipped   
from ,lancashire and ,westmorland1 and  
from ,scotland and ,ireland4 ,in the    
production of this one material1 eight  
thousand quarriers are employed in      
,great ,britain4 ,slates are not only   
used for roofing houses1 but in slabs   
for cisterns and chimney-pieces4 ,the   
great increase of the supply of water to
 houses by machinery led to a demand for
 a safer and cheaper material than lead 
for cisterns2 and slate supplied the    
want4  ,how great a variety of things   
are contained in an ironmonger's shop6  

,half his store consists of tools of one
 sort or another to save labour2 and the
 other half consists of articles of     
convenience or elegance most perfectly  
adapted to every possible want of the   
builder or the maker of furniture4 ,the 
uncivilized man is delighted when he    
obtains a nail1--any nail4 ,a carpenter 
and joiner1 who supply the wants of a   
highly civilized community1 are not     
satisfied unless they have a choice of  
nails1 from the finest brad to the      
largest clasp-nail4 ,a savage thinks a  
nail will hold two pieces of wood       
together more completely than anything  
else in the world4 ,it is seldom1       
however1 that he can afford to put it to
 such a use4 ,if it is large enough1 he 
makes it into a chisel4 ,an ,english    
joiner knows that screws will do the    
work more perfectly in some cases than  
any nail2 and therefore we have as great
 a variety of screws as of nails4 ,the  
commonest house built in ,england has   
hinges1 and locks1 and bolts4 ,a great  

number are finished with ornamented     
knobs to door-handles1 with bells and   
bell-pulls1 and a thousand other things 
that have grown up into necessities1    
because they save domestic labour1 and  
add to domestic comfort4 ,and many of   
these things really are necessities4 ,m4
 ,say1 a ,french writer1 gives us an    
example of this2 and as his story is an 
amusing one1 besides having a moral1 we 
may as well copy it3--      ,being in   
the country1 says he1 ,i had an example 
of one of those     small losses which a
 family is exposed to through           
negligence4 ,for     the want of a      
latchet of small value1 the wicket of a 
barn-yard     leading to the fields was 
often left open4 ,every one who went    
through drew the door to3 but as there  
was nothing to fasten the     door with1
 it was always left flapping2 sometimes 
open1 and     sometimes shut4 ,so the   
cocks and hens1 and the chickens1 got   
out1     and were lost4 ,one day a fine 
pig got out1 and ran off into the       

woods2 and after the pig ran all the    
people about the place1--the            
gardener1 and the cook1 and the         
dairymaid4 ,the gardener first          
caught sight of the runaway1 and1       
hastening after it1 sprained his        
ankle2 in consequence of which the poor 
man was not able to get     out of the  
house again for a fortnight4 ,the cook  
found1 when she     came back from      
pursuing the pig1 that the linen she had
 left by     the fire had fallen down   
and was burning2 and the dairymaid      
having1 in her haste1 neglected to tie  
up the legs of one of her     cows1 the 
cow had kicked a colt1 which was in the 
same stable1 and     broken its leg4    
,the gardener's lost time was worth     
twenty crowns1     to say nothing of the
 pain he suffered4 ,the linen which was 
burned1 and the colt which was spoiled1 
were worth as much more4     ,here1     
then1 was caused a loss of forty crowns1
 as well as much     trouble1 plague1   
and vexation1 for the want of a latch   

which would     not have cost           
three-pence4 ,m4 ,say's story is one of 
the many     examples of the truth of   
the old proverb--for want of a nail the 
shoe was lost1 for want of a shoe the   
horse was lost1 for want of     a horse 
the man was lost4  ,nearly all the great
 variety of articles in an ironmonger's 
shop are made by machinery4 ,without    
machinery they could not be made at all1
 or they would be sold at a price which 
would prevent them being commonly used4 
,some of the finer articles1 such as a  
,bramah lock1 or a ,chubb's lock1 could 
not be made at all1 unless machinery had
 been called in to produce that         
wonderful accuracy1 through which no one
 of a hundred thousand locks and keys   
shall be exactly like another lock and  
key4 ,with machinery1 the manufacture of
 ironmongery employs large numbers of   
artisans who would be otherwise         
unemployed4 ,there are hundreds of      
ingenious men at ,birmingham who go into
 business with a capital acquired by    

their savings as workmen1 for the       
purpose of manufacturing some one single
 article used in finishing a house1 such
 as the knob of a lock4 ,all the heavy  
work of their trade is done by          
machinery4 ,the cheapness of the article
 creates workmen2 and the savings of the
 workmen accumulate capital to be       
expended in larger works1 and to employ 
more workmen4  ,the furniture of a      
house1 some may say--the chairs1 and    
tables1 and bedsteads--is made nearly   
altogether by hand4 ,true4 ,but tools   
are machines2 and further1 we owe it to 
what men generally call machinery1 that 
such furniture1 even in the house of a  
very poor man1 is more tasteful in its  
construction1 and of finer material1    
than that possessed by a nobleman a     
hundred years ago4 ,how is this8        
,machinery 7that is ships7 has brought  
us much finer woods than we grow        
ourselves2 and other machinery 7the     
sawing-mill7 has taught us how to render
 that fine wood very cheap1 by          

economising the use of it4 ,at a        
veneering-mill1 that is1 a mill which   
cuts a mahogany log into thin plates1   
much more delicately and truly1 and in  
infinitely less time1 than they could be
 cut by the hand1 two hundred and forty 
square feet of mahogany are cut by one  
circular saw in one hour4 ,a veneer1 or 
thin plate1 is cut off a piece of       
mahogany1 six feet six inches long1 by  
twelve inches wide1 in twenty-five      
seconds4 ,what is the consequence of    
this8 ,a mahogany table is made almost  
as cheap as a deal one2 and thus the    
humblest family in ,england may have    
some article of mahogany1 if it be only 
a tea-caddy4 ,and let it not be said    
that deal furniture would afford as much
 happiness2 for a desire for comfort1   
and even for some degree of elegance1   
gives a refinement to the character1    
and1 in a certain degree1 raises our    
self-respect4 ,diogenes1 who is said to 
have lived in a tub1 was a great        
philosopher2 but it is not necessary to 

live in a tub to be wise and virtuous4  
,nor is that the likeliest plan for     
becoming so4 ,the probability is1 that a
 man will be more wise and virtuous in  
proportion as he strives to surround    
himself with the comforts and decent    
ornaments of his station4  ,it is a     
circumstance worthy to be borne in mind 
by all who seek the improvement of the  
people1 that whatever raises not only   
the standard of comfort1 but of taste1  
has direct effects of utility which     
might not at first be perceived4 ,we    
will take the case of paper-hangings4   
,their very name shows that they were a 
substitute for the arras1 or hangings1  
of former times1 which were suspended   
from the ceilings to cover the          
imperfections of the walls4 ,this was   
the case in the houses of the rich4 ,the
 poor man in his hut had no such device1
 but must needs patch a hole to keep the
 wind away4 ,till #ahcj1 what1 in the   
language of the excise1 was called      
stained paper1 was enormously dear1 for 

a heavy tax greatly impeded its         
production4 ,when it was dear1 many     
walls were stencilled or daubed over    
with a rude pattern4 ,the paper-hangings
 themselves were not only dear1 but     
offensive to the eye1 from their want of
 harmony in colour and of beauty in     
design4 ,the old papers remained on     
walls for half a century2 and it was not
 till paper-hangings became a penny a   
yard1 or even a halfpenny1 that the     
landlord or tenant of a small house     
thought of re-papering4 ,the eye at     
length got offended by the dirty and    
ugly old paper4 ,the walls were         
recovered with neat patterns4 ,but what 
had offended the eye had been           
prejudicial to the health4 ,the old     
papers1 that were saturated with damp   
from without and bad air from within1   
were recipients and holders of fever4   
,when the bed-room became neat it also  
became healthful4 ,the duty on paper was
 #a-c_/d;d4 per yard1 when the          
paper-hanger used to paste together yard

 after yard1 made by hand at the        
paper-mill1 and stamped by block4 ,the  
paper-machine which gave long rolls of  
paper enabled hangings to be printed by 
cylinder1 as calico is printed4 ,the    
absence of tax1 and the improvement of  
the manufacture by machinery1 have      
enabled every man to repaper his filthy 
and noxious room for almost as little as
 its whitewashing or colouring will cost
 him4  ,look1 again1 at the carpet4     
,contrast it in all its varieties1 from 
the gorgeous ,persian to the neat       
,kidderminster1 with the rushes of our  
forefathers1 amidst which the dogs      
hunted for the bones that had been      
thrown upon the floor4 ,the clean rushes
 were a rare luxury1 never thought of   
but upon some festive occasion4 ,the    
carpet manufacture was little known in  
,england at the beginning of the last   
century2 as we may judge from our still 
calling one of the most commonly-woven  
,english carpets by the name of         
,brussels4 ,there are twelve thousand   

persons now employed in the manufacture 
of carpets in ,great ,britain4 ,the     
,scotch carpet is the cheapest of the   
produce of the carpet-loom2 and it may  
be sufficient to show the connection of 
machinery with the commonest as well as 
the finest of these productions by an   
engraving of the loom4 ,one of the most 
beautiful inventions of man1 the        
,jacquard apparatus 7so called from the 
name of its inventor71 is extensively   
used in every branch of the carpet      
manufacture4    ,illustration3 ,scotch  
carpet-loom4  ,let us see what          
mechanical ingenuity can effect in      
producing the most useful and ornamental
 articles of domestic life from the     
common earth which may be had for       
digging4 ,without chemical and          
mechanical skill we should neither have 
,glass nor ,pottery2 and without these  
articles1 how much lowered beneath his  
present station1 in point of comfort and
 convenience1 would be the humblest     
peasant in the land6  ,the cost of glass

 is almost wholly the wages of labour1  
as the materials are very abundant1 and 
may be said to cost almost nothing2 and 
glass is much more easily worked than   
any other substance4  ,hard and brittle 
as it is1 it has only to be heated1 and 
any form that the workman pleases may be
 given to it4 ,it melts2 but when so hot
 as to be more susceptible of form than 
wax or clay1 or anything else that we   
are acquainted with1 it still1 retains a
 degree of toughness and capability of  
extension superior to that of many      
solids1 and of every liquid2 when it has
 become red-hot all its brittleness is  
gone1 and a man may do with it as he    
pleases4 ,he may press it into a mould2 
he may take a lump of it upon the end of
 an iron tube1 and1 by blowing into the 
tube with his mouth 7keeping the glass  
hot all the time71 he may swell it out  
into a hollow ball4 ,he may mould that  
ball into a bottle2 he may draw it out  
lengthways into a pipe2 he may cut it   
open into a cup2 he may open it with    

shears1 whirl it round with the edge in 
the fire1 and thus make it into a       
circular plate4 ,he may also roll it out
 into sheets1 and spin it into threads  
as fine as a cobweb4 ,in short1 so that 
he keeps it hot1 and away from          
substances by which it may be destroyed1
 he can do with it just as he pleases4  
,all this1 too1 may be done1 and is done
 with large quantities every day1 in    
less time than any one would take to    
give an account of it4 ,in the time that
 the readiest speaker and clearest      
describer were telling how one quart    
bottle is made1 an ordinary set of      
workmen would make some dozens of       
bottles4  ,but though the materials of  
glass are among the cheapest of all     
materials1 and the substance the most   
obedient to the hand of the workman1    
there is a great deal of knowledge      
necessary before glass can be made4 ,it 
can be made profitably only at large    
manufactories1 and those manufactories  
must be kept constantly at work night   

and day4  ,glass does not exist in a    
natural form in many places4 ,the sight 
of native crystal1 probably1 led men to 
think originally of producing a similar 
substance by art4 ,the fabrication of   
glass is of high antiquity4 ,the        
historians of ,china1 ,japan1 and       
,tartary speak of glass manufactories   
existing there more than two thousand   
years ago4 ,an ,egyptian mummy two or   
three thousand years old1 which was     
exhibited in ,london1 was ornamented    
with little fragments of coloured glass4
 ,the writings of ,seneca1 a ,roman     
author who lived about the time of our  
,saviour1 and of ,st4 ,jerome1 who lived
 five hundred years afterwards1 speak of
 glass being used in windows4 ,it is    
recorded that the ,prior of the convent 
of ,weymouth1 in ,dorsetshire1 in the   
year #fgd1 sent for ,french workmen to  
glaze the windows of his chapel4 ,in the
 twelfth century the art of making glass
 was known in this country4 ,yet it is  
very doubtful whether glass was employed

 in windows1 excepting those of churches
 and the houses of the very rich1 for   
several centuries afterwards2 and it is 
quite certain that the period is        
comparatively recent1 as we have        
shown1#ba when glass windows were used  
for excluding cold and admitting light  
in the houses of the great body of the  
people1 or that glass vessels were to be
 found amongst their ordinary           
conveniences4 ,the manufacture of glass 
in ,england now employs twelve thousand 
people1 because the article1 being      
cheap1 is of universal use4 ,the        
government has wisely taken off the duty
 on glass2 and as the article becomes   
still cheaper1 so will the people       
employed in its manufacture become more 
numerous4  ,machinery1 as we commonly   
understand the term1 is not much        
employed in the manufacture of glass2   
but chemistry1 which saves as much      
labour as machinery1 and performs work  
which no machinery could accomplish1 is 
very largely employed4 ,the materials of

 which glass is made are sand1 or earth1
 and vegetable matter1 such as kelp or  
burnt seaweed1 which yield alkali4 ,for 
the finest glass1 sand is brought from  
great distances1 even from ,australia4  
,these materials are put in a state of  
fusion by the heat of an immense        
furnace4 ,it requires a red heat of     
sixty hours to prepare the material of a
 common bottle4 ,nearly all glass1      
except glass for mirrors1 is what is    
called blown4 ,the machinery is very    
simple1 consisting only of an iron pipe 
and the lungs of the workman2 and the   
process is perfected in all its stages  
by great subdivision of labour1         
producing extreme neatness and quickness
 in all persons employed in it4 ,for    
instance1 a wine-glass is made          
thus3--,one man 7the blower7 takes up   
the proper quantity of glass on his     
pipe1 and blows it to the size wanted   
for the bowl2 then he whirls it round on
 a reel1 and draws out the stalk4       
,another man 7the footer7 blows a       

smaller and thicker ball1 sticks it to  
the end of the stalk of the blower's    
glass1 and breaks his pipe from it4 ,the
 blower opens that ball1 and whirls the 
whole round till the foot is formed4    
,then a boy dips a small rod in the     
glass-pot1 and sticks it to the very    
centre of the foot4 ,the blower1 still  
turning the glass round1 takes a bit of 
iron1 wets it in his mouth1 and touches 
the ball at the place where he wishes   
the mouth of the glass to be4 ,the glass
 separates1 and the boy takes it to the 
finisher1 who turns the mouth of it2    
and1 by a peculiar swing that he gives  
it round his head1 makes it perfectly   
circular1 at the same time that it is so
 hardened as to be easily snapped from  
the rod4 ,lastly1 the boy takes it on a 
forked iron to the annealing furnace1   
where it is cooled gradually4           
,illustration3 ,glass-cutting4  ,all    
these operations require the greatest   
nicety in the workmen2 and would take a 
long time in the performance1 and not be

 very neatly done after all1 if they    
were all done by one man4 ,but the      
quickness with which they are done by   
the division of labour is perfectly     
wonderful4  ,the cheapness of glass for 
common use1 which cheapness is produced 
by chemical knowledge and the division  
of labour1 has set the ingenuity of man 
to work to give greater beauty to glass 
as an article of luxury4 ,the employment
 of sharp-grinding wheels1 put in motion
 by a treadle1 and used in conjunction  
with a very nice hand1 produces cut     
glass4 ,cut glass is now comparatively  
so cheap1 that scarcely a family of the 
middle ranks is without some beautiful  
article of this manufacture4            
,illustration3 ,sheet-glass making4     
,but the repeal of the duty on glass1   
and of the tax upon windows1 has had the
 effect of improving the architecture of
 our houses to a degree which no one    
would have thought possible who had not 
studied how the operation of a tax      
impedes production4 ,we have now        

plate-glass of the largest dimensions1  
giving light and beauty to our shops2   
and sheet-glass1 nearly as effective as 
plate1 adorning our private dwellings4  
,sheet-glass1 in the making of which an 
amount of ingenuity is exercised which  
would have been thought impossible in   
the early stages of glass-making1 is    
doing for the ordinary purposes of      
building what plate-glass did formerly  
for the rich4 ,a portion of melted      
glass1 weighing twelve or fourteen      
pounds1 is1 by the exercise of this     
skill1 converted into a ball1 and then  
into a cylinder1 and then into a flat   
plate2 and thus two crystal palaces have
 been built1 which have consumed as much
 glass1 weight by weight1 as was        
required for all the houses in          
one-fourth of the area of ,great        
,britain in the beginning of the        
century4    ,illustration3 ,plate-glass 
,factory4  ,there are two kinds of      
pottery--common potters' ware1 and      
porcelain4 ,the first is a pure kind of 

brick2 and the second a mixture of very 
fine brick and glass4 ,almost all       
nations have some knowledge of pottery2 
and those of the very hot countries are 
sometimes satisfied with dishes formed  
by their fingers without any tool1 and  
dried by the heat of the sun4 ,in       
,england pottery of every sort1 and in  
all countries good pottery1 must be     
baked or burnt in a kiln of some kind or
 other4  ,vessels for holding meat and  
drink are almost as indispensable as the
 meat and drink themselves2 and the two 
qualities in them that are most valuable
 are1 that they shall be cheap1 and     
easily cleaned4 ,pottery1 as it is now  
produced in ,england1 possesses both of 
these qualities in the very highest     
degree4 ,a white basin1 having all the  
useful properties of the most costly    
vessels1 may be purchased for twopence  
at the door of any cottage in ,england4 
,there are very few substances used in  
human food that have any effect upon    
these vessels2 and it is only rinsing   

them in hot water1 and wiping them with 
a cloth1 and they are clean4  ,the      
making of an earthen bowl would be to a 
man who made a first attempt no easy    
matter4 ,let us see how it is done so   
that it can be carried two or three     
hundred miles and sold for twopence1    
leaving a profit to the maker1 and the  
wholesale and retail dealer4  ,the      
common pottery is made of pure clay and 
pure flint4 ,the flint is found only in 
the chalk counties1 and the fine clays  
in ,devonshire and ,dorsetshire2 so     
that1 with the exception of some clay   
for coarse ware1 the materials out of   
which the pottery is made have to be    
carried from the ,south of ,england to  
,staffordshire1 where the potteries are 
situated4  ,the great advantage that    
,staffordshire possesses is abundance of
 coal to burn the ware and supply the   
engines that grind the materials4  ,the 
clay is worked in water by various      
machinery till it contains no single    
piece large enough to be visible to the 

eye4 ,it is like cream in consistence4  
,the flints are burned4 ,they are first 
ground in a mill1 and then worked in    
water in the same manner as the clay1   
the large pieces being returned a second
 time to the mill4  ,when both are fine 
enough1 one part of flint is mixed with 
five or six of clay2 the whole is worked
 to a paste1 after which it is kneaded  
either by the hands or a machine2 and   
when the kneading is completed1 it is   
ready for the potter4  ,he has a little 
wheel which lies horizontally4 ,he lays 
a portion of clay on the centre of the  
wheel1 puts one hand1 or finger if the  
vessel is to be a small one1 in the     
middle1 and his other hand on the       
outside1 and1 as the wheel turns rapidly
 round1 draws up a hollow vessel in an  
instant4 ,with his hands1 or with very  
simple tools1 he brings it to the shape 
he wishes1 cuts it from the wheel with a
 wire1 and a boy carries it off4 ,the   
potter makes vessel after vessel1 as    
fast as they can be carried away4       

,illustration3 ,the ,english ,potter4   
,the potter's wheel is an instrument of 
the highest antiquity4 ,in the book of  
,ecclesiasticus we read--,so doth the   
potter1 sitting at his work1 and turning
 the wheel about with his feet1 who is  
always carefully set at his work1 and   
maketh all his work by number3 he       
fashioneth the clay with his arm1 and   
boweth down his strength before his     
feet2 he applieth himself to lead it    
over1 and is diligent to make clean the 
furnace4--7c4 xxxix41 v4 #bi1 #cj47 ,at 
the present day the oriental potter     
stands in a pit1 in which the lower     
machinery of his wheel is placed4 ,he   
works as the potter of the ancient      
,hebrews4  ,as the potter produces the  
vessels they are partially dried2 after 
which they are turned on a lathe and    
smoothed with a wet sponge when         
necessary4 ,only round vessels can be   
made on the wheel2 those of other shapes
 are made in moulds of plaster4 ,handles
 and other solid parts are pressed in   

moulds1 and stuck on while they and the 
vessels are still wet4    ,illustration3
 ,potter's wheel of modern ,egypt4  ,the
 vessels thus formed are first dried in 
a stove1 and1 when dry1 burnt in a kiln4
 ,they are in this state called biscuit4
 ,if they are finished white1 they are  
glazed by another process4 ,if they are 
figured1 the patterns are engraved on   
copper1 and printed on coarse paper     
rubbed with soft soap4 ,the ink is made 
of some colour that will stand the fire1
 ground with earthy matter4 ,these      
patterns are moistened and applied to   
the porous biscuit1 which absorbs the   
colour1 and the paper is washed off1    
leaving the pattern on the biscuit4     
,illustration3 ,moulds for porcelain1   
and casts4  ,the employment of machinery
 to do all the heavy part of the work1  
the division of labour1 by which each   
workman acquires wonderful dexterity in 
his department1 and the conducting of   
the whole upon a large scale1 give bread
 to a vast number of people1 make the   

pottery cheap1 and enable it to be sold 
at a profit in almost every market in   
the world4 ,it is not ninety years since
 the first pottery of a good quality was
 extensively made in ,england2 and      
before that time what was used was      
imported1--the common ware from ,delft1 
in ,holland 7from which it acquired its 
name71 and the porcelain from ,china4   
,illustration3 ,mill-room1 where the    
,ingredients for ,pottery are mixed4    
,the history of the manufacture of      
porcelain affords us two examples of    
persevering ingenuity--of intense       
devotion to one object--which have few  
parallels in what some may consider the 
higher walks of art4 ,palissy and       
,wedgwood are names that ought to be    
venerated by every artisan4 ,the one    
bestowed upon ,france her manufacture of
 porcelain1 so long the almost exclusive
 admiration of the wealthy and the      
tasteful4 ,the other gave to ,england   
her more extensive production of        
earthenware1 combining with great       

cheapness the imitation of the most     
beautiful forms of ancient art4 ,the    
potteries of ,staffordshire may be      
almost said to have been created by     
,josiah ,wedgwood4 ,in his workshops we 
may trace the commencement of a system  
of improved design which made his ware  
so superior to any other that had been  
produced in ,europe for common uses4 ,in
 other branches of manufacture this     
system found few imitators2 and we were 
too long contented1 in our textile      
fabrics especially1 with patterns that  
were unequalled for ugliness--miserable 
imitations of foreign goods1 or         
combinations of form and colour         
outraging every principle of art4 ,we   
have seen higher things attempted in the
 present day2 but for the greater part  
of a century the wares of the           
,staffordshire potter were the only     
attempts to show that taste was as      
valuable a quality in association with  
the various articles which are required 
for domestic use1 as good materials and 

clean workmanship4 ,it was long before  
we discovered that taste had an         
appreciable commercial value4           
,illustration3 ,wedgwood4  ,we think    
that1 with regard to buildings and the  
furniture of buildings1 it will be      
admitted that machinery1 in the largest 
sense of the word1 has increased the    
means of every man to procure a shelter 
from the elements1 and to give him a    
multitude of conveniences within that   
shelter4 ,most will agree that a greater
 number of persons are profitably       
employed in affording this shelter and  
these conveniences1 with tools and      
machines1 than if they possessed no such
 mechanical aids to their industry4 ,in 
#ahea there were a hundred and          
eighty-two thousand carpenters and      
joiners2 thirty-one thousand            
brickmakers2 sixty-eight thousand       
bricklayers2 sixty-two thousand         
painters1 plumbers1 and glaziers2       
eighteen thousand plasterers2 a hundred 
thousand masons 7some of whom were      

paviours72 forty-two thousand glass and 
earthenware makers2 besides an almost   
innumerable variety of subordinate      
trades--engaged in the production of    
houses1 their fittings1 and their       
utensils4    #ba ,chapter viii4 pp4 #he 
and #hg4   ,,chapter ,,xv4              
,dwellings of the people--,oberlin--,the
 ,highlander's                          
candlesticks--,supply of water--,london 
waterworks--                            
,street-lights--,sewers4   ,it is       
satisfactory to observe that the        
increase of houses has kept pace with   
the increase of population4 ,in #ahja1  
in ,great ,britain1 there was a         
population of ten million five hundred  
thousand persons1 and one million eight 
hundred thousand inhabited houses4 ,in  
#ahea there were twenty million eight   
hundred thousand persons1 and three     
million eight hundred thousand inhabited
 houses4 ,the numbers1 in each case1    
had1 as nearly as may be1 doubled4  ,but
 it is not equally satisfactory to know 

that the improvement in the quality of  
the houses in which the great body of   
those who labour for wages abide is not 
commensurate with the increase in their 
quantity4 ,it is not fitting1 that1     
whilst the general progress of science  
is raising1 as unquestionably it is     
raising1 the average condition of the   
people--and that whilst education is    
going forward1 slowly indeed1 but still 
advancing--the bulk of those so         
progressing should be below their proper
 standard of physical comfort1 from the 
too common want of decent houses to     
surround them with the sanctities of    
home4  ,in the great business of the    
improvement of their dwellings the      
working-men require leaders--not        
demagogues1 whose business is to        
subvert1 and not to build up--but       
leaders like the noble pastor1 ,oberlin1
 who converted a barren district into a 
fruitful1 by the example of his         
unremitting energy4 ,this district was  
cut off from the rest of the world by   

the want of roads4 ,close at hand was   
,strasburg1 full of all the conveniences
 of social life4 ,there was no money to 
make roads--but there was abundant power
 of labour4 ,there were rocks to be     
blasted1 embankments to be raised1      
bridges to be built4 ,the undaunted     
clergyman took a pickaxe1 and went to   
work himself4 ,he worked alone1 till the
 people were ashamed of seeing him so   
work4 ,they came at last to perceive    
that the thing was to be done1 and that 
it was worth the doing4 ,in three years 
the road was made4 ,if there were an    
,oberlin to lead the inhabitants of     
every filthy street1 and the families of
 every wretched house1 to their own     
proper work of improvement1 a terrible  
evil would be soon removed1 which is as 
great an impediment to the productive   
powers of a country1 and therefore to   
the happiness of its people1 as the want
 of ready communication1 or any other   
appliance of civilization4 ,the enormity
 of the evil would be appalling1 if the 

capability of its removal in some degree
 were not equally certain4  ,whatever a 
government may attempt--whatever        
municipalities or benevolent            
associations--there can be nothing so   
effectual in the upholding to a proper  
mark the domestic comfort of the        
working-men of this country1 as their   
firm resolve to uphold themselves4      
,still1 unhappily1 it is an undoubted   
fact that the most industrious men in   
large cities are too often unable to    
procure a fit dwelling1 however able to 
pay for it and desirous to procure it4  
,the houses have been built with no     
reference to such increasing wants4 ,the
 idle and the diligent1 the profligate  
and the prudent1 the criminal and the   
honest1 the diseased and the healthful1 
are therefore thrust into close         
neighbourhood4 ,there is no escape4 ,is 
this terrible evil incapable of remedy8 
,to discover that remedy1 and apply it1 
is truly a national concern2 for        
assuredly there is no capital of a      

country so worth preserving in the      
highest state of efficiency as the      
capital it possesses in an industrious  
population4 ,there is a noble moral in a
 passage of ,scott's romance1 ',the     
,legend of ,montrose4' ,a ,highland     
chief had betted with a more luxurious  
,english baronet whom he had visited1   
that he had better candlesticks at home 
than the six silver ones which the      
richer man had put upon his             
dinner-table4 ,the ,englishman went to  
the chief's castle in the hills1 where  
the owner was miserable about the issue 
of his bragging bet4 ,but his brother   
had a device which saved the honour of  
the clan4 ,the attendant announced that 
the dinner was ready1 and the candles   
lighted4 ,behind each chair for the     
guests stood a gigantic ,highlander with
 his drawn sword in his right hand1 and 
a blazing torch in his left1 made of the
 bog-pine2 and the brother exclaimed to 
the startled company--',would you dare  
to compare to ,,them in value the       

richest ore that ever was dug out of the
 mine8'  ,we may naturally pass from    
these considerations to a most important
 branch of the great subject of the     
expenditure of capital for public       
objects4         99       99       99   
99       99  ,the people who live in    
small villages1 or in scattered         
habitations in the country1 have        
certainly not so many direct benefits   
from machinery as the inhabitants of    
towns4 ,they have the articles at a     
cheap rate which machines produce1 but  
there are not so many machines at work  
for them as for dense populations4 ,from
 want of knowledge they may be unable to
 perceive the connexion between a cheap 
coat1 or a cheap tool1 and the machines 
which make them plentiful1 and therefore
 cheap4 ,but even they1 when the saving 
of labour by a machine is a saving which
 immediately affects them1 are not slow 
to acknowledge the benefits they derive 
from that best of economy4 ,the         
,scriptures allude to the painful       

condition of the hewers of wood and the 
drawers of water2 and certainly--in a   
state of society where there are no     
machines at all1 or very rude           
machines--to cut down a tree and cleave 
it into logs1 and to raise a bucket from
 a well1 are very laborious occupations1
 the existence of which1 to any extent1 
amongst a people1 would mark them as    
remaining in a wretched condition4      
,immediately that the people have the   
simplest mechanical contrivance1 such as
 the loaded lever1 to raise water from a
 well1 which is found represented in    
,egyptian sculpture1 and also in our own
 ,anglo-,saxon drawings1 they are       
advancing to the condition of raising   
water by machinery4 ,the oriental       
shadoof is a machine4 ,in our own       
country1 at the present day1 there are  
not many houses1 in situations where    
water is at hand1 that have not the     
windlass1 or1 what is better1 the pump1 
to raise this great necessary of life   
from the well4 ,some cottagers1 however1

 have no such machines1 and bitterly do 
they lament the want of them4 ,we once  
met an old woman in a country district  
tottering under the weight of a bucket1 
which she was labouring to carry up a   
hill4 ,we asked her how she and her     
family were off in the world4 ,she      
replied1 that she could do pretty well  
with them1 for they could all work1 if  
it were not for one thing--it was one   
person's labour to fetch water from the 
spring2 but1 said she1 if we had a pump 
handy1 we should not have much to       
complain of4 ,this old woman very wisely
 had no love of labour for its own sake2
 she saw no advantage in the labour of  
one of her family being given for the   
attainment of a good which she knew     
might be attained by a very common      
invention4 ,she wanted a machine to save
 that labour4 ,such a machine would have
 set at liberty a certain quantity of   
labour which was previously employed    
unprofitably2 in other words1 it would  
have left her or her children more time 

for more profitable work1 and then the  
family earnings would have been         
increased4    ,illustration3 ,ancient   
,shadoof4  ,but there is another point  
of view in which this machine would have
 benefited the good woman and her       
family4 ,water is not only necessary to 
drink and to prepare food with1 but it  
is necessary for cleanliness1 and       
cleanliness is necessary for health4 ,if
 there is a scarcity of water1 or if it 
requires a great deal of labour to      
obtain it1 7which comes to the same     
thing as a scarcity17 the uses of water 
for cleanliness will be wholly or in    
part neglected4 ,if the neglect becomes 
a habit1 which it is sure to do1        
disease1 and that of the worst sort1    
cannot be prevented4  ,when men gather  
together in large bodies1 and inhabit   
towns or cities1 a plentiful supply of  
water is the first thing to which they  
direct their attention4 ,if towns are   
built in situations where pure water    
cannot be readily obtained1 the         

inhabitants1 and especially the poorer  
sort1 suffer even more misery than      
results from the want of bread or       
clothes4 ,in some cities of ,spain1 for 
instance1 where the people understand   
very little about machinery1 water1 at  
particular periods of the year1 is as   
dear as wine2 and the labouring classes 
are consequently in a most miserable    
condition4 ,in ,london1 on the contrary1
 water is so plentiful1 that1 as it     
appears from a return of the various    
water companies1 the daily average of   
water-supply is sixty-two million       
gallons1 being an average of about two  
hundred and two gallons to each house   
and other buildings1 which amount to    
three hundred and ten thousand4 ,this   
seems an enormous supply2 but there are 
reasons for thinking that the quantity  
ought to be increased1 and the          
arrangements made so perfect1 that there
 should be a perpetual stream of water  
through the pipes of each house1 like   
that through the arteries from the      

heart4 ,the condition upon which the    
present water companies are allowed to  
continue their functions is1 that they  
shall1 before the expiration of another 
year1 provide a larger and a purer      
supply4 ,yet1 incomplete as these       
arrangements are1 they are wondrous when
 compared with the water-supply of other
 times2 and it is satisfactory to know  
that there are very few of our great    
towns which are not supplied as well as1
 and many much better than1 ,london4    
,there are very few large places in     
,great ,britain where1 by machinery1    
water is not only delivered to the      
kitchens and washhouses on the          
ground-floors1 where it is most wanted1 
but is sent up to the very tops of the  
houses1 to save even the comparatively  
little labour of fetching it from the   
bottom4 ,the cost of this greatly varies
 in particular localities2 and in most  
places the supply is afforded more      
cheaply than in the metropolis4 ,there  
are natural difficulties in ,london1 as 

in other vast cities1 which have been   
chiefly created through the unexampled  
increase of the people4 ,the sanitary   
arrangements of our great towns--the    
supply of water1 the drainage--have     
followed the growth of the population   
and not preceded it4 ,as the necessity  
has arisen for such a ministration to   
the absolute wants of a community1 it   
has inevitably become a system of       
expedients4 ,we are wiser now when we   
build upon new ground4 ,we first        
construct our lines of street1 with     
sewers1 and water-pipes1 and gas-pipes1 
and then we build our houses4 ,what a   
different affair is it to manage these  
matters effectually when the houses have
 been previously built with very slight 
reference to such conditions of social  
existence6  ,as long ago as the year    
#abcf1 when a great want of water was   
felt in ,london1 the little springs     
being blocked up and covered over by    
buildings1 the ruling men of the city   
caused water to be brought from ,tyburn1

 which was then a distant village1 by   
means of pipes2 and they laid a tax upon
 particular branches of trade to pay the
 expense of this great blessing to all4 
,in succeeding times more pipes and     
conduits1 that is1 more machinery1 were 
established for the same good purpose2  
and two centuries afterwards1 ,king     
,henry the ,sixth gave his aid to the   
same sort of works1 in granting         
particular advantages in obtaining lead 
for making pipes4 ,the reason for this  
aid to such works was1 as the royal     
decree set forth1 that they were for the
 common utility and decency of all the  
city1 and for the universal advantage1  
and a very true reason this was4 ,as    
this great town more and more increased1
 more waterworks were found necessary2  
till at last1 in the reign of ,james the
 ,first1 which was nearly two hundred   
years after that of ,henry the ,sixth1 a
 most ingenious and enterprising man1   
and a great benefactor to his country1  
,hugh ,myddleton1 undertook to bring a  

river of pure water above thirty-eight  
miles out of its natural course1 for the
 supply of ,london4 ,he persevered in   
this immense undertaking1 in spite of   
every difficulty1 till he at last       
accomplished that great good which he   
had proposed1 of bringing wholesome     
water to every man's door4 ,at the      
present time1 the ,new ,river1 which was
 the work of ,hugh ,myddleton1 supplies 
more than seventeen millions of gallons 
of water every day2 and though the      
original projector was ruined1 by the   
undertaking1 in consequence of the      
difficulty which he had in procuring    
proper support1 such is now the general 
conviction of the advantage which he    
procured for his fellow-citizens1 and so
 desirous are the people to possess that
 advantage1 that a share in the ,new    
,river ,company1 which was at first sold
 at one hundred pounds1 is now worth    
three thousand pounds4  ,before the     
people of ,london had water brought to  
their own doors1 and even into their    

very houses1 and into every room of     
their houses where it is desirable to   
bring it1 they were obliged to send for 
this great article of life--first1 to   
the few springs which were found in the 
city and its neighbourhood1 and1        
secondly1 to the conduits and fountains1
 which were imperfect mechanical        
contrivances for bringing it4           
,illustration3 ,conduit in ,westcheap4  
,the service-pipes to each house are    
more perfect mechanical contrivances2   
but they could not have been rendered so
 perfect without engines1 which force   
the water above the level of the source 
from which it is taken4 ,when the       
inhabitants fetched their water from the
 springs and conduits there was a great 
deal of human labour employed2 and as in
 every large community there are always 
people ready to perform labour for      
money1 many persons obtained a living by
 carrying water4 ,when the ,new ,river  
had been dug1 and the pipes had been    
laid down1 and the engines had been set 

up1 it is perfectly clear that there    
would have been no further need for     
these water-carriers4 ,when the people  
of ,london could obtain two hundred     
gallons of water for twopence1 they     
would not employ a man to fetch a single
 bucket from the river or fountain at   
the same price4 ,they would not1 for the
 mere love of employing human labour    
directly1 continue to buy an article    
very dear1 which1 by mechanical aid1    
they could buy very cheap4 ,if they had 
resolved1 from any mistaken notions     
about machinery1 to continue to employ  
the water-carriers1 they must have been 
contented with one gallon of water a day
 instead of two hundred gallons4 ,or if 
they had consumed a larger quantity1 and
 continued to pay the price of bringing 
it to them by hand1 they must have      
denied themselves other necessaries and 
comforts4 ,they must have gone without a
 certain portion of food1 or clothing1  
or fuel1 which they are now enabled to  
obtain by the saving in the article of  

water4 ,to have had for each house two  
hundred gallons of water1 and1 in having
 this two hundred gallons of water1 to  
have had the cleanliness and health     
which result from its use1 would have   
been utterly impossible4 ,the supply of 
one gallon1 instead of two hundred      
gallons to each house1 would at present 
amount to #caj1jjj gallons daily2 which 
at a penny a gallon would cost #abial4  
per day2 or #ijcgl4 per week2 or        
#dfi1gbdl41 or very nearly half a       
million1 per year4 ,upon the assumption 
that one man1 without any mechanical    
arrangement besides his can1 could carry
 twenty gallons a day1 thus earning ten 
shillings a week1 this would employ no  
fewer than #ah1jgd persons--a very army 
of water-carriers4 ,to supply ten       
gallons a day to each house would cost  
nearly five millions a year1 and would  
employ #ahj1gdj persons4 ,to supply two 
hundred gallons a day would require     
#c1fad1hjj persons--a number exceeding  
the total population of ,london4 ,the   

whole number of persons engaged in the  
waterworks' service of all ,great       
,britain is under #ajjj4                
,illustration3 ,old water-carrier of    
,london4  ,there is now1 certainly1 no  
labour to be performed by               
water-carriers4 ,but suppose that five  
hundred years ago1 when there were a    
small number of persons who gained their
 living by such drudgery1 they had      
determined to prevent the bringing of   
water by pipes into ,london4 ,suppose   
also that they had succeeded2 and that  
up to the present day we had no pipes or
 other mechanical aids for supplying the
 water4 ,it is quite evident that if    
this misfortune had happened--if the    
welfare of the many had been retarded   
7for it never could have been finally   
stopped7 by the ignorance of the        
few--,london1 as we have already shown1 
would not have had a twentieth part of  
its present population2 and the         
population of every other town1         
depending as population does upon the   

increase of profitable labour1 could    
never have gone forward4 ,how then would
 the case have stood as to the amount of
 labour engaged in the supply of water8 
,a few hundred1 at the utmost a few     
thousand1 carriers of water would have  
been employed throughout the kingdom2   
while the smelters and founders of iron 
of which water-pipes are made1 the      
labourers who lay down these pipes1 the 
founders of lead who make the           
service-pipes1 and the plumbers who     
apply them2 the carriers1 whether by    
water or land1 who are engaged in       
bringing them to the towns1 the         
manufacturers of the engines which raise
 the water1 the builders of the houses  
in which the engines stand--these1 and  
many other labourers and mechanics who  
directly and indirectly contribute to   
the same public advantage1 could never  
have been called into employment4 ,to   
have continued to use the power of the  
water-carriers would have rendered the  
commodity two hundred times dearer than 

it is supplied by mechanical power4 ,the
 present cheapness of production1 by    
mechanical power1 supplies employment to
 an infinitely greater number of persons
 than could have been required by a     
perseverance in the rude and wasteful   
system which belonged to former ages of 
ignorance and wretchedness4  ,when a    
severe frost chokes up the small        
water-pipes that conduct the useful     
stream into each house1 what anxiety and
 trouble is there in every thoroughfare6
 ,the main pipes are not frozen2 and the
 supply is to be got in pails and       
pitchers from a plug in the pavement1   
where a temporary cock is inserted4 ,how
 gladly is this device resorted to6 ,but
 imagine it to be the labour of every   
day1 and what an amount of profitable   
time would be deducted from domestic    
employ6    ,illustration3 ,plug in a    
frost4  ,when society is more perfectly 
organized than it is at present1 and    
when the great body of the people       
understand the value of co-operation for

 procuring advantages that individuals  
cannot attain1 public baths will be     
established in every town1 and in every 
district of a town4 ,the great ,roman   
people had public baths for all ranks2  
and remains of their baths still exist  
in this country4 ,the great ,british    
people have only thought within these   
few years that public baths were a      
necessity4 ,the establishment of public 
washhouses1 in connexion with baths1    
having every advantage of machinery and 
economical arrangements1 are real       
blessings to the few who now use them4  
,it is little more than thirty years    
since ,london was lighted with gas4     
,pall ,mall was thus lighted in #ahjg1  
by a chartered company1 to whose claims 
for support the majority of householders
 were utterly opposed4 ,they had their  
old oil-lamps1 which were thought       
absolute perfection4 ,the main pipes    
which convey gas to the ,london houses  
are now fifteen hundred miles in length4
 ,there are1 we believe1 nearly a       

thousand proprietory gas-works in ,great
 ,britain4 ,the noblest prospect in the 
world is ,london from ,hampstead ,heath 
on a bright winter's evening4 ,the stars
 are shining in heaven1 but there are   
thousands of earthly stars glittering in
 the city there spread before us3 and as
 we look into any small space of that   
wondrous illumination1 we can trace long
 lines of light losing themselves in the
 general splendor of the distance1 and  
we can see dim shapes of mighty         
buildings afar off1 showing their dark  
masses amidst the glowing atmosphere    
that hangs over the capital for miles1  
with the edges of flickering clouds     
gilded as if they were touched by the   
first sunlight4 ,this is a spectacle    
that men look not upon1 because it is   
common2 and so we walk amidst the       
nightly splendours of the ,strand1 and  
forget what it was in the middle of the 
last century--the days of darkness      
visible1 under the combined efforts of  
the twinkling lamp1 the watchman's      

lantern1 and the vagabond's link4  ,the 
last1 but in many respects one of the   
most useful of public works in ,great   
,britain1 to which a large amount of    
capital has been devoted1 is the        
construction of sewers in our cities and
 towns4 ,popular intelligence and       
official power have been very slowly    
awakened to the performance of this     
duty4 ,and yet the consequences of      
neglect have been felt for centuries4   
,in #abij the monks of ,white ,friars   
and of ,black ,friars complained to the 
king that the exhalations from the      
,fleet ,river overcame the pleasant     
odour of the frankincense which burned  
on their altars1 and occasioned the     
deaths of the brethren4 ,this was the   
polluted stream that in time came to be 
known as ,fleet ,ditch1 which ,pope     
described as    ,the king of dykes1 than
 whom no sluice of mud   ,with deeper   
sable blots the silver flood4           
,illustration3 ,london street-lights1   
#agfj4  ,fleet ,ditch became such a     

nuisance that it was partly filled up by
 act of parliament soon after these     
lines were written4 ,the ,londoners had 
then their reservoirs of filth1 called  
laystalls1 in various parts near the    
river2 and the pestilent accumulations  
spread disease all over the city4 ,the  
system of sewers was begun in #agef1 and
 from that time to the present several  
hundreds of miles of sewers have been   
constructed4 ,but1 alas1 the ,thames    
itself is now the king of dykes1 and the
 metropolis1 healthy as it is1 will     
never attain the sanitary state of which
 it is capable till the whole system of 
the outfall of the sewers is changed4   
,the necessary work would involve the   
expenditure of millions4 ,but the       
millions must be spent4 ,in the mean    
time it is satisfactory to know that in 
towns of smaller population1 where the  
evil is far less vast1 and the natural  
difficulties of removal greatly less1   
the work of purification is going on    
rapidly4 ,public opinion has gone so    

strongly in the direction of a thorough 
reformation1 that the duty can no longer
 be neglected4 ,every thousand pounds of
 public capital so expended is an       
addition to one of the best             
accumulations of national wealth4       
,,chapter ,,xvi4       ,early           
intercourse with foreign                
nations--,progress of the      cotton   
manufacture--,hand-spinning--,arkwright-
-,crompton--                            
,power-loom--,cartwright--,especial     
benefits of machinery      in this      
manufacture4   ,there was a time when   
the people of ,england were very        
inferior to those of the ,low           
,countries1 of ,france1 and of ,germany1
 in various productions of manufacturing
 industry4 ,we first gave an impulse to 
our woollen trade1 which for several    
centuries was the great staple of the   
country2 by procuring foreign workmen to
 teach our people their craft4 ,before  
that period the nations on the          
,continent had a proverb against us4    

,they said1 the stranger buys of the    
,englishman the skin of the fox for a   
groat1 and sells him the tail again for 
a shilling4 ,the proverb meant that we  
had not skill to convert the raw        
material into an article of use1 and    
that we paid a large price for the      
labour and ingenuity which made our     
native material available to ourselves4 
,but still our intercourse1 such as it  
was then1 with the stranger was better  
than no intercourse4 ,we gave the rough 
and stinking fox's skin for a groat1 and
 we got the nicely dressed tippet for a 
shilling4 ,the next best thing to       
dressing the skin ourselves was to pay  
other people for dressing it4 ,without  
foreign communication we should not have
 got that article of clothing at all4   
,all nations that have made any         
considerable advance in civilization    
have been commercial nations4 ,the arts 
of life are very imperfectly understood 
in countries which have little          
communication with the rest of the      

world1 and consequently the inhabitants 
are poor and wretched2--their condition 
is not bettered by the exchange with    
other countries1 either of goods or of  
knowledge4 ,they have the fox's skin1   
but they do not know how to convert it  
into value1 by being furriers           
themselves1 or by communication with    
stranger furriers4    ,illustration3    
,cotton2 showing a pod bursting4  ,the  
people of the ,east1 amongst whom a     
certain degree of civilization has      
existed from high antiquity1 were not   
only the growers of many productions    
which were unsuited to the climate and  
soil of ,europe1 but they were the      
manufacturers also4 ,cotton1 for        
instance1 was cultivated from time      
immemorial in ,hindustan1 in ,china1 in 
,persia1 and in ,egypt4 ,cotton was a   
material easily grown and collected2 and
 the patient industry of the people by  
whom it was cultivated1 their simple    
habits1 and their few wants1 enabled    
them to send into ,europe their         

manufactured stuffs of a fine and       
durable quality1 under every            
disadvantage of land-carriage1 even from
 the time of the ancient ,greeks4       
,before the discovery1 however1 of the  
passage to ,india by the ,cape of ,good 
,hope1 cotton goods in ,europe were     
articles of great price and luxury4 ,m4 
,say well observes that1 although cotton
 stuffs were cheaper than silk 7which   
was formerly sold for its weight in     
gold71 they were still articles which   
could only be purchased by the most     
opulent2 and that1 if a ,grecian lady   
could awake from her sleep of two       
thousand years1 her astonishment would  
be unbounded to see a simple country    
girl clothed with a gown of printed     
cotton1 a muslin kerchief1 and a        
coloured shawl4  ,when ,india was open  
to the ships of ,europe1 the            
,portuguese1 the ,dutch1 and the        
,english sold cotton goods in every     
market1 in considerable quantities4     
,these stuffs bore their ,indian names  

of calicoes and muslins2 and1 whether   
bleached or dyed1 were equally valued as
 amongst the most useful and ornamental 
articles of ,european dress4  ,in the   
seventeenth century ,france began to    
manufacture into stuffs the raw cotton  
imported from ,india1 as ,italy had done
 a century before4 ,a cruel act of      
despotism drove the best ,french        
workmen1 who were ,protestants1 into    
,england1 and we learned the            
manufacture4 ,the same act of despotism1
 the revocation of the ,edict of        
,nantes1 caused the settlement of       
silk-manufacturers in ,spitalfields4 ,we
 did not make any considerable progress 
in the art1 nor did we use the material 
of cotton exclusively in making up the  
goods4 ,the warp1 or longitudinal       
threads of the cloth1 were of flax1 the 
weft only was of cotton2 for we could   
not twist it hard enough by hand to     
serve both purposes4 ,this weft was spun
 entirely by hand with a distaff and    
spindle--the same process in which the  

women of ,england had been engaged for  
centuries2 and which we see represented 
in ancient drawings4 ,our manufacture1  
in spite of all these disadvantages1    
continued to increase2 so that about    
#agfj1 although there were fifty        
thousand spindles at work in ,lancashire
 alone1 the weaver found the greatest   
difficulty in procuring a sufficient    
supply of thread4 ,neither weaving nor  
spinning was then carried on in large   
factories4 ,they were domestic          
occupations4 ,the women of a family     
worked at the distaff or the hand-wheel1
 and there were two operations necessary
 in this department2 roving1 or coarse  
spinning1 reduced the carded cotton to  
the thickness of a quill1 and the       
spinner afterwards drew out and twisted 
the roving into weft fine enough for the
 weaver4 ,the spinsters of ,england were
 carrying on the same operation as the  
spinsters of ,india4 ,in the middle of  
the last century1 according to ,mr4     
,guest1 a writer on the                 

cotton-manufacture1 very few weavers    
could procure weft enough to keep       
themselves constantly employed4 ,it was 
no uncommon thing1 he says1 for a weaver
 to walk three or four miles in a       
morning1 and call on five or six        
spinners1 before he could collect weft  
to serve him for the remainder of the   
day2 and when he wished to weave a piece
 in a shorter time than usual1 a new    
ribbon or gown was necessary to quicken 
the exertions of the spinner4           
,illustration3 ,distaff4  ,that the     
manufacture should have flourished in   
,england at all under these difficulties
 is honourable to the industry of our   
country2 for the machinery used in      
weaving was also of the rudest sort1 so 
that1 if the web was more than three    
feet wide1 the labour of two men was    
necessary to throw the shuttle4 ,english
 cotton goods1 of course1 were very     
dear1 and there was little variety in   
them4 ,the cloth made of flax and cotton
 was called fustian2 for which article  

,manchester was famous1 as well as for  
laces4 ,we still1 received the calicoes 
and printed cottons from ,india4        
,illustration3 ,a ,hindoo woman spinning
 ,cotton4  ,in a country like ours1     
where men have learned to think1 and    
where ingenuity therefore is at work1 a 
deficiency in material or in labour to  
meet the demand of a market is sure to  
call forth invention4 ,it is a century  
ago since it was perceived that spinning
 by machinery might give the supply     
which human labour was inadequate to    
produce1 because1 doubtless1 the        
remuneration for that labour was very   
small4 ,the work of the distaff1 as it  
was carried on at that period1 in       
districts partly agricultural and partly
 commercial1 was1 generally1 an         
employment for the spare hours of the   
young women1 and the easy industry of   
the old4 ,it was a labour that was to   
assist in maintaining the family1--not a
 complete means for their maintenance4  
,the supply of yarn was therefore       

insufficient1 and ingenious men applied 
themselves to remedy that insufficiency4
 ,spinning-mills were built at          
,northampton in #agcc1 in which1 it is  
said1 although we have no precise       
account of it1 that an apparatus for    
spinning was erected4 ,a ,mr4 ,lawrence 
,earnshaw1 of ,mottram1 in ,cheshire1 is
 recorded to have invented a machine1 in
 #agec1 to spin and reel cotton at one  
operation2 which he showed to his       
neighbours and then destroyed it1       
through the generous apprehension that  
he might deprive the poor of bread4 ,we 
must admire the motive of this good man1
 although we are now enabled to show    
that his judgment was mistaken4 ,richard
 ,arkwright1 a barber of ,preston1      
invented1 in #agfi1 the principal part  
of the machinery for spinning cotton1   
and by so doing he gave bread to about  
two millions of people instead of fifty 
thousand2 and1 assisted by subsequent   
inventions1 raised the importation of   
cotton-wool from less than two million  

pounds per annum to a thousand million  
pounds2 has enabled us to supply other  
nations with cotton manufactures to the 
enormous amount of thirty-three million 
pounds sterling1 in one year1 #ahec2 has
 raised the annual produce of the       
manufacture from two hundred thousand   
pounds sterling to at least sixty       
million pounds sterling2 and has given  
direct employment to half a million of  
men1 women1 and young persons4          
,illustration3 ,sir ,richard ,arkwright4
  ,and how did ,arkwright effect this   
great revolution8 ,he asked himself     
whether it was not possible1 instead of 
a wheel which spins a single thread of  
cotton at a time1 and by means of which 
the spinner could obtain in twenty-four 
hours about two ounces of               
thread1--whether it might not be        
possible to spin the same material upon 
a great number of wheels1 from which    
many hundreds of threads might issue at 
the same moment4 ,the difficulty was in 
giving to these numerous wheels1        

spinning so many threads1 the peculiar  
action of two hands when they pinch1 at 
a little distance from each other1 a    
lock of cotton1 rendering it finer as it
 is drawn out4 ,it was necessary1 also1 
at the same time1 to imitate the action 
of the spindle1 which twisted together  
the filaments at the moment they had    
attained the necessary degree of        
fineness4 ,it would be extremely        
difficult1 if not impossible1 to give an
 adequate idea1 by words1 of the complex
 machinery by which ,arkwright          
accomplished his object4 ,since         
,arkwright's time prodigious            
improvements have been made in the      
machinery for cotton-spinning2 but the  
principle remains the same1 namely1 to  
enable rollers to do the work of human  
fingers1 with much greater precision1   
and incomparably cheaper4 ,we will      
attempt briefly to describe this chief  
portion of the great invention4  ,we    
must suppose that1 by the previous      
operation of carding1 the cotton-wool   

has been so combed and prepared as to be
 formed into a long untwisted line of   
about the thickness of a man's finger4  
,this line so formed 7after it has been 
introduced into the spinning-machine7 is
 called a roving1 the old name in       
hand-spinning4    ,illustration3        
,arkwright's original spinning-machine4 
,in order to convert this roving into a 
thread1 it is necessary that the fibres1
 which are for the most part curled up1 
and which lie in all directions1 should 
be stretched out and laid lengthwise1   
side by side2 that they should be       
pressed together so as to give them a   
more compact form2 and that they should 
be twisted1 so as to unite them all     
firmly together4 ,in the original method
 of spinning by the distaff1 those      
operations were performed by the finger 
and thumb1 and they were afterwards     
effected with greater rapidity1 but less
 perfectly1 by means of the long wheel  
and spindle4 ,for the same purpose1     
,arkwright employed two pairs of small  

rollers1 the one pair being placed at a 
little distance in front of the other4  
,the lower roller in each pair is       
furrowed or fluted lengthwise1 and the  
upper one is covered with leather2 so   
that1 as they revolve in contact with   
each other1 they take fast hold of the  
cotton which passes between them4 ,both 
pairs of rollers are turned by          
machinery1 which is so contrived that   
the second pair shall turn round with   
much more swiftness than the first4 ,now
 suppose that a roving is put between   
the first pair of rollers4 ,the         
immediate effect is merely to press it  
together into a more compact form4 ,but 
the roving has but just passed through  
the first pair of rollers1 when it is   
received between the second pair2 and as
 the rollers of the second pair revolve 
with greater velocity than those of the 
first1 they draw the roving forwards    
with greater rapidity than it is given  
out by the first pair4 ,consequently1   
the roving will be lengthened in passing

 from one pair to the other2 and the    
fibres of which it is composed will be  
drawn out and laid lengthwise side by   
side4 ,the increase of length will be   
exactly in proportion to the increased  
velocity of the second pair of rollers4 
,two or more rovings are generally      
united in this operation4 ,thus1 suppose
 that two rovings are introduced        
together between the first pair of      
rollers1 and that the second pair of    
rollers moves with twice the velocity of
 the first4 ,the new roving thus formed 
by the union of the two will then be of 
exactly twice the length of either of   
the original ones4 ,it will therefore   
contain exactly the same quantity of    
cotton per yard4 ,but its parts will be 
very differently arranged1 and its      
fibres will be drawn out longitudinally1
 and will be thus much better fitted for
 forming a thread4 ,this operation of   
doubling and drawing is repeated as     
often as is found necessary1 and the    
requisite degree of twist is given by a 

machine similar to the spindle and fly  
of the common flax-wheel4  ,the         
spinning-mule1 invented by ,samuel      
,crompton1 carried the mechanism of the 
cotton-factory many steps in advance4   
,long after ,crompton1 came the         
self-acting mule4 ,it is a carriage some
 twenty or thirty feet long1 travelling 
to and fro1 and drawing out the most    
delicate threads through hundreds of    
spindles1 whirling at a rate which      
scarcely permits the eye to trace their 
motion4 ,mr4 ,whitworth says1--,so great
 are the improvements effected in       
spinning machinery1 that one man can    
attend to a mule containing #ajhh       
spindles1 each spinning #c hanks1 or    
#cbfd hanks in the aggregate per day4   
,in ,hindustan1 where they still spin by
 hand1 it would be extravagant to expect
 a spinner to accomplish one hank per   
day2 so that in the ,united ,states and 
in ,great ,britain also we find the same
 amount of manual labour1 by improved   
machinery1 doing more than #cjjj times  

the work4    ,illustration3 ,samuel     
,crompton1 inventor of the              
spinning-mule4  ,of the rapidity with   
which some portions of the machinery    
operate1 we may form an idea from the   
fact that the very finest thread which  
is used in making lace is passed through
 the strong flame of a lamp1 which burns
 off the fibres without burning the     
thread itself4 ,the velocity with which 
the thread moves is so great1 that we   
cannot perceive any motion at all4 ,the 
line of thread1 passing off a wheel     
through the flame1 looks as if were     
perfectly at rest2 and it appears a     
miracle that it is not burnt4           
,illustration3 ,cotton ,mule-spinning4  
,the invention of ,arkwright--the       
substitution of rollers for             
fingers--changed the commerce of the    
world4 ,the machinery by which a man1 or
 woman1 or even child1 could produce two
 hundred threads where one was produced 
before1 caused a cheapness of production
 much greater than that of ,india1 where

 human labour is scarcely worth         
anything4 ,but the fabric of cotton was 
also infinitely improved by the         
machinery4 ,the hand of the spinner was 
unequal to its operations4 ,it sometimes
 produced a fine thread1 and sometimes a
 coarse one2 and therefore the quality  
of the cloth could not be relied upon4  
,the yarn which is spun by machinery is 
sorted with the greatest exactness1 and 
numbered according to its quality4 ,this
 circumstance alone1 which could only   
result from machinery1 has a direct     
tendency to diminish the cost of        
production4 ,machinery not only adds to 
human power1 and economizes human time1 
but it works up the most common         
materials into articles of value1 and   
equalizes the use of valuable materials4
 ,thus1 in linen of which the thread is 
spun by the hand1 a thick thread and a  
thin thread will be found side by side2 
and1 therefore1 not only is material    
wasted1 but the fabric is less durable1 
because it wears unequally4  ,these     

circumstances--the diminished cost of   
cotton goods1 and the added value to the
 quality--have rendered it impossible   
for the cheap labour of ,india to come  
into the market against the machinery of
 ,europe4 ,the trade in ,indian cotton  
goods is gone for ever4 ,not even the   
caprices of fashion can have an excuse  
for purchasing the dearer commodity4 ,we
 make it cheaper1 and we make it better4
 ,the trade in cotton1 as it exists in  
the present day1 is the great triumph of
 human ingenuity4 ,we bring the raw     
material from the country of the people 
who grow it1 on the other side of our   
globe2 we manufacture it by our machines
 into articles which we used to buy from
 them ready-made2 and taking back those 
articles to their own markets1          
encumbered with the cost of transport   
for fourteen thousand miles1 we sell the
 cotton to these very people cheaper    
than they can produce it themselves1 and
 they buy it therefore with eagerness4  
,nearly twenty years after ,arkwright   

had begun to spin by machinery1 that is 
in #aghf1 the price of a particular sort
 of cotton-yarn much used in the        
manufacture of calico was thirty-eight  
shillings a pound4 ,that same yarn in   
#ahcb was two shillings and eleven pence
 a pound4 ,in #ahad the selling price of
 a piece of calico distinguished by the 
trade as #gb-g_/h was twenty-eight      
shillings2 in #ahdd it was six shillings
 and nine pence4 ,it is probably less at
 this day4 ,if cotton goods were worn   
only by the few rich1 as they were worn 
in ancient times1 and even in the latter
 half of the last century1 that         
difference of price would not be a great
 object2 but the price is a very        
important object when every man1 woman1 
and child in the ,united ,kingdom has to
 pay it4 ,calico is four times as cheap 
as it was forty years ago4 ,there are no
 very certain data for the produce of   
our looms1 for1 happily1 no tax exists  
upon the great necessaries of life which
 they produce4 ,but it has been         

calculated that the home consumption of 
cotton cloth is equal to twenty-six     
yards for every individual of the       
population2 and taking the total number 
at twenty-seven millions1 the quantity  
required would be seven hundred million 
yards4 ,at five pence a yard1 the seven 
hundred million yards of cloth amount to
 above fourteen million pounds sterling4
 ,at half-a-crown a yard1 which we will 
take as the average price about forty   
years ago1 they would amount to         
eighty-four millions of pounds sterling4
 ,at twelve or fourteen times the       
present price1 or six shillings a yard1 
which proportion we get by knowing the  
price of yarn seventy years ago and at  
the present day1 the cost of seven      
hundred million yards of cotton cloth   
would be one hundred and seventy-five   
millions of pounds sterling4 ,it is     
perfectly clear that no such sum of     
money could be paid for cotton goods1   
and that in fact1 instead of between    
fourteen and fifteen millions being     

spent in this article of clothing by    
persons of all classes1 in consequence  
of the cheapness of the commodity1 we   
should go back to very nearly the same  
consumption that existed before         
,arkwright's invention1 that is1 to the 
consumption of the year #agej1 when the 
whole amount of the cotton manufacture  
of the kingdom did not exceed the annual
 value of two hundred thousand pounds4  
,at that rate of value1 the quantity of 
cloth manufactured could not have been  
equal to one five-hundredth part of that
 which is now manufactured for home     
consumption4 ,where one person a century
 ago consumed one yard1 the consumption 
per head has risen to about twenty-six  
yards4 ,this vast difference in the     
comforts of every family1 by the ability
 which they now possess of easily       
acquiring warm and healthful clothing1  
is a clear gain to all society1 and to  
every one as a portion of society4 ,it  
is more especially a gain to the females
 and the children of families1 whose    

condition is always degraded when       
clothing is scanty4 ,the power of       
procuring cheap clothing for themselves1
 and for their children1 has a tendency 
to raise the condition of females more  
than any other addition to their stock  
of comfort4 ,it cultivates habits of    
cleanliness and decency2 and those are  
little acquainted with the human        
character who can doubt whether         
cleanliness and decency are not only    
great aids to virtue1 but virtues       
themselves4 ,john ,wesley said that     
cleanliness was next to godliness4      
,there is little self-respect amidst    
dirt and rags1 and without self-respect 
there can be no foundation for those    
qualities which most contribute to the  
good of society4 ,the power of procuring
 useful clothing at a cheap price has   
raised the condition of women amongst   
us1 and the influence of the condition  
of women upon the welfare of a community
 can never be too highly estimated4     
,that the manufacture of cotton by      

machinery has produced one of the great 
results for which machinery is to be    
desired1 namely1 cheapness of           
production1 cannot1 we think1 be        
doubted4 ,if increased employment of    
human labour has gone along with that   
cheapness of production1 even the most  
prejudiced can have no doubt of the     
advantages of this machinery to all     
classes of the community4  ,at the time 
that ,arkwright commenced his machinery1
 a man named ,hargreave1 who had set up 
a less perfect invention1 was driven out
 of ,lancashire1 at the peril of his    
life1 by a combination of the old       
spinners by the wheel4 ,in #aghi1 when  
the spinning machinery was introduced   
into ,normandy1 the hand-spinners there 
also destroyed the mills1 and put down  
the manufacture for a time4 ,lancashire 
and ,normandy are now1 in ,england and  
,france1 the great seats of the cotton  
manufacture4 ,the people of ,lancashire 
and ,normandy had not formerly the      
means1 as we have now1 of knowing that  

cheap production produces increased     
employment4 ,there were many examples of
 this principle formerly to be found in 
arts and manufactures2 but the people   
were badly educated upon such subjects1 
principally because studious and        
inquiring men had thought such matters  
beneath their attention4 ,we live in    
times more favourable for these         
researches4 ,the people of ,lancashire  
and ,normandy1 at the period we mention1
 being ignorant of what would conduce to
 their real welfare1 put down the       
machines4 ,in both countries they were a
 very small portion of the community    
that attempted such an illegal act4 ,the
 weavers were interested in getting     
cotton yarn cheap1 so the combination   
was opposed to their interests2 and the 
spinners were chiefly old women and     
girls1 very few in number1 and of little
 influence4 ,yet they and their friends1
 both in ,england and ,france1 made a   
violent clamour2 and but for the        
protection of the laws1 the             

manufactories in each country would     
never have been set up4 ,what was the   
effect upon the condition of this very  
population8 ,m4 ,say1 in his ',complete 
,course of ,political ,economy1' states1
 upon the authority of an ,english      
manufacturer of fifty years' experience1
 that1 in ten years after the           
introduction of the machines1 the people
 employed in the trade1 spinners and    
weavers1 were more than forty times as  
many as when the spinning was done by   
hand4 ,the spinning machinery of        
,lancashire alone now produces as much  
yarn as would require more than the     
entire population of the ,united        
,kingdom to produce with the distaff and
 spindle4 ,this immense power might be  
supposed to have superseded human labour
 altogether in the production of cotton 
yarn4 ,it did no such thing4 ,it gave a 
now direction to the labour that was    
formerly employed at the distaff and    
spindle2 but it increased the quantity  
of labour altogether employed in the    

manufacture of cotton1 at least a       
hundred fold4 ,it increased it too where
 an increase of labour was most         
desirable4 ,it gave constant1 easy1 and 
not unpleasant occupation to women and  
children4 ,in all the departments of    
cotton spinning1 and in many of those of
 weaving by the power-loom1 women and   
children are employed4 ,there are       
degrees1 of course1 in the agreeable    
nature of the employment1 particularly  
as to its being more or less cleanly4   
,but there are extensive apartments in  
large cotton-factories1 where great     
numbers of females are daily engaged in 
processes which would not soil the      
nicest fingers1 dressed with the        
greatest neatness1 and clothed in       
materials 7as all women are now clothed7
 that were set apart for the highest in 
the land a century ago4 ,and yet there  
are some who regret that the aged crones
 no longer sit in the cottage chimney1  
earning a few pence daily by their rude 
industry at the wheel6    ,illustration3

 ,hindoo weaver at work in a field4     
,the creation of employment amongst     
ourselves by the cheapness of cotton    
goods produced by machinery1 is not to  
be considered as a mere change from the 
labour of ,india to the labour of       
,england4 ,it is a creation of          
employment1 operating just in the same  
manner as the machinery did for printing
 books4 ,the ,indian1 it is true1 no    
longer sends us his calicoes and his    
coloured stuffs2 we make them ourselves4
 ,but he sends us fifty times the amount
 of raw cotton that he sent when the    
machinery was first set up4 ,the workman
 on the banks of the ,ganges is no      
longer weaving calicoes for us1 in his  
loom of reeds under the shadow of a     
palm-tree2 but he is gathering for us   
fifty times as much cotton as he        
gathered before1 and making fifty times 
as much indigo for us to colour it with4
    ,illustration3 ,power-looms4        
,illustration3 ,dr4 ,cartwright1        
inventor of the power-loom4  ,the change

 that has been produced upon the labour 
of ,india by the machinery employed for 
spinning and weaving cotton1 has a      
parallel in the altered condition of the
 hand-loom weavers in ,great ,britain4  
,in #aghe ,dr4 ,cartwright produced his 
first power loom4 ,it was a rude machine
 compared with the refinements that have
 successively carried on his principle4 
,every resistance was made to the       
introduction to this new power4 ,the    
mill owners were slow to perceive its   
advantages2 the first mills in which    
these looms were introduced were burnt4 
,the hand-loom weavers worked at a      
machine which little varied from that   
with which their ,flemish instructors   
had worked three centuries before4 ,but 
no prejudice and no violence could      
prevent the progress of the new machine4
 ,the object for which machines are     
established1 and the object which they  
do effect1 is cheapness of production4  
,machines either save material1 or      
diminish labour1 or both4 ,which is the 

cheapest1 said the committee to ,joseph 
,foster1 a piece of goods made by a     
power-loom1 or a piece of goods made by 
a hand-loom8 ,he answered1 a power-loom 
is the cheapest4#bb ,this answer was    
decisive4 ,the hand-loom weavers have   
continued to struggle1 even up to this  
time1 with the greater productive power 
of the power-loom2 but the struggle is  
nearly over4 ,it would have been        
terminated long ago1 if the miserable   
wages which the hand-loom weaver        
obtained1 had not been eked out by      
parochial contributions4 ,it was the    
duty of society to break the fall of the
 workmen who were thrust out of their   
place by the invention2 but had society 
attempted to interpose between the new  
machines and the old1 so as to have kept
 the old workers to their less          
profitable employment1 there would have 
been far more derangements of labour to 
mitigate4 ,upon the introduction of the 
spinning machinery there was great      
temporary distress of the hand-spinners1

 with rioting and destruction of        
spinning-mills4 ,if these modes of      
resistance to invention had gone on to  
prevent altogether the manufacture of   
cotton thread by the spinning machinery1
 the consumption of cotton cloth would  
have been little increased1 and the     
number of persons engaged in the        
manufacture would have been twenty1     
thirty or even forty times less than the
 present number4 ,but there would have  
been another result4 ,would the great   
body of the people of ,europe have      
chosen to wear for many years dear cloth
 instead of cheap cloth1 that a few     
thousand spinners might have been kept  
at their ancient wheels in ,lancashire8 
,capital can easily shift its place1 and
 invention follows where capital goes   
before4 ,the people of ,france1 and     
,germany1 and ,america1 would have      
employed the cheap machine instead of   
the dear one2 and the people of ,england
 would have had cheap cloth instead of  
dear cloth from thence4 ,we cannot build

 a wall of brass round our islands2 and 
the thin walls of prohibitive duties are
 very easily broken through4 ,a profit  
of from twenty to thirty per cent4 will 
pour in any given quantity of smuggled  
goods that a nation living under        
prohibitive laws can demand4 ,bonaparte1
 in the height of his power1 passed the 
celebrated ,berlin decree for the       
exclusion of all ,english produce from  
the continent of ,europe4 ,but our      
merchants laughed at him4 ,the whole    
coast of ,france1 and ,holland1 and     
,italy1 became one immense receiving    
place for smuggled goods4 ,if he had    
lined the whole coast with all the six  
hundred thousand soldiers that he       
marched to ,russia1 instead of a few    
custom-house officers1 he could not have
 stopped the introduction of ,english   
produce4 ,it was against the nature of  
things that the people who had been     
accustomed to cheap goods should buy    
dear ones2 or that they should go       
without any article1 whether of         

necessity or luxury1 whose use had      
become general4 ,mark1 therefore1 if the
 cotton-spinners of ,lancashire had     
triumphed eighty years ago over         
,arkwright's machinery1 there would not 
have been a single man1 woman1 or child 
of those spinners employed at all1      
within twenty years after that most     
fatal triumph4 ,the manufacture of      
cotton would have gone to other         
countries2 cotton spinning in ,england  
would have been at an end4 ,the same    
thing would have happened if the        
power-loom1 fifty years ago1 had been   
put down by combination2 other countries
 would have used the invention which we 
should have been foolish enough to      
reject4 ,thirty years ago ,america had  
adopted the power-loom4                 
,illustration3 ,flemish weaver4 ,from a 
print of #aefh4  ,in the cotton         
manufacture1 which from its immense     
amount possesses the means of rewarding 
the smallest improvement1 invention has 
been at work1 and most successfully1 to 

make machines1 that make machines1 that 
make the cotton thread4 ,there is a part
 of the machinery used in               
cotton-spinning called a reed4 ,it      
consists of a number of pieces of wire1 
set side by side in a frame1 resembling1
 as far as such things admit of         
comparison1 a comb with two backs4      
,these reeds are of various lengths and 
degrees of fineness2 but they all       
consist of cross pieces of wire1        
fastened at regular intervals between   
longitudinal pieces of split cane1 into 
which they are tied with waxed thread4  
,a machine now does the work of         
reed-making4 ,the materials enter the   
machine in the shape of two or three    
yards of cane1 and many yards of wire   
and thread2 and the machine cuts the    
wire1 places each small piece with      
unfailing regularity between the canes1 
twists the thread round the cane with a 
knot that cannot slip1 every time a     
piece of wire is put in1 and does       
several yards of this extraordinary work

 in less time than we have taken to     
write the description4 ,there is another
 machine for making a part of the       
machine for cotton-spinning1 even more  
wonderful4 ,the cotton wool is combed by
 circular cards of every degree of      
fineness2 and the card-making machine1  
receiving only a supply of leather and  
wire1 does its own work without the aid 
of hands4 ,it punches the leather--cuts 
the wire--passes it through the         
leather--clinches it behind--and gives  
it the proper form of the tooth in      
front--producing a complete card of     
several feet in circumference in a      
wonderfully short time4 ,all men feel   
the benefit of such inventions1 because 
they lessen the cost of production4 ,the
 necessity for them always precedes     
their use4 ,there were not reed-makers  
and card-makers enough in ,england to   
supply the demands of the cotton        
machinery2 so invention went to work to 
see how machines could make machines2   
and the consequent diminished cost of   

machinery has diminished the price of   
clothing4    #bb ,see p4 #ajg4          
,,chapter ,,xvii4       ,the woollen    
manufacture--,divisions of              
employment--,early                      
history--,prohibitory laws--,the        
,jacquard loom--,middle-age             
legislation--,sumptuary laws--,the silk 
manufacture--      ,ribbon-weaving--,the
 linen manufacture--,cloth-printing--   
,bleaching4   ,those who have not taken 
the trouble to witness1 or to inquire   
into1 the processes by which they are   
surrounded with the conveniences and    
comforts of civilized life1 can have no 
idea of the vast variety of ways in     
which invention is at work to lessen the
 cost of production4 ,the people of     
,india1 who spin their cotton wholly by 
hand1 and weave their cloth in a rude   
loom1 would doubtless be astonished when
 they first saw the effects of          
machinery1 in the calico which is       
returned to their own shores1 made from 
the material brought from their own     

shores1 cheaper than they themselves    
could make it4 ,but their indolent      
habits would not permit them to inquire 
how machinery produced this wonder4     
,there are many amongst us who only know
 that the wool grows upon the sheep's   
back1 and that it is converted into a   
coat by labour and machinery4 ,they do  
not estimate the prodigious power of    
thought--the patient labour--the        
unceasing watchfulness--the frequent    
disappointment--the uncertain           
profit--which many have had to encounter
 in bringing this machinery to          
perfection1 and in organizing the modes 
of its working1 in connection with      
labour4 ,further1 their knowledge of    
history may have been confined to       
learning by rote the dates when kings   
began to reign1 with the names of the   
battles they fought or the rebels they  
executed4 ,of the progress of commerce  
and the arts they may have been taught  
little4 ,the records of wool constitute 
a real part of the history of ,england2 

and form1 in our opinion1 a subject of  
far more permanent importance than the  
scandalous annals of the wives of ,henry
 ,,viii41 or the mistresses of ,charles 
,,ii4  ,let us first take a broad view  
of the more prominent facts that belong 
to our woollen manufacture2 and then    
proceed to notice those of other textile
 fabrics4  ,the reader will remember    
that when the fur-traders refused to    
advance to ,john ,tanner a supply of    
blankets for his winter consumption1 he 
applied himself to make garments out of 
moose-skins4 ,the skin was ready        
manufactured to his hands when he had   
killed and stripped the moose2 but still
 the blanket brought from ,england      
across the ,atlantic was to him a       
cheaper and a better article of clothing
 than the moose-skin which he had at    
hand2 and he felt it a privation when   
the trader refused it to him upon the   
accustomed credit4 ,it never occurred to
 him to think of manufacturing a        
blanket2 although he was in some        

respects a manufacturer4 ,he was a      
manufacturer of sugar1 amongst the      
various trades which he followed4 ,he   
used to travel about the country till he
 had found a grove of maple-trees2 and  
here he would sit down for a month or   
two till he had extracted sugar from the
 maples4 ,why did he not attempt to make
 blankets8 ,he had not that ,accumulated
 ,knowledge1 and he did not work with   
that ,division of ,labour1 which are    
essential to the manufacture of         
blankets--both of which principles are  
carried to their highest perfection when
 capital enables the manufacture of     
woollen cloth1 or any other article1 to 
be carried forward upon a large scale4  
,we will endeavour to trace what        
accumulations of skill1 and what        
divisions of employment1 were necessary 
to enable ,tanner to clothe himself with
 a piece of woollen cloth4 ,we shall not
 stop to inquire whether the skill has  
produced the division of employment1 or 
the division of employment has produced 

the skill4 ,it is sufficient for us to  
show1 that the two principles are in    
joint operation1 unitedly carrying      
forward the business of production in   
the most profitable manner4 ,it is      
enough for us to know1 that where there 
is no skill there is no division of     
employment1 and where there is no       
division of employment there is no      
skill4 ,skill and division of employment
 are inseparably wedded4 ,if they could 
be separated1 they would in their       
separation cease to work profitably4    
,they are kept together by the constant 
energy of capital1 devising the most    
profitable direction for labour4        
,before a blanket can be made1 we must  
have the material for making a blanket4 
,tanner had not the material1 because he
 was not a cultivator4 ,before wool can 
be grown there must be1 as we have      
shown1 appropriation of land4 ,when this
 appropriation takes place1 the owner of
 the land either cultivates it himself1 
which is the earliest stage in the      

division of agricultural employment1--or
 he obtains a portion of the produce in 
the shape of corn or cattle1 or in a    
money payment4 ,hence a tenantry4 ,but  
the tenant1 to manufacture wool at the  
greatest advantage1 must possess        
capital1 and carry forward the principle
 of the division of employment by hiring
 labourers4 ,we use the word manufacture
 of wool advisedly2 for all farming     
processes are manufacturing processes1  
and invariably reduce themselves to     
change of form1 as all commercial       
processes reduce themselves to change of
 place4 ,if the capital of the farmer is
 sufficient to enable him to farm upon a
 large scale1 he divides his labourers2 
and one becomes a shepherd1 one a       
ploughman1--one sows the ground1 and one
 washes and shears the sheep1 more      
skilfully than another4 ,if he has a    
considerable farm1 he divides his land1 
also1 upon the same principle1 and has  
pasture1 and arable1 and rotation of    
crops4 ,by these divisions he is enabled

 to manufacture wool cheaper than the   
farmer upon a small scale1 who employs  
one man to do everything1 and has not a 
proper proportion of pasture and arable1
 or a due rotation of crops4 ,at every  
division of employment skill must be    
called forth in a higher perfection than
 when two or more employments were      
joined together2 and the chief director 
of the skill1 the capitalist himself1 or
 farmer1 must require more skill to make
 all the parts which compose his        
manufactury work together harmoniously4 
,but we have new divisions of employment
 to trace before the wool can be got to 
the manufacturer4 ,these employments are
 created by what may be called the local
 division of labour4 ,it is convenient  
to rear the sheep upon the mountains of 
,wales1 because there the short and     
thymy pastures are fitted for the growth
 of wool4 ,it is convenient to          
manufacture the wool into cloth at      
,leeds1 because coals are there at hand 
to give power to the steam-engines1 with

 which the manufacture is carried on4   
,the farmer in ,wales1 and the          
manufacturer of cloth at ,leeds1 must be
 brought into connection4 ,in the       
infancy of commerce one or both of them 
would make a journey to establish this  
connection2 but the cost of that journey
 would add to the cost of the wool1 and 
therefore lessen the consumption of     
woollen cloth4 ,the division of         
employment goes on to the creation of a 
wool-factor1 or dealer in wool1 who     
either purchases directly from the      
grower1 or sells to the manufacturer for
 a commission from the grower4 ,the     
grower1 therefore1 sends the wool direct
 to the factor1 whose business it is to 
find out what manufacturer is in want of
 wool4 ,if the factor did not exist1 the
 manufacturer would have to find out1 by
 a great deal of personal exertion1 what
 farmer had wool to sell2 or the farmer 
would have to find out1 with the same   
exertion1 what manufacturer wanted to   
buy wool4 ,the factor receives a        

commission1 which the seller and buyer  
ultimately unite in paying4 ,they       
co-operate to establish a wool-factor1  
just as we all co-operate to establish a
 postman2 and just as the postman1 who  
delivers a number of letters to a great 
many individuals1 does that service at  
little more cost to all1 than each      
individual would pay for the delivery of
 a single letter1 so does the           
wool-factor exchange the wool between   
the grower and the manufacturer1 at     
little more cost to a large number of   
the growers who employ him1 than each   
would be obliged to pay in expenses and 
loss of time to travel from ,wales to   
,leeds to sell his wool4  ,we have1     
however1 a great many more divisions of 
employment to follow out before the wool
 is conveyed from ,wales to ,leeds or   
,bradford4 ,if the packs are taken on   
shipboard1 and carried down the ,mersey 
to ,liverpool1 we have all the variety  
of occupations1 involving different     
degrees of skill1 which make up the life

 of a mariner2 if they go forward upon  
the railroad to ,manchester1 we have all
 the higher degrees of skill involved in
 their transport which belong to the    
business of an engineer2 or if they     
finally reach their destination by      
canal1 we have another division of      
labour that adjusts itself to the       
management of boats in canals4 ,but the 
ship1 the railroad1 the canal1 which are
 created by the necessity of            
transporting commodities from place to  
place1 have been formed after the most  
laborious exercise of the highest       
science1 working with the greatest      
mechanical skill2 and they exist only   
through the energy of prodigious        
accumulations of capital1 the growth of 
centuries of patient and painful labour 
and economy4  ,we have at length the    
wool in a manufactury at ,leeds or      
,bradford4 ,the first class of persons  
who prepare the wool1 are the sorters   
and pickers4 ,it is their business to   
separate the fine from the coarse locks1

 so that each may be suited to different
 fabrics4 ,there is judgment required1  
which could not exist without division  
of labour2 and the business1 too1 must  
be done rapidly1 or the cost of sorting 
and picking would outweigh the          
advantage4 ,the second principal        
operation is scouring4 ,here the men are
 constantly employed in washing the     
wool1 to free it from all impurities4   
,it is evident that the same man could  
not profitably pass from the business of
 sorting to that of scouring1 and back  
again1--from dry work to wet1 and from  
wet to dry4 ,when the wool is out of the
 hands of the scourers it comes into    
those of the dyers1 who colour it with  
the various chemical agents applied to  
the manufacture4 ,the carders next      
receive it1 who tear it with machines   
till it attains the requisite fineness4 
,from the carders it passes to the      
slubbers1 who form it into tough loose  
threads2 and thence to spinners1 who    
make the threads finer and stronger4    

,there are subdivisions of employment   
which are not essential for us to       
notice1 to give an idea of the great    
division of employment1 and the         
consequent accumulation of peculiar     
skill1 required to prepare wool to be   
made into yarn1 to be made into woollen 
cloth4  ,the next stages in the         
manufacture are the spinning1 the       
warping1 the sizing1 and the weaving4   
,these are all distinct operations1 and 
are all carried forward with the most   
elaborate machinery1 adapted to the     
division of labour which it enforces1   
and by which it is enforced4  ,but there
 is a great deal still to be done before
 the cloth is fit to be worn4 ,the      
cloth1 now woven1 has to be scoured as  
the wool was4 ,there is a subsequent    
process called burling1 at which females
 are constantly employed4 ,the boiling  
and milling come next1 in which the     
cloth is again exposed to the action of 
water1 and beaten so as to give it      
toughness and consistency4 ,dressers1   

called giggers1 next take it in hand1   
who also work with machinery upon the   
wet cloth4 ,it has then to be dried in  
houses where the temperature is         
sometimes as high as #acj degrees1 and  
where the men work almost naked4 ,it is 
evident that the boilers and dressers   
could not profitably work in the        
dry-houses3 and that there must be      
division of employment to prevent those 
sudden transitions which would destroy  
the human frame much more quickly than a
 regular exposure to cold or heat1 to   
damp or dryness4 ,the cloth must be next
 cropped or cut upon the face1 to remove
 the shreds of wool which deform the    
surface in every direction4 ,when cut1  
it has to be brushed dry by machinery1  
to get out the croppings which remain in
 its texture4 ,this done1 it is dyed in 
the shape of cloth1 as it was formerly  
dyed in the shape of wool4 ,then come a 
variety of processes1 to increase the   
delicacy of the fabric3--singeing1 by   
passing the cloth within a burning      

distance of red-hot cylinders2 frizing1 
to raise a nap upon the cloth2 glossing1
 by carrying over it heavy heated plates
 of iron2 pressing1 in which operation  
of the press red-hot plates are also    
employed2 and drawing1 in which men1    
with fine needles1 draw up minute holes 
in the cloth when it has passed through 
the last operation4 ,then comes the     
packing2 and after all these processes  
it must be bought by a wholesale dealer1
 and again by a retailer1 before it     
reaches the consumer4 ,between the      
growth of the fleece of wool1 and the   
completion of a coat by a skilful       
tailor1--who1 it is affirmed1 puts      
five-and-twenty thousand stitches into  
it1--what an infinite division of       
employments6 what inventions of science6
 what exercises of ingenuity6 what      
unwearied application6 what painful1 and
 too often unhealthy labour6 ,and yet if
 men are to be clothed well and cheaply1
 all these manifold processes are not in
 vain2 and the individual injury in some

 branches of the employ is not to be    
compared to the suffering that would    
ensue if cloth were not made at all1 or 
if it were made at such a cost that the 
most wealthy only could afford to wear  
it4 ,but for the accumulation of        
knowledge1 and the division of          
employments1 engaged in the manufacture 
of cloth1 and set in operation by large 
capital1 we should each be obliged to be
 contented with a blanket such as ,john 
,tanner desired1 and very few indeed    
would even obtain that blanket3 for if  
skill and division of labour were1 not  
to go on in one branch1 they would not  
go on in another1 and then we should    
have nothing to give in exchange for the
 blanket4 ,the individual injury to     
health1 also1 produced by the division  
of labour1 is not so great1 upon the    
average1 as if there were no division4  
,all the returns of human life in this  
country show an extremely little        
difference in the effect upon life1 even
 of what we consider the most unhealthy 

trades2 and this proceeds from that     
extraordinary power of the human body to
 adapt itself to a habit1 however       
apparently injurious1 which is one of   
the most beautiful evidences of the     
compensating principle which prevails   
throughout the moral world4  ,the wool  
manufacture of ,great ,britain employs  
very nearly three hundred thousand      
persons2 in the various processes       
connected with the production of cloth1 
worsted1 flannel1 blankets1 and carpets4
 ,what a contrast to all this variety of
 labour is the history of the earlier   
stages of the manufacture of woollen    
cloth4 ,it is unnecessary to go back to 
the time of ,henry ,,iii41 when the     
production of wool was in such an       
imperfect state through flocks of sheep 
being scattered over immense tracts of  
waste land1 that a manor in ,surrey was 
held under the crown by the tenure of   
gathering wool for the ,queen4          
,according to the record1 ,peter de     
,baldewyn was to gather the wool from   

the thorns that had torn it from the    
sheep's back2 and if he did not choose  
to gather it he was to forfeit twenty   
shillings4#bc ,in the time of ,edward   
,,iii41 according to ,fuller1 in his    
',church ,history1' the ,english        
clothiers were wholly unskilful2 knowing
 no more what to do with their wool than
 the sheep which wear it1 as to any     
artificial and curious drapery1 their   
best cloth being no better than frieze1 
such their coarseness for want of skill 
in the making4 ,when the ,flemish       
clothiers came into ,england1 the       
manufacture improved2 in spite of the   
regulating power of the state1 which was
 perpetually interfering with material1 
quality1 and wages4 ,in time wool became
 the chief commodity of ,england4 ,the  
woolsack of the ,house of ,lords was    
typical of this staple industry2 and of 
the mode also in which the majesty of   
legislation sat heavy upon the produce4 
,to encourage the manufacture nothing   
was to be woven but wool4 ,from the     

cradle to the grave all were to be wrapt
 in wool4 ,the genius of prohibition    
prevented the exchange of wool with     
other manufactured commodities2 and1    
therefore1 to keep up rents1 ,narcissa  
was odious in woollen1 and a ,holland   
shirt--for ,british linen did not       
exist--was a rare commodity1 cheap at   
eight shillings an ell1 as in the days  
of ,dame ,quickly4  ,this was the state 
of things at the end of the #agth       
century1 and somewhat later4 ,the       
manufacturers clamoured against the     
exportation of wool2 and the            
agriculturists at the same time resisted
 the importation of ,irish and ,scotch  
cattle4 ,the parliament listened to both
 sets of clamourers4 ,it said to the    
people3--,you of trade shall not be     
ruined by the land selling wool to      
foreigners--there shall be no           
competition2 you shall buy the wool at  
the lowest price4 ,and then parliament  
turned round to the complaining grazier1
 and said1--the cloth-maker and his men 

shall not ruin you by buying meat       
cheap--no ,irish cattle or ,scotch sheep
 shall come here to lower your prices4  
,from #affd to #ahbd the exportation of 
wool was strictly prohibited4 ,the      
importation was sometimes prevented by  
high duties--sometimes encouraged by    
low4 ,the manufacture was constantly    
struggling with these attempts of the   
state to hold a balance between what    
were so universally considered as       
conflicting interests4 ,in #ahdd the    
whole system was abandoned4 ,in #ahec1  
we imported one hundred and seventeen   
million lbs4 of sheep and lamb's        
wool--of which three-fifths came from   
,australia--and two million of alpaca   
and llama wool4 ,the wool-growers at    
home still found a ready market2 the    
great body of the population had good   
coats and flannels and blankets2 and1 in
 addition1 we exported ten million      
pounds sterling of woollen manufactures4
    ,illustration3 ,jacquard            
,power-looms3 ,stuff-manufacture4       

,illustration3 ,mechanism of power-loom4
  ,the employment of wool in the        
manufacture of broadcloth and flannel   
was1 a few years ago1 almost the entire 
business of the woollen factories4 ,the 
novel uses to which wool is now applied1
 and the almost innumerable varieties of
 articles of clothing which are produced
 from long wool and short wool--from    
combinations of alpaca wool and coarse  
wool1 of wool with cotton1 of wool with 
silk--together with the introduction of 
brilliant dyes and tasteful designs1    
formerly unknown--have established vast 
seats of manufacture which are almost   
peculiar to our country1 and have       
converted1 in a few years1 humble       
villages into great cities4 ,the finest 
,paisley shawls rival the elaborate     
handicraft of ,hindustan2 and1 what is  
of more importance1 the humblest female 
may purchase a tasteful article of dress
 at a price which a few years ago would 
have been thought fabulous4 ,the        
wonderful variety of patterns which we  

see in these and other productions of   
modern skill are effected by the        
,jacquard apparatus1 in which the       
pattern depends upon the disposition of 
holes pierced in separate bits of       
pasteboard4 ,in common weaving1 the weft
 threads pass alternately under and over
 the entire warp threads1 which are     
lifted up to allow the weft in the      
shuttle to traverse from one side to the
 other4 ,the ,jacquard apparatus        
determines1 by the number and           
arrangement of the holes in the cards1  
which of the separate warp threads shall
 be so lifted2 for at every throw of the
 shuttle the blank part of each card    
moves a series of levers which raise    
certain warp threads2 while other       
levers1 passing into the holes in the   
card1 do not affect the other warp      
threads4 ,in this way1 patterns of the  
greatest complexity are woven in cotton1
 and worsted1 and silk2 so that even a  
minute work of art1 such as a portrait  
or a landscape1 may be produced from the

 loom4 ,every pattern requires a        
separate set of cards4 ,we do not expect
 this brief notice to be readily        
understood4 ,those who would comprehend 
the extent of ingenuity involved in the 
principle of this invention1 and the    
beautiful results of which it is        
capable1 should witness its operation in
 a ,halifax power-loom4 ,in a bobbin-net
 machine the cards are connected with a 
revolving pentagonal bar1 each side of  
which is pierced with holes1            
corresponding with the pins or levers   
above4 ,when a card comes over the      
topmost side of the pentagon the levers 
drop2 but those pins only which enter   
through the holes in the card affect the
 pattern which is being worked4 ,any one
 who views this complicated arrangement 
in a ,nottingham lace-machine1 requires 
no small amount of attention to         
comprehend its mysterious movements2 and
 when the connection is perceived       
between that chain of dropping cards1   
and the flower that is being worked in  

the lace1 a vague sense of the manifold 
power of invention comes over the       
mind--we had almost said an awful sense4
    ,illustration3 ,jacquard cards4     
99       99       99       99       99  
,if there be one thing more remarkable  
than another in the visible condition of
 the people of ,great ,britain1 it is   
the universality of useful1 elegant1 and
 cheap clothing4 ,there is very small   
distinction in the ordinary coat and    
trowsers of the peer and the best dress 
of the artisan2 and not a great deal    
more in the gown and shawl of the       
high-born lady and those of the handmaid
 of her toilet4 ,perhaps the absence of 
mere finery1 and the taste which is an  
accompaniment of superior education1    
constitute the chief difference in the  
dress of various ranks4 ,this feature of
 the present times is a part of our     
social history4  ,for several centuries 
the domestic trade of the country was   
hemmed round and fettered by laws       
against extravagance in dress1 which had

 always been a favourite subject for the
 experimentalizing of barbarous         
legislation4 ,an act of #adfc1 recites  
that the ,commons pray their lord the   
king to remember that in the times of   
his noble progenitors1 ordinances and   
statutes were made for the apparel and  
array of the commons1 as well of men as 
of women1 so that none of them should   
use or wear any inordinate or excessive 
apparel1 but only according to their    
degrees4 ,however1 we find that all     
these ordinances had been utterly       
fruitless4 ,the parliament makes new    
ordinances4 ,the nobles1 according to   
these1 may wear whatever they please2   
knights and their wives were to wear no 
cloth of gold1 or fur of sables2 no     
person under the state of a lord to wear
 any purple silk2 no esquires or        
gentlemen and their wives any silk at   
all2 no persons not having possessions  
of the yearly value of forty pounds1 any
 fur2 and1 what is cruel indeed1 no     
widow but such as hath possessions of   

the value of forty pounds1 shall wear   
any fur1 any gold or silver girdle1 or  
any kerchief that had cost more than    
three shillings and four-pence2 persons 
not having forty shillings a-year were  
denied the enjoyment of fustian and     
scarlet cloth2 the yeoman was to have no
 stuffing in his doublet2 nor servants  
in husbandry1 broadcloth of a higher    
price than two shillings a yard4 ,the   
length of gowns1 jackets1 and cloaks1   
was prescribed by the same statute2 and 
the unhappy tailor who exceeded the     
length by the breadth of his nail1 was  
to be mulcted in the same penalties as  
those who flaunted in skirts of more    
than needful longitude4 ,the men and    
women of the mystery and workmanship of 
silk prefer their piteous complaint to  
parliament1 that silk-work ready wrought
 is brought into the realm4 ,if it had  
occurred to them to petition that the   
gentlemen and their wives might be      
permitted to wear satin1 as well as the 
lords1 their piteous complaint of want  

of occupation might have been more      
easily redressed than by foreign        
prohibition4 ,sumptuary laws have long  
been abolished2 but to them succeeded   
the laws of custom1 which prescribed one
 sort of dress to one condition of      
people1 and another to another4 ,we     
cannot doubt which state gives most     
employment to manufacturers1 the law of 
exclusiveness or the law of             
universality4 ,if the labourer and      
artificer were still restricted1 by     
enactment or by custom1 to the wearing  
of cloth of a certain price per yard1 we
 may be quite sure that the manufacture 
of the finer cloths would be in no      
flourishing condition2 and if the       
servant-maid could not put on her       
,sunday gown of silk1 we may be equally 
clear that the silk-trade would continue
 to be the small thing that it was half 
a century ago1 when it had the full     
benefit of restriction1 instead of      
being1 as it is now1 one of the great   
staple trades of the country4  ,when the

 frame-work knitters of silk stockings  
petitioned ,oliver ,cromwell for a      
charter1 they said1 the ,englishman buys
 silk of the stranger for twenty marks1 
and sells him the same again for one    
hundred pounds4 ,the higher pride of the
 present day is that we buy seven       
million pounds of raw silk from the     
stranger1 employ a hundred and fourteen 
thousand of our own people in the       
manufacture of it by the aid of         
machinery1 and sell it to the stranger1 
and our own people1 at a price as low as
 that of the calico of half a century   
ago4 ,in #ahec the exports of silk      
manufactures1 including those of silk   
mixed with other materials1 silk-yarn   
and silk-twist1 amounted to the enormous
 sum of two millions sterling1 having   
doubled since #ahdi4 ,in #ahbf1 when the
 ruin of our silk-trade was boldly      
prophesied as the sure result of the    
reduction of the prohibitive duties on  
foreign silk1 the exports of our silk   
manufactures did not reach two hundred  

thousand pounds4 ,william ,huskisson1   
the great statesman who produced this   
mighty change1 was then denounced in    
parliament as an insensible and         
hard-hearted metaphysician4             
,illustration3 ,hanks of silk4 a1       
,bengal2 b1 ,italian2 c1 ,persian2   d1 
,broussa4    ,illustration3 ,egyptian   
winding-reel4  ,when a boy who keeps    
silk-worms upon mulberry leaves1 puts a 
spinning-worm into a little paper bag1  
and finally obtains an oval ball of     
silk1--he does1 upon a small scale1 what
 is done in the silk-growing countries  
upon a large scale4 ,when he winds off  
his cocoon of silk upon a little reel1  
he is engaged in the first process of   
silk making4 ,there must be myriads of  
silk-worms reared to produce the seven  
million pounds of raw silk that ,great  
,britain manufactures4 ,the school-boy1 
from three or four silk-worms1 can      
obtain a little skein of silk1 which he 
carefully puts between the leaves of a  
book1 and looks at it again and again1  

in delight at its glossy beauty4        
,perhaps he does not take the trouble to
 think how many such skeins would be    
required to produce a pair of silk      
stockings4 ,as the school-boy puts his  
skein into a book1 so the silk-producers
 of ,india1 ,italy1 ,persia1 and        
,turkey1 send us their hanks of silk1   
which we call by various names1 made up 
as shown in the opposite page4 ,in      
,egypt1 a silk-producing country1 a     
woman has a simple machine for preparing
 the hanks of silk for the purposes of  
commerce4 ,she winds the silk upon a    
reel4 ,she has no moving power but that 
of her hand and arm4 ,in ,england a     
woman also attends to a winding-machine1
 by which the silk is transferred to    
bobbins1 for the purpose of being spun  
to various degrees of fineness4 ,she has
 no labour to perform1 beyond providing 
a supply of material to be wound1       
removing a bobbin when it is filled1    
placing an empty one in its place1 and  
occasionally piecing a broken thread4   

,she is doing what the machine cannot   
do--adjusting her operations to many    
varying circumstances4 ,the machine is  
moved by the steam-engine2 but the      
steam-engine1 the reels1 and the bobbins
 would work unavailingly1 without the   
guidance of the mind that waits upon and
 watches them4    ,illustration3 ,silk  
winding-machine4  ,the peculiarity in   
the manufacture of silk-twist1 or       
thread1 as distinguished from that of   
cotton1 or flax1 or wool1 is that it is 
produced naturally in one uninterrupted 
length4 ,the object of the machinery of 
a silk-mill is1 not to combine short    
fibres in a continuous thread by        
spinning1 but to wind and twist1 so as  
to unite many slight threads already    
formed into one thread of sufficient    
strength for the purpose of weaving1 or 
of sewing4 ,the subsequent processes are
 the same as with the fibrous           
substances4 ,the machinery by which     
these processes are carried on has been 
improved1 by successive degrees1 since  

,thomas ,lombe erected the first        
silk-mill at ,derby1 in the beginning of
 the #ahth century4 ,he obtained a      
patent which expired in #agcb2 and      
parliament1 refusing to renew his       
patent1 granted him a compensation1 upon
 the condition that he should deposit an
 exact model of his machinery in the    
,tower of ,london4 ,that model was shown
 to the visitors of the ,tower in the   
present century2 and1 by comparison with
 the vast array of spindles in a modern 
silk-mill1 would seem as inefficient as 
the flail compared with the             
thrashing-machine4  ,ribbon-weaving is a
 branch of the silk manufacture1 in     
which our country is rapidly attaining  
an excellence as regards beauty of      
design1 which may fairly compete with   
the best productions of the ,french     
looms4         99       99       99     
99       99  ,thomas ,firmin1 a         
philanthropic writer1 who published     
',proposals for the ,employment of the  
,poor1' in #afha1 says1 ,it is a thing  

greatly to be wished that we could make 
linen cloth here as cheap as they send  
it us from abroad4 ,he thought the poor 
might then be employed2 but he          
despairingly adds1 if that cannot be    
done1 nor any other way found out to    
employ our poor people1 we had much     
better lose something by the labour of  
our poor1 than lose all their labour2   
and so he proposes to give those who    
were idle flax and hemp to spin in      
spacious workhouses4 ,the notion was a  
benevolent one2 and it was the favourite
 scheme1 for half a century1 to destroy 
idleness and beggary in ,england1 by    
setting up manufactories at the public  
cost4 ,defoe saw the fallacy of the     
principle1 and resisted it with his     
strong common sense3 ,suppose now a     
workhouse for the employment of poor    
children sets them to spinning of       
worsted4 ,for every skein of worsted    
these poor children spin1 there must be 
a skein the less spun by some poor      
person or family that spun it before4   

,defoe saw that there could be no       
profitable increase of labour without   
increase of consumption2 and he argues  
that if the ,czar of ,muscovy would     
order his people to wear stockings1 and 
we could supply them1 the poor might    
then be set to work4 ,the increase of   
consumption1 all over the world1 is     
produced by the inventions which        
diminish the cost of production4 ,we now
 make linen cloth here cheaper than it  
is sent to us from abroad2 and the      
result is that in #ahec we exported our 
linen manufactures to the extent of six 
million pounds sterling2 and employed a 
hundred thousand persons in the         
manufacture4 ,in the flax-mill of       
,messrs4 ,marshall1 at ,leeds1 where all
 the operations of spinning are carried 
on in one enormous room1 five times as  
large as ,westminster-hall1 seventy     
thousand lbs4 of flax are worked up     
weekly into yarn4 ,the question of      
flax-cultivation in these kingdoms has  
been agitated of late years2 and the    

course of political events has rendered 
the consideration of an increased home  
supply1 a matter of pressing importance4
 ,it is not an easy matter to provide   
for the demand4 ,the great flax-mill at 
,leeds would require the                
flax-cultivation of six thousand acres1 
to keep its spindles at work for one    
year4    ,illustration3 ,interior of    
,marshall's ,flax-,mill1 ,leeds4        
,having thus noticed the leading        
processes of the manufacture of cotton1 
of wool1 of silk1 of linen1 we may      
conclude this chapter with a brief      
mention of the art that gives to many of
 the fabrics produced their chief       
beauty--the art of printing cloth in    
colours4 ,this art applies to the finest
 as well as the commonest productions of
 the loom2 and the science of the       
,british dyer1 the beauty of his        
patterns1 and the perfection of his     
machinery1 have now given us an eminence
 in this department of industry which   
can only be preserved by constant       

efforts towards perfection of design and
 durable brilliancy of colour4          
,illustration3 ,indigo-harvest in ,west 
,indies4  ,there is a striking1 although
 natural parallel1 between printing a   
piece of cloth and printing a sheet of a
 book1 or a newspaper4 ,block-printing  
is the impress of the pattern by hand2  
as block-books were made four centuries 
ago4 ,we have no block-books now2 for   
machinery has banished that tedious     
process4 ,but block-printing is used for
 costly shawls and velvets1 which       
require to have many colours produced by
 repeated impress from a large number of
 blocks1 each carrying a different      
colour4 ,except for expensive fabrics1  
this mode is superseded by              
block-printing with a sort of press1 in 
which several blocks are set in a frame4
 ,here again is somewhat of a similarity
 to the operation of the book-press4    
,lastly1 we have cylinder-printing1     
resembling the rapid working of the     
book-printing machine1 each producing   

the same cheapness4 ,as the pattern has 
to be obtained from several cylinders1  
each having its own colour1 there is    
great nicety in the operation2 and the  
most beautiful mechanism is necessary   
for feeding the cylinder with colour2   
moving the cloth to meet the revolving  
cylinder2 and giving to the cylinder its
 power of impression4 ,but those who    
witness the operation see little of the 
ultimate effect to be obtained in the   
subsequent processes of dyeing4 ,fast   
colours are produced by the use in the  
pattern of substances called mordants2  
which may be colourless themselves but  
receive the colour of the dye-bath1     
which colour is only fixed in the parts 
touched by the mordant1 and is washed   
out from the parts not touched4 ,when   
what is called a substantive colour is  
at once impressed upon the white cloth1 
much of the beauty is also derived from 
subsequent processes4 ,the chemist1 the 
machinist1 the designer1 and the        
engraver--science and art--set the      

calico-printing works in activity2 and  
the carrying on these complicated       
processes can only be profitably done   
upon a large scale4 ,in the earlier days
 of our cotton manufacture there were   
small print-works in the neighbourhood  
of ,london1 where the imperfect         
machinery was turned by water-power4    
,the steam-engine of one ,lancashire    
factory now produces more printed       
cottons and muslins than all the rivers 
of southern ,england in the last        
century4 ,the calico-printers now number
 about twenty-seven thousand persons4   
,but no direct enumeration can be made  
of the employments that are required    
merely to produce the dyes with which   
the calico-printer works4 ,the mineral  
and vegetable kingdoms1 and even the    
animal kingdom1 combine their natural   
productions in the colours of a lady's  
dress4 ,the sulphur-miner of ,sicily1   
the salt-worker of ,cheshire1 the hewer 
of wood in the ,brazils1 the ,negro in  
the indigo plantations of the ,east and 

,west ,indies1 the cultivator of madder 
in ,france1 and the gatherer of the     
cochineal insect in ,mexico1 are all    
labourers for the print-works of        
,england and ,scotland4 ,the discoveries
 of science1 in combination with the    
experience of practice1 has set all this
 industry in motion1 and has given a    
value to innumerable productions of     
nature which would otherwise be useless 
and unemployed4 ,but these demands of   
manufactures do more--they create modes 
of cultivation which are important      
sources of national prosperity4 ,jean   
,althen1 a ,persian of great family1    
bred up in every luxury1 became a slave 
in ,anatolia1 when ,kouli-,khan         
overthrew the ,persian empire4 ,for     
fourteen years he worked in the cotton  
and madder-fields4 ,he then escaped to  
,france1 carrying with him some         
madder-seeds4 ,long did he labour in    
vain to attract the attention of the    
government of ,louis ,,xv4 to his plans4
 ,at length1 having spent all the       

fortune which he had acquired by        
marriage with a ,french heiress1 he     
obtained the patronage of the ,marquis  
de ,caumont1 in his attempts to         
introduce the cultivation of madder into
 the department of ,vaucluse4 ,his life 
was closing in comparative indigence    
when a new branch of industry was       
developed in his adopted country4 ,the  
district in which he created a new      
industry has increased a hundred-fold in
 value4 ,the debt of gratitude was paid 
by a tablet to his memory1 erected sixty
 years after he was insensible to human 
rewards4 ,we starve our benefactors when
 they are living2 and satisfy our       
consciences by votive monuments4        
,althen's daughter died as poor as her  
father4 ,the tablet was erected at      
,avignon when the family was extinct4   
,illustration3 ,calico-printing by      
,cylinder4  ,there is a process         
connected with the production of        
clothing which we must briefly refer to1
 as one of the signal examples of the   

axiom of our title--',knowledge is      
,power4'  ,let us suppose that chemistry
 had not discovered and organised the   
modes in which bleaching is performed2  
and that the thousands of millions of   
yards of calico and linen which we weave
 in this country had still to be        
bleached1 as bleaching was accomplished 
in the last century4 ,we knew nothing   
about the matter1 and our linen was then
 sent over to ,holland to go through    
this operation4 ,the ,dutch steeped the 
bundles of cloth in ley made by water   
poured upon wood ashes--then soaked them
 in buttermilk--and finally spread them 
upon the grass for several months4      
,these were all natural agencies which  
discharged the colouring matter without 
any chemical science4 ,it was at length 
found out that sulphuric acid would do  
the same work in one day which the      
buttermilk did in six weeks2 but the sun
 and the air had still to be the chief  
bleaching powers4 ,a ,french chemist    
then found out that a new gas1 chlorine1

 would supersede the necessity for      
spreading out the linen for several     
months2 and so the acres of bleaching   
ground which we were using in ,england  
and ,scotland--for we had left off      
sending the brown and yellow cloth to   
,holland--were free for cultivation4    
,but the chlorine was poisonous to the  
workmen1 and imparted a filthy odour to 
the cloth4 ,chemistry again went to     
work1 and finally obtained the chloride 
of lime1 which is the universal         
bleaching powder of modern manufactures4
 ,what used to be the work of eight     
months is now accomplished in an hour or
 two2 and so a bag of dingy raw cotton  
may be in ,new ,york on the first day of
 the month1 and be converted into the   
whitest calico before the month is at an
 end4    ,illustration3                 
,bleaching-ground at ,glasgow4    #bc   
,blount's ',ancient ,tenures1' ed4      
#aghd1 p4 #ahc4     ,,chapter ,,xviii4  
,hosiery manufacture--,the              
stocking-frame--,the circular           

hosiery-machine--,hats--,gloves--,boots 
and shoes--                             
,straw-plait--,artificial               
flowers--,fans--,lace--,bobbin-net      
machine--,pins--,needles--,buttons--,toy
s--,lucifer-matches--      ,envelopes4  
,before the invention of the first      
stocking-machine1 in the year #aehi1 by 
,william ,lee1 a clergyman1 none but the
 very rich wore stockings1 and many of  
the most wealthy went without stockings 
at all1 that part of dress being sewn   
together by the tailor1 or their legs   
being covered with bandages of cloth4   
,the covering for the leg was called a  
nether-stock1 or lower stocking4 ,philip
 ,stubbes1 a tremendous declaimer       
against every species of luxury1 thus   
describes the expensive stockings of his
 time1 #aehe3--  ,then have they        
nether-stocks to these hosen1 not of    
cloth 7though never so fine71 for that  
is thought too base1 but of jarnsey1    
worsted1 crewell1 silk1 thread1 and such
 like1 or else at the least of the      

finest yarn that can be got1 and so     
curiously knit with open seam down the  
leg1 with quirks and clocks about the   
ancles1 and sometime1 haply1 interlaced 
with gold or silver threads1 as is      
wonderful to behold4 ,and to such       
impudent insolency and shameful outrage 
it is now grown1 that every one1 almost1
 though otherwise very poor1 having     
scarce forty shillings of wages by the  
year1 will not stick to have two or     
three pair of these silk nether-stocks1 
or else of the finest yarn that may be  
got1 though the price of them be a      
ryall1 or twenty shillings1 or more1 as 
commonly it is2 for how can they be     
less1 when as the very knitting of them 
is worth a noble or a ryall1 and some   
much more8 ,the time hath been when one 
might have clothed his body well for    
less than a pair of these nether-stocks 
will cost4  ,it is difficult to         
understand how those who had only forty 
shillings a year wages could expend     
twenty shillings upon a pair of knit    

stockings4 ,it is quite clear they were 
for the rich only2 and that very few    
persons were employed in knitting and   
embroidering stockings4  ,william ,lee  
struggled to make stockings cheap4 ,he  
made a pair of stockings by the frame1  
in the presence of ,king ,james ,i42 but
 such was the prejudice of those times1 
that he could get no encouragement for  
his invention4 ,his invention was       
discountenanced1 upon the plea that it  
would deprive the industrious poor of   
their subsistence4 ,he went to ,france1 
where he met with no better success1 and
 died at last of a broken heart4 ,the   
great then could discountenance an      
invention1 because its application was  
limited to themselves4 ,they only wore  
stockings3 the poor who made them had   
none to wear4 ,stockings were not cheap 
enough for the poor to wear1 and        
therefore they went without4 ,of the    
millions of people now in this country1 
how few are without stockings6 ,what a  
miserable exception to the comfort of   

the rest of the ,english people does it 
appear when we see a beggar in the      
streets without stockings6 ,we consider 
such a person to be in the lowest stage 
of want and suffering4 ,two centuries   
ago1 not one person in a thousand wore  
stockings2--one century ago1 not one    
person in five hundred wore them2--now1 
not one person in a thousand is without 
them4 ,who made this great change in the
 condition of the people of ,england1   
and1 indeed1 of the people of almost all
 civilized countries8 ,william ,lee--who
 died at ,paris of a broken heart4 ,and 
why did he die of grief and penury8     
,because the people of his own days were
 too ignorant to accept the blessings he
 had prepared for them4  ,we ask with   
confidence1 had the terror of the       
stocking-frame any real foundation8     
,were any people thrown out of          
employment by the stocking-frame8       
,the knitters in the sun1   ,and the    
free maids who weave their thread with  
bones1  as ,shakspere describes the     

country lasses of his day1 had to change
 their employment2 but there was far    
more employment for the makers of       
stockings1 for then every one began to  
wear stockings4  ,the hosiery           
manufacture furnishes employment to many
 persons besides those who work at the  
stocking-machine4 ,the frame-worker1 in 
many cases1 makes the knit-work in a    
piece adapted for a stocking1 and does  
not make a finished stocking2 the seamer
 makes the stocking out of the piece so 
produced4 ,when we speak of the         
stocking-frame1 we speak of a machine   
which knits every article of hosiery4   
,in this manufacture there were         
employed1 in #ahea1 sixty-five thousand 
five hundred persons1 of whom thirty    
thousand were females4  ,suppose that   
the ignorance and prejudice which       
prevailed at the time of ,james ,i4 upon
 the subject of machinery had continued 
to the present day2 and that not only   
the first stocking-frame of ,william    
,lee had never been used1 but that all  

machines employed in the manufacture of 
hosiery had never been thought of2 and  
they could not have been thought of if  
the first machines had been put down4   
,the greater number of us1 in that case1
 would have been without stockings4     
,but there would have been a greater    
evil than even this4 ,we might all have 
found substitutes for stockings1 or have
 gone without them4 ,but the progress of
 ingenuity would have been stopped4 ,the
 inventive principle would have been    
destroyed4  ,we have not reached the end
 of our career of improvement4          
,civilization is not destined to run a  
backward race4 ,william ,lee's          
stocking-frame worked well for two      
centuries and a half4 ,one of the most  
beautiful contrivances of our time has  
now greatly superseded it4 ,the circular
 hosiery machine--more properly called a
 machine for manufacturing looped       
fabrics--works at such a rate that one  
girl attending upon the revolutions of  
this wonderful instrument can produce in

 one day the material for two hundred   
and forty pairs of stockings4 ,she turns
 a little handle1 with the ease with    
which she would turn a barrel-organ2    
and1 as the machine revolves1 hundreds  
of needles catch the thread and loop it 
into the chain which forms the          
stocking-cloth1 or it makes the         
fashioned stocking4 ,the new            
hosiery-machines have doubled the       
employment of the stocking-makers1 by   
enabling us to meet the competition of  
foreign countries4 ,the ,english were   
working upon the old slow               
stocking-frame1 while the ,french and   
,belgians were using the rapid circular 
machine4 ,the markets of the world would
 have been soon closed to us if we had  
clung to the old machine1 through the   
force of any popular prejudice against a
 new machine4 ,there is no portion of   
the export trade of this country which  
has increased with such extraordinary   
rapidity within the last six years as   
that of hosiery4 ,the following abstract

 of the declared value of stockings     
exported since #ahdh will sufficiently  
indicate the effects of improved        
machinery in cheapening production3--   
----------------------------------------
--------------------------------        
,stockings exported4            #ahdh4  
#ahej4      #aheb4     #ahec4           
----------------------------------------
-------------------------------         
,l         ,l          ,l         ,l    
,cotton                                 
#gg1jie    #ajd1dcd    #bdc1iid         
#dfa1did   ,silk                        
#bd1cbd     #bj1bef     #be1adj         
#bc1egi   ,worsted                      
#dj1dac     #gd1dhb    #aag1cdi         
#bfa1adj   ,silk mixed with other       
material       #ci      #c1cbg          
#d1gje    #aj1dfd                       
----------------------------------------
                                        
#ada1hga    #bjb1dii    #cia1ahh        
#gef1fgg                                
----------------------------------------

--------------------------------  ,the  
hosiery of ,saxony was superseding1 a   
few years ago1 from its extreme         
cheapness1 the shipment to the ,united  
,states of goods made at ,nottingham4   
,the cheapness in ,saxony was produced1 
not by the employment of large capital  
and the application of the most         
expensive machinery1 but by the         
miserably low wages of labour4 ,it is   
stated by ,mr4 ,porter that1 in #ahcg1 a
 man of ,saxony1 with his wife and three
 children1 working incessantly at the   
stocking-loom1 could only earn #es4     
#d;d4 weekly4 ,in the principal         
manufacturing districts of that country1
 the food of the artisans is of the     
coarsest kind1 and of the most limited  
supply4 ,the comparative ease and       
comfort of the workers in our hosiery   
districts is one of the most            
satisfactory proofs that invention is as
 great a benefit to the labourer as to  
the capitalist4  ,as the nether-stocks  
of our ancestors were for the great and 

wealthy1 so were their ,hats4 ,old      
,stubbes writes1 ,sometimes they use    
them sharp on the crown1 pearking up    
like the spear or shaft of a steeple1   
standing a quarter of a yard above the  
crown of their heads1 some more1 some   
less1 as please the phantasies of their 
inconstant minds4 ,other some be flat   
and broad on the crown1 like the        
battlements of a house4 ,another sort   
have round crowns1 sometimes with one   
kind of band1 sometimes with another1   
now black1 now white1 now russet1 now   
red1 now green1 now yellow1 now this1   
now that1 never content with one colour 
or fashion two days to an end4 ,and thus
 in vanity they spend the ,lord his     
treasure1 consuming their golden years  
and silver days in wickedness and sin4  
,and as the fashions be rare and        
strange1 so is the stuff whereof their  
hats be made divers also2 for some are  
of silk1 some of velvet1 some of        
taffeta1 some of sarsenet1 some of wool1
 and1 which is more curious1 some of a  

certain kind of fine hair2 these they   
call beaver hats1 of #bj1 #cj1 or #dj   
shillings price1 fetched from beyond the
 seas1 from whence a great sort of other
 vanities do come besides4 ,here1 then1 
we see that the beaver hat was in those 
days an article of great price4 ,the    
commonalty had their plain statute caps 
of wool4 ,in our time the beaver hat was
 the common wear of the middle classes  
until the last few years1 when the      
cheaper silk hat became almost          
universal4 ,we import from ,france some 
plush for making hats2 but much of this 
silk material is also prepared in our   
own factories4 ,hats have therefore     
become intimately associated with the   
material produced by the loom4  ,the    
manufacture of ,gloves is connected1 in 
a very large department1 with the       
hosiery manufactory4 ,the use of thread 
gloves and cotton gloves has had the    
effect1 in some degree1 of lessening the
 consumption of leather gloves4 ,the    
importation of leather gloves and mitts 

was prohibited until #ahbe4 ,we now     
import three million pairs annually2 and
 the home manufacture1 instead of being 
ruined as was predicted1 was never more 
prosperous4 ,the ,french gloves1 once so
 superior to our own1 have improved the 
,english1 by the natural force of       
competition2 and the manufacturers not  
only purchase better leather than       
formerly1 but the cottage-workwomen that
 labour in the glove districts have     
become neater and more careful sewers4  
,the consumption of gloves has ceased to
 be exclusively for the rich4 ,the      
perfumed and embroidered glove of the   
#afth century is no longer required4    
,the use of gloves has become universal 
amongst both sexes of the middle        
classes4 ,the female domestic would     
think it unbecoming to go to church     
without her gloves2 and the well-dressed
 artisan holds it nothing effeminate to 
use a covering for his hands1 which his 
forefathers thought a distinguishing    
appurtenance of the high-born and       

luxurious4    ,illustration3 ,gloves for
 the great4  ,our home-manufacture of   
,boots and ,shoes has received an       
immense impulse from foreign            
competition4 ,the number of men's and   
women's boots and shoes which we import 
is not much above two hundred thousand4 
,but we also import six hundred thousand
 boot-fronts from ,france1 which our own
 people work up4 ,although the boot and 
shoe manufacture can scarcely be        
considered a factory process1 it has now
 adapted itself to certain localities1  
such as ,northampton4 ,the articles made
 in the provinces were originally       
distinguished for their cheapness       
merely4 ,they now unite the characters  
of goodness and cheapness4 ,this chiefly
 arises from the trade being carried on1
 at ,northampton especially1 upon a     
large scale--upon a principle the very  
reverse of the old familiar spectacle of
 the cobbler in his stall4              
,illustration3 ,cobbler's stall1 about  
#agfj4  ,the ,straw-plat is a domestic  

manufacture1 chiefly carried on in the  
midland and eastern counties4 ,it       
employs thirty-two thousand persons1 of 
whom twenty-eight thousand are females4 
,the straw hat and bonnet makers amount 
to twenty-two thousand1 of whom more    
than twenty thousand are females4 ,the  
art of straw-platting has been greatly  
improved amongst us of late years2 but  
the ,italian straw1 being of a finer    
nature1 is in greater demand for the    
higher priced bonnets4  ,the beautiful  
production of ,artificial ,flowers has1 
in very recent years1 been much         
increased in ,england4 ,france1 with its
 superior taste1 long supplied us with  
these ornaments1 which had the          
brilliancy of natural flowers without   
their perishableness4 ,but three        
thousand females1 and five hundred      
males1 are now engaged with us in this  
branch4  ,the ,fan-makers of ,england   
are only thirty in number4 ,in ,france  
this is a large branch of manufacture4  
,in the ,jury ,report on the ,exhibition

 of ,industry in #ahea there is a notice
 of the fan-trade of ,paris1 which is   
curious as showing the joint influences 
upon cheapness1 of machinery1 and of the
 multiplication of works of art by      
engraving4 ,the fan-makers of ,paris in 
#ahdg employed five hundred and         
seventy-five work-people--the number of 
the sexes being pretty equally divided4 
,the men were for the most part         
copper-plate engravers and printers1    
lithographic draughtsmen and printers1  
painters1 and colourers2 the women were 
mounters1 illuminators1 painters1       
colourers1 and overlookers4 ,in twenty  
years it appears that the produce in    
fans had increased in value nearly      
threefold1 whilst the number of         
work-people had diminished one-half4    
,this change is attributed to the       
employment of machinery1 especially of  
the fly press1 in stamping out and      
embossing the ribs1 and the extensive   
employment of chromo-lithography1 an art
 not practised at the former period4 ,by

 these means the ,french have been      
enabled greatly to increase their       
exports by the production of cheap fans1
 to compete with those made by the      
,chinese4  ,dekker1 in his ',gull's     
,hornbook1' printed in #afji1 advises   
the gallant of his day to exhibit a     
wrought handkerchief4 ,a handkerchief1  
spotted with strawberries1 was          
,othello's first gift to ,desdemona4 ,it
 was an embroidered handkerchief1 such  
as is produced in the present day at    
,cairo by the ,egyptian ladies in their 
private apartments4 ,the embroidered    
shirts of the time of ,elizabeth are    
thus noticed by ,stubbes3--  ,these     
shirts 7sometimes it happeneth7 are     
wrought throughout with needle-work of  
silk1 and such like1 and curiously      
stitched with open seam1 and many other 
knacks besides1 more than ,i can        
describe2 in so much as ,i have heard of
 shirts that have cost some ten         
shillings1 some twenty1 some forty1 some
 five pound1 some twenty nobles1 and    

7which is horrible to hear7 some ten    
pound apiece4    ,illustration3         
,men'seg1 or ,egyptian embroidery-frame4
  ,the embroidery-frame was in time     
superseded by the lace-pillow1 which is 
stated to have been first used in       
,saxony in the sixteenth century4 ,the  
production of ,lace extended to ,belgium
 and ,france2 and we are still familiar 
with the names of ,brussels1 ,mechlin1  
,lisle1 ,valenciennes1 and ,alencon     
lace4 ,until the present century no lace
 was heard of but pillow-lace1--a       
domestic manufacture1 of which ,honiton 
was the most famous seat4 ,a            
stocking-weaver of ,nottingham adapted  
his stocking-frame to the making of lace
 about #aggj2 and the bobbin-frame was  
invented in #ahji4 ,it was never        
extensively used till the expiration of 
the patent2 and the produce of this     
machine was kept at so high a price by  
the patentees that it interfered little 
with the labour of the lace-makers in   
the cottages of the midland counties4   

,illustration3 ,bobbin-net meshes4  ,but
 a time was coming when as much         
bobbin-net as the patentees of the first
 frame charged five pounds for would be 
sold for half-a-crown2 and when1 as a   
necessary consequence of this cheapness1
 lace-making as a domestic employment   
would wholly cease1 or be confined to   
the production of an expensive article1 
supposed to be superior to machine-made 
lace4 ,that the old hand-labour could   
compete with the machine was an         
impossibility4 ,lace of an ordinary     
figured pattern used to be made on the  
pillow at the rate of about three meshes
 per minute4 ,a bobbin-net machine will 
produce similar lace at the rate of     
twenty-four thousand meshes per minute1 
one person only being required to wait  
upon the machine4 ,those who have       
watched the cottage lace-maker1 working 
with her bobbins and pins1 were unable1 
without long observation1 to understand 
the principle upon which she intertwined
 the threads4 ,but to explain the more  

rapid working of the bobbin-net machine 
would require such a minute acquaintance
 with all its parts as belongs to the   
business of the practical machinist1 and
 which words are inadequate to exhibit4 
,the accompanying engraving offers the  
best notion we can furnish4             
,illustration3 ,essential parts of the  
bobbin-net machine4    ,the warp1       
ascending from the beam ,a1 passes      
through small holes in a   guide-bar ,b1
 and thence to the point ,c1 where the  
bobbins in their   respective combs1    
driven by the ledges on the two bars    
beneath1 traverse   the warp to and fro1
 and interlace the threads as shown at  
,d2 the points   ,e assisting to        
maintain the forms of the meshes4       
,instead of ,england being now supplied 
with lace from ,france and ,belgium1 we 
are now an exporting lace-country4 ,in  
#ahdh we exported cotton lace and net to
 the amount of #cfc1beel42 in #ahec to  
the amount of #eif1eghl4  ,according to 
the census of #ahea1 the number of      

persons employed in the lace manufacture
 was #fc1ffj2 of whom #ed1jhj were      
females4 ,the same returns give the     
number of #dfeh embroiderers4  ,there is
 an article employed in dress which is  
at once so necessary and so beautiful   
that the highest lady in the land uses  
it1 and yet so cheap that the poorest   
peasant's wife is enabled to procure it4
 ,the quality of the article is as      
perfect as art can make it2 and yet1    
from the enormous quantities consumed by
 the great mass of the people1 it is    
made so cheap that the poor can purchase
 the best kind1 as well as the rich4 ,it
 is an article of universal use4 ,united
 with machinery1 many hundreds1 and even
 thousands1 are employed in making it4  
,but if the machinery were to stop1 and 
the article were made by human hands    
alone1 it would become so dear that the 
richest only could afford to use it2 and
 it would become at the same time so    
rough in its appearance1 that those very
 rich would be ashamed of using it4 ,the

 article we mean is a ,pin4  ,it is not 
necessary for us to describe the        
machinery used in pin-making1 to make   
the reader comprehend its effects4 ,a   
pin is made of brass4 ,we have seen how 
metal is obtained from ore by machinery2
 and therefore we will not go over that 
ground4 ,but suppose the most skilful   
workman has a lump of brass ready by his
 side1 to make it into pins with common 
tools1--with a hammer and with a file4  
,he heats it upon an anvil1 till it     
becomes nearly thin enough for his      
purpose4 ,a very fine hammer1 and a very
 fine touch1 must he have to produce a  
pin of any sort1--even a large          
corking-pin6 ,but the pin made by       
machinery is a perfect cylinder4 ,to    
make a metal1 or even a wooden cylinder1
 of a considerable size1 with files and 
polishing1 is an operation so difficult 
that it is never attempted2 but with a  
lathe and a sliding rest it is done     
every hour by a great many workmen4 ,how
 much more difficult would it be to make

 a perfect cylinder the size of a pin8  
,a pin hammered out by hand would       
present a number of rough edges that    
would tear the clothes1 as well as hold 
them together4 ,it would not be much    
more useful or ornamental than the      
skewer of bone with which the woman of  
the ,sandwich ,islands fastens her mats4
 ,but the wire of which pins are made   
acquires a perfectly cylindrical form by
 the simplest machinery4 ,it is forcibly
 drawn through the circular holes of a  
steel plate2 and the hole being smaller 
and smaller each time it is drawn       
through1 it is at length reduced to the 
size required4  ,the head of a pin is a 
more difficult thing to make even than  
the body4 ,it is formed of a small piece
 of wire twisted round so as to fit upon
 the other wire4 ,it is said that by a  
machine fifty thousand heads can be made
 in an hour4 ,we should think that a man
 would be very skilful to make fifty in 
an hour by hand1 in the roughest manner2
 if so1 the machine does the work of a  

thousand men4 ,the machine1 however1    
does not do all the work4 ,the head is  
attached to the body of a pin by the    
fingers of a child1 while another       
machine rivets it on4 ,the operations of
 cutting and pointing the pins are also 
done by machinery2 and they are polished
 by a chemical process4  ,it is by these
 processes1--by these combinations of   
human labour with mechanical            
power1--that it occurs that fifty pins  
can be bought for one halfpenny1 and    
that therefore four or five thousand    
pins may be consumed in a year by the   
most economical housewife1 at a much    
less price than fifty pins of a rude    
make cost two or three centuries ago4 ,a
 woman's allowance was formerly called  
her pin-money1--a proof that the pins   
were a sufficiently dear article to make
 a large item in her expenses4 ,if pins 
now were to cost a halfpenny apiece     
instead of being fifty for a halfpenny1 
the greater number of females would     
adopt other modes of fastening their    

dress1 which would probably be less neat
 and convenient than pins4 ,no such     
circumstance could happen while the     
machinery of pin-making was in use4     
,needles are not so cheap as pins1      
because the material of which they are  
made is more expensive1 and the         
processes cannot be executed so fully by
 machinery4 ,but without machinery how  
could that most beautiful article1 a    
fine needle1 be sold at the rate of six 
for a penny8  ,as in the case of pins1  
machinery is at work at the first       
formation of the material4 ,without the 
tilt-hammer1 which beats out the bar of 
steel1 first at the rate of ten strokes 
a minute1 and lastly at that of five    
hundred1 how could that bar be prepared 
for needle-making at anything like a    
reasonable price8 ,in all the processes 
of needle-making1 labour is saved by    
contrivance and machinery4 ,what human  
touch1 without a machine1 would be      
accurate enough to make the eye of the  
finest needle1 through which the most   

delicate silk is with difficulty passed8
 ,there are two needles to be formed out
 of one piece of wire2 in the previous  
preparation of which the eyes are       
marked4 ,the workman1 holding in his    
hand several wires1 drops one at a time 
on the bed-iron of the machine1 adjusts 
it to the die1 brings down the upper die
 upon it by the action of the foot1 and 
allows it to fall into a little dish    
when done4 ,this he does with such      
rapidity that one stamper can stamp four
 thousand wires1 equivalent to eight    
thousand needles1 in an hour4           
,illustration3 ,stamping the eye of a   
needle4  ,needles are made in such large
 quantities1 that it is even important  
to save the time of the child who lays  
them all one way when they are          
completed4 ,mr4 ,babbage1 who is equally
 distinguished for his profound science 
and his mechanical ingenuity1 has       
described this process as an example of 
one of the simplest contrivances which  
can come under the denomination of a    

tool4 ,it is necessary to separate the  
needles into two parcels1 in order that 
their points may be all in one          
direction4 ,this is usually done by     
women and children4 ,the needles are    
placed sideways in a heap1 on a table1  
in front of each operator4 ,from five to
 ten are rolled towards this person by  
the forefinger of the left hand2 this   
separates them a very small space from  
each other1 and each in its turn is     
pushed lengthways to the right or to the
 left1 according as its eye is on the   
right or the left hand4 ,this is the    
usual process1 and in it every needle   
passes individually under the finger of 
the operator4 ,a small alteration       
expedites the process considerably2 the 
child puts on the forefinger of its     
right hand a small cloth cap or         
finger-stall1 and1 rolling from the heap
 from six to twelve needles1 it keeps   
them down by the forefinger of the left 
hand2 whilst it presses the forefinger  
of the right hand gently against the    

ends of the needles1 those which have   
their points towards the right hand     
stick into the finger-stall2 and the    
child1 removing the finger of the left  
hand1 allows the needles sticking into  
the cloth to be slightly raised1 and    
then pushes them towards the left side4 
,those needles which had their eyes on  
the right hand do not stick into the    
finger-cover1 and are pushed to the heap
 on the right side previous to the      
repetition of the process4 ,by means of 
this simple contrivance1 each movement  
of the finger1 from one side to the     
other1 carries five or six needles to   
their proper heap2 whereas1 in the      
former method1 frequently only one was  
moved1 and rarely more than two or three
 were transported at one movement to    
their place4  ,a large number of people 
are employed1 at ,birmingham chiefly1 in
 the manufacture of buttons4 ,the census
 return gives about seven thousand4 ,in 
the manufacture of a single button there
 is great division of labour amongst    

piercers1 cutters1 stampers1 gilders1   
and burnishers4 ,the engraving exhibits 
the operations of stamping1 pressing1   
and punching1 as carried on in a great  
factory4 ,the shank of a button is made 
by very complicated machinery as a      
distinct class of manufacture1 and the  
button-makers buy the shanks4 ,it has   
been stated that three firms in         
,birmingham annually make six hundred   
million of button-shanks4               
,illustration3 ,stamping1 pressing1 and 
punching buttons4--,elliott's   factory4
  ,the application of machinery1 or of  
peculiar scientific modes of working1 to
 such apparently trifling articles as   
pins1 needles1 buttons1 and trinkets1   
may appear of little importance4 ,but   
let it be remembered1 that the          
manufacture of such articles furnishes  
employment to many thousands of our     
fellow-countrymen2 and1 enabling us to  
supply other nations with these         
products1 affords us the means of       
receiving articles of more intrinsic    

value in exchange4 ,in #ahec our exports
 of hardware and cutlery amounted to    
more than three millions and a half     
sterling4 ,no article of ready          
attainment1 and therefore of general    
consumption1 whether it be a labourer's 
spade or a child's marble1 is           
unimportant in a commercial point of    
view4 ,the wooden figures of horses and 
sheep that may be bought for twopence in
 the toy-shops furnish employment to cut
 them1 during the long winter nights1 to
 a large portion of the peasantry of the
 ,tyrol4 ,the ,swiss peasant cuts a     
piece of white wood into a boy or a     
cottage1 as he is tending his herd on   
the side of a mountain4 ,these become   
considerable articles of export4 ,in the
 town of ,sonneberg1 near the forest of 
,thuringia1 four thousand inhabitants   
are principally employed in the         
toy-trade1 and also find employment for 
the neighbouring villagers4 ,mr4 ,osler1
 of ,birmingham1 some years ago1        
addressing a ,committee of the ,house of

 ,commons upon the subject of his beads 
and trinkets1 said1--,on my first       
journey to ,london1 a                   
respectable-looking man in the ,city    
asked me if ,i could supply him with    
dolls' eyes2 and ,i was foolish enough  
to feel half offended4 ,i thought it    
derogatory to my new dignity as a       
manufacturer to make dolls' eyes4 ,he   
took me into a room quite as wide and   
perhaps twice the length of this 7one of
 the large rooms for ,committees in the 
,house of ,commons71 and we had just    
room to walk between stacks1 from the   
floor to the ceiling1 of parts of dolls4
 ,he said1 ',these are only the legs and
 arms--the trunks are below4' ,but ,i   
saw enough to convince me that he wanted
 a great many eyes2 and as the article  
appeared quite in my own line of        
business1 ,i said ,i would take an order
 by way of experiment2 and he showed me 
several specimens4 ,i copied the order4 
,he ordered various quantities and of   
various sizes and qualities4 ,on        

returning to the ,tavistock ,hotel1 ,i  
found that the order amounted to upwards
 of five hundred pounds4  ,mr4 ,osler   
tells this story to show the importance 
of trifles4 ,the making of dolls' eyes  
afforded subsistence to many ingenious  
workmen in glass toys2 and in the same  
way the most minute and apparently      
insignificant article of general use1   
when rendered cheap by chemical science 
or machinery1 produces a return of many 
thousand pounds1 and sets in motion     
labour and labourers4 ,without the      
science and the machinery1 which render 
the article cheap1 the labourers would  
have had no employ1 for the article     
would not have been consumed4 ,what a   
pretty article is a common tobacco-pipe1
 of which millions are used6 ,it is made
 cheap and beautiful in a mould--a      
machine for copying pipes4 ,if the pipe 
were made without the mould1 and other  
contrivances1 it would cost at least a  
shilling instead of a halfpenny3--the   
tobacco-smoker would go without his     

pipe1 and the pipe-maker without his    
employment4  ,amongst articles of great 
demand that have become of importance1  
though apparently insignificant1 in our 
own day1 there is nothing more worthy of
 notice than the ,lucifer-,match4 ,about
 twenty years ago chemistry abolished   
the tinder-box2 and the burnt rag that  
made the tinder went to make paper4     
,slowly did the invention spread4 ,the  
use of the lucifer-match is now so      
established that machines are invented  
to prepare the splints4 ,in ,london one 
saw-mill annually cuts up four hundred  
large timber-trees for matches4 ,the    
,english matches are generally square1  
and thus thirty thousand splints are cut
 in a minute4 ,the ,american matches are
 round2 and the process of shaping being
 more elaborate1 four thousand five     
hundred splints are cut in a minute4 ,we
 will follow a bundle of eighteen       
hundred of the square splints1 each four
 inches long1 through its conversion    
into three thousand six hundred         

lucifer-matches4  ,without being        
separated1 each end of the bundle is    
first dipped into sulphur4 ,when dry1   
the splints1 adhering to each other by  
means of the sulphur1 must be parted by 
what is called dusting4 ,a boy1 sitting 
on the floor with a bundle before him1  
strikes the matches with a sort of      
mallet on the dipped ends till they     
become thoroughly loosened4 ,they have  
now to be plunged into a preparation of 
phosphorus or chlorate of potash1       
according to the quality of the match4  
,the phosphorus produces the pale1      
noiseless fire2 the chlorate of potash1 
the sharp cracking illumination4 ,after 
this application of the more inflammable
 substance1 the matches are separated1  
and dried in racks4 ,thoroughly dried1  
they are gathered up again into bundles 
of the same quantity1 and are taken to  
the boys who cut them2 for the reader   
will have observed that the bundles have
 been dipped at each end4 ,there are few
 things more remarkable in manufactures 

than the extraordinary rapidity of this 
cutting-process and that which is       
connected with it4 ,the boy stands      
before a bench1 the bundle on his right 
hand1 a pile of half-opened empty boxes 
on his left4 ,the matches are to be cut1
 and the empty boxes filled1 by this    
boy4 ,a bundle is opened2 he seizes a   
portion1 knowing by long habit the      
required number with sufficient         
exactness2 puts them rapidly into a sort
 of frame1 knocks the ends evenly       
together1 confines them with a strap    
which he tightens with his foot1 and    
cuts them in two parts with a knife on a
 hinge1 which he brings down with a     
strong leverage4 ,the halves lie        
projecting over each end of the frame2  
he grasps the left portion and thrusts  
it into a half-open box1 which slides   
into an outer case2 and he repeats the  
process with the matches on his right   
hand4 ,this series of movements is      
performed with a rapidity almost        
unexampled2 for in this way1 two hundred

 thousand matches are cut1 and two      
thousand boxes filled1 in a day1 by one 
boy4  ,it is a law of this manufacture  
that the demand is greater in the summer
 than in the winter4 ,the increased     
summer demand for the lucifer-matches   
shows that the great consumption is     
among the masses--the labouring         
population--those who make up the vast  
majority of the contributors to duties  
of customs and excise4 ,in the houses of
 the wealthy there is always fire2 in   
the houses of the poor1 fire in summer  
is a needless hourly expense4 ,then     
comes the lucifer-match to supply the   
want--to light the candle to look in the
 dark cupboard--to light the afternoon  
fire to boil the kettle4 ,it is now     
unnecessary to run to the neighbour for 
a light1 or1 as a desperate resource1 to
 work at the tinder-box4 ,the           
lucifer-matches sometimes fail1 but they
 cost little1 and so they are freely    
used1 even by the poorest4 ,their value 
was sufficiently shown when an officer  

in camp at ,balaclava wrote home that no
 want was greater than that of the ready
 means of procuring fire and light1 and 
that he should hold a box of            
lucifer-matches cheap at half-a-crown4  
,illustration3 ,envelope-making machine4
  ,we may notice one other article of   
almost universal use1 which is of very  
recent introduction--the ,envelope4 ,it 
is a labour-saving contrivance for the  
writer of letters4 ,the use of the      
envelope has been mainly created by the 
penny postage4 ,we find1 in the census1 
that seven hundred persons1 chiefly     
females1 are employed in making         
envelopes4 ,but there is a beautiful    
machine also for making them1 at the    
rate of twenty-five thousand a day4 ,the
 envelope-making machine was one of the 
most attractive objects in the ,great   
,exhibition4     ,,chapter ,,xix4       
,labour-saving contrivances--,the nick  
in types--,tags of      laces--,casting 
shot--,candle-dipping--,tiring a        
wheel--,globe-making--,domestic aids to 

labour--,aids to mental                 
labour--,effects of severe bodily labour
 on health and      duration of life4   
,we drew attention in the last chapter  
to a particular process in              
needle-making--the sorter's sheath--to  
show that great saving of labour may be 
effected by what is not popularly called
 machinery4 ,in modern times1 wherever  
work is carried on upon a large scale1  
the division of labour is applied2 by   
which one man attending to one thing    
learns to perform that one thing more   
perfectly than if he had attended to    
many things4 ,he thus saves a           
considerable portion of the whole amount
 of labour4 ,every skilful workman has  
individually some mode of working       
peculiar to himself1 by which he lessens
 his labour4 ,an expert blacksmith1 for 
instance1 will not strike one more blow 
upon the anvil than is necessary to     
produce the effect he desires4 ,a       
compositor1 or printer who arranges the 
types1 is a swift workman when he makes 

no unnecessary movement of his arms or  
fingers in lifting a single type into   
what is called his composing-stick1     
where the types are arranged in lines4  
,there is a very simple contrivance to  
lessen the labour of the compositor1 by 
preventing him putting the type into his
 composing-stick the wrong side         
outwards4 ,it is a nick1 or two or three
 nicks1 on the side of the type which   
corresponds with the lower side of the  
face of the letter4 ,by this nick or    
nicks he is enabled to see by one glance
 of his eye on which side the letter is 
first to be grasped1 and then to be     
arranged4 ,if the nick were not there he
 would have to look at the face of every
 letter before he could properly place  
it4 ,this is a labour-saving            
contrivance2 and if the labour were not 
thus saved1 two compositors would       
certainly be required to do the work of 
one2 and the natural and inevitable     
effect would be that1 as the funds for  
the payment of the compositor's labours 

would not be increased1 the wages of    
each compositor would be diminished by  
one-half4 ,the new labour that would be 
required would enter into competition   
with the old labour1 and depreciate its 
value1 because each individual labourer 
had lost one-half of his efficiency4    
,illustration3 ,compositor at work4     
,contrivances to economize labour1 such 
as that of the needle-sorter's sheath1  
and the nicks in the type of the        
compositor1 are constantly occurring in 
manufactures4 ,the tags of laces1 which 
are made of thin tin1 are sometimes bent
 into their requisite form by the same  
movement of the arm that cuts them4 ,a  
piece of steel1 adapted to the side of  
the shears1 gives them at once their    
proper shape4 ,the writer can remember  
that when he was a boy1 and was fitted  
with a pair of laced boots1 he used to  
wait with patience in the shoemaker's   
shop1 whilst he clumsily bent a piece of
 tin into the form of a tag1 and then as
 clumsily hammered it round the lace4   

,in a silk manufactory boot-laces are   
now prepared with tags made by          
machinery4 ,one machine cuts and hollows
 the tags much more efficiently than the
 shears mentioned above2 and at another 
machine1 worked by a boy1 the tags are  
fitted to the laces with a rapidity     
which is acquired by continued practice4
    ,illustration3 ,machine for fixing  
tags to laces4  ,if the small shot which
 is used by sportsmen were each cast in 
a mould1 the price would be enormous2   
but by pouring the melted lead1 of which
 the shot is made1 through a sort of    
cullender1 placed at the top of a tower1
 high enough for the lead to cool in its
 passage through the air1 before it     
reaches the ground1 the shot is formed  
in a spherical or round shape by the    
mere act of passing through the         
atmosphere4 ,some of the shots thus     
formed are not perfectly spherical--they
 are pear-shaped4 ,if the selection of  
the perfect from the imperfect shots    
were made by the eye1 or the touch1 the 

process would be very tedious and       
insufficient1 and the price of the      
article much increased4 ,the simplest   
contrivance in the world divides the bad
 from the good4 ,the shots are poured   
down an inclined plane1 and1 without any
 trouble of selection1 the spherical    
ones run straight to the bottom1 while  
the pear-shaped ones tumble off on one  
side or the other of the plane4         
,illustration3 ,inclined plane for      
separating shot4  ,in speaking of such  
contrivances we are constantly passing  
over the narrow line which separates    
them from what we popularly term        
machinery4 ,let us take an example of   
the readiness with which a small aid to 
manual labour gradually becomes         
perfected into a machine1 requiring     
little impulse from human action4 ,the  
dippers of candles have gradually1 in   
small establishments1 made several      
improvements in their art for the       
purpose of diminishing labour4 ,they    
used to hold the rods between their     

fingers1 dipping three at a time2 they  
next connected six or eight rods        
together by a piece of wood at each end1
 having holes to receive the rods2 and  
they now suspend the rods so arranged   
upon a sort of balance1 rising and      
falling with a pulley and a weight1 so  
as to relieve the arms of the workman   
almost entirely1 while the work is done 
more quickly and with more precision4   
,but in large candle-factories the      
principle is carried much further4 ,the 
wicks1 having been cut by machinery of  
the requisite length1 instead of being  
cut one at a time1 are arranged upon a  
rod4 ,for the sort of candle called     
twelves1 or twelve to a pound1          
twenty-four wicks are suspended on one  
of these rods4 ,thirty rods are         
connected together in a frame1 which    
thus holds seven hundred and twenty     
wicks4 ,attached to the machine are     
thirty-six of these frames4 ,the whole  
number of wicks is therefore twenty-five
 thousand nine hundred and twenty4 ,the 

machine1 as it revolves1 dips one frame 
into a vessel of melted tallow2 and so  
on till the thirty-six frames have each 
been once dipped1--and the process is   
continued till the candles are fully    
formed4 ,one man and a boy complete this
 number of candles in a working-day of  
ten hours4    ,illustration3            
,dipping-machine4  ,walking by a        
wheelwright's shop in some quiet        
village1 did our readers ever see the   
operation of tiring a wheel8 ,the       
wood-work of the wheel is entirely      
formed2 but the joints of the felloes   
are imperfectly fitted together4 ,they  
used to be drawn close by separate      
straps of iron applied with great       
labour4 ,the wheel rests upon some      
raised bricks4 ,out from the forge rush 
three or four men bearing a red-hot iron
 hoop4 ,it is laid upon the outer rim of
 the wood-work1 burning its way as it is
 hammered down with the united force of 
the wheelwrights4 ,when it is nearly    
fitted1 floods of water are thrown upon 

it1 till it no longer burns4 ,the       
knowledge of the simple fact that the   
iron shrinks as it cools1 and thus knits
 the whole wheel into a firm body1      
taught the wheelwright how to accomplish
 the difficult task of giving the last  
strength to his wheel with the least    
possible labour4    ,illustration3      
,tiring a wheel4  ,the manufacture of a 
globe offers an example of the          
production of a most beautiful piece of 
work by the often repeated application  
of a series of processes1 each requiring
 very little labour4 ,a globe is not a  
ball of wood2 but a hollow sphere of    
papers and plaster4 ,the mould1 if we   
may so express it1 of a globe is turned 
out of a piece of wood4 ,this sphere    
need not be mathematically accurate4 ,it
 is for rough work1 and flaws and cracks
 are of little consequence4 ,this wooden
 ball has an axis1 a piece of iron wire 
at each pole4 ,and here we may remark1  
that1 at every stage of the process1 the
 revolution of a sphere upon its axis1  

under the hands of the workman1 is the  
one great principle which renders every 
operation one of comparative ease and   
simplicity4 ,the labour would be        
enormously multiplied if the same class 
of operations had to be performed upon a
 cube4 ,the solid mould1 then1 of the   
embryo globe is placed on its axis in a 
wooden frame4 ,in a very short time a   
boy will form a pasteboard globe upon   
its surface4 ,he first covers it        
entirely with strips of strong paper1   
thoroughly wet1 which are in a tub of   
water at his side4 ,the slight          
inequalities produced by the            
over-lapping of the strips are          
immaterial4 ,the saturated paper is not 
suffered to dry2 but is immediately     
covered over with a layer of pasted     
paper1 also cut in long narrow slips4 ,a
 third layer of similarly pasted        
paper--brown paper and white being used 
alternately--is applied2 and then1 a    
fourth1 a fifth1 and a sixth4 ,here the 
pasting process ends for globes of      

moderate size4 ,for the large ones it is
 carried further4 ,this wet pasteboard  
ball has now to be dried--placed upon   
its axis in a rack4 ,if we were         
determined to follow the progress of    
this individual ball through all its    
stages1 we should have to wait a        
fortnight before it advanced another    
step4 ,but in a large factory there are 
many scores of globes all rolling onward
 to perfection2 and thus we may witness 
the next operation performed upon a     
pasteboard sphere that began to exist   
some weeks earlier1 and is now hard to  
the core4  ,the wooden ball1 with its   
solid paper covering1 is placed on its  
axis4 ,a sharp cutting instrument1 fixed
 on a bench1 is brought into contact    
with the surface of the sphere1 which is
 made to revolve4 ,in less time than we 
write the pasteboard ball is cut in     
half4 ,there is no adhesion to the      
wooden mould1 for the first coating of  
paper was simply wetted4 ,two bowls of  
thick card now lie before us1 with a    

small hole in each1 made by the axis of 
the wooden ball4 ,but a junction is very
 soon effected4 ,within every globe     
there is a piece of wood--we may liken  
it to a round ruler--of the exact length
 of the inner surface of the sphere from
 pole to pole4 ,a thick wire runs       
through this wood1 and originally       
projected some two or three inches at   
each end4 ,this stick is placed upright 
in a vice4 ,the semi-globe is nailed to 
one end of the stick1 upon which it     
rests1 when the wire is passed through  
its centre4 ,it is now reversed1 and the
 edges of the card rapidly covered with 
glue4 ,the edges of the other semi-globe
 are instantly brought into contact1 the
 other end of the wire passing through  
its centre in the same way1 and a       
similar nailing to the stick taking     
place4 ,we have now a paper globe1 with 
its own axis1 which will be its         
companion for the whole term of its     
existence4  ,the paper globe is next    
placed on its axis in a frame1 of which 

one side is a semicircular piece of     
metal2--the horizon of a globe cut in   
half would show its form4 ,a tub of     
white composition1 a compound of        
whiting1 glue1 and oil1 is on the bench4
 ,the workman dips his hand into this   
gruel thick and slab1 and rapidly       
applies it to the paper sphere with     
tolerable evenness2 but as it revolves1 
the semicircle of metal clears off the  
superfluous portions4 ,the ball of paper
 is now a ball of plaster externally4   
,time again enters largely into the     
manufacture4 ,the first coating must    
thoroughly dry before the next is       
applied1 and so again till the process  
has been repeated four or five times4   
,thus1 when we visit a globe-workshop1  
we are at first surprised at the number 
of white balls1 from three inches in    
diameter to three feet1 which occupy a  
large space4 ,they are all steadily     
advancing towards completion2 and as    
they advance to the dignity of perfect  
spheres1 increased pains are taken in   

the application of the plaster4 ,at last
 they are polished4 ,their surface is as
 fine and hard as ivory4 ,but beautiful 
as they are1 they may1 like many other  
beautiful things1 want a due equipoise4 
,they must be perfectly balanced4 ,they 
must move upon their poles with the     
utmost exactness4 ,a few shot1 let in   
here and there1 correct all             
irregularities4 ,and now the paper and  
plaster sphere is to be endued with     
intelligence4 ,the sphere is marked with
 lines of direction for the purpose of  
covering it with engraved slips4 ,we    
have now a globe with a plain map4 ,an  
artist colours it by hand4  ,we have    
given these examples of several modes of
 production1 in which knowledge and     
skill have diminished labour1 for the   
purpose of showing that not only        
machinery and scientific applications   
are constantly tending to the same end1 
but that the mere practice of the       
mechanical arts necessarily leads to    
labour-saving inventions4 ,every one of 

us who thinks at all is constantly      
endeavouring to diminish his individual 
labour by the use of some little        
contrivance which experience has        
suggested4 ,men who carry water in      
buckets1 in places where water is       
scarce1 put a circular piece of wood to 
float on the water1 which prevents its  
spilling1 and consequently lessens the  
labour4 ,a boy who makes paper bags in a
 grocer's shop so arranges them that he 
pastes the edges of twenty at a time1 to
 diminish the labour4 ,the porters of   
,amsterdam1 who draw heavy goods upon a 
sort of sledge1 every now and then throw
 a greased rope under the sledge1 to    
diminish its friction1 and therefore to 
lessen the labour of dragging it4 ,other
 porters1 in the same city1 have a      
little barrel containing water1 attached
 to each side of the sledge1 out of     
which the water slowly drips like the   
water upon a stone-cutter's saw1 to     
diminish the friction4  ,in the domestic
 arrangements of a well-regulated       

household1 whether of a poor man or of a
 rich man1 one of the chief cares is to 
save labour4 ,every contrivance to save 
labour that ingenuity can suggest is    
eagerly adopted when a country becomes  
highly civilized4 ,in former times1 in  
our own country1 when such contrivances 
were little known1 and materials as well
 as time were constantly wasted in every
 direction1 a great ,baron was          
surrounded with a hundred menial        
servants2 but he had certainly less real
 and useful labour performed for him    
than a tradesman of the present day     
obtains from three servants4 ,are there 
fewer servants now employed than in     
those times of barbarous state8         
,certainly not4 ,the middle classes     
amongst us can get a great deal done for
 them in the way of domestic service1 at
 a small expense1 because servants are  
assisted by manifold contrivances which 
do much of the work for them4 ,the      
contrivances render the article of      
service cheaper1 and therefore there are

 more servants4 ,the work being done by 
fewer servants1 in consequence of the   
contrivances1 the servants themselves   
are better paid than if there was no    
cost saved by the contrivance4  ,the    
common jack by which meat is roasted is 
described by ,mr4 ,babbage as a         
contrivance to enable the cook in a few 
minutes to exert a force 7in winding up 
the jack7 which the machine retails out 
during the succeeding hour in turning   
the loaded spit1 thus enabling her to   
bestow her undivided attention on her   
other duties4 ,we have seen1 years ago1 
in farm-houses1 a man employed to turn a
 spit with a handle2 dogs have been used
 to run in a wheel for the same purpose1
 and hence a particular breed so used   
are called turnspits4 ,when some        
ingenious servant-girl discovered that1 
if she put a skewer through the meat and
 hung it before the fire by a skein of  
worsted1 it would turn with very little 
attention1 she made an approach to the  
principle of the bottle-jack4 ,all these

 contrivances diminish labour1 and      
ensure regularity of movement2--and     
therefore they are valuable             
contrivances4  ,a bell which is pulled  
in one room and rings in another1 and   
which therefore establishes a ready     
communication between the most distant  
parts of a house1 is a contrivance to   
save labour4 ,in a large family the     
total want of bells would add a fourth  
at least to the labour of servants4     
,where three servants are kept now1 four
 servants would be required to be kept  
then4 ,would the destruction of all the 
bells therefore add one-fourth to the   
demand for servants8 ,certainly not4    
,the funds employed in paying for       
service would not be increased a single 
farthing2 and1 therefore1 by the        
destruction of bells1 all the families  
of the kingdom would have some work left
 undone1 to make up for the additional  
labour required through the want of this
 useful contrivance3 or all the servants
 in the kingdom would be more hardly    

worked1--would have to work sixteen     
hours a day instead of twelve4  ,in some
 parts of ,india the natives have a very
 rude contrivance to mark the progress  
of time4 ,a thin metal cup1 with a small
 hole in its bottom1 is put to float in 
a vessel of water2 and as the water     
rises through the hole the cup sinks in 
a given time--in #bd minutes4 ,a servant
 is set to watch the sinking of the cup1
 and when this happens he strikes upon a
 bell4 ,half a century ago1 almost every
 cottage in ,england had its            
hour-glass--an imperfect instrument for 
registering the progress of time1       
because it only indicated its course    
between hour and hour2 and an instrument
 which required a very watchful         
attention1 and some labour1 to be of any
 use at all4 ,the universal use of      
watches or clocks1 in ,india1 would     
wholly displace the labour of the       
servants who note the progress of time  
by the filling of the cup2 and the same 
cause has displaced1 amongst us1 the    

equally unprofitable labour employed in 
turning the hour-glass1 and watching its
 movement4 ,almost every house in       
,england has now a clock or watch of    
some sort2 and every house in ,india    
would have the same1 if the natives were
 more enlightened1 and were not engaged 
in so many modes of unprofitable labour 
to keep them poor4 ,his profitable      
labour has given the ,english mechanic  
the means of getting a watch4           
,machinery1 used in every possible way1 
has made this watch cheap4 ,the labour  
formerly employed in turning the        
hour-glass1 or in running to look at the
 church clock1 is transferred to the    
making of watches4 ,the user of the     
watch obtains an accurate register of   
time1 which teaches him to know the     
value of that most precious possession1 
and to economize it2 and the producers  
of the watch have abundant employment in
 the universal demand for this valuable 
machine4  ,a watch or clock is an       
instrument for assisting an operation of

 the mind4 ,without some instrument for 
registering time1 the mind could very   
imperfectly attain the end which the    
watch attains1 not requiring any mental 
labour4 ,the observation of the progress
 of time1 by the situation of the sun in
 the day1 or of particular stars at     
night1 is a labour requiring great      
attention1 and various sorts of accurate
 knowledge4 ,it is therefore never      
attempted1 except when men have no      
machines for registering time4 ,in the  
same manner the labours of the mind have
 been saved1 in a thousand ways1 by     
other contrivances of science4  ,the    
foot-rule of the carpenter not only     
gives him the standard of a foot        
measure1 which he could not exactly     
ascertain by any experience1 or any     
mental process1 but it is also a scale  
of the proportions of an inch1 or       
several inches1 to a foot1 and of the   
parts of an inch to an inch4 ,what a    
quantity of calculations1 and of        
dividing by compasses1 does this little 

instrument save the carpenter1 besides  
ensuring a much greater degree of       
accuracy in all his operations6 ,the    
common rules of arithmetic1 which almost
 every boy in ,england now learns1 are  
parts of a great invention for saving   
mental labour4 ,the higher branches of  
mathematics1 of which science arithmetic
 is a portion1 are also inventions for  
saving labour1 and for doing what could 
never be done without these inventions4 
,there are instruments1 and very curious
 ones1 for lessening the labour of all  
arithmetical calculations2 and tables1  
that is1 the results of certain         
calculations1 which are of practical    
use1 are constructed for the same       
purpose4 ,when we buy a joint of meat1  
we often see the butcher turn to a      
little book1 before he tells us how much
 a certain number of pounds and ounces  
amounts to1 at a certain price per      
pound4 ,this book is his ',ready        
,reckoner1' and a very useful book it is
 to him2 for it enables him to despatch 

his customers in half the time that he  
would otherwise require1 and thus to    
save himself a great deal of labour1 and
 a great deal of inaccuracy4 ,the       
inventions for saving mental labour1 in 
calculations of arithmetic1 have been   
carried so far1 that ,mr4 ,babbage had  
almost perfected a calculating machine1 
which not only did its work of          
calculation without the possibility of  
error1 but absolutely was to arrange    
printing types of figures1 in a frame1  
so that no error could be produced in   
copying the calculations before they are
 printed4 ,we mention this curious      
machine1 to show how far science may go 
in diminishing mental labour1 and       
ensuring accuracy4 ,the want of         
government funds prevented its          
completion4  ,to all who read this book 
it is no difficulty to count a hundred2 
and most know the relation which a      
hundred bears to a thousand1 and a      
thousand bears to a million4 ,most are  
able1 also1 to read off those numbers1  

or parts of those numbers1 when they see
 them marked down in figures4 ,there are
 many uncivilized people in the world   
who cannot count twenty4 ,they have no  
idea whatever of numbers1 beyond perhaps
 as far as the number of their fingers1 
or their fingers and their toes4 ,how   
have we obtained this great superiority 
over these poor savages8 ,because       
science has been at work1 for many      
centuries1 to diminish the amount of our
 mental labour1 by teaching us the      
easiest modes of calculation4 ,and how  
did we learn these modes8 ,we learnt    
them from our schoolmasters4  ,if any   
follow up the false reasoning which has 
led some to think that whatever         
diminishes labour diminishes the number 
of labourers1 they might conclude1 that1
 as there is less mental work to be     
done1 because science has diminished the
 labour of that work1 there would1      
therefore1 be fewer mental workmen4     
,thank ,god1 the greater facilities that
 have been given to the cultivation of  

the mind1 the greater is the number of  
those who exert themselves in that      
cultivation4 ,the effects of saving     
unprofitable labour are the same in all 
cases4 ,the use of machinery in aid of  
bodily labour has set that bodily labour
 to a thousand new employments2 and has 
raised the character of the employments1
 by transferring the lowest of the      
drudgery to wheels and pistons4 ,the use
 of science in the assistance of mental 
labour has conducted that labour to     
infinitely more numerous fields of      
exertion2 and has elevated all          
intellectual pursuits1 by making their  
commoner processes the play of          
childhood1 instead of the toil of       
manhood4  ,we cannot doubt that any     
invention which gives assistance to the 
thinking powers of mankind1 and1        
therefore1 by dispensing with much      
mental drudgery1 leads the mind forward 
to nobler exertions1 is a benefit to    
all4 ,it is not more than four hundred  
years ago1 that the use of ,arabic      

numerals1 or figures1 began to be       
generally known in this country4 ,the   
first date in those numerals said to    
exist in ,england1 is upon a brass plate
 in ,ware church1 #aded4 ,the same date 
in ,roman numerals1 which were in use   
before the ,arabic ones1 would be       
expressed by eight letters1 ,,mccccliv4 
,the introduction of figures1 therefore1
 was an immense saving of time in the   
commonest operations of arithmetic4 ,how
 puzzled we should be1 and what a       
quantity of labour we should lose1 if we
 were compelled to reckon earnings and  
marketings by the long mode of notation1
 instead of the short one6 ,this book is
 easily read1 because it is written in  
words composed of twenty-four letters4  
,in ,china1 where there are no letters  
in use1 every word in the language is   
expressed by a different character4 ,few
 people in ,china write or read2 and    
those who do1 acquire very little       
knowledge1 except the mere knowledge of 
writing and reading4 ,all the time of   

their learned men is occupied in        
acquiring the means of knowledge1 and   
not knowledge itself2 and the bulk of   
the people get very little knowledge at 
all4 ,it would be just the same thing if
 there were no machines or engines for  
diminishing manual labour4 ,those who   
had any property would occupy all their 
time1 and the time of their immediate   
dependents1 in raising food and making  
clothes for themselves1 and the rest of 
the people would go without any food or 
clothes at all2 or rather1 which comes  
to the same thing1 there would be no    
rest of the people2 the lord and his    
vassals would have all the              
produce2--there would be half a million 
of people in the ,united ,kingdom       
instead of twenty-seven millions4  ,when
 a boy has got hold of what we call the 
rudiments of learning1 he has possessed 
himself of the most useful tools and    
machines which exist in the world4 ,he  
has obtained the means of doing that    
with extreme ease1 which1 without these 

tools1 is done only with extreme labour4
 ,he has earned the time which1 if      
rightly employed1 will elevate his mind1
 and therefore improve his condition4   
,just so is it with all tools and       
machines for diminishing bodily         
exertion4 ,they give us the means of    
doing that with comparative ease1 which1
 without them1 can only be done with    
extreme drudgery4 ,they set at liberty a
 great quantity of mere animal power1   
which1 having then leisure to unite with
 mental power1 produces ingenious and   
skilful workmen in every trade4 ,but    
they do more than this4 ,they diminish  
human suffering--they improve the       
health--they increase the term of       
life--they render all occupations less  
painful and laborious2--and1 by doing   
all this1 they elevate man in the scale 
of existence4  ,a late ,pasha of ,egypt1
 in one of those fits of caprice which  
it is the nature of tyrants to exhibit1 
ordered1 a few years ago1 that the male 
population of a district should be set  

to clear out one of the ancient canals  
which was then filled up with mud4 ,the 
people had no tools1 and the ,pasha gave
 them no tools2 but the work was        
required to be done4 ,so to work the    
poor wretches went1 to the number of    
fifty thousand4 ,they had to plunge up  
to their necks in the filthiest slime1  
and to bale it out with their hands1 and
 their hands alone4 ,they were fed1 it  
is true1 during the operation2 but their
 food was of a quality proportioned to  
the little profitable labour which they 
performed4 ,they were fed on horse-beans
 and water4 ,in the course of one year1 
more than thirty thousand of these      
unhappy people perished4 ,if the tyrant1
 instead of giving labour to fifty      
thousand people1 had possessed the means
 of setting up steam-engines to pump out
 the water1 and scoop out the mud1--or  
if he had provided the pump1 which is   
called ,archimedes' screw1 and was      
invented by that philosopher for the    
very purpose of draining land in        

,egypt1--or if the people had even had  
scoops and shovels1 instead of being    
degraded like beasts1 to the employment 
of their unassisted hands1--the work    
might have been done at a fiftieth of   
the cost1 even of the miserable pittance
 of horse-beans and water2 and the money
 that was saved by the tools and        
machines1 might have gone to furnish    
profitable labour to the thousands who  
perished amidst the misery and          
degradation of their unprofitable       
labour4  ,some may say that this is a   
case which does not apply to us2 because
 we are free men1 and cannot be         
compelled to perish1 up to our necks in 
mud1 upon a pittance of horse-beans1    
doled out by a tyrant4 ,exactly so4 ,but
 what has made us free8 ,knowledge4     
,knowledge1--which1 in raising the moral
 and intellectual character of every    
,englishman1 has raised up barriers to  
oppression which no power can ever break
 down4 ,knowledge1--which has set       
ingenious men thinking in every way how 

to increase the profitable labour of the
 nation1 and therefore to increase the  
comforts of every man in the nation4    
,the people of ,england have gone on    
increasing very rapidly during the last 
fifty years2 and the average length of  
life has also gone on increasing in the 
same remarkable manner4 ,men who have   
attended to subjects of political       
economy have always been desirous to    
procure accurate returns of the average 
duration of life at particular places1  
and they could pretty well estimate the 
condition of the people from these      
returns4 ,savages1 it is well known1 are
 not long livers2 that is1 although     
there may be a few old people1 the      
majority of savages die very young4 ,why
 is this8 ,many of the savage nations   
that we know have much finer climates   
than our own2 but then1 on the other    
hand1 they sustain privations which the 
poorest man amongst us never feels4     
,their supply of food is uncertain1 they
 want clothing1 they are badly sheltered

 from the weather1 or not sheltered at  
all1 they undergo very severe labour    
when they are labouring4 ,from all these
 causes savages die young4 ,is it not   
reasonable1 therefore1 to infer that if 
in any particular country the average   
duration of life goes on increasing2    
that is1 if fewer people1 in a given    
number and a given time1 die now than   
formerly1 the condition of that people  
is improved2 that they have more of the 
necessaries and comforts of life1 and   
labour less severely to procure them8   
,now let us see how the people of       
,england stand in this respect4 ,the    
average mortality in a year about a     
century ago was reckoned to be one in   
thirty1 and now it is one in forty-six4 
,this result is1 doubtless1 produced in 
some degree by improvement in the       
science of medicine1 and particularly by
 the use of vaccination4 ,but making    
every allowance for these benefits1 the 
fact furnishes the most undeniable      
truth1 that the people of ,england are  

much better fed1 clothed1 and lodged    
than they were a century ago1 and that  
the labour which they perform is far    
less severe4  ,the effect of continued  
violent bodily exertion upon the        
duration of life might be illustrated by
 many instances2 we shall mention one4  
,the late ,mr4 ,edgeworth1 in his       
,memoirs1 repeatedly speaks of a boatman
 whom he knew at ,lyons1 as an old man4 
,his hair1 says ,mr4 ,edgeworth1 was    
grey1 his face wrinkled1 his back bent1 
and all his limbs and features had the  
appearance of those of a man of sixty2  
yet his real age was but twenty-seven   
years4 ,he told me that he was the      
oldest boatman on the ,rhone1 that his  
younger brothers had been worn out      
before they were twenty-five years old2 
such were the effects of the hardships  
to which they were subject from the     
nature of their employment4 ,that       
employment was1 by intense bodily       
exertion1 and with the daily chance of  
being upset1 to pull a boat across one  

of the most rapid rivers in the world1--
    ,the swift and arrowy ,rhone1  as   
one of our poets calls it4 ,how much    
happier would these boatmen have been   
during their lives1 and how much longer 
would they have lived1 could their      
labour have been relieved by some       
mechanical contrivance6 and without     
doubt1 the same contrivance would have  
doubled the number of boatmen1 by       
causing the passage to be more used4 ,as
 it was1 they were few in number1 they  
lived only a few years1 and the only    
gratification of those few years was an 
inordinate stimulus of brandy4 ,this is 
the case in all trades where immense    
efforts of bodily power are required4   
,the exertion itself wears out the      
people1 and the dram1 which gives a     
momentary impulse to the exertion1 wears
 them out still more4 ,the coal-heavers 
of ,london1 healthy as they look1 are   
but a short-lived people4 ,the heavy    
loads which they carry1 and the quantity
 of liquor which they drink1 both       

together make sad havoc with them4      
,violent bodily labour1 in which the    
muscular power of the body is unequally 
applied1 generally produces some        
peculiar disease4 ,nearly all the       
pressmen who were accustomed to print   
newspapers of a large size1 by hand1    
were ruptured4 ,the printing-machine now
 does the same description of work4     
,what is the effect upon the condition  
of pressmen generally by the            
introduction of the printing-machine to 
do the heaviest labour of printing8     
,that the trade of a pressman is daily  
becoming one more of skill than of      
drudgery4 ,at the same time that the    
printing-machine was invented1 one of   
the principles of that machine1 that of 
inking the types with a roller instead  
of two large cushions1 called balls1 was
 introduced into hand-printing4 ,the    
pressmen were delighted with this       
improvement4 ,ay1 said they1 this saves 
our labour2 we are relieved from the    
hard work of distributing the ink upon  

the balls4 ,what the roller did for the 
individual pressman1 the machine1 which 
can only be beneficially applied to     
rapid and to very heavy printing1 does  
for the great body of pressmen4 ,it     
removes a certain portion of the        
drudgery1 which degraded the occupation1
 and rendered it painful and injurious  
to health4 ,we have seen two pressmen   
working a daily paper against time3 it  
was always necessary1 before the        
introduction of the machines1 to put an 
immense quantity of bodily energy into  
the labour of working a newspaper1 that 
it might be published at the proper     
hour4 ,time1 in this case1 was driving  
the pressman as fast as the rapid stream
 drove the boatman of the ,rhone2 and   
the speed with which they worked was    
killing them as quickly4     ,,chapter  
,,xx4       ,influences of knowledge in 
the direction of labour and             
capital--,astronomy--,chronometer--,mari
ner's      compass--,scientific         
travellers--,new materials of           

manufactures--,india-rubber--,gutta-perc
ha--,palm-oil--                         
,geology--,inventions that diminish     
risk--,science raising      up new      
employments--,electricity--,galvanism--,
sun-light--      ,mental                
labourers--,enlightened public          
sentiment4   ,lord ,bacon1 the great    
master of practical wisdom1 has said    
that the effort to extend the dominion  
of man over nature is the most healthy  
and most noble of all ambitions4 ,the   
empire of man1 he adds1 over material   
things has for its only foundation the  
sciences and the arts4#bd ,a great deal 
of the knowledge which constitutes this 
dominion has been the property of       
society1 handed down from the earliest  
ages4 ,no one can tell1 for instance1   
how the art of leavening bread was      
introduced amongst mankind2 and yet this
 process1 now so familiar to all1       
contributes as much1 if not more1 than  
any other art to the wholesome and      
agreeable preparation of our food4      

,leavening bread is a branch of         
chemistry1 and1 like that process1 many 
other processes of chemistry have been  
the common property of civilized man    
from time immemorial4 ,within a few     
centuries1 however1 science has applied 
its discoveries to the perfection of the
 arts2 and in proportion as capital has 
been at hand to encourage science1 has  
the progress of the application been    
certain and rapid4 ,the old ,alchemists1
 or hunters after the philosopher's     
stone1 sought to create capital by their
 discoveries4 ,they could not make gold1
 but they discovered certain principles 
which have done as much for the creation
 of utility in a few hundred years as   
the rude manual labour of all mankind   
during the same period4 ,let it not be  
supposed that we wish to depreciate     
manual labour4 ,we only wish to show    
that labour is incomparably more        
prolific when directed by science4      
,mahomet ,bey1 the ruler of ,tunis1 was 
dethroned by his subjects4 ,he had the  

reputation of possessing the            
philosopher's stone1 or the art of      
turning common metals into gold4 ,the   
,dey of ,algiers restored him to his    
throne upon condition that the secret   
should be communicated to him4 ,mahomet1
 with great pomp and solemnity1 sent the
 ,dey of ,algiers a plough4 ,this was so
 far well4 ,he intimated that to compel 
production by labour is to make a nation
 rich4 ,but had he been able to transmit
 some of the science which now controls 
and guides the operations of the        
plough--the chemical knowledge which    
teaches the proper application of       
manures to soils--the rotation of crops 
introduced by the turnip-husbandry1     
which renders it unnecessary that the   
ground should ever be idle1--he would   
have gone farther towards communicating 
the real philosopher's stone4  ,the     
indirect influence1 too1 of a general   
advance in knowledge upon the particular
 advance of any branch of labour1 is    
undeniable2--for the inquiring spirit of

 an age spreads itself on all sides1 and
 improvement is carried into the most   
obscure recesses1 the darkest chinks and
 corners of a nation4 ,it has been      
wisely and beautifully said1 ,we cannot 
reasonably expect that a piece of       
woollen cloth will be wrought to        
perfection in a nation which is ignorant
 of astronomy1 or where ethics are      
neglected4#be ,the positive influence of
 science in the direction of labour is  
chiefly exhibited in the operations of  
mechanics and chemistry applied to the  
arts1 in the shape of machines for      
saving materials and labour1 and of     
processes for attaining the same        
economy4 ,we have described the effects 
of some of these manifold inventions in 
the improvement of the condition both of
 producers and consumers4 ,but there are
 many particulars in which knowledge has
 laboured1 and is still labouring1 for  
the advance of the physical and moral   
condition of us all1 which may have     
escaped attention2 because these labours

 operate remotely and indirectly1 though
 not without the highest ultimate       
certainty and efficiency1 in aiding the 
great business of production4 ,these are
 the influences of science upon labour1 
not so direct as the mechanical skill   
which has contrived the steam-engine1 or
 so indirect as the operation of ethics 
upon the manufacture of a piece of      
woollen cloth2 but which confer a       
certain and in some instances enormous  
benefit upon production1 by the         
operation of causes which1 upon a       
superficial view1 appear to be only     
matters of laborious but unprofitable   
speculation4 ,if we succeed in pointing 
out the extent and importance of those  
aids which production derives from the  
labours of men1 who have not been       
ordinarily classed amongst working men1 
but who have been truly the hardest and 
most profitable workers which society   
has ever possessed1 we shall show what  
an intimate union subsists amongst those
 classes of society who appear the most 

separated1 and that these men really    
labour with all others most effectually 
in the advancement of the great         
interests of mankind4    ,illustration3 
,harrison4  ,when ,hume thought that a  
nation would be behind in the           
manufacture of cloth that had not       
studied astronomy1 he perhaps did not   
mean to go the length of saying1 that   
the study of astronomy has a real       
influence in making cloth cheaper1 in   
lessening the cost of production1 and in
 therefore increasing the number of     
consumers4 ,but look at the direct      
influence of astronomy upon navigation4 
,a seaman1 by the guidance of principles
 laid down by the great minds that have 
directed their mathematical powers to   
the study of astronomy--such minds as   
those of ,newton and ,la                
,place--measures the moon's apparent    
distance from a particular star4 ,he    
turns to a page in the ',nautical       
,almanac1' and1 by a calculation        
directed principally by this table1 can 

determine whereabout he is upon the     
broad ocean1 although he may not have   
seen land for three months4 ,sir ,john  
,herschel1 who unites to the greatest   
scientific reputation the rare desire to
 make the vast possessions of the world 
of science accessible to all1 has given1
 in his ',discourse on the ,study of    
,natural ,philosophy1' an instance of   
the accuracy of such lunar observations1
 in an account of a voyage of eight     
thousand miles1 by ,captain ,basil      
,hall1 who1 without a single landmark   
during eighty-nine days1 ran his ship   
into the harbour of ,rio as accurately1 
and with as little deviation1 as a      
coachman drives his stage into an       
inn-yard4 ,but navigation not only      
depends upon lunar distances1 but upon  
an instrument which shall keep perfect  
time under every change of temperature  
produced by variety of climate4 ,that   
instrument is a chronometer4 ,every one 
who possesses a watch1 however good1    
must have experienced the effects of    

heat or cold upon its accuracy1 in      
making it go faster or slower--perhaps a
 minute in a week4 ,now if there were   
not an instrument that would measure    
time so exactly that between ,london and
 ,new ,york not a minute1 or large      
fraction of a minute1 would be lost or  
gained1 the voyage would be one of      
difficulty and uncertainty4 ,a          
,yorkshire joiner1 ,john ,harrison1 at  
the beginning of the last century1 found
 out the principle of the chronometer1  
which consists in the union in the      
balance-spring of two metals1 one which 
contracts under increased temperature1  
and one which expands2 and on the       
contrary under diminished temperature4  
,harrison worked for fifty years at his 
discovery2 and he obtained a            
parliamentary reward of #bj1jjjl4       
,illustration3 ,greenwich ,observatory4 
,the ,english chronometers are set by   
what is called ,greenwich time4 ,at the 
,greenwich ,observatory a ball falls    
from a staff exactly at one o'clock2 and

 by the application of electricity1 a   
similar ball falls at the same instant  
at ,charing ,cross4 ,the beautiful      
instruments that are constantly at work1
 and the laborious calculations which   
are daily proceeding1 at the            
,observatory1 are essentially necessary 
for the maintenance of a commerce that  
embraces the whole habitable globe4     
,but what has this1 it may be said1 to  
do with the price of clothing8 ,exactly 
this3 part of the price arises from the 
cost of transport4 ,if there were no    
lunar distances in the ',nautical       
,almanac1' or chronometers1 the voyage  
from ,new ,york to ,liverpool might     
require three months instead of a       
fortnight4 ,but go a step farther back  
in the influence of science upon        
navigation4 ,there was a time when ships
 could hardly venture to leave the      
shore4 ,in the days of our ,anglo-,saxon
 ancestors1 a merchant who went three   
times over sea with his own craft1 was  
entitled to rank as a thegn1 or         

nobleman4 ,long after this early period 
of ,england's navigation1 voyages across
 the ,atlantic could never have been    
attempted4 ,that was before the         
invention of the mariner's compass2 but 
even after that invention1 when         
astronomy was not scientifically applied
 to navigation1 long voyages were       
considered in the highest degree        
dangerous4 ,the crews both of ,vasco de 
,gama1 who discovered the passage to    
,india1 and of ,columbus1 principally   
consisted of criminals1 who were        
pardoned on condition of undertaking a  
service of such peril4 ,the discovery of
 magnetism1 however1 changed the whole  
principle of navigation1 and raised     
seamanship to a science4 ,if the        
mariner's compass had not been invented1
 ,america could never have been         
discovered2 and if ,america1 and the    
passage to ,india by the ,cape of ,good 
,hope1 had never been discovered1 cotton
 would never have been brought to       
,england2 and if cotton had never been  

brought to ,england1 we should have been
 as badly off for clothing as the people
 of the middle ages1 and the million of 
working men and women1 manufacturers of 
cotton1 and dealers in cotton goods1    
would have been without employment4     
,astronomy1 therefore1 and navigation1  
both sciences the results of long ages  
of patient inquiry1 have opened a       
communication between the uttermost ends
 of the earth2 and therefore have had a 
slow1 but certain effect upon the       
production of wealth1 and the consequent
 diffusion of all the necessaries1      
comforts1 and conveniences of civilized 
life4 ,the connexion between            
manufactures and science1 practical     
commerce and abstract speculation1 is so
 intimate that it might be traced in a  
thousand striking instances4 ,columbus1 
the discoverer of ,america1 satisfied   
his mind that the earth was round2 and  
when he had got this abstract idea      
firmly in his head1 he next became      
satisfied that he should find a new     

continent by sailing in a westerly      
course4 ,the abstract notion which      
filled the mind of ,columbus that the   
earth was a sphere1 ultimately changed  
the condition of every living being in  
the ,old ,world that then existed1 or   
has since existed4 ,in the year #adhh1  
the first geographical maps and charts  
that had been seen in ,england were     
brought hither by the brother of        
,christopher ,columbus4 ,if these maps  
had not been constructed by the         
unceasing labours of men in their       
closets1 ,columbus would never have     
thought of discovering the unknown land 
which occupied his whole soul4 ,if the  
scanty knowledge of geography which     
existed in the time of ,columbus had not
 received immense additions from the    
subsequent labours of other students of 
geography1 ,england would not have      
twenty-seven thousand merchant ships    
ready to trade wherever men have        
anything to exchange1--that is1 wherever
 men are enabled to give of their       

abundance for our abundance1 each being 
immensely benefited by the intercourse4 
,a map now appears a common thing1 but  
it is impossible to overrate the extent 
of the accumulated observations that go 
to make up a map4 ,an almanac seems a   
common thing1 but it is impossible to   
overrate the prodigious accumulations of
 science that go to make up an almanac4 
,with these accumulations1 it is now no 
very difficult matter to construct a map
 or an almanac4 ,but if society could be
 deprived of the accumulations1 and we  
had to re-create and remodel everything 
for the formation of our map and our    
almanac1 it would perhaps require many  
centuries before these accumulations    
could be built up again2 and all the    
arts of life would go backward1 for want
 of the guidance of the principles of   
which the map and the almanac are the   
interpreters for popular use4           
,illustration3 ,linnaeus in his ,lapland
 dress4  ,there never was a time when   
man had so complete possession of the   

planet which he inhabits as the present4
 ,much of the globe has yet to be       
explored2 but how much is familiar to us
 that was comparatively unknown even at 
the beginning of the present century4   
,how thoroughly during that period have 
we acclimated many of the plants of     
distant lands1 which are now the common 
beauties of our gardens and greenhouses4
 ,there are thousands of timber-trees   
coming to rapid maturity in our parks   
and pleasure-grounds which thirty years 
ago grew only in the solitudes of       
,california and ,australia4 ,one        
enterprising man1 ,james ,douglas1 whose
 father was a working mason at ,scone1  
bestowed upon this country1 about       
twenty-five years ago1 two hundred new  
species of plants which are now of      
common culture1 and he gave us a tree of
 the pine-tribe1 called after his name1 
which will in all probability become one
 of the most valuable of our timbers1   
from its strength1 its rapid growth1 and
 its enormous size4 ,what impelled      

,james ,douglas1 and hundreds of other  
travellers of a similar character1 to   
encounter the perils of travel in desert
 regions1 but the abstract love of      
science1 which made them naturalists in 
their closets before they were explorers
 and discoverers8 ,we are familiar with 
the name of ,linnaeus1 and the ,linnean 
system of botany2 and some may think    
that this great naturalist was not doing
 much for knowledge when he classified  
and arranged what we call the vegetable 
kingdom4 ,when very young1 ,linnaeus    
underwent many hardships in travelling  
through ,lapland1 in search of plants4  
,so far1 some may say1 he was well      
employed4 ,he was equally well employed 
when he made such an inventory1 to use a
 familiar term1 of all the known plants 
of his time1 as would enable succeeding 
naturalists to know a distinct species  
from an accidental variety1 and to give 
a precision to all future botanical     
investigation4 ,other naturalists have  
produced other systems1 which may be    

more simple and convenient2 but the     
impulse which ,linnaeus gave to         
botanical discovery1 and thence to the  
increase of the vegetable wealth of     
,europe1 can never be too highly        
appreciated4  ,in every branch of       
natural history the study of the        
science1 in its manifold forms of       
classification1 is constantly leading to
 the most valuable discoveries connected
 with our means of existence4 ,some     
twenty years ago all the timber of the  
,hartz ,forest in ,germany was destroyed
 by a species of beetle1 which1 gnawing 
completely round the bark1 prevented the
 sap from rising4 ,this destructive     
animal made its appearance in ,england2 
and science very soon discovered the    
cause of the evil1 and provided for its 
removal4 ,if there had been no knowledge
 of natural history here1 not a tree    
would have been left in our woods3 and  
what then would have been the cost of   
timber4 ,the naturalist is now carrying 
his investigations1 with the aid of the 

microscope1 into the lowest departments 
of animal life4 ,he finds the causes of 
blight and mildew1 and knows the species
 of the minutest insect that mars the   
hopes of the farmer and the gardener4   
,the chemist steps in2 and the ravager  
is destroyed or rendered less noxious4  
,it is to the scientific travellers that
 we owe the successive introduction of  
new materials of manufactures4 ,of the  
enormous extent in which such new       
materials affect production1 we may form
 some adequate notion from the mention  
of three--,india-rubber1 ,gutta ,percha1
 and ,palm-oil4  ,in #ahec we imported  
#a1idj1jjj lbs4 of caoutchouc or        
,india-rubber4 ,the gum of a            
,brazilian-tree1 discovered by some     
scientific ,frenchman in #agce1 had been
 employed for nearly a century for no   
higher purpose than rubbing out         
pencil-marks4 ,after #ahbj the mode of  
applying the substance for the          
production of water-proof garments was  
discovered4 ,but even in #ahcj we only  

imported #ej1jjj lbs4 ,since then       
caoutchouc has become one of our great  
materials of manufacture1 applied1 not  
only to clothing1 but to useful articles
 of every description4 ,its great       
property of elasticity has rendered it  
available in numberless instances beyond
 those of making cloth water-proof and  
air-tight4 ,when we discovered how to   
make ,india-rubber soluble by spirit1 we
 obtained our water-proof clothes1 our  
air-cushions1 and water-beds4 ,when     
machinery drew out the lump of gum into 
the finest threads1 and connected them  
with cotton1 flax1 silk1 or worsted1 in 
a braiding-machine1 we became provided  
with every species of elastic web that  
can render dress at once tight and easy4
 ,but chemistry has carried the use of  
,india-rubber further than the spirit   
which dissolves it1 or the machinery    
which splits it into minute threads4    
,chemistry has combined it with sulphur1
 and thus added in a remarkable degree  
to its strength and its elasticity4 ,it 

has made it independent of temperature4 
,it has doubled its utility4 ,vulcanized
 ,india-rubber is one of the most       
valuable of recent inventions4  ,it is a
 striking characteristic of our age1 and
 particularly as compared with the      
period when ,india-rubber was first sent
 to ,europe1 that the application of    
gutta percha to the arts immediately    
followed the discovery of the substance4
 ,in #ahdb1 ,dr4 ,montgomerie was       
observing a wood-cutter at ,singapore at
 his ordinary labour4 ,looking at the   
man's axe he saw that the handle was not
 of wood1 but of some material that he  
had not previously known4 ,the woodman  
told ,dr4 ,montgomerie that1 hard as the
 handle was1 it became quite soft in    
boiling water1 and could be moulded into
 any form1 when it would again become   
hard4 ,it was a gum from a tree growing 
in various islands of the ,eastern      
archipelago1 called pertsha4 ,specimens 
were immediately sent to the ,society of
 ,arts2 and the inquiring surgeon to the

 ,presidency at ,singapore received the 
,society's gold-medal4 ,in #ahdb-c1 ,mr4
 ,lobb1 visiting these islands to       
collect botanical specimens1 also       
discovered the same tree1 and the gum   
which issues from it4  ,in twelve years 
the wonderful utility of this new       
material has been established in very   
various applications4 ,but the gum would
 have remained comparatively useless but
 for the inventive spirit which has     
subdued every difficulty of a new       
manufacture4 ,the substance is now      
applied to the humblest as well as the  
highest purposes4 ,it is a clothes' line
 defying the weather2 it is a buffer for
 a railway carriage4 ,it is a stopping  
for a hollow tooth2 it is a sheathing   
for the wire that conveys the electric  
spark across the ,channel4 ,it is a     
cricket-ball2 it is a life-boat in the  
,arctic seas4 ,it is a noiseless        
curtain-ring2 it is a sanitary          
water-pipe4 ,it resists the action of   
many chemical substances1 and is thus   

largely employed for vessels in         
bleaching and dyeing factories2 it is   
capable of being moulded into the most  
beautiful forms1 and thus becomes one of
 the most efficient materials for       
multiplying works of ornamental art4    
,the collection of gutta percha has     
given a new stimulus to the feeble      
industry of the inhabitants of ,java and
 ,sumatra1 and ,borneo1 and a new       
direction to the commerce of ,singapore4
 ,it has brought the people of the      
,indian archipelago into more direct    
contact with ,european civilization4    
,illustration3 ,elaeis ,guineensis1 and 
,cocos butyracea1 yielding   ,palm-oil4 
,what the use of gutta percha is doing  
for the ,malays1 the use of palm-oil is 
doing for the ,africans4 ,a great       
commerce has sprung up on the ,african  
coasts1 in which statesmen and          
philanthropists see the coming          
destruction of the slave-trade4 ,in     
#ahec we imported seventy-one million   
lbs4 of palm-oil and eighteen million   

lbs4 of cocoa-nut oil4 ,the greater part
 of this oil is for making candles4 ,it 
is equal to three-fourths of all the    
tallow we import4 ,what has created this
 enormous manufacture of one of the most
 improved articles of domestic utility8 
,knowledge4 ,the palm-oil candles have  
been brought to their present perfection
 by chemical and mechanical appliances1 
working with the most complete division 
of labour1 carried through by the nicest
 economy resulting from great           
administrative skill4 ',price's ,candle 
,company' is a factory1 or rather a     
number of factories1 in which1 in the   
exact proportion that the health1 the   
comfort1 and the intelligence of the    
workers is maintained in the highest    
efficiency1 the profits of the          
capitalist are increased4 ,the superior 
quality of the products of the          
oil-candle factories is the result of   
chemistry4 ,a ,french chemist discovered
 that fats1 such as oil1 were composed  
of three inflammable acids--two of      

which1 called stearic and margaric1 are 
solid2 and one called oleic1 fluid4     
,another substance called glycerine is  
also present4 ,the oil is now freed from
 the oleic acid and the glycerine1 which
 interfere with its power of producing  
light1 and the two solid acids are      
crystalized4 ,what are called stearine  
and composite candles are thus produced1
 at a cost which is really less than    
that of the old tallow-candles1 when we 
consider that they burn longer and with 
greater brilliancy1 besides being freed 
from a disagreeable smell and from a    
tendency to gutter4 ,candles from animal
 fat have also been greatly improved by 
chemical appliances in the preparation  
of the tallow4  ,science1 we thus see1  
connects distant regions1 and renders   
the world one great commercial market4  
,science is1 therefore1 a chief         
instrument in the production of         
commercial wealth4 ,but we have a world 
beneath our feet which science has only 
just now begun to explore4 ,we want fuel

 and metallic ore to be raised from the 
bowels of the earth2 and1 till within a 
very few years1 we used to dig at random
 when we desired to dig a mine1 or      
confided the outlay of thousands of     
pounds to be used in digging1 to some   
quack whose pretensions to knowledge    
were even more deceptive than a reliance
 upon chance4 ,the science of geology1  
almost within the last quarter of a     
century1 has been able1 upon certain    
principles1 to determine where coal     
especially can be found1 by knowing in  
what strata of earth coal is formed2 and
 thus the expense of digging through    
earth to search for coal1 when science  
would1 at once pronounce that no coal   
was there1 has been altogether withdrawn
 from the amount of capital to be       
expended in the raising of coal4 ,that  
this saving has not been small1 we may  
know from the fact1 that eighty thousand
 pounds were expended fruitlessly in    
digging for coal at ,bexhill1 in        
,sussex1 not many years ago1 which      

expense geology would have instantly    
prevented2 and have thus accumulated    
capital1 and given a profitable stimulus
 to labour1 by saving their waste4 ,but 
geological science has not only         
prevented the expensive search for coal 
where it does not exist1 but has shown  
that it does exist where1 a few years   
ago1 it was held impossible to find it4 
,the practical men1 as they are called1 
maintained that coal could not be found 
beneath the magnesian limestone4 ,a     
scientific geologist1 ,dr4 ,william     
,smith1 held a contrary opinion2 and the
 result of his abstract conviction is1  
that the great ,hetton collieries have  
been called into action1 which supply a 
vast amount of coal to the ,london      
market1 found beneath this dreaded      
barrier of magnesian limestone4         
,geology--however scanty its facts at   
present are1 compared with what they    
will be when miners have been accustomed
 to look at their operations from the   
scientific point of view--geology can   

tell pretty accurately in which strata  
of the earth the various metals are     
likely to be found2 and knowing1 to some
 extent1 the strata of different        
countries1 can judge of the probability 
of finding the precious metals as well  
as the more common4 ,sir ,roderick      
,murchison1 in #ahdd1 expressed his     
belief1 in a public address1 that gold  
existed in the great ,eastern ,chain of 
,australia4 ,in #ahdi1 an iron-worker in
 ,australia1 reading this opinion1      
searched for gold1 and found it4 ,the   
discovery was neglected1 till an        
enterprising man came from ,california1 
and completed the realization of the    
scientific prediction4 ,the             
gold-diggings of ,australia are         
producing1 by their attraction to       
emigrants1 changes in the amount and    
value of labour in the ,united ,kingdom1
 which may materially affect the        
condition of every worker in the        
parent-land2 and they have given an     
immense impulse to our home industry4   

,the importance of gold1 merely as a    
material of manufacture1 may be         
estimated from the fact that in         
,birmingham alone a thousand ounces of  
fine gold are worked up every week2 and 
that ten thousand ounces are annually   
used in the porcelain works of          
,staffordshire4  ,whatever diminishes   
the risk to life or health1 in any      
mechanical operation1 or any exertion of
 bodily labour1 lessens the cost of     
production1 by diminishing the premium  
which is charged by the producers to    
cover the risk4 ,the safety-lamp of ,sir
 ,humphry ,davy1 by diminishing the     
waste of human life employed in raising 
coals1 diminished the price of coals4   
,the contrivance is a very simple one1  
though it was no doubt the result of    
anxious and patient thought4 ,it is a   
common oil-lamp1 in which the flame is  
surrounded with a fine wire-gauze4 ,the 
flame cannot pass through the gauze2 and
 thus if the destructive gas of a       
coal-mine enters the gauze and ignites1 

the flame cannot pass again out of the  
gauze1 and ignite the surrounding gas4  
,sometimes the inner flame burns with a 
terrible blue light4 ,it is the symptom 
of danger4 ,if the lamp were an open    
flame the fire-damp would shake the pit 
with one dreadful explosion4 ,the       
safety-lamp yields a feeble light2 and  
thus1 unfortunately1 the miner sometimes
 exposes the flame1 and perishes4 ,the  
magnetic mask1 which prevents           
iron-filings escaping down the throats  
of grinders and polishers1 and thus     
prevents the consumption of the lungs1  
to which these trades are peculiarly    
obnoxious1 would diminish the price of  
steel goods1 if the workmen did not     
prefer receiving the premium in the     
shape of higher wages1 to the health and
 long life which they would get1 without
 the premium1 by the use of the mask4   
,this is not wisdom on the part of the  
workmen4 ,but whether they are wise or  
not1 the natural and inevitable         
influence of the discovery1 sooner or   

later1 to lessen the cost of production 
in that trade1 by lessening the risk of 
the labourers1 must be established4 ,the
 lightning conductor of ,franklin1 which
 is used very generally on the          
,continent1 and almost universally in   
shipping1 diminishes the risk of        
property1 in the same way that the      
safety-lamp diminishes the risk of life2
 and1 by this diminution1 the rate of   
insurance is lessened1 and the cost of  
production therefore lessened4          
,illustration3 ,franklin medal4  ,we    
have given many examples of             
labour-saving processes produced by     
science4 ,we may regard it as a         
compensating principle that science is  
constantly raising up new employments4  
,in #agih1 ,galvani1 an ,italian        
physician1 accidentally discovered that 
the muscles of a dead frog were         
convulsed by the body coming in contact 
with two metals4 ,soon after1 ,volta1   
another ,italian physician1 produced    
electric currents by a combination of   

metals in what was called the           
voltaic-pile4 ,who could have imagined  
that the patient working-out of the     
scientific principle that was evolved in
 the movement of ,galvani's dead frog1  
should have raised up new branches of   
human industry1 of the most extensive   
and varied utility8 ,galvanic batteries 
used to be considered amongst the toys  
of science4 ,they now send an           
instantaneous message from ,london to   
,paris2 and fill our houses with the    
most beautiful articles of metallic     
manufacture1 electro-plate4 ,about      
sixteen years ago it was discovered that
 a piece of metal might receive a fine  
permanent coating of another metal by   
the agency of galvanism4 ,the discovery 
created a strong interest in men of     
science1 and many small experiments were
 tried to fix a coating of copper to    
some other metal4 ,manufacturing        
enterprize saw the value of the         
discovery2 which has been simply        
described in a popular work3--  ,diluted

 sulphuric acid is poured into a porous 
vessel2 this is placed in a larger      
vessel containing a solution of sulphate
 of copper2 a piece of zinc is placed in
 the former1 and a piece of silver or of
 copper in the latter1 and both pieces  
are connected by a wire4 ,then does the 
wondrous agent1 electricity1 begin its  
work2 a current sets in from the zinc to
 the acid1 thence through the porous    
vessel to the sulphate1 thence to the   
silver or copper1 and thence to the     
conducting wire back again to the zinc2 
and so on in an endless circuit4 ,but   
electricity never makes such a circuit  
without disturbing the chemical         
relations of the bodies through which it
 passes2 the zinc1 the silver or copper1
 the sulphuric acid1 the oxygen1 and the
 hydrogen--all are so far affected that 
the zinc becomes eaten away1 while a    
beautiful deposit of metallic copper1   
derived from the decomposition of the   
sulphate1 appears on the surface of the 
silver or copper4 ,copper is not the    

only metal which can be thus            
precipitated2 gold1 silver1 platinum1   
and other metals may be similarly       
treated4#bf    ,illustration3           
,electro-gilding4  ,when experiment had 
proved that every imaginable form of    
cheap metal could be coated with silver 
or gold1 by the agency of               
electro-chemistry1 an immediate demand  
was created for designers1 modellers1   
and moulders4 ,vases of the most        
beautiful forms were to be produced in  
metal which should have the properties  
of solid silver without its costliness4 
,the common metal vase is dipped into a 
tank containing a solution of silver4   
,it is placed in connection with the    
wires of the galvanic battery4 ,atom    
after atom of the silver in solution    
clings to the vase1 which soon comes out
 perfectly silvered4 ,the burnisher     
completes its beauty4 ,it is the same   
with a solution of gold4 ,the pride of  
riches may boast the value of the solid 
plate1 which tempts thieves to break in 

and steal4 ,the nobler gratification of 
taste may secure the beauty without the 
expense or risk of loss4  ,but the great
 principle thus brought into practical  
use is carried farther in the realms of 
art4 ,it becomes a copying process4 ,it 
can multiply copies of the most minute  
engraving without in the slightest      
degree deteriorating the beauty of the  
engraver's work4 ,the copy is as good as
 the original4  ,the same principle of  
depositing one metal upon another in    
minute atoms has produced galvanized    
tinned-iron--iron which will not rust   
upon exposure to weather1 and thus      
applicable to many purposes of          
building--and iron which can be applied 
to many objects of utility with greater 
advantage than tin-plate4  ,there are   
few houses now without their            
daguerreotype portraits of some member  
of the family4 ,this is a portrait      
copied from the human face by a sunbeam4
 ,the name daguerreotype is derived from
 the ,frenchman ,daguerre1 who announced

 his discovery at the time when our     
countryman1 ,mr4 ,fox ,talbot1 was      
engaged in working out the same         
wonderful problem4 ,we notice this      
branch of recent invention merely to    
point out how science and art call forth
 mechanical labour4 ,when every house   
has its little portrait1 there will     
naturally be a great demand for frames4 
,the manufacture of                     
daguerreotype-frames1 both here1 and in 
the ,united ,states1 has furnished a new
 field of employment4  ,every scientific
 discovery1 such as photography1 is a   
step in advance of preceding discovery4 
,if ,newton had not discovered the      
fundamental properties of light1 in the 
seventeenth century1 we should1 in all  
likelihood1 have had no photography in  
the nineteenth4 ,abstract science is the
 parent of practical art4               
,illustration3 ,newton4  ,it has been   
said by an ,american writer1 who has    
published several treatises             
well-calculated to give the workman an  

elevated idea of his rights and duties1 
that the man who will go into a         
cotton-mill1--who will observe the parts
 of the machinery1 and the various      
processes of the fabric1 till he reaches
 the hydraulic press1 with which it is  
made into a bale1 and the canal or      
railroad by which it is sent to market1 
may find every branch of trade1 and     
every department of science1 literally  
crossed1 intertwined1 interwoven with   
every other1 like the woof and the warp 
of the article manufactured4#bg ,this   
crossing and intertwining of the        
abstract and practical sciences1 the    
mechanic skill and the manual labour1   
which are so striking in the manufacture
 of a piece of calico1 prevail          
throughout every department of industry 
in a highly-civilized community4 ,every 
one who labours at all profitably       
labours for the production of utility1  
and sets in motion the labour of others4
 ,look at the labour of the medical     
profession4 ,in the fourteenth century1 

,john de ,gaddesden treated a son of    
,edward ,,ii4 for the small-pox by      
wrapping him up in scarlet cloth1 and   
hanging scarlet curtains round his bed2 
and1 as a remedy for epilepsy1 the same 
physician carried his patients to church
 to hear mass4 ,the medical art was so  
little understood in those days1 that   
the professors of medicine had made no  
impression upon the understanding of the
 people2 and they consequently trusted  
not to medicine1 but to vain charms1    
which superstitions the ignorance of the
 practitioners themselves kept alive4   
,the surgical practitioners of ,europe1 
at the beginning of the sixteenth       
century1 put their unhappy patients to  
the most dreadful torture by their mode 
of treating wounds and broken limbs4    
,when they amputated a leg or an arm    
they applied the actual cautery1 or     
red-hot iron1 to stop the effusion of   
blood4 ,ambrose ,pare1 one of the most  
eminent of the ,french surgeons of that 
period1 who accompanied the army to the 

siege of ,turin1 in #aecf1 thus         
describes the mode in which he found his
 surgical brethren dealing with gun-shot
 wounds3    ,illustration3 ,ambrose     
,pare4  ,i was then very raw and        
inexperienced1 having never seen the    
treatment of gun-shot wounds4 ,it is    
true that ,i had read in the ,treatise  
of ,jean de ,vigo on wounds in general1 
that those inflicted by fire-arms       
partake of a poisonous nature on account
 of the powder1 and that they should be 
treated with hot oil of elder1 mixed    
with a little theriacum4 ,seeing1       
therefore1 that such an application must
 needs put the patient to extreme pain1 
to assure myself before ,i should make  
use of this boiling oil1 ,i desired to  
see how it was employed by the other    
surgeons4 ,i found their method was to  
apply it at the first dressing1 as hot  
as possible1 within the wound1 with     
tents and setons2 and this ,i made bold 
to do likewise4 ,at length my oil failed
 me1 and ,i was fain to substitute a    

digestive1 made of the yolk of eggs1    
rose-oil1 and turpentine4 ,at night ,i  
could not rest in my bed in peace1      
fearing that ,i should find the wounded1
 in whose cases ,i had been compelled to
 abstain from using this cautery1 dead  
of poison3 this apprehension made me    
rise very early in the morning to visit 
them2 but beyond all my hopes1 ,i found 
those to whom ,i had applied the        
digestive1 suffering little pain1 and   
their wounds free from inflammation2 and
 they had been refreshed by sleep in the
 night4 ,on the contrary1 ,i found those
 to whom the aforesaid oil had been     
applied1 feverish1 in great pain2 and   
with swelling and inflammation round    
their wounds4 ,i resolved1 therefore1   
that ,i would never burn unfortunate    
sufferers from gun-shot in that cruel   
manner again4 ,francis ,i41 king of     
,france1 having a persuasion that1      
because the ,jews were the most skilful 
physicians of that day1 the virtue was  
in the ,jew1 and not in the science     

which he professed1 sent to ,charles ,v4
 of ,spain for a ,jewish physician2 but 
finding that the man who arrived had    
been converted to ,christianity1 he     
refused to employ him1 thinking the     
virtue of healing had therefore departed
 from him4 ,a statute of ,henry ,,viii4 
says1 ,for as much as the science and   
cunning of physic and surgery is daily  
within this realm exercised by a great  
multitude of ignorant persons1 of whom  
the greater part have no insight in the 
same1 nor in any other kind of learning3
 some1 also1 con no letters on the book1
 so far forth1 that common artificers1  
as smiths1 and weavers1 and women1      
boldly and accustomably1 take upon them 
great cures1 in which they partly use   
sorcery and witchcraft1 partly apply    
such medicines to the disease as be very
 noxious1 and nothing meet1 to the high 
displeasure of ,god1 great infamy to the
 faculty1 and the grievous damage and   
destruction of diverse of the king's    
people4 ,when such ignorance prevailed1 

diseases of the slightest kind must have
 been very often fatal2 and the power of
 all men to labour profitably must have 
been greatly diminished by the ravages  
of sickness4 ,these ravages are now     
checked by medical science and medical  
labour4  ,but even within our own times 
how greatly has general ignorance       
retarded the exertions of medical       
science to diminish suffering and to    
reduce the amount of mortality6 ,the    
prejudices against vaccination have     
rendered it extremely difficult to      
eradicate small-pox1 however certain the
 result of the great discovery of       
,jenner4 ,according to the present law1 
all children1 born in ,england and      
,wales after ,august #a1 #ahec1 must be 
vaccinated at the public expense4 ,such 
a law would have been very difficult of 
execution twenty years ago4 ,the people 
had then seen the scarred faces from    
small-pox disappearing amongst them4    
,they had learnt that1 at the beginning 
of this century1 vaccination1 or the    

puncture of the skin with matter        
originally obtained from the cow1 was   
rooting out the small-pox1 which used to
 destroy1 not more than a hundred years 
ago1 thirty-six thousand persons        
annually1 in this kingdom4 ,but yet they
 had prejudices4 ,no medical man would  
practise inoculation--a great blessing  
in its day--because the disease was thus
 kept amongst us4 ,but still many       
ignorant persons did not avail          
themselves of the law passed fourteen   
years ago1 under which their children   
might be vaccinated at the public cost4 
,the undoubted testimony of the whole   
medical profession proves that          
vaccination in almost all cases prevents
 small-pox1 and in all cases mitigates  
its evil4 ,but that testimony further   
proves that if vaccination were         
universal1 small-pox would wholly       
disappear2 and that is the reason why   
vaccination is now compulsory4  ,but we 
may regard the influences of knowledge  
upon the direction and aid of profitable

 labour1 even from a higher point of    
view4 ,the sciences and arts cannot be  
carried forward except in a country     
where the laws of ,god are respected1   
where justice is upheld2 where intellect
 generally is cultivated1 and taste is  
diffused4 ,the religious and moral      
teacher1 therefore1 who lifts the mind  
to a contemplation of the duties of man1
 as they are founded upon a belief in   
the ,providence of an all-wise and      
all-powerful ,creator1 is a profitable  
labourer4 ,the instructor of the young1 
who dedicates his time to advancing the 
formation of right principles1 and the  
acquirement of sound knowledge1 by his  
pupils1 is a profitable labourer4 ,the  
writer who applies his understanding to 
the discovery and dissemination of moral
 and political truth1 is a profitable   
labourer4 ,the interpreter and          
administrator of the laws1 who upholds  
the reign of order and security1        
defending the innocent1 punishing the   
guilty1 and vindicating the rights of   

all from outrage and oppression1 is a   
profitable labourer4 ,these labourers1  
it may be said1 are still direct        
producers of utility1 but that those who
 address themselves to the              
imagination--the poets1 the novelists1  
the painters1 and the musicians--in     
every polished society1 are unprofitable
 labourers4 ,one word is sufficient for 
an answer4 ,these men advance the       
general intellect of a country1 and they
 therefore indirectly advance the       
production of articles of necessity4 ,we
 have already shown how the study of the
 higher mathematics1 upon which         
astronomy is founded1 has an influence  
upon the production of a piece of       
woollen cloth2 and we beg our readers to
 bear this connection in mind when they 
hear it said1 as they sometimes may1    
that an abstract student1 or an elegant 
writer1 is not a producer1--is1 in fact1
 an idler4 ,the most illustrious writers
 of every country1 the great poets1     
,high notions and high passions best    

describing1  have1 next to the          
inspirations of religion1 lifted        
mankind1 more than any other class of   
intellectual workmen1 to their noblest  
pursuits of knowledge and virtue4 ,even 
those who especially devote themselves  
to give pleasure and amusement1 call    
into action some of the highest and     
purest sources of enjoyment4 ,they lead 
the mind to seek its recreations in more
 ennobling pursuits than those of       
sensuality2 their arts connect          
themselves by a thousand associations   
with all that is beautiful in the       
natural world2 they are as useful for   
the promotion of pure and innocent      
delight as the flowers that gladden us  
by their beauty and fragrance by the    
side of the corn that nourishes us4 ,an 
entire community of poets and artists   
would be as unprofitable as if an entire
 country were dedicated to the          
cultivation of violets and roses2 but   
the poets and the artists may1 as the   
roses and the violets1 furnish the      

graces and ornaments of life1 without   
injury1 and indeed with positive        
benefit1 to the classes who more        
especially dedicate themselves to what  
is somewhat exclusively called the      
production of utility4 ,the right       
direction of the talents which are      
dedicated to art and literature is all  
that is required from those who address 
themselves to these pursuits4 ,he1      
therefore1 who beguiles a vacant hour of
 its tediousness1 by some effort of     
intellect which captivates the          
imagination without poisoning the       
morals1--and he who by the exercise of  
his art produces forms of beauty which  
awaken in the mind that principle of    
taste which1 more than any other        
faculty1 requires cultivation1--have    
each bestowed benefits upon the world   
which may be accurately enough measured 
even by the severe limitations of       
political economy2--they are profitable 
labourers and benefactors of their      
species4  ,the positive influence of the

 labours of the poet and the artist upon
 the advance of other labour might be   
easily shown4 ,in their productions1    
especially1 supply goes before demand1  
and creates demand4 ,it has been        
calculated by an ,american writer1 that 
the number of workmen who have been set 
in action--paper-makers1 printers1      
binders--by the writings of ,sir ,walter
 ,scott alone1 in all countries1 would1 
if gathered together1 form a community  
that would fill a large town4 ,the      
,potteries of ,etruria1 in              
,staffordshire1 could not have existed  
unless ,mr4 ,wedgwood had introduced    
into our manufacture of china the forms 
of ,grecian art1 bequeathed to us by the
 taste of two thousand years ago1 and   
thus created a demand which has         
furnished profitable labour to          
thousands4 ,there are four thousand     
musical-instrument makers in ,great     
,britain4 ,what has given their industry
 its chief impulse8 ,the divine art of  
,handel1 ,mozart1 ,beethoven1 ,weber1   

,rossini1 ,mendelsohn4 ,if these great  
composers1 and many others1 had not     
raised music into something higher and  
more capable of producing enjoyment than
 the rude melodies of uncivilized       
tribes1 there would have been no trade  
in pianofortes4    ,illustration3 ,sir  
,walter ,scott4 ,from ,sir ,f4          
,chantrey's ,bust4  ,we have entered    
into these details1 principally to show 
that there are other and higher         
producers in society than the mere      
manual labourers4 ,it was an ignorant   
fashion amongst the mental labourers of 
other days to despise the class of the  
physical labourers4 ,they have learnt to
 know their value2 and there should be a
 reciprocal knowledge4 ,both classes are
 working-classes4 ,no one can say that  
the mental labourers are not workers4   
,they are1 we may truly affirm1 taken as
 a class1 the hardest workers in the    
community4 ,no one ever reached eminence
 in these pursuits without unwearied    
industry3 the most eminent have been    

universally despisers of ease and sloth1
 and have felt their highest pleasures  
in the absorbing devotion of their      
entire minds to the duties of their high
 calling4 ,they have wooed ,knowledge as
 a mistress that could not be won       
without years of unwearied assiduity4   
,the most eminent1 too1 have been       
practical men1 despising no inquiry1    
however trifling it might appear to     
common eyes1 and shrinking from no      
occupation1 however tedious1 as long as 
it was connected with their higher      
duties4    ,illustration3 ,pianoforte   
,manufactory4  ,there is no higher duty 
than that of endeavouring so to lead    
public opinion1 as that the general mind
 of the community shall be directed to  
noble and unselfish ends4 ,the poet1 the
 historian1 the essayist1 the novelist1 
have the responsibility of keeping alive
 the love of freedom1 the hatred of     
oppression1 the cultivation of          
,christian charity4 ,there never was a  
truly great nation that had a low       

literature4 ,it is the glory of our     
nation that its literature is amongst   
its best possessions2 and that the      
general scope and tendency of that      
literature are calculated to raise and  
cherish an enlightened public sentiment4
 ,whatever be the amount of national    
wealth--however various the comforts and
 luxuries which private riches may      
command--it is quite certain that       
without that courage and intelligence   
which make a people free and keep them  
so1 the public and private accumulations
 are comparatively worthless4 ,there is 
a beautiful ,eastern story which may    
better illustrate this position than any
 lengthened argument4#bh                
,illustration3 ,statue of ,bacon4       
,it is related that a man of the        
pilgrims slept a long     sleep1 and    
then awoke1 and saw no trace of the     
other     pilgrims4 ,so he arose and    
walked on2 but he wandered from     the 
way1 and he proceeded until he saw a    
tent1 and an old     woman at its door1 

and he found by her a dog asleep4 ,he   
approached the tent1 saluted the old    
woman1 and begged of     her some food2 
whereupon she said to him1 ,go to yon   
valley1 and catch as many serpents as   
will suffice thee1     that ,i may broil
 some of them for thee4 ,the man        
replied1 ,i     dare not catch serpents1
 and ,i never ate them4 ,the old        
woman therefore said1 ,i will go with   
thee1 and catch some     of them1 and   
fear thou not4 ,then she went with him1 
and     the dog followed her1 and she   
caught as many of the     serpents as   
would suffice1 and proceeded to broil   
some of     them4 ,the pilgrim could not
 refrain from eating2 for he     feared 
hunger and emaciation3 so he ate of     
those serpents4     ,and after this1    
being thirsty1 he demanded of the old   
woman some water to drink2 and she said 
to him1 ,go to the     spring1 and drink
 of it4 ,accordingly he went to the     
spring2 but he found its water bitter2  
yet he could not     refrain from       

drinking of it1 notwithstanding its     
exceeding     bitterness1 on account of 
the violence of his thirst4 ,he         
therefore drank1 and then returned to   
the old woman1 and     said to her1 ,i  
wonder at thee1 ,o thou old woman1 and  
at     thy residing in this place1 and  
thy feeding thyself with     this food1 
and thy drinking of this water4--,how   
then1 said     the old woman1 is your   
country8 ,he answered her1 ,verily1     
in our country are spacious and ample   
houses1 and ripe and     delicious      
fruits1 and abundant sweet waters1 and  
excellent     viands1 and fat meats1 and
 numerous sheep1 and everything         
good1 and blessings of which the like   
exist not save in     the ,paradise that
 ,god 7whose name be exalted67 hath     
described to his just servants4--,all   
this1 replied the old     woman1 ,i have
 heard2 but tell me1 have you any       
,sultan who     ruleth over you1 and    
oppresseth in his rule while ye are     
under his authority2 and who1 if any one

 of you committeth     an offence1      
taketh his wealth1 and destroyeth him1  
and     who1 if he desire1 turneth you  
out from your houses1 and               
eradicateth you utterly8 ,the man       
answered her1 ,that doth     sometimes  
happen4 ,and the old woman rejoined1 ,if
 so1 by     ,allah1 that dainty food and
 elegant life1 and those     delightful 
comforts1 with oppression and tyranny1  
are     penetrating poison2 and our     
food1 with safety1 is a     salutary    
antidote4    ,illustration3 ,bas-,relief
 on ,gutenberg's ,monument3 ,comparing a
 printed   ,sheet with a ,manuscript4   
#bd ,we have taken this sentence as a   
motto which may point to the            
general scope of this volume4    #be    
,hume's ,essays4    #bf ',curiosities of
 ,industry4' ,by ,george ,dodd4    #bg  
',everett's ,working ,man's ,party4'    
,printed in the ,american ,library of   
,useful ,knowledge1 #ahca4    #bh ,note 
in ,mr4 ,lane's admirable translation of
 the ',thousand and ,one                

,nights1' original edition1 vol4 ii4 p4 
#fce4     ,,chapter ,,xxi4              
,invention of printing--,effects of that
 art--,a daily                          
newspaper--,provincial                  
newspapers--,news-writing of former     
periods--,changes in the character of   
newspapers--,steam                      
conveyance--,electric                   
telegraph--,organization of a ,london   
newspaper-office--,the                  
printing-machine--,the                  
paper-machine--,bookbinding--,paper-duty
4   ,the art of printing offers one of  
the readiest and most forcible          
illustrations of the advantages that    
have been bestowed upon the world by    
scientific discovery and by mechanical  
power4 ,although there is1 happily1     
little occasion now to combat any       
wide-spread hostility to machinery1 the 
argument for its use derived from       
printing may be very briefly stated4    
,it is nearly four hundred years since  
the art of printing books was invented4 

,before that time all books were written
 by the hand4 ,there were many persons  
employed to copy out books1 but they    
were very dear1 although the copiers had
 small wages4 ,a ,bible was sold for    
thirty pounds in the money of that day1 
which was equal to a great deal more of 
our money4 ,of course1 very few people  
had ,bibles or any other books4 ,a mode 
was invented of imitating the written   
books by cutting the letters on wood1   
and taking off copies from the wooden   
blocks by rubbing the sheet on the back4
 ,soon after1 the idea was carried      
farther by casting metal types or       
letters1 which could be arranged in     
words1 and sentences1 and pages1 and    
volumes2 and then a machine1 called a   
printing-press1 upon the principle of a 
screw1 was made to stamp impressions of 
these types so arranged4 ,there was an  
end1 then1 at once to the trade of the  
pen-and-ink copiers2 because the copiers
 in types1 who could press off several  
hundred books while the writers were    

producing one1 drove them out of the    
market4 ,a single printer could do the  
work of at least two hundred writers4   
,at first sight this seems a hardship1  
for a hundred and ninety-nine people    
might have been1 and probably were1     
thrown out of their accustomed          
employment4 ,but what was the           
consequence in a year or two8 ,where one
 written book was sold1 a thousand      
printed books were required4 ,the old   
books were multiplied in all countries1 
and new books were composed by men of   
talent and learning1 because they could 
then find numerous readers4 ,the        
printing press did the work more neatly 
and more correctly than the writer1 and 
it did it infinitely cheaper4 ,what     
then8 ,the writers of books had to turn 
their hands to some other trade1 it is  
true2 but type-founders1 paper-makers1  
printers1 and bookbinders1 were set to  
work1 by the new art or machine1 to at  
least a hundred times greater number of 
persons than the old way of making books

 employed4  ,but there is a far more    
important mode of viewing this matter   
than any consideration resulting out of 
the increased employment that the art of
 printing unquestionably has created4   
,if printing1 which is a cheap and a    
rapid process1 could by possibility be  
superseded by writing1 which is an      
expensive and a slow operation1 no book1
 no newspaper1 could be produced for the
 use of the people4 ,knowledge1 upon    
which every hope of bettering their     
condition must ultimately rest1 would   
again become the property of a very few2
 and mankind would lose the greater part
 of that power which constitutes the    
essential difference between            
civilization and barbarism4 ,the art of 
printing has gone on more and more      
adapting itself to the increase of our  
population1 during the three centuries  
and a half in which it has been         
exercised in this country4 ,herein      
consists1 perhaps1 one of the mightiest 
differences between our condition and   

that of every generation which has      
preceded us4 ,through that art1 no idea 
can now perish4 ,through that art1      
knowledge is fast becoming the common   
possession of all4 ,through that art1   
what the people have gained in the past 
is secured for the future4 ,it has      
established the empire of public        
opinion4  ,there is possibly no more    
striking example of the manifold        
combinations of mental labour1 of       
scientific power1 of mechanical         
invention1 and of the use of rapid means
 of communication1 than the forces now  
called into action for the issue of a   
,london daily newspaper4 ,nor is there  
any production of literary industry     
which more pointedly illustrates the    
distinctive qualities of printing as    
compared with writing--the rapidity1 the
 cheapness1 and the general diffusion4  
,let us endeavour to supply a rapid     
sketch of the wonderful organization    
that is required to produce this great  
necessary of modern society4  ,the      

essential characteristic of a newspaper 
is news4 ,it may be philosophical1 or   
critical1 or imaginative--it may pour   
forth treasures of learning or          
eloquence1 to live but a few hours and  
then be too readily forgotten--but no   
amount of ability will give it currency 
if it be deficient in news4 ,it is the  
imperative demand for news1 embracing   
every movement of human life in every   
class and every country1 that sets in   
action the wondrous organization that   
produces a daily newspaper4 ,its        
ministers of communication are almost   
ubiquitous4 ,they are in the ,bow-street
 police-office1 watching the effrontery 
of the detected felon2--they are on the 
heights of ,inkermann1 to stir our      
hearts as with a trumpet1 and fill our  
eyes with tears as they tell us    ,how 
sleep the brave1 who sink to rest    ,by
 all their country's wishes blest4      
,they are at the city feast1 where all  
is blandishment and turtle2--they are at
 the coroner's inquest upon a           

street-starved pauper4 ,they furnish    
news to all the world2 and they receive 
news from all the world4  ,but there are
 similar organizations going forward    
through the country4 ,the increase in   
number of the provincial papers1 and    
their efforts to procure intelligence1  
are equally remarkable4  ,the ,london   
editors have the not very easy task of  
glancing over the five hundred local    
papers of the ,united ,kingdom4 ,these  
are1 in ordinary cases1 the vehicles    
from which they obtain their home       
intelligence4 ,if any local matter of   
general interest is to be specially     
attended to1 their own correspondent1 or
 their own reporter1 furnishes the      
details4 ,some unexpected event puts1   
occasionally1 the electric telegraph in 
motion1 to tell the world of ,london1 on
 ,saturday morning1 what occurred at    
,liverpool on ,friday night2 and the    
,liverpool merchant reads on the        
,exchange at noon of that ,saturday1 in 
the newspaper printed at a distance of  

two hundred miles1 some notice of an    
arrival in his own port during the hours
 when he was sleeping4 ,even the state  
of the weather at different parts of the
 kingdom is thus daily transmitted4 ,but
 the ,london editors1 and some of the   
provincial1 have to look out for news at
 a greater distance than is comprised in
 our nook-shotten isle of ,albion4 ,they
 have to search the papers of every land
 and every people--whether written in   
,english1 ,french1 ,german1 ,italian1   
,greek1 or ,turkish4 ,of course         
translators are always at hand4 ,for the
 ,london daily papers the electric      
telegraph is throwing its shadows before
 the authentic heralds of coming events4
 ,for them is the steamer bringing the  
special correspondence from the         
gold-diggings in ,australia1 and from   
the camp in the ,crimea4 ,for them do   
the people's representatives make long  
speeches to empty benches1 secure that  
there is a medium of communication for  
unnumbered eyes1 although the ears be   

shut of those who listen not to the     
voice of the charmers4 ,for them do     
great ministers go into obscure places1 
and1 addressing an enthusiastic         
dinner-table1 or a solemn corporation1  
speak to the world4 ,for them does every
 discoverer of a private grievance claim
 public redress4 ,for them is produced1 
in letters to the editor1 that great    
chaotic accumulation of fact and theory1
 of wisdom and folly1 of calculation and
 impulse1 whose atoms finally resolve   
themselves into a solid mass called     
public opinion4  ,the mental labours    
attendant upon the provincial newspapers
 are more narrowed4 ,but they are       
nevertheless very important2 and the    
extension of their functions by the     
enormous extension of the facilities for
 obtaining intelligence is equally      
striking4 ,the old county papers1       
circulating steadily through the rural  
districts1 and duly chronicling session 
and assize1 markets and misdemeanours1  
have been stirred into activity by      

newspapers issuing from great commercial
 and manufacturing centres1 which have  
arisen with the immense development of  
our industry4 ,liverpool had two papers 
in #ahjc1--;it has now ten2 ,manchester1
 ,birmingham1 ,derby1 ,leicester1       
,nottingham1 which had each one at that 
period1 have now each four4 ,many towns 
that had one paper at the beginning of  
the century have now two4 ,there are    
about eighty provincial ,english papers 
now published in towns which had no     
journal at that period4 ,some belong to 
manufacturing districts which then      
contained a small population2 such as   
,bolton1 ,bradford1 ,hanley1            
,kidderminster1 ,macclesfield1          
,stockport1 ,sunderland1 ,wakefield1    
,wolverhampton4 ,others1 to places of   
fashion and luxury which have grown up  
out of changes of society1 such as      
,brighton and ,cheltenham4 ,others1 to  
new local centres1 which1 through the   
great modern facilities of              
communication1 can circulate their      

weekly sheets at little expense1 instead
 of sending their own messengers        
throughout the small towns and villages4
 ,the local changes in these vehicles of
 intelligence are strikingly connected  
with the other great social changes     
which have been noticed in this volume4 
,it is satisfactory to know that the    
provincial press is no imperfect        
representative of an age of progress4   
,the history of news-writing and        
news-publishing is a mirror of many of  
the changes in social necessities and   
conveniences4 ,in #afbe1 ,ben ,jonson's 
play of ',the ,staple of ,news'         
exhibited a countrywoman going to an    
office of news1 and saying to the       
manager1 who sits in state with his     
registers and examiners1--              
,i would have1 sir1   ,a groatsworth of 
any news1 ,i care not what1   ,to carry 
down this ,saturday to our vicar4  ,this
 was written news4 ,in ,london1 before a
 newspaper existed1 there were private  
gazetteers1 who made a living by picking

 up scraps of intelligence in taverns   
and barbers' shops4 ,this class of      
persons continued even when there were  
newspapers2 for the news-letter1 as it  
was called1 is thus described in the    
first number of the ',evening ,post1'   
issued in #agji3--,there must be #cl4 or
 #dl4 per ann4 paid by those gentlemen  
that are out of town for written news1  
which is so far generally from having   
any probability or matter of fact in it1
 that it is frequently stuffed up with a
 ',we hear1' or ',an eminent ,jew       
merchant has received a letter4' ,the   
same ',evening ,post' adds1--,we read   
more of our own affairs in the ,dutch   
papers than in any of our own4 ,sir     
,roger ,l',estrange1 who published ',the
 ,intelligencer1' with privilege1 in    
#affc1 says that he shall publish once a
 week1 to be published every ,thursday1 
and finished upon the ,tuesday night1   
leaving ,wednesday entire for the       
printing it off4 ,the first             
advertisement in an ,english paper      

appeared in #afdi4  ,at the beginning of
 the present century the public used to 
look with wonder upon their folio of    
four pages1 and contrast it with the    
scanty chronicles of the days of        
,charles ,,ii4 and ,anne4 ,we of the    
present time1 in the same way1 contrast 
our newspapers with the meagre records  
of the beginning of the century4 ,the   
essential difference has been produced  
by steam navigation1 by railways1 by the
 extension of the post1 dependent upon  
both applications of steam1 and by the  
electric telegraph4 ,the same scientific
 forces and administrative organization 
that bring the written news from every  
region of the earth1 re-convey the      
printed news to every region4 ,it is    
sufficient to glance at the lists of    
foreign mails1 and the low rates of     
postage from the ,united ,kingdom1 to   
see the enormous extent of that         
intercourse which enables our           
government1 by the packet service1 to   
transmit a letter for sixpence to the   

,british ,west ,indies1 to ,hong-kong to
 our ,north ,american colonies1 to      
,belgium2 to nearly all the ,german     
,states1 by an uniform ,british and     
foreign rate1 for eightpence2 to        
,france1 ,algeria1 ,spain1 and          
,portugal1 for ten pence2 to the        
,italian ,states for a trifle more2 to  
,turkey in ,europe for one shilling and 
five pence2 and to ,india for one       
shilling and ten pence4 ,with this      
certain and rapid intercourse1 it is not
 likely that the least enterprising     
newspaper editor would have to repeat   
the doubt of ,l',estrange1 who says1    
,once a week may do the business2 yet if
 ,i shall find1 when my hand is in1 and 
after the planting and securing my      
correspondents1 that the matter will    
fairly furnish more1 ,i shall keep      
myself free to double at pleasure4  ,it 
is the external communication so        
wonderful in our own times1 we repeat1  
which has chiefly changed the character 
of our newspapers4 ,when we read in a   

,london daily paper the one line1--,the 
,overland ,mail--by electric            
telegraph1--we have two facts of the    
highest significance4 ,the ,overland    
,mail would appear1 of itself1 a marvel 
great enough for one age4 ,the ,overland
 ,mail has brought ,london within a     
month of ,bombay4 ,it has joined ,india 
most effectually to ,england for all    
commercial and state purposes4 ,it gives
 us the news of ,india1 by the aid of   
the electric telegraph1 in as little    
time as we ordinarily received news from
 ,vienna at the beginning of the        
eighteenth century4 ,the steamer and the
 electric telegraph made the blood of   
,england beat quicker in every heart1   
when our newspapers recorded1 on the    
#acth of ,november1 the most sanguinary 
and heroic battle of modern times1      
fought in the ,crimea only a week       
previous4 ,when ,marlborough was setting
 out for his campaign of #agji1 and so  
many political1 if not patriotic1 hopes1
 were fixed upon the probable issue1    

',the ,tatler1' then a newspaper1 had   
the following paragraph3--,we learn from
 ,brussels1 by letters dated the #bjth1 
that on the #adth1 in the evening1 the  
,duke of ,marlborough and ,prince       
,eugene arrived at ,courtray1 with a    
design to proceed the day following to  
,lisle1 in the neighbourhood of which   
city the confederate army was to arrive 
the same day4 ,the account of the       
movement of the great allied generals   
was transmitted from ,brussels six days 
after the movement had taken place1     
,courtray being only distant forty-six  
miles2 and the important news from      
,brussels1 of the #bjth ,may1 was       
published in ,london on the #bhth1      
,london being distant some two hundred  
and fifty miles4 ,the distance from     
,balaclava to ,london is about three    
thousand miles4    ,illustration3 ,old  
hand-gunner4  ,the function of a great  
newspaper1 in connexion with the        
positions of armies and the events of   
siege and battle1 is as different from  

the function of the journalist of fifty 
years ago1 as the rapid firing of the   
soldier of the ,alma with his ,minie    
rifle contrasts with the slow evolutions
 of the old hand-gunner4 ,in the war    
with ,russia the presence of the        
newspaper reporter gives a new feature1 
strikingly characteristic of our times  
and our country4 ,it is necessary to    
have the earliest and the most detailed 
accounts of this eventful contest2 for  
the people1 one and all1 understand that
 they are deeply interested in its      
issue1 and that1 if their country fails 
to assert the superiority of freedom and
 intelligence over slavery and          
barbarism1 the material prosperity of   
that country can be of no long duration4
 ,wisely1 therefore1 did the ,london    
daily papers each send their active1    
fearless1 and eloquent correspondents1  
to endure some of the hardships of the  
march and the bivouac--to observe the   
battle-field1 not secure from its       
dangers--to write of victories1         

surrounded by the dead and dying--to be 
the historians of a day1 and thus to    
furnish the best materials for all      
future historians4 ,the life of a       
,london reporter1 although a life of    
constant labour1 is generally           
accompanied by much ease and comfort4   
,the senate does not acknowledge his    
presence2 but it provides the stranger  
with the best seat4 ,he takes his place 
at the public dinner as an honoured     
guest--one whose absence would be more  
regretted than that of the city's mayor 
or the borough's patron4 ,but in a      
campaign1 where his duties are new1 he  
must fight his way through every        
difficulty4 ,his function is recognised 
in an age when it would be useless to   
suppress intelligence1 even if it were  
possible4 ,he finds a ready mess in     
every tent where a scanty meal is set   
out2 he stands by the side of the       
commander1 and gazes with him upon the  
currents of the heady fight4 ,how he    
wears after two months of unusual       

service we have some slight notion1 when
 we read1 in a letter to ',the ,times'  
of ,november #cj1 that the writer had   
seen an officer who had lately parted   
from the special correspondent4 ,the    
chances of war had deprived him of      
nearly all his garments2 and when last  
seen he was walking about in a          
rifleman's jacket1 much too small for   
his portly person2 and his nether       
garments had been converted into        
breeches by a constant scrambling       
amongst rocks and briers4 ,let us not   
forget our obligations to the men who1  
in peril and suffering1 have made heroic
 action more familiar to us2 and have   
contributed no mean part in giving a    
moral impulse to our country1 as        
essential to future safety and honour as
 the material wealth which has made us a
 people amongst the foremost of the     
earth4    ,illustration3                
,carrier-pigeon4  ,what the             
carrier-pigeon was in the conveyance of 
intelligence in the middle ages1 and    

even within a few years1 the electric   
telegraph is in the present day4 ,the   
carrier-pigeon went out from a besieged 
castle1 to ask for succour1 in eastern  
countries1 five centuries ago4 ,the     
electric telegraph1 land and submarine1 
brings the tidings of slaughter and     
sickness from ,sebastopol1 and ,england 
and ,france send instant reinforcements4
 ,the carrier-pigeon1 in the last       
century1 was despatched by the merchants
 of the ,english factory1 from          
,scanderoon to ,aleppo1 to announce the 
arrival of the company's ships4 ,the    
electric telegraph communicates to      
,london the arrival of an ,australian   
packet at ,southampton4 ,within the last
 ten years one of the annual expenses of
 a ,london newspaper was #ahjjl4 for    
pigeon expresses4 ,the pigeons have lost
 their employment4 ,the price of stocks 
and shares in ',change-alley is known   
every quarter of an hour upon the       
exchanges of our great commercial marts2
 and the closing price of the ,french   

funds is in type before midnight at our 
daily newspaper-offices4 ,the           
carrier-pigeon travelled sixty miles an 
hour4 ,the time which it takes to       
transmit a message by the electric      
telegraph is inappreciable4 ,the        
newspapers of the ,united ,states employ
 the electric telegraph far more        
extensively than our ,english papers2   
for the distances between one ,state and
 one city and another ,state and another
 city are so great1 that steam          
travelling would not accomplish the     
object of communication with sufficient 
rapidity4 ,the density of our population
 renders the employment of the telegraph
 less necessary for the ordinary        
transmission of intelligence4 ,but      
private curiosity1 in a time of great   
public interest1 steps in2 and one of   
the most remarkable exhibitions of our  
provincial towns at the time at which we
 are writing--when an agonizing anxiety 
for the fortunes of our heroic defenders
 in the ,black ,sea is the chief thought

 of millions--is the crowd about the    
telegraph-office to know something more 
than the morning paper1 brought by      
railway speed1 can furnish to this      
universal excitement4 ,in ,america the  
distance between ,quebec and ,new       
,orleans1 a distance of three thousand  
miles1 is overleaped by the electric    
telegraph4 ,two lines1 each two thousand
 miles long1 connect ,new ,york with    
,new ,orleans2 and over this space      
messages are transmitted1 and answers   
received1 in three hours4 ,when we read 
long paragraphs in the ,london morning  
papers1 received by electric telegraph  
after midnight from ,paris1 we wonder   
how this is accomplished4 ,eighteen     
words1 which are equal to about two     
newspaper lines1 are transmitted every  
minute2 and the full message from       
,dover1 carefully transcribed1 is in the
 hands of the newspaper editor in half  
an hour4  ,to carry out all this        
scientific conquest of time and space1  
by the most perfect mental and          

mechanical arrangements in the          
newspaper-office itself1 appears1 at    
first sight1 almost as great a wonder as
 the rapid communication4 ,nothing but  
the most perfect organization of the    
division of labour could accomplish the 
feat4  ,there is1 after midnight1 in the
 office of a morning paper1 a constant  
necessity for adapting the labour of    
every quarter of an hour to the         
requirements of the instant time4 ,much 
of the newspaper matter may have been in
 type in the evening2 some portion may  
be quite ready for printing off4 ,but   
new necessities may derange much of this
 preparation4 ,say that the ,parliament 
is sitting4 ,the reporters are in the   
gallery at the meeting of the ,house1   
and each arrives at the office with his 
assigned portion of the debate4 ,a heavy
 night is not expected1 and the early   
reporters write with comparative        
fulness4 ,suddenly an unexpected turn is
 given to the proceedings4 ,a great     
debate springs up1 out of a ministerial 

statement or an opposition objection4   
,then come reply and rejoinder4 ,column 
after column is poured in4 ,smaller     
matters must give way to greater4 ,the  
intelligence that will keep is put aside
 for the information that is pressing4  
,the debate is prolonged till one or two
 o'clock1 and the paper is approaching  
its completion4 ,but an electric        
telegraph communication has             
arrived--perhaps an important express4  
,away goes more news4 ,advertisements1  
law reports1 police reports1            
correspondence--all retire into         
obscurity for one day4 ,there is plenty 
of manipulating power in the great body 
of compositors to effect these changes4 
,but not in any department is there any 
apparent bustle4 ,nor is there any      
neglect in the labours that wait upon   
the work of the compositors4 ,one word  
is not put for another4 ,the readers are
 as vigilant to correct every error--to 
have no false spelling and no inaccurate
 punctuation--as if they were bestowing 

their vigilance upon a book to be       
published next season4 ,the reporters   
are as careful to make no slips which   
would indicate a want of knowledge1 as  
if they were calmly writing in their    
libraries after breakfast4 ,the         
one-presiding mind of the editor is     
watchful over all4 ,at four or five     
o'clock the morning paper goes to press4
    ,illustration3 ,cowper's machine4   
,but there are many hundred copies to be
 despatched by the morning mails4       
,manchester and ,glasgow would be       
frightened from their propriety1 if the 
daily ,london papers did not arrive at  
the accustomed hour4 ,the ,london       
merchant1 banker1 lawyer1 would go      
unwillingly to his morning labour1 if he
 had not had one passing glance at the  
division in the ,house1 the state of the
 money-market1 the last foreign         
intelligence4 ,late as the paper may    
have been in its mental completion1     
,manchester1 ,glasgow1 and ,london will 
not be kept without that illumination   

which has become almost as necessary as 
sunlight4 ,machinery has been created by
 the demand1 to carry the demand farther
 than the warmest imagination could have
 anticipated4 ,in #ahad1 ,koenig1 a     
,german1 erected the first              
printing-machine at the ,times ,office1 
and produced eighteen hundred           
impressions an hour on one side4 ,the   
machine superseded the duplicates of the
 type which were once necessary1        
painfully and laboriously to keep up a  
small supply1 worked by men1 with       
relays1 at the rate of five hundred an  
hour4 ,in #ahah ,edward ,cowper produced
 his cylinder-machine1 which effected a 
revolution in the commerce of books2    
and1 in connexion with the              
paper-machine1 enabled the principle of 
cheapness to contend against an         
impolitic and oppressive tax4 ,this is  
still the machine in general use for    
many newspapers and much book-printing4 
,we will briefly describe the operation 
of printing a sheet of paper on both    

sides by this instrument4  ,upon the    
solid steel table at each end of the    
machine lie the pages which print one   
side of the sheet4 ,at the top of the   
machine1 where the laying-on boy stands1
 is a heap of wet paper4 ,the signal    
being given by the director of the work1
 the laying-on boy turns a small handle1
 and the moving-power of the strap      
connected with a steam-engine is        
immediately communicated4 ,some ten or  
twenty spoiled sheets are first passed  
over the types to remove any dirt or    
moisture4 ,if the director is satisfied1
 the boy begins to lay on the white     
paper4 ,he places the sheet upon a flat 
table before him1 with its edge ready to
 be seized by the apparatus for         
conveying it upon the drum4 ,at the     
first movement of the great wheel1 the  
inking-apparatus at each end has been   
set in motion4 ,the steel cylinder      
attached to the reservoir of ink has    
begun slowly to move1--the doctor1 or   
more properly ductor1 has risen to touch

 that cylinder for an instant1 and thus 
receive a supply of ink1--the           
inking-table has passed under the doctor
 and carried off that supply1--and the  
distributing-rollers have spread it     
equally over the surface of the table4  
,this surface1 having passed under the  
inking-rollers1 communicates the supply 
to them2 and they in turn impart it to  
the form which is to be printed4 ,all   
these beautiful operations are          
accomplished in the sixteenth part of a 
minute1 by the travelling backward and  
forward of the carriage or table upon   
which the form rests4 ,each roller      
revolves upon an axis which is fixed4   
,at the moment when the form at the back
 of the machine is passing under the    
inking-roller1 the sheet1 which the boy 
has carefully laid upon the table before
 him1 is caught in the web-roller and   
conveyed to the endless bands or tapes  
which pass it over the first impressing 
cylinder4 ,it is here seized tightly by 
the bands1 which fall between the pages 

and on the outer margin4 ,the moment    
after the sheet is seized upon the first
 cylinder1 the form passes under that   
cylinder1 and the paper being brought in
 contact with it receives an impression 
on one side4 ,to give the impression on 
the other side the sheet is to be turned
 over1 and this is effected by the two  
drums in the centre of the machine4 ,the
 endless tapes never lose their grasp of
 the sheet1 although they allow it to be
 reversed4 ,while the impression has    
been given by the first cylinder1 the   
second form of types at the other end of
 the table has been inked4 ,the drums   
have conveyed the sheet during this     
inking upon the second cylinder2 it is  
brought in contact with the types1 and  
the operation is complete4  ,koenig's   
machine1 which was a very complicated   
instrument1 was supplanted at the       
',times' office by a modification of    
,applegath's and ,cowper's machine1     
which printed four thousand sheets an   
hour on one side4 ,but that has been    

superseded by a vertical machine1 which 
prints ten thousand copies an hour1 on  
one side4 ,the separate columns of type 
are fixed on a large type-drum1 two     
hundred inches in circumference4 ,the   
drum is surrounded by eight impressing  
cylinders2 the ink is applied to the    
surface of the type by rollers which    
work between these cylinders2 and the   
sheets are laid on upon eight tables1   
7h1 h1 h17 which1 by a most ingenious   
mechanism1 carry each sheet to a point  
where its position is suddenly changed1 
and it is impressed between the type and
 the cylinder2 the paper being then     
suspended by tapes1 from which it is    
released as it passes forward1 to be    
laid upon the heap which will be        
scattered1 in a few hours1 to every     
corner of the kingdom4    ,illustration3
 ,times ,printing-,machine4  ,the       
printing machines1 which have been in   
full operation for little more than     
twenty years1 have called into action an
 amount of employment which was almost  

wholly unknown when knowledge was for   
the few4 ,paper-makers1 type-founders1  
wood-engravers1 bookbinders1            
booksellers1 have been raised up by this
 extension of the art of printing1 in   
numbers which far exceed those of any   
former period4  ,but the printing       
machine would have worked feebly and    
imperfectly without the paper machine4  
,that most complete invention has not   
only cheapened paper itself1 but it has 
cheapened the subsequent operations of  
printing1 in a remarkable degree4 ,it   
has enabled one revolution of the       
cylinder of the printing machine to     
produce four sheets instead of one1 or a
 surface of print equal to four sheets4 
,when paper was altogether made by hand1
 the usual paper for books was called   
demy2 and a sheet of demy produced      
sixteen octavo pages of a book4 ,the    
paper could not have been economically  
made larger by hand4 ,a sheet of paper  
equal to four sheets of demy is now     
worked at the newspaper machine2 and    

sixty-four pages of an octavo book might
 be so worked1 if it were needful for   
cheapening production4 ,double demy is  
constantly worked for books4 ,thus1 one 
economical arrangement of science       
produces another contrivance2 and       
machines in one direction combine with  
machines having a different object1 to  
produce legitimate cheapness1 injurious 
to no one1 but beneficial to all4  ,let 
us attempt to convey a notion of the    
beautiful operations of the             
paper-machine4  ,in the whole range of  
machinery1 there is1 perhaps1 no series 
of contrivances which so forcibly       
address themselves to the senses4 ,there
 is nothing mysterious in the operation2
 we at once see the beginning and the   
end of it4 ,at one extremity of the long
 range of wheels and cylinders we are   
shown a stream of pulp1 not thicker than
 milk and water1 flowing over a moving  
plane2 at the other extremity the same  
stream has not only become perfectly    
solid1 but is wound upon a reel in the  

form of hard and smooth paper4 ,this is1
 at first sight1 as miraculous as any of
 the fancies of an ,arabian tale4       
,aladdin's wonderful lamp1 by which a   
palace was built in a night1 did not in 
truth produce more extraordinary effects
 than science has done with the         
paper-machine4    ,illustration3        
,paper-making by ,hand4  ,at one        
extremity of the machine is a chest1    
full of stuff or pulp4 ,we mount the    
steps by its side1 and see a long beam  
rolling incessantly round this capacious
 vessel1 and thus keeping the fibres of 
linen1 which look like snow flakes1     
perpetually moving1 and consequently    
equally suspended1 in the water4 ,at the
 bottom of the chest1 and above the vat1
 there is a cock through which we       
observe a continuous stream of pulp     
flowing into the vat2 which is1 always1 
therefore1 filled to a certain height4  
,from the upper to the lower part of    
this vat a portion of the pulp flows    
upon a narrow wire frame1 which         

constantly jumps up and down with a     
noise resembling a cherry-clack4 ,having
 passed through the sifter1 the pulp    
flows still onward to a ledge1 over     
which it falls in a regular stream1 like
 a sheet of water over a smooth dam4    
,here we see it caught upon a plane1    
which presents an uninterrupted surface 
of five or six feet1 upon which the pulp
 seems evenly spread1 as a napkin upon a
 table4 ,a more accurate inspection     
shows us that this plane is constantly  
moving onwards with a gradual pace2 that
 it has also a shaking motion from side 
to side2 and that it is perforated all  
over with little holes--in fact1 that it
 is an endless web of the finest wire4  
,if we touch the pulp at the end of the 
plane1 upon which it first descends1 we 
find it fluid2 if we draw the finger    
over its edge at the other end1 we      
perceive that it is still soft--not so  
hard1 perhaps1 as wet                   
blotting-paper1--but so completely      
formed1 that the touch will leave a     

hole1 which we may trace forward till   
the paper is perfectly made4 ,the pulp  
does not flow over the sides of the     
plane1 we observe1 because a strap1 on  
each side1 constantly moving and passing
 upon its edges1 regulates the width4   
,after we pass the wheels upon which    
these straps terminate1 we perceive that
 the paper is sufficiently formed not to
 require any further boundary to define 
its size2--the pulp has ceased to be    
fluid4 ,but it is yet tender and wet4   
,the paper is not yet completely off the
 plane of wire2 before it quits it1     
another roller1 which is clothed with   
felt1 and upon which a stream of cold   
water is constantly flowing subjects it 
to pressure4 ,the paper has at length   
left what may be called the region of   
wire1 and has entered that of cloth4 ,a 
tight surface of flannel1 or felt1 is   
moving onwards with the same regular    
march as the web of wire4 ,like the     
wire1 the felt is what is called        
endless1--that is1 united at the        

extremities1 as a jack-towel is4 ,we see
 the sheet travelling up an inclined    
plane of this stretched flannel1 which  
gradually absorbs its moisture4 ,it is  
now seized between two rollers1 which   
powerfully squeeze it4 ,it goes         
travelling up another inclined plane of 
flannel1 and then passes through a      
second pair of pressing-rollers4 ,it has
 now left the region of cloth1 and has  
entered that of heat4 ,the paper1 up to 
this point1 is quite formed2 but it is  
fragile and damp4 ,it is in the state in
 which1 if the machinery were to stop   
here1 as it did upon its first          
invention1 it would require 7having been
 wound upon a reel7 to be parted and    
dried as hand-made paper is4 ,but in a  
few seconds more it is subjected to a   
process by which all this labour and    
time is saved4 ,from the last pair of   
cloth-pressing rollers1 the paper is    
received upon a small roller which is   
guided over the polished surface of a   
large heated cylinder4 ,the soft pulp   

tissue now begins to smoke2 but the heat
 is proportioned to its increasing power
 of resistance4 ,from the first         
cylinder1 or drum1 it is received upon a
 second1 considerably larger1 and much  
hotter4 ,as it rolls over this polished 
surface1 we see all the roughness of its
 appearance1 when in the cloth region1  
gradually vanishing4 ,at length1 having 
passed over a third cylinder1 still     
hotter than the second1 and having been 
subjected to the pressure of a blanket1 
which confines it on one side1 while the
 cylinder smooths it on the other1 it is
 caught upon the last roller1 which     
hands it over to the reel4 ,the last    
process of the machine is to cut the    
roll of paper into sheets4              
,illustration3 ,various processes of    
,bookbinding4  ,in consequence of the   
cheaper production of the press1 and the
 consequent extension of the demand for 
books1 bookbinding has become a large   
manufacture1 carried on with many       
scientific applications4 ,we have       

rolling-machines1 to make the book      
solid2 cutting-machines1 to supersede   
the hand-labour of the little instrument
 called a plough2 embossing machines1 to
 produce elaborate raised patterns on   
leather or cloth2 embossing presses1 to 
give the gilt ornament and lettering4   
,these contrivances1 and other similar  
inventions1 have not only cheapened     
books1 but have enabled the publisher to
 give them a permanent instead of a     
temporary cover1 ornamental as well as  
useful4 ,there are eleven thousand      
bookbinders now employed1 of which      
one-third are females4 ,the number      
employed has been quadrupled by these   
inventions4 ,in #ahcj1 the journeymen   
bookbinders of ,london opposed the      
introduction of the rolling-machine4    
,books were formerly beat with large    
hammers upon a stone1 to give them      
solidity4 ,the workmen were relieved    
from the drudgery of the beating-hammer 
by the easy operation of the            
rolling-machine4 ,they soon discovered  

the weak foundation of their objection  
to an instrument which1 in truth1 had a 
tendency1 above all other things1 to    
elevate their trade1 and to make that an
 art which in one division of it was a  
mere labour4 ,if the painter were       
compelled to grind his own colours and  
make his own frames1 he would no longer 
follow an art1 but a trade2 and he would
 receive the wages of a labourer instead
 of the wages of an artist1 not only so 
far as related to the grinding and      
frame-making1 but as affecting all his  
occupations1 by the drudgery attending a
 portion of them4    ,illustration3     
,papyrus4  ,the commerce of literature  
has been doubled in twenty years4 ,but  
it would be scarcely too much to assert 
that the influence of the press1 in     
forming public opinion1 and causing it  
to operate upon legislation1 has doubled
 almost every other employment4 ,to that
 public opinion1 chiefly so formed1 we  
owe the successive removals of          
restrictions upon trade1 which have     

carried forward our exports from        
thirty-six millions sterling in #ahca to
 ninety millions in #ahec4 ,to that     
public opinion we owe the abolition of  
prohibitive duties upon foreign produce1
 which has given us a far wider range of
 beneficial consumption4 ,to that public
 opinion we owe the repeal of the       
oppressive excise duties upon salt1     
leather1 candles1 glass1 bricks--which  
duties impeded production even more     
effectually than the extortions and     
tyrannies of the middle ages4 ,strange  
it is1 that the power of the press1     
which has done so much for the removal  
of other fiscal impediments to industry1
 should have been able to effect so     
little for itself2--that the tax upon   
paper should still interfere with the   
commerce of literature1 when general    
education has no longer to encounter any
 misgivings in the minds of those who   
govern an earnest and patriotic people4 
,the difficulty of procuring the        
material of paper has become a serious  

impediment to the cheap diffusion of    
knowledge2 and the paper-tax works in   
the same evil direction4 ,there have    
been innumerable obstacles to the       
extension of knowledge since the days   
when books were written on the          
papyrus--obstacles equally raised up by 
despotic blindness and popular          
ignorance4 ,but it is not fitting that  
either of such causes should still be in
 action in the days of the              
printing-machine4     ,,chapter ,,xxii4 
,power of skill--,cheap                 
production--,population and             
production--,partial and temporary      
evils--,intelligent                     
labour--,division of labour--,general   
knowledge--,the ,lowell                 
,offering--,union of forces4   ,we have 
thus1 without pretending to any approach
 to completeness1 taken a rapid view of 
many of the great branches of industry  
in this country4 ,we have exhibited     
capital working with accumulation of    
knowledge2 we have shown labour working 

with skill4 ,we desire to show that the 
counter-control to the absorbing power  
of capital is the rapidly developing    
power of skill--for that1 also1 is      
capital4 ,knowledge is power1 because   
knowledge is property4 ,mr4 ,whitworth1 
whose ,report on ,american ,manufactures
 we have several times quoted1 says that
 the workmen of the ,united ,states1    
being educated1 perform their duty with 
less supervision than is required when  
dependence is to be placed upon         
uneducated hands4 ,he adds1 ,it rarely  
happens that a workman1 who possesses   
peculiar skill in his craft1 is         
disqualified to take the responsible    
position of superintendent1 by the want 
of education and general knowledge1 as  
is frequently the case in this country4 
,this is a reproach which every young   
person in our land ought1 as speedily as
 possible1 to wipe out4 ,the means of   
education may not be quite so universal 
here as in the ,united ,states2 but they
 are ample to produce a large increase  

of that skill and that trustworthiness  
which are the most efficient powers     
which those who work for their living   
can possibly command1 for elevating     
their individual positions1 and for     
elevating the great body of workers     
throughout the realm4 ,one of the most  
essential steps towards the attainment  
of this elevation is the conviction that
 manual labour1 to be effective1 must   
adapt itself almost wholly to the       
direction of science2 and that under    
that direction unskilled labour         
necessarily becomes skilled1 and limited
 trust enlarges into influential        
responsibility4  ,those who have taken a
 superficial view of the question of    
scientific application say1 that1 only  
whenever there is a greater demand than 
the existing means can supply1 is any   
new discovery in mechanics a benefit to 
society1 because it gives the means of  
satisfying the existing wants2 but that1
 on the contrary1 whenever the things   
produced are sufficient for the         

consumers1 the discovery is a calamity1 
because it does not add to the          
enjoyments of the consumers2 it only    
gives them a better market1 which better
 market is bought at the price of the   
existence of the producers4  ,all such  
reasoning is false in principle1 and    
unsupported by experience4 ,there is no 
such thing1 nor1 if machines went on    
improving for five hundred years at the 
rate they have done for the last        
century1 could there be any such thing1 
as a limit to the wants of the          
consumers4 ,the great mass of facts     
which we have brought together in this  
book must have shown1 that the cheaper  
an article of necessity becomes1 the    
more of it is used2 that when the most  
pressing wants are supplied1 and        
supplied amply by cheapness1 the        
consumer has money to lay out upon new  
wants2 that when these new wants are    
supplied cheaply1 he goes on again and  
again to other new wants2 that there are
 no limits1 in fact1 to his wants as    

long as he has any capital to satisfy   
them4 ,bear in mind this2 that the first
 great object of every invention and    
every improvement is to confer a benefit
 upon the consumers1--to make the       
commodity cheap and plentiful4 ,the     
working man stands in a double          
character2 he is both a producer and a  
consumer4 ,but we will be bold to say   
that the question of cheapness of       
production is a much more important     
question to be decided in his favour as 
a consumer1 than the question of        
dearness of production to be decided in 
his favour as a producer4 ,the truth is1
 every man tries to get as much as he   
can for his own labour1 and to pay as   
little as he can for the labour of      
others4 ,if a mechanic1 succeeding in   
stopping the machine used in his own    
trade1 by any strange deviation from the
 natural course of things were to get   
higher wages for a time1 he himself     
would be the most injured by the        
extension of the principle4 ,when he    

found his loaf cost him two shillings   
instead of sixpence2 when he was obliged
 to go to the river with his bucket for 
his supply of water2 when his coals cost
 a guinea a bushel instead of eighteen  
pence2 when he was told by the hosier   
that his worsted stockings were advanced
 from a shilling a pair to five         
shillings2 when1 in fact1 the price of  
every article that he uses should be    
doubled1 trebled1 and1 in nine cases out
 of ten1 put beyond the possibility of  
attainment2--what1 we ask1 would be the 
use to him of his advance in wages8 ,let
 us never forget that it is not for the 
employment of labourers1 but for the    
benefit of consumers1 that labour is    
employed at all4 ,the steam-engines are 
not working in the coal-pits of         
,northumberland1 and the ships sailing  
from the ,tyne to the ,thames1 to give  
employment to colliers and to sailors1  
but to make coals cheap in ,london4 ,if 
the people of ,london could have the    
coals without the steam-engines and the 

ships1 it would be better for them1 and 
better for the rest of the world4 ,if   
they could get coals for nothing1 they  
would have more produce to exchange for 
money to spend upon other things2 and   
the comforts1 therefore1 of every one of
 us would be increased4  ,this increase 
of comfort1 some may say1 is a question 
that more affects the rich than it      
affects the great mass4 ,this again is a
 mistake4 ,the whole tendency of the    
improvements of the last four hundred   
years has not only been to lift the     
meanest1 in regard to a great many      
comforts1 far above the condition of the
 rich four hundred years ago1 but       
absolutely to place them1 in many       
things1 upon a level with the rich of   
their own day4 ,they are surrounded1 as 
we have constantly shown throughout this
 book1 with an infinite number of       
comforts and conveniences which had no  
existence two or three centuries ago2   
and those comforts and conveniences are 
not used only by a few1 but are within  

the reach of almost all men4 ,every day 
is adding something to our comforts4    
,our houses are better built--our       
clothes are cheaper--we have a number of
 domestic utensils1 whose use even was  
unknown to our ancestors--we can travel 
cheaply from place to place1 and not    
only travel at less expense1 but travel 
ten times quicker than the richest man  
could travel two hundred years ago4 ,the
 bulk of society is not only advancing  
steadily to the same level in point of  
many comforts with the rich1 but is     
gaining that knowledge which was        
formerly their exclusive possession4    
,let all of us who are producers keep   
fast hold of that last and best power4  
,we have endeavoured to show throughout 
this book that the one great result of  
machinery1 and of every improvement in  
art1 is to lessen the cost of           
production2 to increase the benefit to  
the consumer4 ,but it is a most         
fortunate arrangement of the social     
state1 as we have also shown1 that cheap

 production gives increased employment4 
,the same class of false reasoners who  
consider that the wants of society are  
limited1 cry out1 it is better to have a
 population of men than of              
steam-engines4 ,that might be true1 if  
the steam-engines did put out the men2  
but inasmuch as they increase the       
productions by which men are maintained1
 they increase the men4 ,what has       
increased the population of ,england    
nearly ten-fold during the last five    
hundred years1 but the improvement of   
the arts of life1 which has enabled more
 men to live within the land8 ,there is 
no truth so clear1 that as the          
productions of industry multiply1 the   
means of acquiring those productions    
multiply also4 ,the productions which   
are created by one producer furnish the 
means of purchasing the productions     
created by another producer2 and1 in    
consequence of this double production1  
the necessities of both the one and the 
other are better supplied4 ,the         

multiplication of produce multiplies the
 consumers of produce4 ,there are1      
probably1 upon the average1 no more hats
 made in the year than there are heads  
to wear them2 but as there are          
twenty-one millions of heads of the     
,british subjects of ,queen ,victoria1  
and there were only five millions of the
 ,british subjects of ,queen ,anne1 it  
is self-evident that the hat-makers have
 four times as much work as they had a  
century and a half ago4 ,what has given 
the hat-makers four times as much work8 
,the quadrupling of the population4 ,and
 what has quadrupled the population8    
,the quadrupling of produce--the        
quadrupling of the means of maintaining 
that population4 ,it is a remarkable    
fact1 derived from the official returns1
 that whilst our exports of home produce
 and manufactures have increased about  
twofold in price since the commencement 
of the century1 they have increased     
eight-fold in quantity4 ,their real or  
declared value indicates the price4     

,what is called the official value      
indicates the quantity4 ,what is true of
 our exports is also true of our        
home-consumption4 ,the great            
multiplication of produce is            
accompanied1 proportionately1 with a far
 greater diminution of price4  ,there is
 a just and eloquent passage in the     
,registrar-,general's ,report upon the  
,census of #ahea1 which we gladly       
copy3--      ,with all that we now see  
around us1 it is difficult to place     
ourselves in the position of the people 
of #agea2 and to understand     either  
the simplicity of the means1 or the     
greatness of the task     which has     
since been achieved by the people of    
,england and     ,scotland4 ,it is      
evident1 however1 that if the whole that
 they have     accomplished had been    
proposed as a project1 or been held out 
as     the policy of the greatest       
minister then living1 its difficulty    
and grandeur would have overwhelmed him 
with confusion4 ,if in the     height of

 power he had thus addressed the people 
of ,britain1 would     he not have been 
heard with justifiable                  
incredulity8--',these     islands and   
,ireland are occupied by the men of many
 separate     states that are now       
happily united4 ,after the settlement on
 the     land of tribes1 fleets1 and    
armies of ,celts1 of ,saxons1 of ,danes1
     and of ,normans--and after         
centuries of patient culture1 its       
fertile soil sustains seven millions of 
people in its whole     length from the 
,isle of ,wight to the ,shetland        
,islands4 ,we     cannot--for the mighty
 power is not given us--say1 let there  
be on     the ,european shores of the   
,atlantic ocean--three ,great ,britains4
     ,but the means exist for creating  
on this land1 in less than a     hundred
 years1 two more nations1 each in number
 equal to the     existing population1  
and of distributing them1 over its      
fields1 in     cottages1 farms1 and     
towns1 by the banks of its rivers1 and  

around     its immemorial hills3 and    
they will thus be neither separated by  
longer roads1 nor wider seas1 but be    
neighbours1 fellow-workers1     and     
fellow-countrymen on the old territory2 
wielding by machines     the forces of  
nature1 that shall serve them with the  
strength of     thousands of horses1 on 
roads1 and seas1--in mines1             
manufactories1     and ships4           
,subsistence shall be as abundant as it 
is now1 and     luxuries1 which are     
confined to the few1 shall be enjoyed by
     multitudes4 ,the wealth of the     
country--its stock and its              
produce--shall increase in a faster     
ratio than the people4 ,all     this    
shall be accomplished without any       
miraculous agency1 by the     progress  
of society1--by the diffusion of        
knowledge and     morals1--by           
improvements1--and improvements chiefly 
in the     institution of               
marriage--'that true source of human    
offspring1'     whence1        ',founded

 in reason1 loyal1 just1 and pure1      
,relations dear1 and all the charities  
,of father1 son1 and brother1 first were
 known4'  ,if the reader has rightly    
considered the various facts which we   
have presented1 he will long before this
 have come to the conclusion1 that it1  
is for the general interests of society 
that every invention1 which has a       
tendency to diminish the cost of        
production1 shall have the most perfect 
freedom to go forward4 ,he will also    
have perceived1 that the exercise of    
this natural right1 this proud          
distinction1 of man1 to carry on the    
work of improvement to the fullest      
extent of his capacity and knowledge1   
can never be wholly stopped1 however it 
may be opposed4 ,it may be suspended by 
the ignorance of a government--it may be
 clamoured down by the prejudice of a   
people2 but the living principle which  
is in it can never be destroyed4 ,to    
deny that this blessing1 as well as many
 other blessings which we enjoy1 is not 

productive of any particular evil1 would
 be uncandid and unwise4 ,every change  
produced by the substitution of a       
perfect machine instead of an imperfect 
one1 of a cheap machine instead of a    
dear one1 is an inconvenience to those  
who have been associated with the       
imperfect and the dear machines4 ,it is 
a change that more or less affects the  
interests of capitalists as well as of  
workmen4 ,in a commercial country1 in a 
highly civilized community1 improvement 
is hourly producing some change which   
affects some interests4 ,every new      
pattern which is introduced in hardware 
deranges for a moment the interests of  
the proprietors of the old moulds4      
,every new book1 upon any specific      
subject upon which books have formerly  
been written1 lessens the value of the  
copyright of those existing books4 ,what
 then8 ,is every improvement1 which thus
 produces a slight partial injury1 to be
 discountenanced1 because of this       
inevitable condition which we find at   

every step in the march of society8 ,or 
rather1 ought we not to feel that every 
improvement brings healing upon its     
wings1 even to those for whom it is a   
momentary evil2--that if it displaces   
their labour or their capital for a     
season1 it gives new springs to the     
general industry1 and calls forth all   
labour and all capital to higher and    
more successful exertions8 ,at every    
advance which improvement makes1 the    
partial and temporary evils of          
improvement are more and more lessened4 
,in the early stages of social          
refinement1 when a machine for greatly  
diminishing labour is for the first time
 introduced1 its effects in displacing  
labour for an instant may be seen in the
 condition of great masses of people4   
,it is the first step which is the most 
trying4 ,thus1 when printing superseded 
the copies of books by writing1 a large 
body of people were put out of          
employ2--they had to seek new employ4   
,it was the same with the introduction  

of the spinning machinery1--the same    
with the power-loom4 ,it would be       
presumptuous to say that no such great  
changes could again happen in any of the
 principal branches of human industry2  
but it may be said1 that the difficulty 
of superseding our present expeditious  
and cheap modes of manufacture is daily 
increasing4 ,the more machines are      
multiplied1 that is1 the more society   
approaches towards perfection1 the less 
room is there for those great inventions
 which change the face of the world4 ,we
 shall still go on improving1 doubtless2
 but ingenuity will have a much narrower
 range to work in4 ,it may perfect the  
machines which we have got1 but it will 
invent fewer original machines4 ,and who
 can doubt1 that the nearer we approach 
to this state1 the better will it be for
 the general condition of mankind8 ,who 
can doubt whether1 instead of a state of
 society where the labourers were few   
and wretched1 wasting human strength1   
unaided by art1 in labours which could  

be better performed by wind1 and water1 
and steam1--by the screw and the        
lever1--it would not be better to       
approach as nearly as we can to a state 
of society where the labourers would be 
many and lightly tasked1 exerting human 
power in its noblest occupation1 that of
 giving a direction by its intelligence 
to the mere physical power which it had 
conquered8 ,surely1 a nation so advanced
 as to apply the labour of its people to
 occupations where a certain degree of  
intelligence was required1 leaving all  
that was purely mechanical to machines  
and to inferior animals1 would produce  
for itself the greatest number of       
articles of necessity and convenience1  
of luxury and taste1 at the cheapest    
cost4 ,but it would do more4 ,it would  
have its population increasing with the 
increase of those productions2 and that 
population employed in those labours    
alone which could not be carried on     
without that great power of man by which
 he subdues all other power to his      

use1--his reason4  ,but it is not only  
science which has determined1 and is    
more and more determining1 the condition
 of the great body of operatives1 but   
the organization of industry upon the   
factory principle1 so universal and so  
powerful1 has rendered it impossible for
 the future that the larger amount of   
the labour of a country should be       
regarded as an insulated force4 ,it must
 work in conjunction with higher and    
more powerful forces4  ,in ,france1     
which1 as a commercial and manufacturing
 country1 was considerably behind the   
advance of ,england1 it was a common    
practice1 in many villages and small    
towns1 not very long ago1 for the       
weavers to make the looms and other     
implements of their trade4 ,in the      
fifteenth century1 in the same country1 
before an apprentice could be admitted  
to the privilege of a master-weaver1 it 
was not only necessary for him to prove 
that he understood his trade as a       
weaver1 but that he was able to         

construct all the machines and tools    
with which he carried on his craft4     
,those who know anything of the business
 of weaving will very readily come to   
the conclusion that the apprentice of   
the fifteenth century1 whose skill was  
put to such a proof1 was both an        
indifferent weaver and an indifferent   
mechanician2--that in the attempt to    
unite two such opposite trades1 he must 
have excelled in neither2--and that in  
fact the regulation was one of those    
monstrous violations of the freedom of  
industry1 which our ancestors chose to  
devise for the support of industry4     
,carrying the principle of a division of
 labour to the other extreme point1 we  
have seen that a vast number of persons 
are engaged in the manufacture of a     
piece of cloth1#bi who1 if individually 
set to carry the workmanship of that    
piece of cloth through all its stages1  
would be utterly incompetent to produce 
it at all1 much less to produce it as   
durable and beautiful as the cloth which

 we all daily consume4 ,how would the   
sorter of the wool1 for example1 know   
how to perform the business of the      
scourer1 or of the dyer1 or of the      
carder8 or the carder that of the       
spinner or the weaver8 or the weaver    
that of the miller1 or boiler1 or dyer1 
or brusher1 or cutter1 or presser8 ,we  
must be quite sure that1 if any         
arbitrary power or regulation1 such as  
compelled the weaver of the fifteenth   
century to make his own loom1 were1 on  
the other hand1 to compel a man engaged 
in any one branch of the manufacture of 
woollen cloth to carry that manufacture 
through all its stages1 the production  
of cloth would be utterly suspended2 and
 that the workmen being incompetent to  
go on1 the wages of the workmen could no
 longer be paid2--for the wages of      
labour are paid by the consumer of the  
produce of labour1 and here there would 
be nothing to consume4  ,the great      
principle1 therefore1 which keeps the   
division of labour in full activity is1 

that the principle is necessary to      
production upon a scale that will       
maintain the number of labourers engaged
 in working in the cheapest1 because    
most economical manner1 through the     
application of that mode of working4    
,the labourers1 even if the principle   
were injurious to their individual      
prosperity and happiness1 which we think
 it is not1 could not dispense with the 
principle1 because it is essential to   
economical production2 and if dear      
production were to take the place of    
economical production1 there would be a 
proportionately diminished demand for   
products1 and a proportionate diminution
 of the number of producers4  ,the same 
laws of necessity which render it       
impossible for the working men to       
contend against the operation of the    
division of labour1--even if it were    
desirable that they should contend      
against it1 as far as their individual  
interests are concerned1--render it     
equally impossible that they should     

contend against the operation of        
accumulation of knowledge in the        
direction of their labour4 ,the mode in 
which accumulation of knowledge         
influences the direction of their labour
 is1 that it furnishes mechanical and   
chemical aids to the capitalist for     
carrying on the business of production4 
,the abandonment of those mechanical and
 chemical aids would suspend production1
 and not in the slightest degree        
increase1 but greatly diminish1 and     
ultimately destroy1 the power of manual 
labour1 seeking to work without those   
mechanical and chemical aids4 ,the      
abandonment of the division of labour   
would work the same effects4 ,there     
would be incomparably less produced on  
all sides2 and the workmen on all sides1
 experiencing in their fullest extent   
the evils which result from diminished  
production1 would all fall back in their
 condition1 and day by day have less    
command of the necessaries and comforts 
of life1 till they sank into utter      

destitution4  ,we dwell principally on  
the effects of accumulation of knowledge
 and division of labour on the working  
man as a consumer1 because it is the    
more immediate object of this volume to 
consider such questions with reference  
to production4 ,but the condition of the
 working man as a producer is1 taking   
the average of all ranks of producers1  
greatly advanced by the direction which 
capital gives to labour1 by calling in  
accumulation of knowledge and division  
of labour4 ,if the freedom of labour    
were not established upon the same      
imperishable basis as the security of   
property1 we might1 indeed1 think that  
it was a pitiable thing for a man to    
labour through life at one occupation1  
and believe that it was debasing to the 
human intellect and morals to make for  
ever the eye of a needle1 or raise a nap
 upon woollen cloth4 ,the ,hindoos1 when
 they instituted their castes1 which    
compelled a man to follow1 without a    
possibility of emerging from it1 the    

trade of his fathers1 saw the general   
advantage of the division of labour2 but
 they destroyed the principle which     
could make it endurable to the          
individual4 ,they destroyed the ,freedom
 of ,industry4 ,to limit industry or    
genius1 and narrow the field of         
individual exertion by any artificial   
means1 is an injury to human nature of  
the same kind as that brought on by a   
community of possessions4 ,where there  
is no stimulus to industry1 things are  
worst2 where industry is circumscribed1 
they cannot prosper2 and are then only  
in a healthy state1 when every avenue to
 personal advantage is open to every    
talent and disposition4 ,a state of     
equality is an instance of the first    
case2 the division of the people into   
castes1 as among the ,ancient           
,egyptians1 and still among the         
,hindoos1 of the second4 ,this division 
has been considered by all intelligent  
travellers as one powerful cause of the 
stationary character of the inhabitants 

of that country3 and the effect would   
have been still more pernicious1 if time
 or necessity had not introduced some   
relaxation into the rigorous            
restrictions originally established1 and
 so ancient as to be attributed to      
,siva4 ,as long1 however1 as the rule is
 generally adhered to1 that a man of a  
lower class is restricted from the      
business of a higher class1 so long1 we 
may safely predict1 ,india will continue
 what it is in point of civilization4   
,an approach to the same effect may be  
witnessed in the limitation of honours1 
privileges1 and immunities in some      
countries of ,europe4#cj  ,in those     
manufactures and trades where the       
division of labour is carried to the    
greatest extent1 such as the cotton and 
silk trades1 workmen readily change from
 one branch to the other1 without       
molestation1 and without any great      
difficulty of adapting themselves to a  
new occupation4 ,the simpler the process
 in which a workman has been            

engaged--and every process is rendered  
more simple by the division of          
labour--the easier the transition3 and  
the principal quality which is required 
to make the transition is1 that stock of
 general knowledge which the division of
 labour enables a man to attain3 and    
which1 in point of fact1 is attained in 
much higher perfection in a large       
manufactory1 than in that rude state    
where one man is more or less compelled 
to do everything for his body1 and      
therefore has no leisure to do anything 
for his mind4 ,there are evils1         
undoubtedly1 in carrying the division of
 labour to an extreme point2 but we     
think that those very evils correct     
themselves1 because they destroy the    
great object of the principle1 and give 
imperfect instead of perfect production4
 ,the moral evils which some have       
dreaded may assuredly be corrected by   
general education1 and in fact are      
corrected by the union of numbers in one
 employment4 ,what sharpens the         

intellect ought1 undoubtedly1 to elevate
 the morals2 and1 indeed1 it is only    
false knowledge which debases the       
morals4 ,knowledge and virtue1 we       
believe1 are the closest allies2 and    
wisdom is the fruit of knowledge and    
virtue4  ,the same principles as to the 
course which the division of labour     
should lead the labourer to pursue1     
apply to the higher occupations of      
industry4 ,no man of learning has ever  
very greatly added to the stock of human
 knowledge1 without devoting himself1 if
 not exclusively1 with something like an
 especial dedication of his time and    
talents1 to one branch of science or    
literature4 ,in the study of nature we  
have the mathematician1 the astronomer1 
the chemist1 the botanist1 the          
zoologist1 and the physician engaged1   
each in his different department4 ,in   
the exposition of moral and political   
truths1 we have the metaphysician1 the  
theologian1 the statesman1 the lawyer1  
occupied each in his peculiar study or  

profession4 ,a mental labourer1 to excel
 in any one of these branches1 must know
 something of every other branch4 ,he   
must direct indeed the power of his mind
 to one department of human knowledge2  
but he cannot conquer that department   
without a general1 and1 in many         
respects1 accurate knowledge of every   
other department4 ,the same principle   
produces the same effects1 whether      
applied to the solution of the highest  
problem in geometry1 or the polishing of
 a pin4 ,the division of labour must be 
regulated by the acquisition of general 
knowledge4  ,there was probably no more 
striking example ever given of the union
 of factory labour with a taste for     
knowledge and an ardour for mental      
improvement1 than was presented by the  
young women working in the              
cotton-manufactories of ,lowell1 in the 
,united ,states4 ,they wrote and        
published for their own amusement1 a    
magazine1 called ',the ,lowell          
,offering1' in which the writers        

exhibited remarkable attainments1 and no
 common facility of composition4 ,the   
author of the present volume made a     
selection from ',the ,lowell ,offering1'
 which he introduced to ,english notice 
by a preface1 one passage of which may  
be extracted as an illustration of the  
argument before us3--      ,in dwelling 
upon the thoughts of others1 in fixing  
their own     thoughts upon some        
definite object1 these factory girls    
have     lifted themselves up into a    
higher region than is attained by       
those1 whatever be their rank1 whose    
minds are not filled with     images of 
what is natural and beautiful and true4 
,they have raised     themselves out of 
the sphere of the partial and the       
temporary1     into the broad expanse of
 the universal and the eternal4 ,during 
their twelve hours of daily labour1 when
 there were easy but     automatic      
services to perform1 waiting upon a     
machine--with that     slight degree of 
skill which no machine can ever         

attain--for the     repair of the       
accidents of its unvarying progress1    
they may1     without a neglect of their
 duty1 have been elevating their minds  
in the scale of being by cheerful       
lookings-out upon nature2 by            
pleasant recollections of books2 by     
imaginary converse with the     just and
 wise who have lived before them2 by    
consoling reflections     upon the      
infinite goodness and wisdom which      
regulates this world1     so            
unintelligible without such a           
dependence4 ,these habits have     given
 them cheerfulness and freedom amidst   
their uninterrupted     toils4 ,we see  
no repinings against their twelve hours'
 labour1 for     it has had its solace4 
,even during the low wages of #ahdb1    
which     they mention with sorrow but  
without complaint1 the same             
cultivation goes on2 ',the ,lowell      
,offering' is still produced4 ,to     us
 of ,england these things ought to be   
encouraging4 ,to the immense     body of

 our factory operatives the example of  
what the girls of     ,lowell have done 
should be especially valuable4 ,it      
should teach     them that their        
strength1 as well as their happiness1   
lies in the     cultivation of their    
minds4 ,to the employers of operatives1 
and to     all of wealth and influence  
amongst us1 this example ought to       
manifest that a strict and diligent     
performance of daily duties1     in work
 prolonged even more than in our own    
factories1 is no     impediment to the  
exercise of those faculties1 and the    
gratification of those tastes1 which1   
whatever was once thought1     can no   
longer be held to be limited by station4
 ,there is a contest     going on       
amongst us1 as it is going on all over  
the world1 between     the hard         
imperious laws which regulate the       
production of wealth1     and the       
aspirations of benevolence for the      
increase of human     happiness4 ,we do 
not deplore the contest2 for out of it  

must come     a gradual subjection of   
the iron necessity to the holy          
influences     of love and charity4     
,such a period cannot1 indeed1 be rashly
     anticipated by legislation against 
principles which are secondary     laws 
of nature2 but one thing nevertheless is
 certain--that such     an improvement  
of the operative classes1 as all good   
men--and we     sincerely believe       
amongst them the great body of          
manufacturing     capitalists1--ardently
 pray for1 and desire to labour in their
     several spheres to attain1 will be 
brought about in a parallel             
progression with the elevation of the   
operatives themselves in     mental     
cultivation1 and consequently in moral  
excellence4#ca  ,the division of labour 
in carrying forward the work of         
production is invariably commanded1     
because it is perfected1 by the union of
 forces1 or co-operation4 ,the process  
of manufacturing a piece of woollen     
cloth is carried on by division of      

labour1 and by union of forces1 working 
together4 ,in fact1 if there were not   
that ultimate co-operation1 the division
 of labour would be not only less       
productive than labour without division1
 but it would not be productive at all4 
,the power of large capital is the power
 which1 as society is arranged1 compels 
this division of parts for the more     
complete production of a whole4 ,a large
 cloth manufactory1 as we have seen1    
exhibits itself to the eye chiefly in   
the division of labour2 but all that    
division ends in a co-operation for the 
production of a piece of cloth4 ,a ship1
 with five hundred men on board1 each   
engaged in various duties1 and holding  
different ranks1 is an example of the   
division of labour2 but the division    
ends in a co-operation to carry the ship
 from one port to another1 and1 if it be
 a ship of war1 to defend it from the   
attacks of an enemy4 ,those who would   
direct the principle of co-operation    
into a different channel1 by remodelling

 society into large partnerships1 do    
not1 because they cannot1 depart1 in the
 least degree1 from the principles we   
have laid down4 ,they must have         
production1 and therefore they must have
 division of labour2 the division of    
labour involves degrees of skill2 the   
whole requires to be carried on with    
accumulation of former labour or        
capital1 or it could not exist4 ,the    
only difference proposed is1 that the   
labourers shall be the capitalists1 and 
that each shall derive a share in the   
production1 partly from what now is     
represented as his profits as a         
capitalist1 and partly from what is     
represented as his wages as a labourer2 
but that all separate property shall be 
swallowed up in joint property4 ,but we 
mention this subject here to show that  
even those who aspire to remodel society
 cannot change the elements with which  
it is now constructed1 and must work    
with the same principles1 however       
different may be the names of those     

principles1 and however varied in their 
application4 ,this is in favour even of 
the ultimate success of the principles  
of co-operation1 if they should be found
 practically to work for the increase of
 the happiness of mankind2 which would  
not be effected by equalizing the       
distribution of wealth1 if1 at the same 
time1 its production were materially    
checked4 ,this view of the subject goes 
to show that no sudden or violent change
 is necessary4 ,in many things society  
has always acted on the principles of   
co-operation4 ,as civilization extends1 
the number of instances has hitherto    
increased2 and if there is no natural   
maximum to the adoption of these        
principles 7which remains to be seen71  
men may gradually slide more and more   
into them1 and realize all sane         
expectations1 without any reconstruction
 of their social system1--any pulling   
down and building up again of their     
morals or their houses4#cb  ,it is this 
union of forces which1 whether it       

prevail in a single manufactory1 in a   
manufacturing town viewed in connexion  
with that manufactory1 in an            
agricultural district viewed in         
connexion with a manufacturing town1 in 
a capital viewed in connexion with both1
 in a kingdom viewed in connexion with  
all its parts1 and in the whole world   
viewed in connexion with particular     
kingdoms2--it is this union of forces   
which connects the humblest with the    
highest in the production of utility4   
,the poor lad who tends sheep upon the  
downs1 and the capitalist who spends    
thousands of pounds for carrying forward
 a process to make the wool of these    
sheep into cloth1 though at different   
extremities of the scale1 are each      
united for the production of utility4   
,the differences of power and enjoyment 
7and the differences of enjoyment are   
much less than appear upon the surface7 
between the shepherd boy and the great  
cloth-manufacturer1 are apparently      
necessary for the end of enabling both  

the shepherd boy and the capitalist to  
be fed1 and clothed1 and lodged1 by     
exchanges with other producers4 ,they   
are also necessary for keeping alive    
that universal1 and1 therefore1 as it   
would appear1 natural desire for the    
improvement of our condition1 which1    
independently of the necessity for the  
satisfaction of immediate wants1 more or
 less influences the industry of every  
civilized being as to the hopes of the  
future4 ,it is this union which         
constitutes the real dignity of all     
useful employments1 and may make the    
poorest labourer feel that he is        
advancing the welfare of mankind as well
 as the richest capitalist2 and that1   
standing upon the solid foundation of   
free exchange1 the rights of the one are
 as paramount as the rights of the      
other1 and that the rights of each have 
no control but the duties of each4 ,we  
believe that the interests of each are  
also inseparably united1 and that the   
causes which advance or retard the      

prosperity of each are one and the same4
     #bi ,see ,chapter ,,xvii4    #cj   
,sumner's ',records of the ,creation4'  
#ca ',mind amongst the ,spindles2' in   
the series called ',knight's ,weekly    
,volume4'    #cb ,the subject is        
examined more fully in ,chapters ,,xxv4 
and ,,xxvi4     ,,chapter ,,xxiii4      
,accumulation--,productive and          
unproductive consumption--,use      of  
capital--,credit--,security of          
property--,production applied      to   
the satisfaction of common              
wants--,increase of                     
comforts--,relations of capitalist and  
labourer4   ,dr4 ,william ,bulleyn1 who 
lived three centuries ago1 first gave   
currency to the saying1 that great      
riches were like muckhills1 a burthen to
 the land1 and offensive to the         
inhabitants thereof1 till their heaps   
are cast abroad1 to the profit of many4 
,the worthy physician belonged to an age
 when the class called misers           
extensively prevailed2 and when those   

who lent out money upon interest were   
denominated usurers4 ,they were         
generally objects of public obloquy1 and
 their function was not understood4     
,there are plenty of men still amongst  
us who1 in ,dr4 ,bulleyn's view of the  
matter1 are impersonations of the muck  
that is not spread4 ,the muck-spreaders1
 according to the old notion1 were those
 whose consumption was always           
endeavouring to outstrip the production 
that was going forward around them4 ,the
 latter is by far the larger class at   
the present day2 the former1 the more   
powerful4  ,let us endeavour1 somewhat  
more with reference to practical results
 than we have already attempted1 to look
 at some of the general principles      
existing in modern society which        
determine the existence1 and regulate   
the employment1 of capital4  ,whatever  
is saved and accumulated is a saving and
 accumulation of commodities which have 
been produced4 ,the value of the        
accumulation is most conveniently       

expressed by an equivalent in money2 but
 only a very small part of the          
accumulation is actually money4 ,a few  
millions of bullion are sufficient to   
carry on the transactions of this       
country4 ,its accumulations1 or capital1
 which have been considered to amount to
 twenty-two hundred million pounds      
sterling1 could not be purchased by     
several times the amount of all the     
bullion that exists in the world4 ,a    
great part of what is saved1 therefore1 
is an accumulation of products suitable 
for consumption4 ,the moment that they  
are applied to the encouragement of     
production1 they begin to be consumed4  
,they encourage production only as far  
as they enable the producers to consume 
while they are in the act of producing4 
,accumulation1 therefore1 is no         
hindrance to consumption4 ,it encourages
 consumption as much as expenditure of  
revenue unaccompanied by accumulation4  
,it enables the things consumed to be   
replaced1 instead of being utterly      

destroyed4  ,whatever is consumed by    
those who are carrying forward the      
business of production has been called  
productive consumption4 ,whatever1 on   
the other hand1 is consumed by those who
 are not engaged in re-producing1 has   
been called unproductive consumption4   
,the difference may be thus             
illustrated3--,a shoemaker1 we will say1
 rents a shop1 works up leather and     
other materials1 uses various tools1    
burns out candles1 and is himself fed   
and clothed while in the act of         
producing a pair of shoes4 ,this is     
productive consumption2--for the pair of
 shoes represents the value of the      
materials employed in them1 the         
commodities consumed by the shoemaker   
during their production1 and the wear   
and tear of the tools applied in making 
them4 ,if the shoes represent a higher  
value than what has been consumed1 in   
consequence of the productiveness of the
 labour of the shoemaker1 the difference
 is net produce1 which may be saved1    

and1 with other savings1 become capital4
 ,but further3--,the shoemaker1 we will 
suppose1 accumulates profits sufficient 
to enable him to live without making    
shoes1 or applying himself to any other 
branch of industry4 ,he now uses no     
materials1 he employs no tools1 but he  
consumes for the support and enjoyment  
of existence1 without adding anything to
 the gross produce of society2 this is  
called unproductive consumption4  ,the  
differences1 however1 between productive
 and unproductive consumption admit of  
considerable qualification4 ,we have    
already described the course of a       
spendthrift1 and of a man of fortune who
 lives virtuously and economically4#cc  
,whatever may be the scientific         
definition1 no one can say that these1  
even viewed from the industrial point1  
can be classed together as unproductive 
consumers4 ,productive consumption1     
according to the strict definition of   
the earlier economists1 is consumption  
directly applied to the creation of some

 material product4 ,but a new element   
was introduced into the question by ,mr4
 ,mill's definition--that labour and    
expenditure are also productive1 which1 
without having for their direct object  
the creation of any useful natural      
product1 or bodily or mental faculty or 
quality1 yet lead indirectly to promote 
one or other of those ends4 ,on the     
other hand1 unproductive consumption    
consists of labour and expenditure      
exerted or incurred uselessly1 or in    
pure waste1 and yielding neither direct 
enjoyment nor permanent sources of      
enjoyment4  ,it has been suggested by   
,dr4 ,cooper1 an ,american professor1   
that the parable of the ten talents1 in 
,st4 ,matthew's ,gospel1 points to the  
employment of capital for future        
production4 ,for the kingdom of heaven  
is as a man travelling into a far       
country1 who called his own servants1   
and delivered unto them his goods4 ,and 
unto one he gave five talents1 to       
another two1 and to another one2 to     

every man according to his several      
ability2 and straightway took his       
journey4 ,then he that had received the 
five talents went and traded with the   
same1 and made them other five talents4 
,and likewise he that had received two1 
he also gained other two4 ,but he that  
had received one1 went and digged in the
 earth1 and hid his lord's money4 ,the  
last was the wicked and slothful1       
because unprofitable1 servant4 ,his was 
the sin of omission4 ,he ought to have  
put out the money to the exchangers1    
even if he had been afraid to trade with
 it4  ,adam ,smith has laid it down as  
an axiom that the proprietor who        
encroaches upon his capital by          
extravagance and waste1 is a positive   
destroyer of the funds destined for the 
employment of productive labour4 ,no    
doubt this is1 in many respects1 true4  
,he1 also1 has buried his one talent4   
,but the common opinion of what are     
called the money-making classes of our  
time goes somewhat further than this4   

,it is said that1 amongst the middle    
class of this country1 the life of a man
 who leaves no property or family       
provision1 of his own acquiring1 at his 
death1 is felt to have been a           
failure4#cd ,there are many modes in    
which the life of an industrious1       
provident1 and able man may have been   
far other than a failure1 even in a     
commercial point of view1 when he leaves
 his family with no greater money       
inheritance than that with which he     
began the world himself4 ,he may have   
preserved his family1 during the years  
in which he has lived amongst them1 in  
the highest point of efficiency for     
future production4 ,he may have consumed
 to the full extent of his income1      
producing1 but accumulating no money    
capital for reproductive consumption2   
and1 indirectly1 but not less certainly1
 he may have accumulated whilst he has  
consumed1 so as to enable others to     
consume profitably4 ,if he have had     
sons1 whom he has trained to manhood1   

bestowing upon them a liberal education2
 bringing them up1 by honest example1 in
 all trustworthiness2 and causing them  
to be diligently instructed in some     
calling which requires skill and        
experience--he is an accumulator4 ,if he
 have had daughters1 whom he has brought
 up in habits of order and              
frugality--apt for all domestic         
employments--instructed themselves1 and 
capable of carrying forward the duties  
of instruction--he has reared those who 
in the honourable capacity of wife1     
mother1 and mistress of a family1       
influence the industrial powers of the  
more direct labourers in no small       
degree2 and1 being the great promoters  
of all social dignity and happiness1    
create a noble and virtuous nation4 ,by 
the capital thus spent in enabling his  
children to be valuable members of      
society1 he has accumulated a fund out  
of his consumption which may be         
productive at a future day4 ,he has     
postponed his money contribution to the 

general stock2 but he has not withheld  
it altogether4 ,he has not been the     
wicked and slothful servant4 ,on the    
other hand1 many a man1 whose life1     
according to the mere capitalist        
doctrine1 has not been a failure1 and   
who has taught his family to attach only
 a money-value to every object of       
creation1 bequeaths to the world        
successors whose rapacity1 ignorance1   
unskilfulness1 and improvidence1 will be
 so many charges upon the capital of the
 nation4 ,the muckhill will by them be  
cast abroad1 but it will be devoted to  
the mere pursuit of sensual indulgence1 
losing half its fertilizing power1 and  
too often burning up the soil that its  
judicious application would stimulate4  
,he that has been weak enough1 according
 to this middle-class doctrine1 not to  
believe that the whole business of man  
is to make a muckhill1 may have spent   
existence in labours1 public or private1
 for the benefit of his fellow          
creatures2 but his life is a failure6   

,the greater part of the clergy1 of the 
bar1 of the medical profession1 of the  
men of science and literature1 of the   
defenders of their country1 of the      
resident gentry1 of the aristocracy1    
devote their minds to high duties1 and  
some to heroic exertions1 without being 
inordinately anxious to guard themselves
 against such a failure4 ,it would      
perhaps be well if some of those who    
believe that all virtue is to be        
resolved into pounds sterling1 were to  
consider that society demands from the  
money-making classes a more than        
ordinary contribution--not to           
indiscriminate benevolence1 but to those
 public instruments of                  
production--educational                 
institutions--improved sanitary         
arrangements--which are best calculated 
to diminish the interval between the    
very rich and the very poor4  ,whatever 
tends to enlighten the great body of the
 people facilitates individual          
accumulation4 ,a large portion of the   

productions of industry1 especially     
amongst the humbler classes of the      
community1 is wasted1 in addition to    
that portion which is enjoyed4 ,every   
consumption that is saved by habits of  
order1 by knowing the best way of       
setting about a thing1 by economy in the
 use of materials1 is so much saved of  
the national capital2 and what is saved 
remains to give new encouragement to the
 labour of the producer1 and to bestow  
an increase of comforts upon the        
consumer4 ,again1 the more that         
professional skill of every sort is     
based upon real knowledge1 the more     
productive will be the industry of every
 class of labourers4 ,above all1 sound  
morals1 and pure and simple tastes1 are 
the best preservatives from wasteful    
expenditure1 both in the rich1 and in   
the poor2 and he that limits his        
individual gratification to objects     
worthy of a rational being1 has the best
 chance of acquiring a sufficiency for  
his wants1 and of laying by something to

 provide a fund for that productive     
consumption by which the wants of others
 are supplied4  ,with these general     
remarks upon accumulation and           
consumption1 let us proceed to consider 
some points connected with the          
application of capital4  ,the use of    
capital consists in its advance4 ,it    
goes before all operations of labour and
 trade4 ,it is the power that sets      
labour and trade in motion2 just as the 
power of wind1 or water1 or steam1 gives
 movement to wheels and pistons4  ,let  
us briefly see how capital operates upon
 the three great branches of human      
industry1 namely1 upon agriculture1     
manufactures1 and commerce4  ,a farmer  
having acquired capital1 either by the  
former savings of himself or his        
fathers1 or by borrowing from the       
savings of others1 takes a certain      
number of acres of land4 ,he changes his
 capital of money into other things     
which are equally capital2--into horses1
 and cows1 and sheep1 and agricultural  

instruments1 and seed4 ,he makes an     
advance in the hope of producing a      
profit4 ,he therefore sets his horses to
 work2--he gets milk from his cows2--he 
shears his sheep2--he fattens his       
oxen2--and he put his tools into the    
hands of labourers1 to prepare the      
ground for the reception of his seed4   
,he is paying money away on every side1 
which he would not do if he did not     
expect a return1 with a profit4 ,by all 
these operations--by the work of his    
horses and his labourers--by the        
increase in number1 and the increase in 
value of his flocks and herds1--and by  
the harvest after the seed-time1--new   
produce is created which produces a     
return of capital1 and ought to produce 
a profit if that capital is properly    
expended4 ,the hope of profit sets the  
capital to work1 and the capital sets   
the labour to work4 ,if there were no   
capital there would be no labour4       
,capital gives the labourer the power1  
which he has not in himself1 of working 

for a profit4  ,a capitalist desires to 
set up a cotton manufactory4 ,he erects 
buildings1 he purchases machines1 he    
buys cotton-wool1 he engages workmen4   
,the annual value of the buildings and  
of the machines1--that is the interest  
upon their cost1 added to their loss by 
wear and tear--the price of the raw     
material1 and the wages of the workmen1 
are all calculated to be paid out of the
 price at which the cotton thread will  
be sold4 ,to engage in such large       
undertakings1 in which the returns are  
slow1 there must be great accumulation  
of capital4 ,to engage in such large    
undertakings1 in which the risk is      
considerable1 there must be abundant    
enterprise4 ,without extensive          
accumulations of capital1 which produce 
enterprise1 they could not be engaged in
 at all4  ,capital employed in commerce 
circulates through the world in a       
thousand forms2 but it all comes back in
 produce to the country that sends it   
out4 ,nations that have no accumulated  

stock1 that is no capital1 have no      
commerce2 and where there is no commerce
 there are no ships and no sailors2 and 
there are no comforts besides those     
which spring up at the feet of the more 
fortunate individuals of such nations4  
,in all these operations of capital upon
 the enterprises of agriculture1        
manufactures1 and commerce1 another     
power1 which is the result of           
accumulation1 is more or less1 in most  
cases1 called into action4 ,that power  
is ,credit4  ,credit1 upon a large      
scale1 arose from the difficulty of     
transmitting coined money from place to 
place1 and particularly from one country
 to another2 and hence the invention of 
bills of exchange4 ,a bill of exchange  
is an order by one person on another1 to
 pay to a specified person1 or his      
order1 a sum of money specified1 at a   
certain time and a certain place4 ,it is
 evident that the bill of exchange      
travels as much more conveniently than a
 bag of money1 as the bag of money      

travels more conveniently than the goods
 which it represents4 ,for instance a   
box of hardware from ,birmingham might  
be exchanged for a case of wine from    
,bordeaux1 by a direct barter between   
the tradesman at ,birmingham and the    
tradesman at ,bordeaux2 but this sort of
 operation must be a very limited one4  
,through the agency of merchants1 the   
hardware finds it way to ,bordeaux1 and 
the wine to ,birmingham1 without any    
direct exchange between either place1 or
 without either having more of the      
commodity wanted than is required by the
 market1--that is1 the supply           
proportioned to the demand of each town4
 ,through the division of labour1 the   
merchant who exports the hardware to    
,bordeaux1 and the merchant who imports 
the wine from ,bordeaux1 are different  
people2 and there are other people      
engaged in carrying on other            
transactions at and with ,bordeaux1 with
 whom these merchants come in contact4  
,when1 therefore1 the merchant at       

,bordeaux has to pay for the hardware in
 ,england1 he obtains a bill of exchange
 from some other merchant who has to    
receive money from ,england1 for the    
wine which he has sent there4 ,and thus 
not only is there no direct barter      
between the grower of the wine and the  
manufacturer of the hardware1 but the   
wine and the hardware are each paid for 
without any direct remittance of coined 
money from ,france to ,england1 but by a
 transfer of the debt due from one      
person to another in each country4 ,by  
this transfer1 the transaction between  
the buyer and the seller is at once     
brought to maturity2 and by this        
operation the buyer and seller are each 
benefited1 because the exchange which   
each desires is rendered incomparably   
more easy1 because more speedy and      
complete4 ,the same principle applies to
 transactions between commercial men in 
the same country4 ,the order for        
payment1 which stands in the place of   
coined money in one case1 is called a   

,foreign bill of exchange2 in the other 
an ,inland bill of exchange4  ,the      
operation of credit in a country whose  
industry is in an advanced state of     
activity1 is extended over all its      
commercial transactions1 by the         
necessity of obtaining circulating      
capital for the carrying forward the    
production of any commodity1 from its   
first to its last stages4 ,a            
manufacturer has a large sum expended in
 workshops1 warehouses1 machinery1      
tools4 ,this is called his plant1 or    
fixed capital4 ,he has capital invested 
also in the raw material which he       
intends to convert into some article of 
utility4 ,he works up his raw material2 
he makes advances for the labour        
required in working it up4 ,the article 
is at length ready for the market4 ,the 
wholesale dealer1 who purchases of the  
manufacturer1 sells to a retailer1 who  
is in the habit of buying upon credit1  
long or short1 because the article      
remains a certain time in his hands     

before it reaches the consumer1 who     
ultimately pays for it4 ,from the time  
when a fleece of wool is taken from the 
sheep's back in ,australia1 till it is  
purchased in the shape of a coat in     
,london1 there are extensive outlays in 
every department1 which could not be    
carried on steadily unless there were   
facilities of credit from one person    
concerned in the production to another  
person concerned in the production1--the
 whole credit being grounded upon the   
belief that the debt contracted in so   
many stages will be repaid by the sale  
of the cloth to the consumer4 ,the      
larger operations of this credit are    
represented by bills of exchange1 or    
engagements to pay at a given date2 and 
these bills being converted into cash by
 a banker1 furnish a constant supply of 
consumable commodities to all parties   
concerned in advancing the production1  
till the produce arrives in the hands of
 the consumer4 ,to judge of the extent  
to which credit is carried in this      

country1 it is only necessary to        
mention1 that five millions sterling are
 daily paid in bills and cheques by the 
,london bankers alone2 that the ,bank of
 ,england alone1 in #ahec1 discounted   
bills to the amount of twenty-five      
millions sterling2 and that the note    
circulation of the ,united ,kingdom is  
about forty millions4 ,credit1          
undoubtedly1 if conducted upon fair     
principles1 represents some capital     
actually in existence1 and therefore    
does not really add to the accumulation 
or capital of the producers4 ,but it    
enables men in trade at once to have    
stock and circulating capital--to use   
even their houses and shops and         
manufactories and implements2 and to    
give1 at the same time1 a security to   
others upon that fixed capital4 ,this   
process is1 as it were1 as if they      
coined that fixed capital4 ,the credit1 
which is rendered as secure as possible 
in all its stages by the accumulating   
securities of the drawer1 acceptor1 and 

endorsers of a bill of exchange1 brings 
capital into activity1--it carries it   
directly to those channels in which it  
may be profitably employed1--it conducts
 it to those channels by a systematic   
mode of payment for its use1 which we   
call interest1 or discount2--and it     
therefore carries forward accumulation  
to its highest point of productiveness4 
,if the reader will turn to the passage 
in our third chapter1 where ,tanner     
describes the refusal of the traders to 
give him credit1 he will see how        
capital1 advanced upon credit1 sets     
industry in motion4 ,the ,indians had   
accumulated no store of skins to        
exchange for the trader's store of guns1
 ammunition1 traps1 and blankets4 ,the  
trader1 although he possessed the       
articles which the ,indians wanted1     
refused to advance them upon the usual  
credit2 and they were consequently as   
useless to the ,indians as if they had  
remained in a warehouse at ,liverpool or
 ,glasgow4 ,when the credit was taken   

away from the ,indians1 they could no   
longer be exchangers4 ,their own        
necessities for clothing were too urgent
 to enable them to turn their attention 
from that supply to accumulate capital  
for exchange1 after the winter had      
passed away4 ,they hunted only for      
themselves4 ,the trader went without his
 skins1 and the ,indians without their  
blankets4 ,doubtless1 the keenness of   
commercial activity soon saw that this  
state of things was injurious even to   
the more powerful party1 for the        
accustomed credit was presently restored
 to the ,indians4 ,it was the only means
 by which that balance of power could be
 quickly restored which would enable the
 parties again to become exchangers4    
,every exchange presupposes a certain   
equality in the exchangers2 and credit1 
therefore1 from the capitalist to the   
non-capitalist1 must1 in many cases1 be 
the first step towards any transaction  
of mutual profit4 ,if the ,indians had  
adopted the resolution of ,tanner1 to do

 without the blankets for the winter1   
and had substituted the more imperfect  
clothing of skins1--and if the traders  
had persevered in their system of       
refusing credit1 that is1 of advancing  
capital1--the exchange of furs must have
 been suspended1 until1 by incessant    
industry1 and repeated self-denial1 the 
,indians had become capitalists         
themselves4 ,they probably1 after a long
 series of laborious accumulations1     
might have done without the credit--that
 is1 have not consumed the goods which  
they received before they were in a     
condition to give their own goods as    
equivalents2 and then1 as it usually    
happens in the exchanges of civilized   
society1 they would have ensured a      
higher reward for their labour4 ,the    
credit rendered the labour of the       
,indians loss severe1 inasmuch as it    
allowed them to work with the aid of the
 accumulations of others1 instead of    
with their own accumulations4 ,but it   
doubtless gave the traders advantage1   

and justly so1 in the terms of the      
exchange4 ,if the ,indians had brought  
their furs to the mart where the dealers
 had brought their blankets1 there would
 have been exchange of capital for      
capital4 ,as the ,indians had not       
accumulated any furs1 and were only     
hoping to accumulate1 there was1 on the 
part of the white traders1 an advance of
 a present good for a remote equivalent4
 ,the traders had doubtless suffered by 
the casualties which prevented the      
,indians completing their engagements4  
,they made a sudden1 and therefore an   
unjust1 change in their system4 ,the    
forbearance of the ,indians shows their 
respect for the rights of property1 and 
their consequent appreciation of their  
own interests4 ,they might1 possessing  
the physical superiority1 have seized   
the blankets and ammunition of the      
traders4 ,if so1 their exchanges would  
have been at an end2 the capital would  
have gone to stimulate other industry2  
the ,indians would have ripped up the   

goose with the golden eggs4  ,it is easy
 to see that the employment of capital1 
through the agency of credit1 in all the
 minute channels of advanced commerce1  
must wholly depend upon the faith which 
one man has in the stability and the    
honesty of another2 and also upon the   
certainty of the protection of the laws 
which establish security of property1 to
 enforce the fulfilment of the contract4
  ,it is necessary to establish this    
point of the security of property1 as   
one of the rights1 and we may add as the
 greatest right1 of industry2--and      
therefore1 at the risk of being thought 
tedious1 we may call attention to the   
general state of the argument in reply  
to some who hold that the rights of     
property1 and the rights of labour1 are 
antagonistic4  ,the value of an article 
produced is the labour required for its 
production4  ,capital1 the accumulation 
of past labour1 represents the entire   
amount of that labour which is not      
consumed2--it is the old labour stored  

up for exchange with new labour4  ,those
 who attach an exclusive value to new   
labour as distinguished from old        
labour--or labour as distinguished from 
capital--say that the new production    
shall be stimulated by the old          
production1 without allowing the old    
production to be exchanged against the  
new2--that is1 that the old production  
shall be an instrument for the reward of
 new labour1 but not a profitable one to
 its possessor4  ,the doctrine therefore
 amounts to this2 that labour shall be  
exchanged with labour1 but not with the 
produce of labour1--or that there shall 
be no exchange whatever2--for if the    
present labourers are to have the sole  
benefit of the capital1 the principle of
 exchange1 in which both exchangers     
benefit1 is destroyed4 ,there must be an
 end of all exchanges when the things to
 be exchanged are not equally desired by
 both parties4 ,if the capitalist is to 
lend or give the capital to the labourer
 without a profit1 or without a perfect 

freedom which would entitle him to      
withhold it if no profit could be       
obtained1 the balance is destroyed      
between capital and labour4             
,accumulation is then at an end2 because
 the security of the thing accumulated  
to the accumulator is at an end4 ,the   
security is at an end1 because if the   
new labour is to have the advantage of  
the old labour without compensation or  
exchange1 the new labour must take the  
old labour by force or fraud2 for the   
new cannot proceed without the          
old2--labour cannot stir without        
capital4 ,accumulation1 therefore1 being
 at an end1 labour for an object beyond 
the wants of an hour is at an end4      
,society resolves itself into its first 
elements4  ,strabo1 the ancient         
geographer1 has described a tribe       
amongst whom the title of the priest to 
the priesthood was acquired by having   
murdered his predecessor2 and           
consequently the business of the priest 
in possession was not to discharge the  

duties of the priesthood1 but to watch  
sword in hand1 to defend himself against
 the new claimant to the office4 ,if the
 principle were to be recognized1 that  
the accumulation of former labour       
belongs to the present labourers2 and   
that the best title to the accumulation 
is to have added nothing towards it1 but
 only to be willing to add1--the title  
of the labourers in possession would    
require to be maintained by a constant  
encounter with new claimants2 as the    
priest of ,strabo1 who had dispossessed 
the previous priest1 had to dread a     
similar expulsion from his office1 by a 
new violence4  ,the course of national  
misery resulting from national disorders
 always begins with financial           
embarrassment2 by the destruction of    
capital1 or its withdrawal from all     
useful works4 ,capital was circulated   
only because it could be circulated with
 security4 ,if the present capitalists  
were driven away1 as some reasoners     
would imply might easily be done1 and   

the labourers were left to work the     
tools and steam-engines--to labour in   
the manufactories1 and to inhabit the   
houses of the present                   
capitalists1--production could not go on
 an hour1 unless the appropriation of   
the plunder were secured to the         
individual plunderers4  ,in speaking of 
credit1 then1 we naturally turn to the  
only foundation upon which credit       
rests--the security of property4        
,commercial men1 who know how easily    
credit is destroyed by individual guilt 
or imprudence1 also know how easily it  
is interrupted1 generally by a          
combination of circumstances over which 
an individual1 apart from a nation1 has 
no control4 ,the instant that any       
circumstances take place which weaken   
the general confidence in the security  
of property1 credit is withdrawn4 ,the  
plant remains--the tools and warehouses 
stand--the shops are open2 but          
production languishes1 labour is        
suspended4 ,the stocks of consumable    

commodities for the maintenance of      
labour may still in part exist1 but they
 do not reach the labourer through the  
usual channels4 ,then men say1 and say  
truly1 confidence is shaken2 the usual  
relations of society are disturbed4     
,capital fences itself round with       
prudence--hesitates to go on            
accumulating--refuses to put its        
existence in peril--withdraws in great  
part from production--    ,spreads its  
light wings1 and in a moment flies4     
,within these six years we have had     
before our eyes a fearful example of the
 universal evil created by the sudden   
loss of confidence in the security of   
property2 ,the revolution of #ahdh1     
which overthrew the government of ,louis
 ,philippe1 was associated with a       
general belief that the whole fabric of 
society was about to be shaken in the   
overthrow of capital4 ,the capital was  
instantly withdrawn from circulation2   
there was no exchange2 there was no     
labour4 ,the more immediate sufferers   

were the workmen themselves2 and the    
mode in which the ruling power relieved 
them by giving forced employment was    
wholly unavailing1 except as a temporary
 expedient4 ,after several dreadful     
months of tumult and bloodshed1 a little
 confidence was restored by the pressure
 of an armed force2 and when at length a
 government was established that rested 
upon security of property1 it was hailed
 as the greatest of all blessings1      
although accompanied with some evils to 
which ,englishmen1 especially1 cannot   
shut their eyes4 ,when capital and      
labour could once more work in a safe   
union1 ,france quickly developed those  
great natural resources with which she  
is blessed2 and the ingenuity of her    
people was again called into activity1  
to carry forward and perfect those      
resources by higher and higher exertions
 of science and skill4  ,when the great 
body of the people of a country are so  
generally educated as to know that it is
 the interest of the humblest and the   

poorest that property shall be secure1  
there will be little occasion for       
fencing round property with guards1     
against the secret violence of the      
midnight robber1 or the open daring of  
the noonday mob4 ,it is an enlightened  
moral public sentiment that must spread 
its wings over our dwellings1 and plant 
a watchman at our doors4#ce ,a very     
little insecurity destroys the working  
of capital4 ,the cloth trade of         
,verviers1 a town in ,france1 was       
utterly ruined1 because the morals of   
the people in the town were so bad1 and 
the police so ineffectual1 that the     
thefts in the various stages of the     
manufacture amounted to eight per cent4 
upon the whole quantity produced4 ,the  
trade of the place1 therefore1 was      
destroyed2 and the capital went to      
encourage labour in places where the    
rights of property were better          
respected4  ,but1 generally speaking1   
the security of property is not so much 
weakened by plunder1 as by those        

incessant contentions which harass the  
march of capital and labour2 and keep up
 an irritation between the classes of   
the capitalists and the labourers1 who  
ought to be united in the most intimate 
compact for a common good4 ,these       
irritations most frequently exhibit     
themselves in the shape of combinations 
for the advance of wages4 ,we have no   
hesitation in declaring our opinion that
 it is the positive duty of the         
working-man to obtain as high wages as  
he can extract out of the joint products
 of capital and labour2 and that he has 
an equal right to unite with other      
workmen in making as good a bargain as  
he can1 consistently with the rights of 
others1 for his contribution of industry
 to the business of production4 ,but it 
is also necessary for us to declare our 
conviction that1 in too many cases1 the 
working men attempt an object which no  
single exertion1 and no union however   
formidable or complete1 can ever        
accomplish4 ,they attempt to force wages

 beyond the point at which they could be
 maintained1 with reference to the      
demand for the article produced2--and if
 they succeed they extinguish the       
demand1 and therefore extinguish the    
power of working at any wages4 ,they    
drive the demand1 and therefore the     
supply1 into new channels2--and they    
thrust out capital from amongst them1 to
 work in other places where it can work 
with freedom and security4 ,above all1  
such combinations1 and the resistance   
which they call up1 have a tendency to  
loosen the bonds of mutual regard which 
ought to subsist between capitalists and
 labourers4 ,their real interests are   
one and the same4  ,all men are united  
in one bond of interests1 and rights1   
and duties2 and although each of us have
 particular interests1 the parts which  
we play in society are so frequently    
changing1 that under one aspect we have 
each an interest contrary to that which 
we have under another aspect4 ,it is in 
this way that we find ourselves suddenly

 bound closely with those against whom  
we thought ourselves opposed a moment   
before2 and thus no class can ever be   
said to be inimical to another class4   
,in the midst1 too1 of all these        
instantaneous conflicts and unions1 we  
are all interchangeably related in the  
double interest of capitalists and      
consumers1--that is1 we have each and   
all an interest that property shall be  
respected1 and that production shall be 
carried forward to its utmost point of  
perfection1 so as to make its products  
accessible to all4 ,the power of        
production1 in its greatest developments
 of industry1 is really addressed to the
 satisfaction of the commonest wants4   
,if production1 as in despotic          
countries1 were principally labouring   
that some men might wear cloth of gold  
whilst others went naked1 then we should
 say that production was exclusively for
 the rich oppressor4 ,but1 thank ,god1  
the man who exclusively wears purple and
 fine linen every day has ceased to     

exist4 ,the looms do not work for him   
alone1 but for the great mass of the    
people4 ,it is to the staple articles of
 consumption that the capitals of       
manufactures and commerce address their 
employment4 ,their employment depends   
upon the ability of the great body of   
the people to purchase what they        
produce4 ,the courtiers of the fifteenth
 century in ,france carried boxes of    
sugar-plums in their pockets1 which they
 offered to each other as a constant    
compliment2 the courtiers of the next   
age carried gingerbread in the same way2
 and lastly1 the luxury of snuff drove  
out the sugar-plums and the gingerbread4
 ,but the consumption of tobacco would  
never have furnished employment to      
thousands1 and a large revenue to the   
state1 if the use of snuff had rested   
with the courtiers4 ,the producers1     
consequently1 having found the largest1 
and therefore the most wealthy class of 
consumers amongst the working men1 care 
little whether the ,peer wears a silk or

 a velvet coat1 so that the ,peasant has
 a clean shirt4 ,when capital and labour
 work with freedom and security1 the    
wants of all are supplied1 because there
 is cheap production4 ,it is a bad state
 of society where    ,one flaunts in    
rags1 one flutters in brocade4  ,those  
who like the brocade may still wear it  
in a state of things where the rights of
 industry are understood2 but the rags1 
taking the average condition of the     
members of society1 are banished to the 
lands from which capital is             
driven1--while those who labour with    
skill1 and therefore with capital1 have 
decent clothes1 comfortable dwellings1  
wholesome food1 abundant fuel1 medical  
aid in sickness1 the comfort and        
amusement of books in health4 ,these    
goods1 we have no hesitation in saying1 
all depend upon the security of         
property2 and he that would destroy that
 security by force or fraud is the real 
destroyer of the comforts of those      
humbler classes whose rights he pretends

 to advocate4  ,the principles which we 
maintain1 that the interests of all men1
 and of the poorer classes especially1  
are necessarily advanced in a constantly
 increasing measure by the increase of  
capital and skill1 have been put so     
strikingly by a philosophical writer1   
that we cannot forbear quoting so       
valuable an authority in support and    
illustration of our opinions3--         
,the advantage conferred by the         
augmentation of our physical            
resources1 through the medium of        
increased knowledge and improved        
art1 have this peculiar and remarkable  
property1--that they are in     their   
nature diffusive1 and cannot be enjoyed 
in any exclusive     manner by a few4   
,an eastern despot may extort the riches
 and     monopolize the art of his      
subjects for his own personal use2 he   
may spread around him an unnatural      
splendour and luxury1 and stand     in  
strange and preposterous contrast with  
the general penury and     discomfort of

 his people2 he may glitter in jewels of
 gold and     raiment of needle-work2   
but the wonders of well-contrived and   
executed manufacture which we use daily1
 and the comforts which     have been   
invented1 tried1 and improved upon by   
thousands1 in     every form of domestic
 convenience1 and for every ordinary    
purpose     of life1 can never be       
enjoyed by him4 ,to produce a state of  
things     in which the physical        
advantages of civilized life can exist  
in a     high degree1 the stimulus of   
increasing comforts and constantly      
elevated desires must have been felt by 
millions2 since it is not     in the    
power of a few individuals to create    
that wide demand for     useful and     
ingenious applications1 which alone can 
lead to great     and rapid             
improvements1 unless backed by that     
arising from the     speedy diffusion of
 the same advantages among the mass of  
mankind4#cf         99       99       99
       99       99  ,in looking back    

upon all the various circumstances which
 we have exhibited as necessary for     
carrying industry to the greatest point 
of productiveness1 we think that we must
 have established satisfactorily that   
the two great elements which concur in  
rendering labour in the highest degree  
beneficial1 are1 #ast1 the accumulated  
results of past labour1 and #bnd1 the   
contrivances by which manual labour is  
assisted1--those contrivances being     
derived from the accumulations of       
knowledge4 ,capital and skill1          
therefore1 are essential to the         
productive power of labour4 ,the        
different degrees in which each         
possesses capital and skill make the    
difference between an ,english          
manufacturer and a ,north ,american     
savage2 and the less striking gradations
 in the productive power of the ,english
 manufacturer of the present time1 and  
the ,english manufacturer of five       
hundred years ago1 may be all resolved  
into the fact that the one has at his   

command a very large amount of capital  
and skill1 and that the other could only
 command a very small amount of the same
 great elements of production4  ,we     
think1 also1 that we have shown that the
 accumulation of former labour in the   
shape of tangible wealth1 and the       
accumulation of former labour in the    
shape of the no less real wealth of     
knowledge1 are processes which go on    
together1 each supporting1 directing1   
and regulating the other4 ,knowledge is 
the offspring of some leisure resulting 
from a more easy supply of the physical 
wants2 and that leisure cannot exist    
unless capital exists2 which allows some
 men to live upon former accumulations4 
,capital1 therefore1 may be said to be  
the parent of skill1 as capital and     
skill united are the encouragers and    
directors of profitable labour4  ,we    
have shown that the only foundation of  
accumulation is security of property--we
 have shown1 too1 that labour is the    
most sacred of properties4 ,it results1 

therefore1 that in any state of society 
in which the laws did not equally       
protect the capitalist and the labourer 
as free exchangers1 each having the most
 absolute command over his property1    
compatible with a due regard to the     
rights of the other1--in such a state1  
where there was no real freedom and no  
real security1 there would be very      
imperfect production2 and production    
being imperfect1 all men1 the           
capitalists and the labourers1 would be 
equally destitute1 weak1 ignorant1 and  
miserable4  ,it is under these several  
conditions1 all working together with   
united force1 that the entire labour of 
this country1 and indeed of all other   
countries advanced in civilization1 must
 now be directed4 ,the enormous increase
 of productiveness which we have        
exhibited1 in so many operations of     
industry1 is chiefly the result of      
production carried on upon a large      
scale1 and working with every possible  
application of science4 ,it is in this  

sense that ,knowledge is ,power2 and    
skilled labour is a part of that power4 
,illustration3 ,medal to ,locke  ,the   
mode in which the respective proportions
 of capitalist and labourer are assigned
 in the division of the products of     
industry1 are called by one ,profit1 by 
the other ,wages4 ,if we were writing a 
treatise on ,political ,economy1 we     
should have to regard ,rent as distinct 
from the profits of capital4 ,but for   
our purpose this is unnecessary4 ,we    
proceed1 then1 to consider the practical
 relations of ,profit and ,wages1 as    
they exist amongst us4 ,unquestionably  
the only solid foundation for these     
relations must be equal justice2 without
 which there can be neither permanent   
prosperity nor increasing intelligence4 
,a medal to our great philosopher1      
,locke1 exhibits ,justice and ,plenty   
enthroned together4     #cc ,see p4 #fa4
    #cd ,an ,essay on the ',relations   
between ,labour and ,capital4' ,by ,c4  
,morison1 p4 #cd4    #ce ,everett's     

',address to the ,working ,man's        
,party4'    #cf ,sir ,john ,herschel's  
',discourse on the ,study of ,natural   
,philosophy4'     ,,chapter ,,xxiv4     
,natural law of wages--,state-laws      
regulating      wages--,enactments      
regulating consumption--,the labour-fund
      and the want-fund--,ratio of      
capital to population--,state of        
industry at the end of the seventeenth  
century--,rise of                       
manufactures--,wages and                
prices--,turning over capital4          
,illustration3 ,vision of ,henry ,i4    
,the old chroniclers relate that our    
,norman king1 ,henry ,i41 had once a    
terrible vision1 of soldiers1 and       
priests1 and peasants1 surrounding his  
bed1 one band succeeding another1 and   
threatening to kill him4 ,the legend    
became the subject of illuminated       
drawings in an ancient ,,ms4 preserved  
at ,oxford1 and one of these represented
 the tillers of the land1 with spade1   
and fork1 and scythe1 demanding justice4

 ,the cultivators were loaded with heavy
 exactions1 so great that the tenants of
 the crown even offered to give up their
 ploughs to the king4 ,they ploughed1   
but they reaped not themselves4 ,in such
 a state of things there could be no    
accumulation1 and no profitable labour4 
,the funds for supplying the wages of   
labour were exhausted4 ,the country was 
depopulated4  ,during the next two      
centuries1 the condition of the people  
had been materially improved4 ,capital  
had increased1 and so had population4   
,but capital had increased faster than  
population1 and hence the improvement4  
,the class of free labourers had for the
 most part succeeded to the old class of
 villeins4 ,labourers for hire1 without 
understanding the great principles which
 govern the rate of wages1 any more than
 did their masters1 would practically   
seek to measure their earnings according
 to those principles4 ,the lawgivers    
determined the contrary4#cg ,the        
,statute of ,labourers1 #bcrd ,edward   

,,iii41 says3--,because a great part of 
the people1 and especially of workmen   
and servants1 late died of the          
pestilence1 many1 seeing the necessity  
of masters and great scarcity of        
servants1 will not serve unless they    
receive excessive wages4 ,they were     
therefore to be compelled to serve1 and 
they were to serve at the same wages    
which they had received three years     
before4 ,the ratio of population1 in    
consequence of the pestilence1 had      
fallen considerably below the ratio of  
accumulated capital seeking to employ   
labour4 ,under the natural laws of      
demand and supply1 the scarcity of      
labourers and the excess of capital     
would have raised the wages of labour4  
,these laws were not to operate4 ,forty 
years after this enactment of ,edward   
,,iii41 comes the statute of ,richard   
,,ii41 which says that ,servants and    
labourers will not1 nor by a long season
 would1 serve and labour without        
outrageous and excessive hire1 and much 

more than hath been given to such       
servants and labourers in any time past1
 so that for scarcity of the said       
servants and labourers the husbands and 
land-tenants may not pay their rents1   
nor scarcely live upon their lands4     
,here was a distinct conflict between   
the capitalists seeking profits and the 
labourers seeking wages4 ,the law-makers
 resolved that the hires of the servants
 and labourers should be put in         
certainty2 and they fixed the rate of   
wages throughout the land4 ,they settled
 the contest in favour of profits1      
arbitrarily4 ,to avoid this interference
 with the due payments of their labour  
in proportion to the ratio of capital   
and labour1 the husbandmen might have   
fled to the towns1 and some did so4 ,but
 they were met there by the enactment   
that the artificers should be subject to
 the same controlling power1 and that   
the boy who had laboured at the plough  
and cart till he was twelve years old   
should continue so to labour for the    

rest of his life4 ,this state of things 
was truly slavery without the name4     
,some such marvellous folly and         
injustice went on for several centuries4
 ,but1 regulating wages1 the laws also  
undertook to regulate the cost of food  
and of clothing--their quality1 and     
their consumption--how much people      
should eat1 and what coats they should  
wear4 ,these absurdities also went on   
for centuries--of course under a        
perpetual system of open violation or   
secret evasion4 ,the people1 we may     
safely conclude1 never fully believed   
what their rulers told them of their    
prodigious kindness in managing private 
affairs so much better than individuals 
could themselves4 ,mr4 ,sergeant        
,thorpe1 judge of assize for the        
northern circuit1 in a charge to the    
grand jury in #afdh1 tells them to be   
vigilant against servants taking higher 
wages than those allowed by the         
justices1--to enforce the laws against  
everybody who bought every thing for the

 sustenance of man1 with intent to make 
a profit by it--against every tradesman 
who did not produce his wares in        
conformity with the statutes2--wonderful
 laws1 which would not permit the tanner
 to sell a piece of leather that had not
 been kept twelve months in the tan-pit1
 and which forbade the cloth-maker to   
use lime in whitening linen cloth4 ,and 
thus you see1 says solemn ,mr4 ,sergeant
 ,thorpe1 how the wisdom of the common  
laws of this nation1 and of the         
parliaments1 from time to time1 hath    
provided for the security and ease of   
the people2 and hath furnished us with a
 salve for every sore2 and gives us     
rules and instructions how to govern    
ourselves1 that we may be helpful and   
useful to one another4#ch ,instead of   
providing the salve1 it probably would  
have been better not to have made the   
sore4  ,but1 after all1 it is scarcely  
candid to laugh at the wisdom of the    
good old times in regulating trades1    
when in our own day1 we have had excise 

laws which interfered in the most absurd
 way with production1 and some of which 
still interfere4 ,nor can we look with  
perfect complacency at the manifest     
impolicy and injustice of fixing the    
rate of wages1 when1 within the last    
quarter of a century1 we have had       
justices at work all over the country to
 keep down the wages of labour1 by      
paying labourers not in proportion to   
their earnings1 but according to their  
necessities2 and raising up a fund for  
the encouragement of idleness and       
improvidence1 by a diversion of the real
 funds for the maintenance of labour4   
,the ,poor ,laws1 as they were          
administered in the beginning and middle
 of the last half century1 did this     
evil1 and a great deal more2 and persons
 of influence1 with the most benevolent 
intentions1 could see no difference     
between the parish allowance to         
able-bodied labourers1 and the wages    
which they could have really commanded  
for their labour if this opposing fund  

had not been called into action4 ,in    
those times1 and even after a strenuous 
effort had been made to bring about an  
improvement1 educated gentlemen used to 
say--something must be done to give the 
labourers employment upon fair wages2   
and they were accustomed to believe that
 some plan should be devised whereby    
work should be at hand4#ci ,these       
gentlemen1 and many others1 did not     
understand that there is a natural fund 
for the maintenance of labour which is  
to produce such beneficial results2 that
 this fund cannot be increased but by   
the addition of the results of more     
profitable labour2 that whatever is paid
 out of the fund for the support of     
unprofitable labour has a direct        
tendency to lower the rate at which the 
profitable labour is paid1--to prevent  
the payment of fair wages2 and that     
there is a plan which requires no       
devising1 because our necessities are   
constantly calling it into              
operation1--the natural law of exchange1

 which makes work at hand wherever there
 is capital to pay for it4 ,such        
reasoners also held that the labourers  
were not to seek for the fund about the 
country on an uncertainty2 but that the 
work for the labourers should be at     
hand--it should be certain4 ,this       
clearly was not the ordinary            
labour-fund4 ,that is neither always at 
hand1 nor is it always certain4 ,it     
shifts its place according to its       
necessity for use2 it is uncertain in   
its distribution in proportion to the   
demand upon it4 ,the fund which was to  
work this good was clearly not the      
labour-fund--it was the want-fund2 and  
the mistake that these gentlemen and    
many others fell into was that the      
want-fund had qualities of far greater  
powers of usefulness than the           
labour-fund2 that the parish purse was  
the purse of ,fortunatus1 always full2  
that the parish labour field was like   
the tent of the ,indian queen in the    
,arabian tale--you could carry it in the

 palm of your hand1 and yet it would    
give shelter to an army of thousands4   
,all these fallacies are now1 happily1  
as much exploded as the laws for the    
regulation of wages and the price of    
commodities4 ,the real labour-fund--the 
accumulation of a portion of the results
 of past labour--is the only fund which 
can find profitable work and pay fair   
wages4  ,it is extremely difficult to   
ascertain the ratio of ,capital to      
,population at any particular period2   
yet some approximations may be made1    
which1 in a degree1 may indicate the    
activity or the inertness of the        
labour-fund1 in regard to the condition 
of the labourer4  ,at the end of the    
seventeenth century1 about half the land
 of ,england and ,wales was1 according  
to the best authorities1 held to be     
under cultivation1 either as arable or  
pasture4 ,as the whole area of ,england 
and ,wales is about thirty-seven        
millions of acres1 this would show a    
cultivation of eighteen million five    

hundred thousand acres4 ,the entire     
quantity of wheat1 rye1 barley1 oats1   
pease1 beans1 and vetches1 grown upon   
these eighteen million and a half acres1
 was estimated at less than ten millions
 of quarters1 wheat being little more   
than a sixth of the whole produce4 ,the 
quantity of stock annually fattened for 
food was even more inconsiderable4 ,we  
may safely assume that in a century and 
a half the amount of agricultural       
produce in ,england has increased       
five-fold4 ,two-thirds of the whole area
 of ,england and ,wales are now under   
cultivation2 for in the census returns  
of #ahea we have twenty-five million    
acres of farm holdings1 occupied by two 
hundred and twenty-five thousand        
farmers4 ,in the calculations of        
,gregory ,king1 in #afhh1 the number of 
farmers was given at a hundred and fifty
 thousand2 but the number of lesser     
freeholders1 who were doubtless         
cultivators1 was also a hundred and     
twenty thousand4 ,the produce of the    

land has increased at a greater rate    
than the increase of population4        
,according to the commonly received     
estimates1 the population of ,england   
and ,wales was about five millions and a
 half1 perhaps six millions1 at the end 
of the seventeenth century2 it is now   
eighteen millions4 ,the inhabited       
houses1 according to the hearth-books of
 #afij1dj were one million three hundred
 and twenty thousand4 ,in #ahea they    
were three million two hundred and      
seventy-eight thousand4 ,the            
hearth-books of #afhe show that1 of the 
houses of the kingdom1 five hundred and 
fifty-four thousand had only one        
chimney--they were mere hovels4         
,gregory ,king has given ',a ,scheme of 
the ,income and ,expense of the several 
,families in ,england1 calculated for   
the year #afhh4' ,he considers that1 in 
the aggregate1 there were five hundred  
thousand families who were              
accumulators--that is to say1 whose     
annual expense was less than their      

income4 ,he values this accumulation at 
three millions4 ,the number of persons  
comprised in the accumulating families  
was two million six hundred and         
seventy-five thousand4 ,of this number  
only one-fifth belonged to the trading  
classes--merchants1 shopkeepers and     
tradesmen1 artisans and handicrafts4    
,the remainder were the landholders1    
farmers1 lawyers1 clergy1 holders of    
office1 and persons in liberal arts and 
sciences4 ,but there was a large        
non-accumulating class1 consisting of   
two million eight hundred and           
twenty-five thousand1 whom he puts down 
as decreasing the wealth of the         
kingdom1--that is to say1 that their    
annual expense exceeded their income2   
and this excess he computes at six      
hundred and twenty-two thousand pounds1 
which reduces the annual national       
accumulation to two million four hundred
 thousand pounds4 ,the positive         
plunderers of the national capital were 
thirty thousand vagrants1 such as       

gipsies1 thieves1 and beggars4 ,we were 
in a happier condition than ,scotland at
 the same period2 where1 according to   
,fletcher of ,saltoun1 there were two   
hundred thousand people begging from    
door to door1 out of a population of one
 million1 for whose suppression he saw  
no remedy but slavery4 ,we were more    
favoured1 too1 than ,france2 where1 as  
,vauban records1 in #afih1 more than a  
tenth part of the population of sixteen 
millions were beggars1 in the extremity 
of hunger and nakedness4#da ,but we may 
be sure that in ,england the two million
 eight hundred and twenty-five thousand 
labouring people1 out-servants1         
cottagers1 and paupers1 who are put down
 by ,gregory ,king as non-accumulators1 
were working upon very insufficient     
means1 and that they were constantly    
pressing upon the fund for the          
maintenance of profitable labour4 ,it is
 a curious fact that he classes         
cottagers and paupers together2 but we  
can account for it when we consider how 

much of the land of the country was     
uninclosed1 and how many persons derived
 a scanty subsistence from the commons1 
upon which they were squatters1 living  
in mean huts with one chimney4  ,the    
small number of artisans and            
handicrafts1 comprising only sixty      
thousand families1 is of itself a       
sufficient indication that our          
manufactures1 properly so called1 were  
of very trifling amount4 ,in various    
parts of this volume we have            
incidentally mentioned how slowly the   
great industries of this country grew   
into importance4 ,at the period of which
 we are now speaking1 nearly every      
article of clothing was1 in many        
districts1 of domestic production1 and  
was essentially connected with the      
tillage of the land4 ,the flax and the  
wool were spun at home2 the stockings   
were knit2 the shoes were often untanned
 hide nailed upon heavy clogs4          
,furniture there was little beyond the  
rough bench and the straw bed4 ,the fuel

 came from the woods and hedges4 ,about 
forty thousand of the cottages mentioned
 in the hearth-books had some land      
belonging to them2 and1 to prevent the  
growth of a squatter population1 it was 
the business of the ,grand ,jury to     
present1 as a nuisance1 all             
newly-erected cottages that had not four
 acres of land attached to them4 ,there 
was a contest perpetually going on      
between the more favoured portion who   
had regular means of subsistence1 and   
the unhappy many who were pressing upon 
those means1 in all the various forms of
 pauperism4 ,one of the means of keeping
 down this class was to prevent them    
having dwellings4  ,towards the end of  
the seventeenth century1 then1 we see   
that there was some accumulation of     
capital1 however small4 ,there was then 
a vague feeling amongst the accumulators
 that something might be saved by       
setting the unemployed and the starving 
to other work than was provided for them
 in the fields4 ,population was pressing

 hard upon ,capital4 ,it pressed1       
chiefly1 in the shape of increasing     
demands upon the poor-rate4 ,the remedy 
universally proposed was to set the poor
 to work4 ,the notion was extremely     
crude as to the mode in which this was  
to be effected2 but there was a sort of 
universal agreement expressed by sober  
economists as well as visionary         
projectors1 that the more general       
introduction of manufactures would      
remedy the evil4 ,of course1 the first  
thing to be done was to prohibit foreign
 manufactures by enormous duties2 and   
then we were to go to work vigorously at
 home1 knowing very little of the arts  
in which foreigners were greatly our    
superiors4 ,but we were to go to work1  
not in the ordinary way of profitable   
industry1 by the capitalist working for 
profit employing the labourer for wages1
 but by withholding from the poor the   
greater part of the want-fund1 and      
converting it into a labour-fund1 by    
setting up manufactures under the       

management of the poor-law              
administrators4 ,here1 in these         
workhouses was the linen trade to be    
cultivated4 ,mr4 ,firmin set up a       
workhouse in ,aldersgate ,street1 of the
 results of which1 after four years1 he 
thus speaks3--,this1 ,i am sure1 is the 
worst that can be said of it1 that it   
hath not been yet brought to bear its   
own charges4 ,sir ,matthew ,hale was for
 setting up a public manufactory of     
coarse cloth1 of which the charges for  
materials and labour in producing       
thirty-two yards would be #aal4 #aes4   
,he calculated that the cloth1 if sold1 
would only yield #abl4 ,the excellent   
,judge does not make any calculation of 
the cost of implements1 or rent1 or     
superintendence4 ,he desires to employ  
fifty-six poor people1 who are paid by  
the parish #djjl4 per annum1 and by this
 cloth manufacture he will give them the
 #djjl4 for their work1 and save the    
parish their cost4 ,one thing is        
forgotten4 ,the pauper labour yielding  

no profit1 and consequently preventing  
any accumulation1 the labourers must be 
kept down to the minimum of subsistence1
 which appears to be about seven pounds 
per annum for each labourer4 ,the       
earnings of the artisan and handicraft  
are estimated by ,gregory ,king at      
thirty-eight pounds per annum4 ,these   
were the wages of skilled labourers4    
,the pauper labourers were unskilled4   
,if these schemes had not broken down by
 their own weight1 and workhouse        
manufactories had gone on producing a   
competition of unskilled labourers with 
skilled1 the rate of wages would have   
been more and more deteriorated1 and the
 amount of poor seeking workhouse       
employment as a last resource more and  
more increased4 ,experience has very    
satisfactorily demonstrated that these  
schemes for employing the poor ought to 
be strictly limited to the production of
 articles of necessity for their own    
consumption4 ,even the production of    
such articles is scarcely               

remunerating1--that is1 the produce     
scarcely returns the cost of materials  
and superintendence4 ,even the boasted  
,free and ,pauper ,colonies of ,holland 
have turned out to be commercial        
failures4 ,they are not self-sustaining4
 ,the want of skill in the colonists1   
and their disinclination to labour1     
having no immediate individual benefit  
from their labours1 have combined to    
produce the result that one good        
day-labourer is worth five colonists    
working in common4 ,there are also      
tenants of small colonial farms1 at a   
low rent1 and having many advantages4   
,they are not so prosperous as the      
little farmers out of the colony1 who   
pay a higher rent1 and have no          
incidental benefits4 ,the solution of   
the question is thus given3--,the       
certainty that the society will maintain
 them1 whether they save or not1 has an 
unfavourable influence on their         
habits4#db  ,the increase of population 
was very small during the first fifty   

years of the eighteenth century4 ,it    
absolutely declined at one period4 ,the 
two million four hundred thousand pounds
 that were calculated by ,gregory ,king 
as annual savings1 were probably more   
and more trenched upon by pauperism and 
war1 by malice domestic1 foreign levy1  
under a disputed succession4 ,the upper 
classes were licentious and extravagant2
 the labourers in towns were drunkards  
to an excess that now seems hardly      
credible4 ,hogarth's ',gin ,lane' was   
scarcely an exaggeration of the         
destitution and misery that attended    
this national vice4 ,about the middle of
 the century1 or soon after1 sprang up  
many of the great mechanical            
improvements which made us a            
manufacturing people2 and which1 in half
 a century1 added a third to the        
population4 ,in spite of the most       
expensive war in which ,england had ever
 been engaged1 the accumulated capital1 
chiefly in consequence of these         
discoveries and improvements1 had       

increased as fast as the population in  
the second fifty years of the eighteenth
 century4 ,in the present century the   
population has doubled in fifty years2  
and the accumulated capital has more    
than doubled4 ,population has been      
recently increasing at the rate of one  
and a half per cent42 capital has been  
increasing at the rate of two and a half
 per cent4#dc ,it is this accumulation  
which has been steadily raising the rate
 of wages in many employments of        
industry2 whilst the chemical and       
mechanical arts1 the abundant means of  
rapid transit1 the abolition or         
reduction of duties upon great articles 
of consumption1 and the freedom of      
commercial intercourse1 have given all  
the receivers of wages a greatly        
increased command of articles of        
necessity1 and even of what used to be  
thought luxuries4  ,there is nothing    
more difficult in economical inquiries  
than the attempt to ascertain what was  
the actual rate of wages at any given   

period4 ,the fluctuations in the value  
of money enter into this question1 more 
or less1 at every period of our history4
 ,we find the nominal rate of wages     
constantly increasing1 from one         
generation to another1 but we cannot at 
all be certain that the real rate is    
increasing4 ,that nominal rate always   
requires to be compared with the prices 
of the necessaries of life4 ,what       
pertains to wages pertains to all fixed 
money-payments4 ,a ,fellow of a college 
applied to ,bishop ,fleetwood to know if
 he could conscientiously hold his      
fellowship1 when the statutes of the    
college1 made in the time of ,henry     
,,vi41 say that no one shall so hold who
 has an estate of #el4 a year4 ,the     
,fellow had an estate of much larger    
nominal amount4 ,the ,bishop made a very
 valuable collection of the prices of   
commodities1 and he thus answers the    
conscientious inquirer3--      ,if for  
#bj years together 7from #addj to #adfj7
 the common price of     wheat were #fs4

 #h;d4 the quarter2 and if from #afhf to
 #agjf the     common price of wheat    
were #djs4 the quarter2 'tis plain that 
#el4 in ,h4 ,,vi4 time would have       
purchased #ae quarters of wheat2     for
 which you must have paid1 for these    
last #bj years1 #cj pound4     ,so that 
#cj pound now1 would be no more than    
equivalent to #e     pound in the reign 
of ,h4 ,,vi4 ,thus if oats1 from #addj  
to #adfj1     were generally at #bs4 the
 quarter1 and from #afhf to #agjf were  
at     #abs4 the quarter1 'tis manifest 
that #abs4 now would be no     more than
 equivalent to #bs4 then1 which is but a
 sixth part of     it4 ,thus1 if beans  
were then #es4 and now #cjs4 the        
quarter1     the same proportion would  
be found betwixt #el4 and #cjl4 ,but    
you must not expect that everything will
 answer thus exactly4 ,ale1     for     
instance1 was1 during the time of your  
founder1 at     three-halfpence the     
gallon2 but it has been1 ever since you 
were     born1 at #h;d4 at the least3   

which is but five times more1 and a     
little over4 ,so that #el4 heretofore   
7betwixt #addj and #adfj7     would     
purchase no more ale than somewhat above
 #bel4 would now4     ,again1 good      
cloth1 such as was to serve the best    
doctor in your     ,university for his  
gown1 was 7between #addj and #adfj7 at  
#cs4     #g;d4 the yard2 at which rate1 
#el4 would have purchased #bi     yards1
 or thereabouts4 ,now you may purchase  
that quantity of     fine cloth at      
somewhat less1 ,i think1 than #bel4 ,so 
that #bel4     now would be an          
equivalent to your #el4 then1 #bej years
     since1 if you pay about #ahs4 the  
yard for your cloth4 ,i think ,i        
have good reason to believe that beef1  
mutton1 bacon1 and other     common     
provisions of life1 were six times as   
cheap in ,h4 ,,vi4 reign     as they    
have been for these last #bj years4 ,and
 therefore ,i can see     no cause why  
#bh or #cjl4 per ann4 should now be     
accounted a     greater estate than #el4

 was heretofore betwixt #addj and       
#adfj4dd  ,but we are not to infer from 
these considerations that the wages of  
labour ought to fluctuate with the      
prices of commodities1 or that          
practically they do so fluctuate4 ,if   
this were the principle of wages1 every 
improvement which lowers the price of   
commodities would lower the rewards of  
labour4 ,almost every article of        
necessity is cheaper now than it was ten
 years ago1 taking the average of years2
 and the larger amount of this cheapness
 has been produced by improvements in   
manufactures1 by facilities of          
communication1 and by the removal of    
taxation4 ,at the same time1 taking the 
average of years and of employments1    
wages have risen4 ,there must be some   
general cause in operation to produce   
this result4    ,illustration3 ,irish   
,mud-cabin4  ,the wages of labour cannot
 be reduced below the standard necessary
 to support the labourer and his family 
whilst he produces4 ,if he cannot obtain

 this support he ceases to be a         
producer4 ,he is starved out of         
existence2 or he falls upon the public  
fund for the support of want2 or he     
becomes a beggar or a thief4 ,in states 
of society where there is no            
accumulating capital1 the labourer      
necessarily receives low wages1 because 
he maintains himself at the minimum of  
subsistence4 ,our poet ,spenser1 writing
 nearly three centuries ago upon the    
miseries of ,ireland1 describes the     
cottiers as inhabiting swine-sties      
rather than houses4 ,swift1 long after1 
describes the same state of             
things3--,there are thousands of poor   
wretches who think themselves blessed if
 they can obtain a hut worse than the   
squire's dog-kennel1 and an acre of     
ground for a potato plantation4 ,this   
condition of society unhappily lasted up
 to our own day4 ,if the ,irish cottier 
had been a labourer for wages instead of
 deriving his miserable living direct   
from the land1 he would have been no    

better off1 unless his desire for       
something higher than the coarsest food1
 and the most wretched lodging1 had set 
some limit to the increase of population
 beyond the increase of capital4        
,population necessarily increases faster
 than subsistence when there is no      
restraint upon the increase by the      
disposition to accumulate on the part of
 the labourer4 ,there may be            
accumulation in the form of his         
money-savings2 and there may be         
accumulation in an increase of the      
conveniences of life by which he is     
surrounded4 ,when there is neither money
 saved nor comforts increased--when     
there is no accumulation for the        
gratification of other wants than that  
of food--competition is driving the     
labourers to the lowest point of misery4
 ,the competition in ,ireland was for   
the possession of land1 at an           
extravagant rent1 out of the labour upon
 which the cottier could only obtain the
 very lowest amount of necessaries for  

his subsistence4 ,if1 in the habits of  
the whole body of the peasantry1 clothes
 and furniture had been as necessary as 
potatoes1 the oppressive exactions of   
the landlords must have yielded to what 
then would have been the natural rate1  
whether we call it profit or wages1     
necessary for the maintenance of that   
peasantry2 and the necessity1 on their  
part1 for maintaining the average status
 of their class1 would in a considerable
 degree have kept down the inordinate   
increase of the people4 ,a century ago  
the great body of the working-people of 
,england ate rye bread1 which is cheaper
 than wheaten4 ,if all the workers were 
to come back to rye-bread1 the rate at  
which they could be comfortably         
maintained would be somewhat less2 and  
unless the accumulation from the economy
 were expended universally in some      
improved accommodation1 labourers would 
gradually arise who would be contented  
with the smaller amount necessary for   
subsistence1 and the greater number of  

labourers seeking for wages would       
depress the amount paid to each         
individual labourer4  ,in ,england and  
,scotland1 says ,mr4 ,morison1 the      
classes living by wages form the        
majority of the population4 ,it has been
 estimated by ,mr4 ,greg that the annual
 amount paid in wages is a hundred and  
forty millions sterling2 to which may be
 added twenty millions for the board of 
domestic servants4 ,the profits of all  
the operations of industry to the       
capitalists are estimated by ,mr4       
,morison at ninety millions4 ,the census
 returns show that there were three     
hundred and fifty-four thousand masters 
in trades1 and farmers1 employing       
fourteen hundred thousand men4 ,this    
gives a proportion of about four men    
employed to one employer4 ,compared with
 the estimate of profits it shows that  
each employer1 assuming the calculation 
to be correct1 would derive a revenue of
 two hundred and fifty pounds a year as 
the recompense of his capital1 skill1   

and risk4 ,this is not so large an      
aggregate profit as is ordinarily       
supposed4 ,the men employed would each  
receive a revenue of one hundred a year4
 ,but we must add a large number to the 
men receiving wages1 who would not be   
returned by their employers2 and the    
calculation of payments must be further 
diminished by the consideration that in 
many branches of industry1 and in       
factory labour especially1 a very large 
number of females are employed1 as well 
as boys4 ,but the fact of the general   
proportion of wages to profits is       
sufficiently striking to show that the  
inequality of the condition of the      
labourer and the employer is not so     
extravagantly great as we have been     
accustomed of late years to hear        
asserted4  ,in looking back upon the    
historical evidence which we possess1   
imperfect as it is1 of the condition of 
society at various periods of our       
industrial progress1 we cannot doubt    
that there has been a process constantly

 going forward by which the             
circumstances of all classes have been  
steadily raised4 ,in the table of       
,gregory ,king1 which we have several   
times referred to1 the average income of
 ten thousand merchants is put down at  
three hundred a year2 of shopkeepers and
 tradesmen at forty-five pounds2 of     
farmers at forty-two pounds2 and of     
labouring people at fifteen pounds4 ,the
 income of gentlemen is taken at two    
hundred and eighty pounds a year4 ,the  
increase of the means of these various  
classes at the present day as compared  
with the end of the seventeenth century1
 has certainly been threefold4 ,if we   
turn to the passage which we have quoted
 from the ',chronicon ,preciosum1'      
originally published in #agjg1 we may at
 once compare the advantages which a    
threefold increase of means will        
procure4 ,wheat is not six pounds a     
quarter1 nor broadcloth two pounds      
fourteen shillings a yard1--which would 
be the case if we trebled the prices of 

#agjg4 ,we have abundance of            
conveniences and comforts of which the  
people of ,queen ,anne's reign had no   
notion1 which have been bestowed upon us
 by manufactures1 and commerce1 and     
scientific agriculture4  ,we have       
already stated and illustrated the      
general principle that the wages of     
labour are determined by the            
accumulations of capital1 compared with 
the number of labourers4 ,hence it      
necessarily results that1 as has been   
forcibly expressed1 the additional      
capital1 whenever it is productively    
employed1 will tend as certainly to the 
benefit of the working population at    
large as if the owner were a trustee for
 their benefit4#de ,but the profitable  
employment of capital depends very      
greatly upon activity1 knowledge1 and   
foresight on the part of the capitalist4
 ,it was for the want of these qualities
 that all the old schemes for providing 
labour out of a common stock chiefly    
broke down4 ,sir ,matthew ,hale1 in his 

plans for employing paupers in spinning 
flax and weaving cloth1 knew            
theoretically the truth that the amount 
of capital available for the payment of 
labour would be largely increased by the
 rapidity with which it might be turned 
over4 ,he says1 ,if it could be supposed
 that the cloth could be sold as soon as
 made1--which is not1 ,i confess1       
reasonably to be expected--then a stock 
of #bdl4 would1 by its continual return1
 provide materials and pay the workmen  
for one loom's work in perpetuity4 ,the 
if expresses the difference between     
individual commercial activity and      
knowledge1 and official sluggishness and
 incapacity4 ,but it also expresses the 
difference between the commerce of our  
days1 and that of the end of the        
seventeenth century4 ,without roads1 or 
canals1 or railroads1 how difficult was 
it to bring the seller and the buyer    
together6 ,all manufactures would be1   
for the most part1 local4 ,the cloths of
 ,kendal might go to the neighbouring   

fairs on packhorses2 and thence slowly  
spread through the country by pedlers   
and other small dealers2 and the        
proceeds might return to the            
manufacturer at the end of a year4 ,but 
the rapid turning over of capital which 
begins with buying a bale of cotton at  
,new ,york1 and having it in ,sydney in 
the shape of calico in three months1    
with the bill that is to pay for it     
drawn at ,manchester1 accepted in       
,sydney1 and discounted in ,london in   
another three months1 is a turning over 
of capital which was scarcely imagined  
by the projectors and practical traders 
of a century ago4  ,this rapid turning  
over of capital1 and the consequent more
 rapid accumulation of the labour-fund1 
depends upon the confidence of the      
capitalist that his capital will work to
 a profit4 ,it will not so work if he is
 to be undersold4 ,if wages could press 
upon profit beyond a certain ascertained
 limit1 he would be undersold4 ,the home
 competition of localities and          

individuals is perpetually forcing on   
the most economical arrangements in     
production4 ,the foreign competition is 
doing so still more4 ,if we have        
increased productiveness here1 through  
scientific application1 the same        
increased productiveness1 from the same 
causes1 is going forward elsewhere4     
',price-,currents' supply a perpetual   
barometer of industrial cloud or        
sunshine2 and the manufacturer and      
merchant have constantly to unfurl or   
furl their sails according to the       
indications4 ,whenever there is         
shipwreck1 the ship's crew and the      
captain partake of a common calamity2   
and the calamity is always precipitated 
and made more onerous when1 from any    
cause1 there is not cordial sympathy and
 agreement4    #cg ,we have already     
noticed the ancient oppressive laws for 
the        regulation of labour1 in     
,chap4 ,,vii4 ,we recur to them here    
more        particularly1 as            
illustrating the principle of ,wages4   

#ch ,see the full ',charge' in the      
',harleian ,miscellany4'    #ci ,see the
 ,evidence on ,poor-laws before a       
,committee of ,house of        ,commons1
 #ahcg4    #dj ,hearth-money was a tax  
upon houses according to the number of  
chimneys1 at the rate of two shillings a
 chimney1 for every house        having 
more than two chimneys4    #da ,see the 
passage in ,dunoyer1 ',liberte du       
,travail1' tom4 i4 p4 #daf4    #db ,sir 
,john ,m',neill's ',report on ,free and 
,pauper ,colonies in ,holland4'         
#ahec4    #dc ,morison1 ',labour and    
,capital1' ,appendix ,b4    #dd         
,chronicon ,preciosum1 #agde1 p4 #acf4  
#de ,morison1 ',labour and ,capital1' p4
 #bd4     ,,chapter ,,xxv4       ,what  
political economy teaches--,skilled     
labour and trusted                      
labour--,competition of unskilled       
labour--,competition of                 
uncapitalled labour--,itinerant         
traders--,the contrast of      organised
 industry--,factory-labour and          

garret-labour--                         
,communism--,proposals for state        
organisation of labour--      ,social   
publishing establishment--,practical    
co-operation4   ,there is a passage in  
,wordsworth's ',excursion' in which he  
describes the benevolent and            
philosophical hero of his poem1 a       
pedler1 listening to the complaints of  
poverty1 and searching into the causes  
of the evil3--    ,nor was he loth to   
enter ragged huts1   ,huts where his    
charity was blest2 his voice   ,heard as
 the voice of an experienced friend4    
,and1 sometimes1 where the poor man held
 dispute   ,with his own mind1 unable to
 subdue   ,impatience1 through inaptness
 to perceive   ,general distress in his 
particular lot2   ,or cherishing        
resentment1 or in vain   ,struggling    
against it1 with a soul perplex'd   ,and
 finding in herself no steady power     
,to draw the line of comfort that       
divides   ,calamity1 the chastisement of
 ,heaven1   ,from the injustice of our  

brother men2   ,to him appeal was made  
as to a judge2   ,who1 with an          
understanding heart1 allay'd   ,the     
perturbation2 listen'd to the plea2     
,resolv'd the dubious point2 and        
sentence gave   ,so grounded1 so        
applied1 that it was heard   ,with      
soften'd spirit--e'en when it condemn'd4
  ,the poor man is accustomed to hold   
dispute with his own mind2 he thinks his
 particular lot is worse than the       
general lot2 his soul is perplexed in   
considering whether his condition is    
produced by a common law of society1 or 
by the injustice of his fellow-men2 the 
experienced friend listens1 discusses1  
argues1--but he argues in a temper that 
produces a softened spirit4 ,the adviser
 soothes rather than inflames1 by       
dealing with such questions with an     
understanding heart4 ,he unites the     
sympathising heart with the reasoning   
understanding4  ,now1 we may fairly     
inquire if1 during the many unfortunate 
occasions that are constantly arising of

 contests for what are called the rights
 of labour against what is called the   
tyranny of capital1 those who are the   
most immediate sufferers in the contest 
are addressed with the understanding    
heart8 ,if argument be used at all1 the 
principles which govern the relations   
between capital and labour are put too  
often dictatorially or patronisingly    
before them1 as dry1 abstract           
propositions4 ,they are not set forth as
 matters of calm inquiry1 whose truths1 
when dispassionately examined1 may be   
found to lead to the conclusion that a  
steadily-increasing rate of wages1      
affording the employed a greater amount 
of comforts and conveniences1 is the    
inevitable result of increasing capital1
 under conditions which depend upon the 
workers themselves4 ,the result is      
generally such as took place in a recent
 ,lancashire strike1 where one of the   
leaders exclaimed1 ,the sooner we can   
rout political economy from the world1  
the better it will be for the           

working-classes4 ,it might1 indeed1 as  
well be said1 the sooner we can rout    
acoustics from the world1 the better it 
will be for those who have ears to hear2
 but the absurdity would not be         
corrected by a mathematical             
demonstration to those who did not      
comprehend mathematics4 ,the same person
 held that political economy was        
incompatible with the gospel precept of 
doing unto others as we would be done   
unto1 because it encourages buying in   
the cheapest market and selling in the  
dearest2 and he necessarily assumed that
 political economy recommends the       
capitalist to buy labour cheap and sell 
it dear4 ,we have not learnt that calmly
 and kindly he was told1 in the real    
spirit of political economy1 that it is 
impossible that1 by any individual or   
local advantage the capitalist may      
possess1 he can long depress wages below
 the rate of the whole country1 because 
other capitalists would enter into      
competition for the employment of       

labour1 and raise the average rate4 ,if 
,wordsworth's experienced friend had    
heard this perversion of the meaning of 
the axiom about markets1 he would have  
said1 we think1 that to buy in the      
cheapest market and sell in the dearest 
simply means1 in commerce1 to buy an    
article where its cheapness represents  
abundance1 and to sell it in a place    
where its dearness represents a want of 
it and a consequent demand1--even as he1
 the pedler1 bought a piece of cloth at 
,kendal1 where there was plenty of      
cloth1 and sold it for a profit at      
,grasmere1 where there was little cloth4
 ,the business of mercantile knowledge  
and enterprise is to discover and apply 
these conditions2 so that1 if a trader  
were to buy hides in ,smithfield and    
carry them to ,buenos ,ayres1 he would  
reverse these conditions1--he would buy 
in the dearest market and sell in the   
cheapest4 ,political economy--the       
declaimer against it might have been    
told--says that to produce cheap is     

essential to large demand1 and          
constantly-increasing demand2 but it    
does not say that cheap production      
necessarily implies diminished wages4   
,it says that cheap production1 as a    
consequence of increased production1    
depends upon the constantly-increasing  
use of capital in production1 and the   
constantly-diminishing amount of mere   
manual labour compared with the quantity
 produced--which result is effected by  
the successive application of all the   
appliances of science to the means of   
production4 ,at every step of scientific
 improvement there is a demand for      
labour of a higher character than       
existed without the science4 ,at every  
extended organization of industry1      
resulting from an extended demand1 not  
only skilled labour1 but trusted labour1
 becomes more and more in request2 and  
the average amount of all labour is     
better paid4 ,a bricklayer is paid more 
than the man who mixes his mortar1      
because one is a skilled labourer1 and  

has learnt his art by some expenditure  
of time1 which is capital4 ,the         
merchant's bookkeeper is paid more than 
his porter1 because the one has an      
office of high trust and responsibility1
 and the other a duty to perform of less
 importance1 and for which a far greater
 number of men wanting hire are fitted4 
,we could wish that not only in ragged  
huts1 but in well-appointed houses1 were
 the things better understood that      
political economy really does say4      
,illustration3 ,feed the hungry4  ,the  
process which has been steadily going on
 amongst us for increasing the demand   
for skill and trustworthiness has no    
doubt produced a diminution of the funds
 for employ in which neither skill nor  
trust is required4 ,thus a great amount 
of suffering is constantly presented to 
our view1 which benevolence has set     
about relieving1 in our time1 with a    
zeal which shows how fully it is        
acknowledged that the great principle1  
to ,love one another1 is not to         

evaporate in sentiment1 but is to be    
ripened in action4 ,as a nation1        
,england was never indifferent to the   
command1 ,feed the hungry4 ,the art of  
,flaxman has shown this act of mercy in 
its most direct form4 ,but the          
understanding heart has discovered that 
many of the miseries of society may be  
relieved by other modes as effectually  
as by alms-giving1 and perhaps much more
 effectually4 ,whether some of these    
efforts may be misdirected1 in no degree
 detracts from the value of the         
principle which seeks the prevention of 
misery rather than the relief4 ,one of  
the most obvious forms in which misery  
has presented itself in our large       
cities1 and especially in ,london1 has  
arisen from the competition amongst     
labour which may be called unskilled1   
because there are a numerous unemployed 
body of labourers at hand to do the same
 work1 in which there is no special     
skill4 ,this was the case with the      
sempstresses of ,london2 and the famous 

',song of the ,shirt' struck a note to  
which there was a responding chord in   
every bosom4 ,but the terrible evils of 
the low wages of shirt-making would not 
have been relieved by an universal      
agreement of the community to purchase  
none but shirts that1 by their price1   
could afford to give higher wages to the
 shirt-makers4 ,the higher wages would  
have infallibly attracted more women and
 more children to the business of       
shirt-making4 ,the straw-platters1 the  
embroiderers1 the milliners would have  
rushed to shirt-making2 and1 unless     
there had been a constantly-increasing  
rate of price charged to the wearers of 
shirts1 and therefore a constant forced 
contribution to the capital devoted to  
shirt-making1 the payment to one        
shirt-maker would have come to be       
divided amongst two2 and the whole body1
 thus doubled by a rate of wages        
disproportioned to the rate of other    
labour requiring little peculiar skill1 
would have been in a worse condition in 

the end than in the beginning4          
,whatever suffering may arise out of the
 competition that must exist between    
mere manual labour1 and also between    
that labour which is displayed in the   
practice of some art easily learnt1     
capable of exercise by both sexes1 and  
in which very young children may readily
 engage--it is scarcely fair that those 
who witness the suffering of the        
employed at very low wages should       
instantly conclude that the employers   
are extortioners and oppressors4 ,a     
branch of trade which seems             
inconsiderable as regards the article   
produced is often found in a particular 
locality1 and furnishes employment to   
large numbers4 ,in the ,london parish of
 ,cripplegate there are great quantities
 of toothbrushes made4 ,the handle is   
formed by the lathe1 in which skilled   
labour is employed4 ,the hair is cut by 
machinery4 ,the holes in the handle in  
which the hair is inserted are also     
pierced by machines4 ,but the insertion 

of the hair1 and the fastening it by    
wire1 are done by hand4 ,excellent      
people1 who1 with a strong sense of     
,christian duty1 enter ragged huts to   
relieve and to advise1 see a number of  
women and children daily labouring at   
the one task of fastening the hair in   
toothbrushes2 and they learn that the   
wages paid are miserably low4 ,they     
immediately conclude that the wages     
should be higher2 because in the        
difference between the retail price of a
 toothbrush and the manufacturing cost  
there must necessarily be large profits4
 ,they say1 therefore1 that the         
wholesale manufacturer is unjust in not 
giving higher wages4 ,but the retail    
price of toothbrushes1 however high1    
does not enable the manufacturer1       
necessarily1 to give a payment more     
considerable than the average of such   
labour to the women and children who    
very quickly learn the art of fastening 
the hair4 ,the price he can pay is to be
 measured by the average price of such  

labour all over the country4 ,it is not 
in the least unlikely that the          
manufacturer in ,cripplegate may not    
receive a fourth of the price at which a
 toothbrush is sold in ,saint ,james's4 
,the profits are determined by the      
average of all his transactions4 ,he has
 to sell as cheaply as possible for the 
export trade4 ,if he sell dear1 the     
export-trader will see if he cannot buy 
a hundred thousand toothbrushes at      
,havre instead of ,london4 ,it is       
nothing to the exporter whether he      
obtain a profit out of ,french or       
,english toothbrushes4 ,again4 ,the     
manufacturer sends a hundred thousand   
toothbrushes to a wholesale dealer at   
,glasgow1 who supplies the retailers    
throughout ,scotland4 ,but before the   
,scotch warehouseman will repeat the    
order1 he will ascertain whether he can 
buy the article cheaper at ,birmingham2 
and one per cent4 lower will decide     
against ,cripplegate4 ,now1 in all these
 domestic labours involving small skill1

 the question is whether the            
miserably-paid workers can do anything  
more profitable4 ,mr4 ,mayhew says that 
some large classes do not obtain a fair 
living price for their work1 because1 as
 in the case of the needle-workers and  
other domestic manufacturers1 their     
livelihood is supposed to be provided   
for them by the husband or father2 and  
hence the remuneration is viewed rather 
as an aid to the family income than as  
an absolute means of support4 ,it is not
 what is supposed1 or what is viewed1   
that determines the question4 ,it is    
what really is4 ,such employ may1       
unhappily1 be sought by many as an      
absolute means of support4 ,but if there
 be an almost unlimited number who seek 
it as an aid to the family income1 there
 is no possibility of preventing a      
competition1 perfectly equal as regards 
the wages of labour1 but wretchedly     
unequal in the application of those     
wages4  ,the miseries that are so       
frequently resulting from the           

competition of unskilled labour are also
 results from what we will venture to   
call uncapitalled labour1 attempting to 
unite wages with profits4 ,upon a large 
scale1 the miseries of ,ireland1 which  
finally collapsed in the terrible       
famine1 were produced by labour         
trenching upon the functions of capital 
without possessing capital4 ,in #ahdg   
there were in ,ireland five hundred     
thousand acres of land in more than     
three hundred thousand holdings1 thus   
supplying the only means of maintenance 
to three hundred thousand male labourers
 and their families1 but averaging      
little more than an acre and a half to  
each tenant4 ,there are not more than   
nine hundred thousand labourers and     
farmers to the twenty-five million      
cultivated acres in ,england and        
,wales--about one labourer to every     
thirty-eight acres1 and about one farmer
 capitalist to every hundred and ten    
acres4 ,nor is the effect of            
uncapitalled and unskilled labour--for  

uncapitalled labour is for the most part
 unskilled--less remarkable in          
manufactures than in agriculture4 ,many 
are familiar with the minute details of 
low wages and suffering--of the         
oppressions attributed to masters and   
middle-men--which are contained in a    
series of papers by ,mr4 ,henry ,mayhew1
 published in ',the ,morning ,chronicle'
 in #ahdi-ej1 under the title of        
',london ,labour1 and ,london ,poor4'   
,nothing could be more laudable than the
 general object of these papers1 which1 
in the preface to a collected edition of
 a portion of them1 was to give the rich
 a more intimate knowledge of the       
sufferings1 and the frequent heroism    
under these sufferings1 of the poor2 and
 to cause those of whom much is         
expected1 to bestir themselves to       
improve their condition4 ,but1 at the   
same time1 it would be difficult to say 
how the condition of particular classes 
of these sufferers was to be improved1  
except by such general efforts as would 

raise up the whole body of the people in
 knowledge and virtue1 and by directing 
the labours of those who1 without skill 
or capital1 were struggling against     
skill and capital1 into courses of      
industry more consonant with the great  
modes of productiveness all around them4
 ,one example may illustrate our        
meaning--that of the garret-masters of  
the cabinet-trade4 ,the writer we have  
mentioned says that wages had fallen    
#djj per cent4 in that trade1 between   
#ahca and #ahej2 but he also says that  
the trade was depressed by the increase 
of small masters--that is to say1 by a  
class of workmen possessed of just      
sufficient capital to buy their own     
materials1 and to support themselves    
while making them up4 ,taking the whole 
rate of wages1--the payment to the      
unskilled as well as the skilled        
workmen--it would be difficult not to   
believe that the average reduction was  
quite as great as represented4 ,a       
cabinet-maker tells this tale3--  ,one  

of the inducements1 he said1 for men to 
take to making up for themselves is to  
get a living when thrown out of work    
until they can hear of something better4
 ,if they could get into regular        
journeywork there a'n't one man as      
wouldn't prefer it--it would pay them a 
deal better4 ,another of the reasons for
 the men turning small masters is the   
little capital that it requires for them
 to start themselves4 ,if a man has got 
his tools he can begin as a master-man  
with a couple of shillings4 ,if he goes 
in for making large tables1 then from   
#cjs4 to #ces4 will do him1 and it's the
 small bit of money it takes to start   
with in our line that brings many into  
the trade who wouldn't be there if more 
tin was wanted to begin upon4 ,many     
works for themselves1 because nobody    
else won't employ them1 their work is so
 bad4 ,many weavers has took to our     
business of late4 ,that's quite common  
now--their own's so bad2 and some that  
used to hawk hearthstones about is      

turned ,pembroke tablemakers4 ,whether  
the mode in which this workman expresses
 himself correctly indicates1 or not1   
the amount of his education1 it is quite
 certain that he had got to the root of 
the evil of which he complains4  ,the   
competition that is only limited by the 
capacity of endurance between the       
unskilled workman and the uncapitalled  
workman--each striving against the      
other1 and striving1 in vain against    
capital and skill--has been going on for
 centuries in the distribution of       
commodities4 ,the retailer with small   
capital has always had to carry on an   
unequal contest with the retailer with  
large capital4 ,in our time1 small shops
 are swallowed up in magnificent        
warehouses1 in which every article of   
dress especially can be purchased under 
one roof--from a penny yard of ribbon to
 a hundred-guinea shawl4 ,in splendour  
these bazaars1 with one proprietor1     
rival the oriental with many            
competitors4 ,but their distinguishing  

characteristic is the far-seeing        
organization1 by which the capital is   
turned over with unexampled rapidity1   
and no unsaleable stock is kept on hand4
 ,it is easy to understand that the     
larger profits of the small retailer    
have very little chance of accumulation 
against the smaller profits of the large
 retailer4  ,but this contest of small  
capital against large was formerly      
carried on in the struggle of the       
itinerant traders against the           
shopkeepers4 ,it is now carried on in a 
struggle amongst themselves4 ,the census
 returns show seven thousand            
costermongers1 hucksters1 and           
general-dealers4 ,mr4 ,mayhew says there
 are ten thousand in ,london4#df        
,illustration3 ,costermonger4  ,the     
costermonger is a travelling shopkeeper4
 ,we encounter him not in ,cornhill1 or 
,holborn1 or the ,strand3 in the        
neighbourhood of the great markets and  
well-stored shops he travels not4 ,but  
his voice is heard in some silent       

streets stretching into the suburbs2 and
 there his donkey-cart stands at the    
door1 as the dingy servant-maid cheapens
 a bundle of cauliflowers4 ,he has      
monopolized all the trades that were    
anciently represented by such ,london   
cries as ,buy my artichokes1 mistress2  
,ripe cowcumbers2 ,white onions1 white  
,st4 ,thomas' onions2 ,white radish2    
,ripe young beans2 ,any baking pears2   
,ripe speragas4 ,he would be indignant  
to encounter such petty chapmen         
interfering with his wholesale          
operations4 ,mr4 ,mayhew says that the  
regular or thoroughbred costermongers   
repudiate the numerous persons who only 
sell nuts or oranges in the streets4 ,no
 doubt they rail against these inferior 
competitors1 as the city shopkeepers of 
the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries 
railed against itinerant traders of     
every denomination4 ,in the days of     
,elizabeth1 they declare by act of      
common council1 that in ancient times   
the open streets and lanes of the city  

have been used1 and ought to be used1 as
 the common highway only1 and not for   
hucksters1 pedlers1 and hagglers1 to    
stand and sit to sell their wares in1   
and to pass from street to street       
hawking and offering their wares4 ,in   
the seventh year of ,charles ,i4 the    
same authorities denounce the           
oyster-wives1 herb-wives1 tripe-wives1  
and the like1 as unruly people2 and they
 charge them1 somewhat unjustly as it   
must appear1 with framing to themselves 
a way whereby to live a more easy life  
than by labour4    ,how busy is the man 
the world calls idle6  ,the evil1 as the
 citizens term it1 seems to have        
increased2 for in #afid the common      
council threatened the pedlers and petty
 chapmen with the terrors of the laws   
against rogues and sturdy beggars1 the  
least penalty being whipping1 whether   
for male or female4 ,the reason for this
 terrible denunciation is very candidly 
put3 the citizens and shopkeepers are   
greatly hindered and prejudiced in their

 trades by the hawkers and pedlers4     
,such denunciations as these had little 
share in putting down the itinerant     
traders4 ,they continued to flourish1   
because society required them2 and they 
vanished from our view when society     
required them no longer4 ,in the middle 
of the last century they were fairly    
established as rivals to the            
shopkeepers4 ,dr4 ,johnson1 than whom no
 man knew ,london better1 thus writes in
 the ',adventurer3' ,the attention of a 
newcomer is generally first struck by   
the multiplicity of cries that stun him 
in the streets1 and the variety of      
merchandise and manufactures which the  
shopkeepers expose on every hand4 ,the  
shopkeepers have now ruined the         
itinerants--not by putting them down by 
fiery penalties1 but by the competition 
amongst themselves to have every article
 at hand1 for every man's use1 which    
shall be better and cheaper than the    
wares of the itinerant4  ,a curious     
parallel might be carried out between   

the itinerant occupations which the     
progress of society has imperfectly     
suspended1 and those which even the most
 advanced civilization is compelled to  
retain4 ,for example1--the water-carrier
 is gone4 ,it is impossible that ,london
 can ever again see a man bent beneath  
the weight of a yoke and two enormous   
pails1 vociferating ,new ,river ,water4 
,but the cry of ,milk1 or the rattle of 
the milk-pail1 will never cease to be   
heard in our streets4 ,there can be no  
reservoirs of milk1 no pipes through    
which it flows into the houses4 ,the    
more extensive the great capital        
becomes1 the more active must be the    
individual exertion to carry about this 
article of food4 ,the old cry was1 ,any 
milk here8 and it was sometimes mingled 
with the sound of ,fresh cheese and     
cream2 and it then passed into ,milk1   
maids1 below2 and it was then shortened 
into ,milk below2 and was finally       
corrupted into ,mio1 which some wag     
interpreted into                        

mi-eau--demi-eau--half-water4 ,but it   
must still be cried1 whatever be the    
cry4 ,the supply of milk to the         
metropolis is perhaps one of the most   
beautiful combinations of industry we   
have4 ,the days are long since past when
 ,finsbury had its pleasant groves1 and 
,clerkenwell was a village1 and there   
were green pastures in ,holborn1 and    
,st4 ,pancras boasted only a little     
church standing in meadows1 and ,st4    
,martin's was literally in the fields4  
,slowly but surely does the baked clay  
stride over the clover and the          
buttercup2 and yet every family in      
,london may be supplied with milk by    
eight o'clock every morning at their own
 doors4 ,where do the cows abide8 ,they 
are congregated in wondrous masses in   
the suburbs2 and though in spring-time  
they go out to pasture in the fields    
which lie under the ,hampstead and      
,highgate hills1 or in the vales of     
,dulwich and ,sydenham1 and there crop  
the tender blade1    ,when proud pied   

,april1 dress'd in all his trim1   ,hath
 put a spirit of youth in everything1   
yet for the rest of the year the coarse 
grass is carted to their stalls1 or they
 devour what the breweries and          
distilleries cannot extract from the    
grain-harvest4 ,long before the         
unfolding star wakes up the shepherd are
 the ,london cows milked2 and the great 
wholesale venders of the commodity bear 
it in carts to every part of the town1  
and distribute it to hundreds of        
itinerants1 who are waiting like the    
water-carriers at the old conduits4 ,but
 the wholesale venders have ceased to   
depend upon the suburban cows4 ,the     
railways bring milk in enormous cans to 
every station4 ,the suburb has extended1
 practically1 to a circle of fifty miles
 instead of five4 ,it is evident that a 
perishable commodity which every one    
requires at a given hour must be rapidly
 distributed4 ,the distribution has lost
 its romance4 ,misson1 in his           
',travels1' published at the beginning  

of the last century1 tell us of the     
,may-games of the pretty young country  
girls that serve the town with milk4    
,alas6 the ,may-games and pretty young  
country girls have both departed1 and a 
milkwoman has become a very unpoetical  
personage4 ,there are few indeed of     
milkwomen who remain4 ,so it is with    
most of the occupations that associate  
,london with the country4 ,the cry of   
,water-cresses used to be heard from    
some barefoot nymph of the brook1 who at
 sunrise had dipped her feet into the   
bubbling runnel1 to carry the green     
luxury to the citizens'                 
breakfast-tables4 ,water-cresses are now
 grown like cabbages in gardens4  ,of   
the street trades that are past and     
forgotten1 the small-coal man was one of
 the most remarkable4 ,he tells a tale  
of a city with few fires2 for who could 
now imagine a man earning a living by   
bawling ,small coals from door to door1 
without any supply but that in the sack 
which he carries on his shoulders8 ,his 

cry was1 however1 a rival with ,wood to 
cleave4 ,in a metropolis full of        
haberdashers1 large and small1 what     
chance would an aged man now have with  
his flattering solicitation of ,pretty  
pins1 pretty women8 ,he who carries a   
barrel on his back1 with a measure and  
funnel at his side1 bawling ,fine       
writing-ink1 is wanted neither by clerks
 nor authors4 ,there is a grocer's shop 
at every turn2 and who therefore needs  
him who salutes us with ,lily-white     
vinegar8 ,the history of cries is a     
history of social changes4 ,the working 
trades1 as well as the venders of things
 that can be bought in every street1 are
 now banished from our thoroughfares4   
,old chairs to mend still salutes us in 
some retired suburb2 and we still see   
the knife-grinder's wheel2 but who      
vociferates ,any work for ,john ,cooper8
 or ,a brass pot or an iron pot to mend8
 ,the trades are gone to those who pay  
scot and lot4    ,illustration3 ,pots to
 mend4  ,there are some occupations of  

the streets1 however1 which remain      
essentially the same1 though the form be
 somewhat varied4 ,the sellers of food  
are of course amongst these4 ,hot       
peascods1 and hot sheep's-feet1 are not 
popular delicacies1 as in the time of   
,lydgate4 ,hot wardens1 and ,hot        
codlings1 are not the cries which invite
 us to taste of stewed pears and baked  
apples4 ,but we have still apples       
hissing over a charcoal fire2 and       
potatoes steaming in a shining          
apparatus1 with savoury salt-butter to  
put between the fruit when it is cut2   
and chestnuts roasted2 and greasy       
sausages1 redolent of onions and        
marjoram2 and crisp brown flounders2 and
 the mutton-pie-man1 with his toss for a
 penny4 ,rice-milk1 furmety1            
barley-broth1 and saloop are no longer  
in request4 ,the greatest improvement of
 ,london in our own day has been the    
establishment of coffee-shops1 where the
 artisan may take his breakfast with    
comfort1 and even with luxury2 where a  

good breakfast may be had for           
three-pence2 where no intoxicating      
liquors are sold2 and where the         
newspapers and the best periodical works
 may be regularly found4  ,if we lament 
over the general decay of the itinerant 
traders--their uncertain gains1 their   
privations from constant exposure1 their
 want of home comforts1 their temptation
 to drive their children into the       
streets to make more sales--we lament   
over what is an inevitable consequence  
of the general progress of society4 ,can
 we correct these evils by saying that  
the profits of the itinerant traders    
ought to be raised8 ,their low condition
 is a necessary consequence of their    
carrying on a system of industry which  
is at variance with the general system  
of civilization4 ,they may have their   
uses in districts with a scattered      
population1 because they bring articles 
of consumption to the door of the       
consumer4 ,but in densely populated     
districts they must inevitably be       

superseded by the shopkeepers4 ,they    
carry on their industry by a series of  
individual efforts1 which are interfered
 with by numerous chances and accidents4
 ,we are told that the class is         
extending yearly4 ,but it cannot extend 
profitably4 ,in many cases it assumes   
only another form of mendicity4 ,it is a
 precarious occupation4 ,it can count   
upon no regular returns4 ,its gains1    
such as they are1 are like all other    
uncertain gains--the impulse to         
occasional profligacy in connection with
 habitual misery4 ,the costermongers1   
according to ,mr4 ,mayhew1 are drunkards
 and gamblers1--living without religion 
or the family ties4 ,their children are 
wholly uneducated4 ,these are brought up
 to assist very early in obtaining their
 precarious living2 and they cleave to a
 wandering in place of a settled life4  
,dissociated1 thus1 from all regular    
industry1 they become the outcasts of   
the people2 and go on swelling the      
number of those who1 in ,france1 are    

called the dangerous classes4 ,all      
classes are dangerous in whom there is  
none of that self-respect which goes    
along with domestic comfort--with       
sobriety1 with cleanliness1 with a taste
 for some pursuit that has a tincture of
 the intellectual4 ,how is such a class 
to be dealt with8 ,the adult are almost 
past hope2 the young1 taken early       
enough1 may be trained into something   
better4 ,but the very last thing that   
society has to do is to encourage1 by   
any forced and unnatural process1 the   
accession of numbers to the body1 always
 deriving new competitors from the      
unfortunate and the idle who have fallen
 out of regular occupation4 ,those who  
learn the necessity of being provident  
cease to be costermongers4 ,with some1  
indeed1 the profitable sale of an       
article in the streets may be the first 
step in an accumulation which will lead 
to the more profitable sale of an       
article at a stall1 and thence1 onward1 
to the possession of a shop4 ,there have

 been such instances2 and we knew of a  
remarkable one in a boy who went to a   
tea-dealer1 and said if he could be     
trusted with one pound of tea he could  
make a living4 ,he was trusted4 ,in time
 he wanted no credit1 and was a regular 
and valuable customer to his first      
patron4 ,he passed out of the itinerant 
life into the settled2 and ultimately   
became a flourishing shopkeeper4  ,in   
striking contrast to the various forms  
of unskilled labour and irregular       
trading which we have noticed1 may be   
mentioned an industry which in ,london  
has a very perfect organization4 ,in    
,clerkenwell and the neighbouring parish
 of ,saint ,luke's1 there are sixteen   
hundred watchmakers4 ,these are not the 
artisans whom we see as we pass along   
the streets of the metropolis1 and of   
the provincial towns1 sitting in front  
of the shop-window diligently repairing 
or putting together the works of a      
watch1 by the light of day or of a      
brilliant lamp1 each with a magnifying  

glass pressed under his eyebrow4 ,nor   
are they the workers in metal who       
manufacture the movements1--that is1 the
 wheels--of a watch1 for these chiefly  
dwell in ,lancashire4 ,the ,london      
watchmakers1 thus closely packed in a   
district which is small compared with   
the whole area of the metropolis1 are   
those who put the movements together1   
and supply all the delicate parts of the
 mechanism1 such as the spring and the  
escapement4 ,they provide also the case 
and the dial-plate4 ,the degree of the  
skilled labour employed in these several
 branches necessarily varies1 according 
to the quality of the instrument to be  
produced1 from the ordinary metal watch 
to the most luxurious repeater4 ,with   
some exceptions1 the artisans do not    
work in large factories4 ,they are      
subdivided according to their respective
 qualities1 amongst small               
establishments1 where a master has      
several men receiving wages for         
performing one particular branch of     

work2 or the artisan himself1 in his own
 home1 may be an escapement-maker1 a    
spring-maker1 a fusee-maker1 a maker of 
hands1 an enameller1 an engine-turner1 a
 jewelled pivot-hole maker4 ,all this   
beautiful subdivision of employments has
 been found necessary for the perfection
 and the cheapness of watches4 ,the     
capitalist1 who is essentially the watch
 manufacturer1 organizes all these      
departments of industry4 ,english       
watches1 by this economical system of   
production1 keep their place against the
 competition of foreign watches2 of     
which we imported1 in #ahec1 fifty-four 
thousand4 ,the skilled workmen1 in all  
the various subdivisions of the         
manufacture1 are well paid1 and take    
their due rank amongst the great and    
increasing body of intelligent          
mechanics4  ,within these few years     
,american clocks have been extensively  
sold in this country4 ,people would once
 have thought that the business of      
clockmaking in ,england would be at an  

end1 if it had been predicted that in   
#ahec we should import1 as we did1 a    
hundred and forty thousand clocks4 ,the 
goodness and cheapness of ,american     
clocks have carried a clock into many a 
house1 that without them would have been
 deficient of this instrument for       
keeping all industry in accordance with 
the extraordinary punctuality which has 
been forced upon us as an indispensable 
quality4 ,we owe the general exercise of
 this virtue to the post and the        
railroads4 ,no one needs now to be told1
 as our grandfathers were somewhat      
roughly told by the sun-dial in the     
,temple1 ,be gone about thy business4   
,the ,american clocks are produced by   
factory labour4 ,in ,connecticut two    
hundred and fifty men are employed in   
one establishment1 in making six hundred
 clocks a-day1 the price varying from   
one dollar to ten1 and the average price
 being three dollars4 ,each clock passes
 through sixty different hands2 but in  
every stage the most scientific         

applications of machinery chiefly       
produce the excellence and the          
cheapness4  ,between the factory-labour 
required to produce an ,american clock1 
which labour affords ample wages to     
every labourer employed1 and ample      
security to the capitalist that he will 
not establish expensive machinery1 and  
pay constant wages1 without             
profit1--between this factory-labour1   
and the garret-labour which produces a  
rickety ,pembroke-table1 with bad       
materials and imperfect tools1 at the   
lowest rate of profit to the            
workman1--the difference really consists
 in the application or non-application  
of capital4 ,the theorist then steps in 
at this stage of the evidence1 and says 
that the garret-labourer ought to be    
provided with capital4 ,his theory      
resolves itself into what is called     
,communism2 and it seeks to be          
maintained by exhibiting the aggregate  
evils of ,competition4 ,the theorist    
does not deny that competition has      

produced an immense development of      
wealth2 but he affirms that the result  
of the struggle has been1 to fill the   
hands that were already too full1 and to
 take away from the hands that were     
already nearly empty4 ,he maintains that
 the labouring classes have been more   
and more declining with every increase  
of the general riches2 and that1 at     
every stop in which industry advances1  
the proportion of the wretched to the   
great mass of the population as         
certainly increases4 ,we shall not      
attempt to reply to these declamations  
by any counter declamation4 ,we point to
 the great body of facts contained in   
this volume2 and upon them rests our    
unqualified assertion that the doctrines
 of ,communism are wholly untrue1 and   
are opposed to the whole body of        
evidence that enables us to judge of the
 average condition of the people1 past  
and present4  ,to remedy the evils which
 it alleges to exist1 ,communism        
proposes associations working upon a    

common capital1 and dividing the produce
 of all the labour of the community4 ,to
 make a whole country labour in this    
way1 by a confiscation of all the       
capital of the country1 presents1       
necessarily1 great difficulties2 and    
therefore there must be smaller         
communities in particular localities4   
,but these communities must produce     
everything within themselves1 or they   
must deal with other communities4 ,there
 would be competition in these          
communistic dealings between one        
community and another4 ,even if the     
whole world were to become communistic1 
there would be competition between one  
nation and another nation4  ,the main   
objection to the theory of ,communism   
7the objections to its application are  
obvious enough7 is that1 in proposing to
 have a common fund for all labour1 it  
wars against the natural principle of   
individuality1 and destroys the         
efficiency of production1 by confounding
 the distinctions between the various   

degrees of skill and industry4 ,if it   
give higher rewards to skilled labour   
than to unskilled1 it does exactly what 
is done in the present state of society4
 ,if the unskilled and idle were the    
larger number under a system of         
,communism1 they would soon degrade the 
skilled and the industrious to their own
 level4 ,if they were the less powerful 
number1 the skilled and the industrious 
would soon bring back the law of        
competition1 and drive the unskilled and
 idle to the minimum point of           
subsistence4  ,but ,communism1 to meet  
such difficulties1 sets up a system of  
expedients4 ,it invokes the aid of the  
,state as a regulating power2 and1      
having maintained that the ,state is    
bound to find employ for every one      
willing to labour1 however              
inefficiently1 and to supply the        
necessary funds for all labour1 it makes
 the ,state the great healer of         
differences1 even as ,mr4 ,sergeant     
,thorpe held that the ,state could      

provide a salve for every sore4 ,let us 
take one example of the mode in which   
,communism proposes to discharge its    
functions4  ,there is a little treatise1
 in ,italian1 by ,count ,pecchio1 on the
 ,application of the ,general ,laws of  
,production to ,literary and ,scientific
 ,publications4 ,it considers that      
literary-labour is governed by the same 
laws as any other labour2 that the      
capital of a man of letters consists in 
his stores of acquired knowledge2 that1 
as there is no equality in literary     
talent--as there is a great range of    
talent between the most skilled and the 
least skilled literary labourer--so the 
rewards of literary industry are        
proportionally unequal2 that the wages  
of literary labour depend upon the usual
 conditions of demand and supply2 that1 
under a system of competition in an open
 market1 the literary labourer is more  
sure of his reward1 however large may be
 the number of labourers1 than in the   
old days of patronage for the few2 that 

,state encouragement is not necessary to
 the establishment of a high and        
enduring literature2 that when literary 
industry is free--when it is neither    
fostered by bounties1 nor cramped and   
annihilated by prohibitions--when there 
is neither patronage nor censorship--it 
is in the most favourable condition for 
its prosperous development4 ,these      
principles1 applied to literary         
production1 are in many respects        
applicable to all production4  ,every   
one has heard of the ',organization of  
,labour1' which some philosophers of a  
neighbouring country were attempting to 
transfer from the theories of the closet
 to the experiments of the workshop1 in 
#ahdh4 ,it is not our object1 as we have
 said1 to discuss whether a vast system 
of national co-operation for universal  
production be a wise thing or a         
practical thing4 ,let us state only a   
small part of that system1 as exhibited 
in the ',organisation du ,travail1' by  
,monsieur ,louis ,blanc1 the second part

 of which is devoted to the question of 
literary property4  ,all the beneficial 
results contemplated by the organizers  
of a universal social industry are to be
 obtained for literary industry1        
according to this system1 by the        
foundation of a ,social ,publishing     
,establishment1 which is thus described3
 ,it would be a literary manufacture    
belonging to the ,state without being   
subject to the ,state4 ,this institution
 would govern itself1 and divide amongst
 its members the profits obtained by the
 common labour4 ,according to its       
original laws1 which would be laid down 
by the ,state1 the ,social ,publishing  
,establishment would not have to        
purchase any author's right in his      
works4 ,the price of books would be     
determined by the ,state1 with a view to
 the utmost possible cheapness2 all the 
expenses of the impression would be at  
the charge of the ,social               
,establishment4 ,a committee of         
enlightened men1 chosen and remunerated 

by the ,social ,establishment1 would    
receive the works4 ,the writers whose   
works the ,social ,establishment would  
publish would acquire1 in exchange for  
their rights as authors1 which they     
would wholly resign1 the right of       
exclusively competing for national      
recompenses4 ,there would be in the     
annual national budget1 a fund provided 
for such recompense1 for authors in     
every sphere of thought4 ,every time the
 first work of an author was deemed     
worthy of a national recompense1 a      
premium would also be given to the      
,social ,establishment1 that it might be
 indemnified for the possible loss which
 it had sustained in giving its support 
to youthful talent4 ,every year the     
representatives of the people would     
name1 for every branch of intellectual  
exertion1 a citizen who would examine   
the works issuing from the social       
presses4 ,he would have a whole year to 
examine them thoroughly2 to read all the
 criticisms upon them2 to study the     

influence which they had produced upon  
society2 to interrogate public opinion  
through its organs1 and not judge by the
 blind multitude of buyers2 and finally 
to prepare a report4 ,the national      
rewards would then be distributed in the
 most solemn manner4  ,we thus state    
briefly but fairly the plan which is to 
put an end to that literary competition 
which it is proclaimed commences in     
dishonour and ends in misery2 which is  
to destroy bad books and encourage good2
 which1 it is affirmed1 is no longer to 
make the publication of good books      
depend upon the speculators1 who have   
rarely any other intelligence than a    
commercial aptitude1 but upon competent 
men1 whom it interests in the success of
 every useful and commendable work4 ,we 
truly believe that this would be a      
practicable plan--provided two          
conditions were secured1 which at       
present seem to be left out of the      
account4 ,they are simply these--that   
there should be unlimited funds at hand 

for the purpose of rewarding authors1   
and unlimited wisdom and honesty in     
their administrators4 ,but unhappily1 as
 we understand it1 the entire plan is a 
confusion of principle--rejecting much  
that is valuable in competition1 and    
adopting much that is positively harmful
 in co-operation4 ,those authors who are
 profiting largely by the competitive   
system are to give up their profits to  
the common fund1 which is to support    
those who could not make profits under  
that system4 ,this is the social        
workshop notion of equality4 ,but in the
 literary workshop the ,state is to step
 in and restore the ancient condition of
 inequality1 by exclusive rewards to the
 most deserving of the competitors4 ,it 
is a practical satire upon the whole    
scheme of a new social arrangement4     
,with a sincere disposition to speak    
favourably of every plan for promoting  
the welfare of our fellow-creatures     
which is not founded upon a destruction 
of the security of property1 we have no 

desire to maintain that all the         
denouncers of competition are weak and  
dangerous advisers of the great body of 
working people4 ,we believe that the    
entire system of any proposed           
co-operation that would set aside       
competition is a delusion1--out of      
which1 indeed1 some small good might be 
slowly and painfully evoked1 but which  
can never mainly affect the great       
workings of individual industry1 whilst 
its futile attempts may relax the       
springs of all just and honest action4  
,but we do not in any degree seek to    
oppose any practical form of            
co-operation that is built upon the     
natural and inevitable workings of      
capital1 tending to produce1 in a manner
 not less favourable for production than
 a system entirely competitive4         
,co-operation is not a new thing in     
,england4 ,two centuries and a half ago1
 ,shakspere became a considerable       
land-proprietor at ,stratford1 out of   
his share of the profits of a           

co-operative enterprise2 and1 in the    
same profession of a player1 ,allen     
acquired a sufficient fortune to found  
,dulwich ,college4 ,in those companies  
of players of the ,elizabethan era there
 were shareholders with varying         
interests--some having a capital in the 
building and properties of a theatre1   
combined with their other capital of    
histrionic skill4 ,the joint proprietors
 lived in great harmony together1 and   
treated each other with affection as    
friends and fellows4  ,the co-operation 
which many earnest thinkers hold to be  
desirable to establish in ,england is   
precisely this sort of united industry4 
,they have no desire to attempt the     
introduction of a fallacious equality1  
such as communism proposes2 but they ask
 to have the legal power of combining   
men in common labours1 according to     
their respective degrees and            
qualifications4 ,he who brought to the  
undertaking capital only should receive 
a share of profits proportioned to its  

value and hazard--the wear and tear of  
implements--the deterioration of stock4 
,he who brought great administrative    
skill1 and took the higher office of    
trust and responsibility1 should also   
receive a share in proportion to the    
rarity of these qualities2 and so of    
those who were skilful and trustworthy  
in a lesser degree4 ,the great body of  
the workers would receive their due     
shares under a scale founded upon       
experience4 ,but capitalist1 inventor1  
manager1 and labourers1--all would have 
some ultimate interest in reference to  
profits4  ,the ,queen1 in opening the   
,session of ,parliament in #ahef1       
announced that a measure would be       
brought forward for amending the law    
relating to ,partnership4 ,during that  
,session ,the ,joint-,stock ,companies  
,act was passed1 by which it was        
provided that seven or more associated  
persons1 by complying with the forms of 
the ,act with regard to ,registration1  
might form themselves into an           

,incorporated ,company1 with or without 
limited liability4 ,under this act many 
,companies have been formed2 and1 as    
might have been expected1 various crude 
projects have thus been born--quickly to
 die4 ,a bill for amending the law of   
,partnership was brought forward2 but it
 met with so much opposition that it was
 withdrawn4 ,without the machinery of a 
,joint-,stock ,company1 partnership     
liability remains as before4  ,what is  
risked by the continued existence of the
 law of ,partnership1 and what might be 
gained by its modification1 are clearly 
put by ,mr4 ,j4 ,m4 ,ludlow1 an eminent 
barrister3--,the example of those       
strikes which have been first agitating 
and then desolating the country for the 
last half-year 7#ahec7 is surely most   
instructive on this head4 ,it cannot be 
doubted that1 from the energies of the  
working classes having been hitherto    
directed1 it may be said1 to the sole   
economic object of high wages1 both the 
best paid and most prudent workmen have 

often been dragged1 willingly or        
unwillingly1 into these conflicts1 of   
which some at least of the most         
benevolent employers have in like manner
 had to bear the brunt4 ,but suppose a  
power given to the working men1 by a    
relaxation of the laws of partnership1  
to invest their savings as commandite   
partners in their employer's concern1   
how different might have been the       
result6 ,whenever an employer had really
 deserved the confidence of his         
work-people1 all the most industrious   
amongst them might have grown bound up  
as commandite partners with the         
interests of the establishment1 having  
no longer for their object the raising  
of their own wages1 but the prosperity  
of that business in the profits of which
 they would have a share--able on the   
one hand1 as receivers of wages1 to     
counsel the employer1 their managing    
partner1 as to any wise advance2 able1  
on the other1 as receivers of profits1  
to dissuade their fellow-workers from   

any injurious demand4#dg  ,let us also  
hear the opinion of a practical         
merchant--,mr4 ,george ,warde ,norman1 a
 ,director of the ,bank of ,england3    
,the extreme difficulty1 if not the     
legal impossibility in ,england1 of     
giving clerks or workmen a salary       
proportioned to the profits of an       
employer1 without making them partners  
in the widest sense1 ,i consider a vast 
practical evil4 ,it seems to me that the
 system thus checked is of so highly    
beneficial a nature1 that it merits     
every encouragement that the law can    
give it4 ,it would at once enable an    
earnest wish on the part of a portion of
 the operative class to be met in a way 
most satisfactory to their feelings4#dh 
,however earnest and thinking men may   
differ as to the legislative means of   
effecting a more perfect union of skill 
and capital1 it is a prayer in which all
 good men unite1 that the condition of  
the working-classes may be more and more
 improved1--that their outward          

circumstances may be made better and    
better4 ,but those who labour the       
steadiest1 and the most zealously1 in   
the endeavour to realize this hope1 feel
 that the day of this amelioration is   
far removed by perpetual contests       
between the employed and the employers1 
which impede production and diminish the
 funds for the support of labour4 ,they 
know that every improvement in the arts 
of life improves also the condition of  
the humblest working-man in the land2   
and they also know that every successive
 improvement has a tendency to lessen   
the inequality in the distribution of   
wealth4 ,but1 if the condition of the   
working-men of these kingdoms is to be  
permanently improved1--if they are to   
obtain a full share of the blessings    
which science and industry confer upon  
mankind1--they must win those blessings 
by their own moral elevation4 ,they     
cannot snatch them by violence2 they    
cannot accomplish them suddenly by      
clamour2 they cannot overthrow a        

thousand opposing circumstances to a    
great and rapid rise of wages2 they must
 win them by peaceful and steady        
exertion4 ,when the working-men of this 
country shall feel1 as the larger       
portion of them already feel1 that      
,knowledge is ,power1 they will next set
 about to see how that power shall be   
exercised4 ,the first tyranny which that
 power must hold in check is the tyranny
 of evil habits--those habits which1    
looking only to the present hour1 at one
 time plunge some into all the          
thoughtless extravagance which belongs  
to a state of high wages--at another1   
throw them prostrate before their       
employers1 in all the misery and        
degradation which accompany a state of  
low wages1 without a provision for that 
state4 ,it is for them1 and for them    
alone1 to equalize the two conditions4  
,the changes of trade1 in a highly      
commercial country like this1 must be   
incessant4 ,it is for the workmen       
themselves to put a governor on the     

commercial machine1 as far as they are  
concerned2 in a season of prosperity to 
accumulate the power of capital--in a   
season of adversity to use effectively1 
because temperately1 that power which   
they have won for themselves4  ,but     
there are other duties to be performed1 
in another direction--the duties of     
employers4 ,that duty does not consist  
in making servants partners1 if the     
employers have no inclination thereto4  
,it does not consist in attempting any  
private benevolence1 by raising the rate
 of wages paid by their own firms beyond
 the average rate1 which attempt would  
be ruinous to both classes interested4  
,but it does consist in exercising the  
means within their power to benefit the 
condition of all in their employ1 by    
cultivating every sympathy with them    
that may be the real expression of a    
community of interests4 ,such sympathy  
is manifested when large firms devote a 
considerable portion of their profits to
 the education of the young persons     

employed in their factories2 when they  
cultivate the intelligent pleasures of  
their adult work-people2 when1 in a     
word1 they make the factory system a    
beautiful instrument for raising the    
whole body of their labourers into a    
real equality1 in all the moral and     
intellectual conditions of our nature1  
with themselves the captains of         
industry4 ,when those duties are        
attended to1 there may be common        
misfortunes2 demand may fall off2 the   
machinery1 whether of steam or of mind1 
may be imperfectly in action2 the season
 of adversity may bring discomfort4 ,but
 it will not bring animosity4 ,there may
 be deep anxieties on one part1 and     
severe privations on the other1 but     
there will not be hatreds and           
jealousies1--the cold neglect1 and the  
grim despair4    ,we know the arduous   
strife1 the eternal laws1   ,to which   
the triumph of all good is given3       
,high sacrifice1 and labour without     
pause1   ,even to the death4    #df ,the

 subject of itinerant traders is treated
 fully in an article by        the      
author of ',knowledge is ,power1' in a  
paper in ',london1' vol4 i4        ,a   
portion of that article is here         
reprinted1 with some alterations4    #dg
 ,first ,report of ,mercantile ,law     
,commission1 #ahed4    #dh ,ibid4       
,,london3 ,,printed ,,by ,w4 ,,clowes   
,,and ,,sons1 ,,stamford ,,street1 ,,and
     ,,charing ,,cross4          99     
99       99       99       99           
,,transcriber ,,notes3      ,page x3    
illustration #ie was not included in    
this edition4      ,page #fa3 seing     
changed to seeing 7and seeing1          
therefore1 the     fallacy74      ,page 
#hc3 cobler changed to cobbler          
7carpenter1 carter1     cobbler1 cook74 
,page #aee3 ,parke changed to ,park     
7,mungo ,park describes the sad         
condition74      ,page #aif3 ,delf      
changed to ,delft 7the common ware from 
,delft74      ,page #bbg two places3    
calicos changed to calicoes 7no longer  

sends us his calicoes7 and 7is not      
longer weaving calicoes for     us74    
,page #bdh3 deleted the 7beyond         
providing a supply of material74        
,illustration caption preceding page    
#cba3 ,manufctory changed to            
,manufactory 7,pianoforte ,manufactory74
      ,page #cib3 an4 changed to ann4   
7#cj per ann4 should now be74      ,page
 #cif3 diference changed to difference  
7it also expresses     the difference   
between74