The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1804-06-30 00:00:00

such as stage work, for which, during the last war,
'three hundred per cent. above the present prices
'were allowed by the Surveyors of the Navy, and, in
sortie instances, twenty times the value:—ln paying
the workmen for the extra time at a quadruple rate,
compared with the establi.hed pay :—ln paying
them for work supposed to be done in the extra time,
when all the work performed exceeded only, in a
small degree, that which they should have done in
the ordinary hours the yard :—ln paying the old
and infirm shipwrights employed in the mast, boat,
top, and capstanhouses, without any regard to their
!earnings, the same rate of wages as the most efficient
shipwrights employed at the dockside, and, in some
instances, even a higher rate : —ln requirin the oth-
:
cers to sign certificates of work haviag been done,
before the men could be entitled to certain wages.
when they had no rule for estimating the valise of
the work ; and even after they had declared they
could not be responsible for the certificates which
they were so required to sign :—ln doubling the
contra& prices for the teams in all the yards, without
any application from the contraftors for that pur-
pose ;—and, in paying the wages of she yards, with-
out previously examining the pay books with the
notes and vouchers, or auditing the accounts after.
wards.

'these irregularities and abuses, which we have
thus shortly enumerated, were not necessarily at-
tendant on the job system ; but there are other de—
lefts, which we fear are inseparably conneded with it.
In private concerns, where working by the piece is,
adopted, there is generally an individual or counter-
aCting interest opposed to that of the workmen. The
employer is concerned in observing that the prices be
not too high, and that faithful accounts be takennf the
work; but in the public service, there is no check, ex-
cept that which arises from a sense of duty in the
overseer; and although that sense of ditty may be
strongly impressed on the minds of the officers placed
in that situation, it will necessarily be discouraged
by the opposition it will be sure to meet with from
those whose profits it may attempt to depress; and
as there is a general inclination in men to be liberal,
if not profuse, when iuweorained by self-interest, we
apprehend, unless the coedud of the officers be at-
tended to with scrupulous 'sadness, the sense of
public duty will frequently be found to yield to
other considerations. The system of fallacy gene-
rally introduced in the late war to increase the wages
of the workmen, s a strong confirmation of this
observation.

The establishing of proper pekee.for all tbe va-
rious articles of work, capable of being distinalv
valued, is a matter of great difficulty, and, after all,
there are some articles and some employments in
the dock yard, which will not:admit of being so ap-
preciated.
Whatever be the extent to which the scheme of
employing the workmen by job may be carried, there
must be still a considerable somber of the men at
day work, who will look for a rate of pay equal,
or but little inferior, to what the others receive;
the influence of job work will therefore tend to en.
crease the rate of pay generally to all persons. Be-
sides the difficulties in the regulation of prices,
too many occur in keepiqg vast number of accounts
required to prote& the pdblic from fraud under this
system ; and from the unintentional errors to which
the accounts taken of the work are exposed, from
the manner i s which they are taken, and the situa-
tion of the persons employed on that service, that we
doubt whether, with all the vigilance, that can rea-
sonably be looked for in zealous officos, such ac-
counts can be expeaed as ought to be relied on.

To be contioue.l.