The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1884-05-18

"a. . wssk through The ysar. b. addine his
harvest allowance 70 his wtntsr wages. Il would
have taken him more than forty weeks to earn
the provision Of grain and malt which In l495
he could have got with fifteen. while the artisan
would b obliged TO give thlrty.two weeks
Instead Of ton weeks work for the same 70.
suit" We pass to the year 1898. whom the
magistrates OF the East Riding Of Yorkshire
decided that the agricultural laboref should
have but I'd. day In winter and Sd. IN summer.
though In harvest time mower might get 1Od.
and reaper "a. Artisans were TO b allowed
Cd. and I'd. Tho price Of wheat 10 l0s. AKA. .
quarter. that Of oatmeal 2os. 3D.. that OF malt
10. Sxd. II follows that In 1893 the work Of .
whole year would not supply the laborer with
the quantity Of food which IN f495 be
earned with fifteen weeks labor. At tho
same period In Chester. workmen were
even worse paid than In the East Riding.
artisans receiving not moro than 3d.. and
laborsrs only ID In 1910 the Rutland
magistratcs again met at Quarter Sessions.
and fixed rates which continued in force
Till at least 1884. Farm hands are to get Cd. In
winter. I'd. In summer. except ct harvest. whom
mower may earn 10d. . day and . reaper Cd.
Artisans arc to be paid from 10 TO Q pence In
summer and pence In winter. Tho price Of
wheat In 1884 was 400. I'd. Dor quarter. OF malt
l5s. AID. Of oatmeal ass. Id It appears.
therefore. that q Rutland handlcraftsman. II he
earned penoe day the year through. would
have TO toll forty-three weeks In order to %.
euro what mechanic in 1895 could have pur-
chased with ton weeks labor. while the wages
Of the peasant would fall abort By nearly as
shillings Of procuring that quantity Of provis-
ions. although he should work every day In the
year except Sunday.
That the advent Of tho Commonwealth In
~ H~~ Ahnk >kSu
pears from the proceedings OF the Essex maRis-
tratss In 1851. The artisan. they said. should
have from L. ID. = day in summer and Is. "a.
In winter to Is. Cd. and Is. A.. while ordinary
laborers were to be paid from 10. I'd. to Is. ex-
cept ut midsummer. when moving would
bring In 10. 3d.. and roaping. IL. 10d.
per diem. Unfortunately. the price Of wheat
was now 6ls. ID. OF malt Gas. ID. and
that OF oatmeal from 64s. to 49,. the quar-.
ter. Evidently the aggregate cost Of the
annual stock OF wheat. malt and oatmeal
needed to support household Il now ZIG l3s.
Cd. II the mechanic worked fifty-two weeks In
the year he could earn q tribe over E20. while
the peasant. including his harvest winnings
could get together about E1s. He is there
ford distinctly better OF than he was forty
years ago. at all events In Essex. But this
faint CLEAN OF hope 10 Quenohed at the Res
toration. In 1854 the artisans pay 10 cut down
to shilling day. and that OF farm hands to
3d.. except at harvest. whom they get a shilling
for moving and reaping. Those are summer
wages: the winter Day is a penny day less.
Wheat at this timo was 3As. 4d. barley 22s.
3D.. and oatmeal 46s. Cd. q quarter. While.
thon the years stock OF grain and malt costs
Ella lis. 3d.. tho yearly wages Of the artisan are
els 1885,. and those OF the farm laborer utterly
INADEQUATE to purchase the Indispensable pro-
Ia n
the help OF the contributions Of wife and chill
dren. Mr.. Rogers is not discussing what might
have been the aggregate earnings Of u family.
but on what resources an individual lnborer
could rely II on his shoulders foil the support
OF household. Without going further into
details. We may say that In 1725 years work
would not suffice to supply q husbandman or
q mechanic with the stock Of grain food which
In 1895 was bought with nitsen or with
ton weeks labor. Yet there was some i'm.
provement made In the first half Of the
eighteenth century. and traces Of this were
still noticeable whom Arthur Young made his
tour through England. but after the lapse
OF few years tho condition OF labor 10 worse
than 1t had ever been. In 1875. whom very COM
prehensivo statistics were gathered BY Eden.
the collective earnings OF manv laborers' faml.
lies. taken from Q large number Of English
counties. fell short Of the annual expenditure
for the absolute necessaries OF life from 8S l5s.
to xl2 lSs. Between 1792 and 1875 such pro-
visions as these laborers could procure had
risen by about las per cent. yet wages remained
nearly stationary. 1t Ia not surprising that the
poor rate rose to 1000. 900. and yet the people
were starving. There was no melioratlon In
the workingm an q condition until after the close
Of the long war against Napoleon. His earn
ings we're far below the cost Of his indispensa-
bic food. no account being taken Of other necos-
sary expenses for house rent fuel. and clothing.
Summing up his examination Of these facts.
Mr.. Rogers writes: we have now been able to
trace the process BY which the condition Of
English labor had boon continuously dete-
riorated by the acts Of Government. 1t was
first impoverished by the issue Of base money.
Next 1t was robbed Of Its guild capital by the
land thioves OF Edwards regency. 1t was next
brought In contact with a new and moro needy
set Of employers-the sheep masters. who sue
ceeded the monks. It was then with pre-
tence OF kindness subjected to the Quarter ses-
sions assessment. mercilessly used In the first
half OF tho seventeenth century. the agrlcul-
tural laborer being still further impoverished by
being made the rssiduum OF all labor. The
farm hand was then further mulcted by en-
closures and the extinction Of his immemo-
rial rights OF pasture and fuel The Poor
law proiessei to find him work. bu,
was so administered that the reduction
OF his wages to a hare subsistence became
an easy process and an economical sxpodient
When the monarchy WAS restored. his employ
ers. who fixed his wages by their own authority
relieved their own estates from their ancient
| dues at the expense OF the worklngmnn's poor
luxuries BY the excise. tied him to tho soil By
| tho Law OF Settlement. and starved him BY q
| prohibitlve Corn law. The freedom OF the few