The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1892-03-20
Thsrsla Rogers's Last Lectures.

| OF Prices" six Centuries OF Work an
Wages" and 1.-THE Economic Interpret
Of History Not long bsfore his recent dealt
he delivered at Oxford. in his capacity OF Pro
fcseor Of Political Eoonomy.a sories OF lecture
on tho industrial and commercial history o
England, These are now published BY tn
Putnams, not In the careful literary form whicl
their author would have wished to give them
but In tho shape OF the notes used In the leo
ture room. In spite. however. Of many verba
| errors and faults OF construction. the atten
tive reader will not find It difficult to discern
the authors meaning. aud We have cause Il
be grateful for the light thrown In these loo
lures on economical and historical problemi
BY Mr.. Rogers's lifelong exploration Of recon
ditto sources OF knowledge.
There arc twenty OF these lectures. and the,
cover almost all the questions OF the da,
which interest political economists from
bimetallism to contrasts for the use OF lane
and the working Of the joint-stock principle ir
capital and labor In his discussion OF all these
questions Mr.. Rogers's viewpoint IL that o.
the historian rathor than OF the abstract rea'
soner: he preferred at all times to follow the
| inductive method for which he was pre-.
eminently qualified by an incomparably wide
acquaintance with the economic facts In the
evolution OF the English people, We have
chosen. therefore. to exemplify tho value Of
this volume by certain lectures In which the
authors characteristic attitude is most
strikingly exhibited. and in which his stores
Of curious Information are drawn upon most
copiously and with most instructive results.
Those lectures are four and they do al respec-
lively with the development OF industrial skill
| in England. with the progress Of English pop
ulatlon. with tho development Of transit and
with the comparative utility in agriculture oil
large and small holdings.
In discourse on the developmen OF indus
| trial skill In England. Mr.. Rogers undertakes
to show what were the causes which induced
the remarkable backwardness Of that country
in the industrial arts. and what were the agen-
cies which in quite recent times brought about
q most sudden development Of industry. both
there and in southern Scotland. How back
ward England was throughout the middle ages
compared with its Continental neighbors. and
especially Flanders. is clear from the persist
ent failure to turn to account two national
products. the supply OF which was inexhaustt-
BILE as far as the raw material went. These
were iron and salt. AS matter Of fact. tho do
mestio produce OF iron In England. during me-
diH,val times. was scanty and OF inferior quail
~. the country depending for what It wanted
on northern Spain and Sweden. The price.
too. was prodigiously high. It will interest
ironmasters to know that during the four
teenth century in England. iron in mass was
worth in money OF the time $40 ton. equiv
alent to $40 at the present day. since twelveis
on the whole reasonable multipller Of four
teenth century prices It is easy enough to
see what would be the effect on agriculture.
and. indeed. on any industry which requires
tools. II at the present time iron cost $40
top GO fho nj do "a ~ oo1t IN
Worcestershire and Cheshire are enormous.
aud the Romans had certainly made use OF the
Worcestershire beds. But the art had been
lost and tho English were so completely de-
pendent on French supplies that the unre-
strained export OF salt from France was
repeatedly made the subject OF stipulation in
diplomatic instruments. and was supposed to
be 20 essential to England that the restraint Of
its export was suggested to French opponents
as q military tactic Tho use OF salt was. OF
course. essential to tho fisheries and II Eng
land could have supplied the Dutch and Flem-
ings with q manufactured product the mo-
nopoly Of itwould have been nearly as Lucrative
as that OF wool
1t was aot until the end OF the seventeenth
century that the process OF refining rock salt
was rediscovored Then. too. the art OF max
ing brick had been lost. There was plenty OF
Roman brick to be seen In southern England.
and the English did make tiles from an early
period: but they did not make brick till the
latter part of the fifteenth century, and then
they borrowed the revived art from tho Flem-
ings. Apropos OF this fact, the author tells us
that some years ago in one Of the Kcnsiugton
exhibitions, visitors were invited to inspect a
medieval house. 1t was built OF brick, but
Mr.. Rogers il sure that at the time which that
house was supposed to represent, brick maxi
ing was unknown in England and no bricks
were used for house building In London. In
the middle ages the ordinary English house
was q timber frame on which, within and
without, oaken laths were nailed and covered
with q strong plaster OF lime, small slned
stone and hair. Even after the rediscoyerv OF
brick. making the material was. and for a lonp
time remained, exceedingly dear.
The remarkable isolation OF English life was
a greet obstacle to tho development OF manu-.
featuring enterprise. During medieval times
only an insignificant fraction of the English.
people dwelt In towns; all the rest lived In
and mauors, senuestered socinl units
that had but little intercourse with one an.
other. Within the bounds OF a parish or manor
Mr.. Rogers believes that there was ps.cs and
security, but there was very llttlo Of either nm
the Kings Highway n is at AL, svonts A.
.....ii, .L.t 4, ~. n.,Iv A., III 49,