第1章

LONDON：

LONGMAN，REES，ORME，BROWN，GREEN，&；LONGMAN，PATERNOSTERROW。

1834。

TOTHE

ELECTORSANDINHABITANTS

OF

BOLTON。GENTLEMEN，Ihavebeen，forsometime，engagedinpreparinganextensiveworkuponthefinancialandcommercialresourcesofthe

country。Thisworkcontainssomechaptersuponwages，andupontheeffectsofcombinationsforregulatingthem，which

appearpeculiarlyapplicableatthepresentcrisis；and，therefore，withoutwaitingforthemoregeneralwork，ofwhichtheyformacomponentpart，Ipublishtheminadetachedandseparateform。TotheInhabitantsofBolton，itisofparamountimportance，thatwagesshouldbepermanentlyhigh。Thegreatmajorityof

thepeople，whoseonlysourceofincomeistheirlabour，haveadirectandimmediateinterestinobtainingforthatlabourthe

greatestpossiblereward；thehousekeeperswhoengageinthelocaltradeofthedistrict，haveamoreindirect，butanotless

certaininterestinhighwages，inasmuchas，withtheincreaseinthelabourers’meansofpurchasing，theirbusinessandtheir

profitsmustincreasealso；andtheproprietorsofhouses，ofcottages，andofbuildingground，haveaninterestinhighwages，

because，inproportiontothegeneralprosperity，thedemandfortenementswillincrease，andrentswillimprove，andbe

morepunctuallypaid。Thus，itistheuniversalinterestofthetown，thatlabourshouldobtainanamplereward；and，asthe

representativeofthatuniversalinterest，Ihavefeltittobemydutytoendeavourtoascertain，uponwhatprinciples，andtowhatextent，itispracticabletoincreasewages。Boltonhashadthehonouroforiginatingsomeofthemostimportantimprovementsinthegreatstaplemanufactureof

England；andItrustthatitisdestinedtohavethefurtherhonour，ofsettinganenlightenedexample，ofthemannerinwhich

thoseimprovementsmayberenderedmostconducivetotheprosperityofthecountry，andtothepermanentcomfortandhappinessofthepeople。WiththeseviewsIrequestpermission，todedicatethefollowingpagestoyou，asatestimonyofmysincererespect，andasa

memorialoftheenduringgratitudeIfeel，fortheprouddistinctionwhichyourpartialfavourhasconferreduponme。

Ihavethehonortobe，GENTLEMEN，YourfaithfulServant，andverysincereFriend，R。TORRENS

ContentsChap。I。—OnthegeneralPrincipleswhichregulateWages。

Chap。II—OntheEffectofMachineryuponWages。

Chap。III—OntheEffectofCombinationsforreducingWages。

Chap。IV—OntheEffectofCombinationsforRaisingWages。

Chap。V—OnMrFielden’sSchemeforLimitingtheHoursofLabour。ChapVI—OntheQuestion，wouldtheProfitsoftheFarmerbeReducedbysuchareductioninthevalueofFood，aswouldadmitofanIncreaseofrealWages？Chap。VII—OntheQuestion，wouldaFreeTradeinCorndiminishEmployment，andreduceWages，bycontractingthe

HomeMarket，inagreaterproportionthatitextendedtheForeignMarket？

ON

WAGESANDCOMBINATION。CHAPTERI。ONTHEGENERALPRINCIPLESWHICHREGULATEWAGES。Theprincipleswhichregulatethewagesoflabourform，withoutanyexception，themostinterestingandthemostimportant

divisionofPoliticalEconomy。Thelabouringclassescomposethegreatbulkofeverycommunity；andacountryishappyor

miserable，astheyarewellorillsuppliedwiththenecessaries，comforts，andenjoymentsoflife。ThestudyofPolitical

Economy，ifitdidnotteachthewayinwhichlabourmayobtainanadequatereward，mightservetogratifyamerely

speculativecuriosity，butcouldscarcelyconducetoanypurposesofpracticalutility。Itclaimsthepeculiarattentionofthe

benevolentandgood，mainlybecauseitexplainsthecauses，whichdepressandelevatewages，andtherebypointsoutthe

means，bywhichwemaymitigatethedistress，andimprovethecondition，ofthegreatmajorityofmankind。Political

Economyisnot，ashasbeenerroneouslystated，theappropriatescienceofthestatesmanandthelegislator；itispeculiarly

andemphatically，thescienceofthepeople。

DefinitionoftheTermLabour。Tomanyofourreadersitmaybematterofsurprisethatweshoulddeemitnecessarytogiveaformaldefinitionofaword

sosimple，andsogenerallyunderstood，asthetermlabour。Thefactis，thatrecenteconomicalwriters，ofnoinconsiderable

eminence，haveemployedtheirtermsinsomanydifferentsenses，andextendedtheirsignificationtosomanydissimilar

things，thatthelanguageofthesciencehasbeenrenderedlooseandindeterminate；andthat，inusingthemostfamiliarwords，itoftenbecomesnecessary，notonlytoexplainwhattheirmeaningis，buttopointoutwhatitisnot。Ourfirstparents，evenbeforethecondemnationto\"eatbythesweatoftheirbrow，\"couldnothavebroughtthefruitsof

Edentotheirlipsbyathought，orawish；theymusthaveemployedsomedegreeofmuscularormanualexertion，inorderto

gatherthem。Nowmuscular，ormanualexertion，employedinordertoprocuretheobjectsofdesire，isthatwhich，inthelanguageofPoliticalEconomy，wedenominatelabour。Mentalexertion，whenemployed，asitoftenis，inprocuringforustheobjectsofourdesire，iscalledmental，orintellectuallabour。Wheneverthetermisusedwithoutsuchqualifyingepithets，itmeanshumanmuscularexertion，andnothingmore。Intheproductionofwealth，theagencyoftheinferioranimals，theagencyofmachines，andtheagencyofthepowersof

nature，arefrequentlyemployedtoproduceeffectssimilartothose，whichareproducedbyhumanagency。Butitisnot，

therefore，correcttospeak，assomeeconomicalwritersdo，（1）ofthelabourofcattle，thelabourofmachines，andthelabour

ofnature。InthelanguageofPoliticalEconomy，everythingshouldbepreciseanddefinite；andourterms，insteadofbeinggeneralized，soastoconfounddistinctions，shouldbeparticularized，soastomarktheshadesofdifferencebetween

analogousobjectsandtoplacethembeforeusseparate，and，asitwere，atadistancefromeachother。Insteadofapplying

thesamecommontermtotheseveralagenciesofmen，ofcattle，ofmachines，andofnatureweshouldsaythelabourofmen，theworkofcattle，theactionofmachines，andtheoperationsofnature。Itissometimessaid，that\"intheideaoflabour，theideaofsubsistenceisincluded；\"（2）andthat\"whenwespeakoflabourasathingbyitselftheideaofsubsistenceisincludedinit。\"Suchloosemodesofexpressionare，tosaytheleastofthem，neitherverylogical，norveryintelligible。Labourisonething；thesubsistencewhichsupportsthelabourerisanother，andaverydifferentthing；andconfounding

thesetwodifferentthingsunderonecommonterm，canonlyleadtoambiguity，misconception，anderror。Tosay，that，when

weconsiderlabourasathingbyitselfweincludeintheconsiderationanotherandadifferentthing，ismanifestlyabsurdandcontradictory。Inthewritingsofpoliticaleconomists，wefrequentlymeetwiththephrases\"accumulatedlabour，\"\"hoardedlabour。\"These

formsofexpressionareincorrect。Wemayaccumulateandhoardthearticleswhichlabourhasproduced；butthelabour

itself，theactionofthehumanmuscles，ceasedtoexisttheinstantitwasperformed，andbecame，inthenatureofthings，

incapableofbeingeitheraccumulatedorhoarded。\"Accumulatedlabour，\"and\"hoardedlabour，\"are，atthebest，but

figurativeexpressions，notofthehappiestkind；andtointroducethemintothepreciseandaccuratediscussionsofPoliticalEconomy，istosubstitutethedictionofpoetryforthenomenclatureofscience。Thetermlabour，then，whenitsmeaningisunqualifiedbytheepithet\"mental，\"or\"intellectual，\"signifiestheactionofthehumanmuscles，directedtoobtaintheobjectsofdesire；anditsignifiesnothingmore。DefinitionofWagesWhenmenceasetoworkupontheirownaccount，theymustreceivefromtheiremployers，inexchangefortheirlabour，

sucharticlesofwealth，asmaybenecessarytopreservetheminworkingcondition，andtoenablethemtokeepuptherace

oflabourers。Thearticlesofwealthwhichthelabourerreceives，inexchangeforhislabour，aredenominatedwages。When

thequantityofnecessariesandcomfortswhichthelabourerreceivesislarge，wagesaresaidtobehigh；whenitissmall，theyaresaidtobelow。Whenmoneybecomestheinstrumentofexchangingonethingforanother，adistinctionmustbemadebetweenmoney

wages，andcommoditywages；or，inotherwords，betweennominalandrealwages。Realwagesconsistofthequantityof

necessariesandcomfortswhichthelabourerreceives；nominalwagesofthesumofmoney，inwhichheispaid。Ifmoney

alwaysretainedthesamevalue，inrelationtothenecessariesandcomfortsoflife，nominalwageswouldalwaysbeacorrect

measureofrealwages；andbothwouldriseorfalltogether，andinthesameproportion。Buttheexchangeablepowerof

moneyisliabletoconstantfluctuations，andthereforenominalwagesoftenrisewhilerealwagesfall，andfallwhilereal

wagesrise。Itisalmostsuperfluoustoadd，thatitisonthestate，notofnominal，butofrealwages，thattheconditionoftheworkingclassesdepends。Itissometimessaidthatwagesriseandfall，notasthelabourerreceivesagreateroralessquantityofwealth；（3）but，onthe

contrary，ashereceivesagreateroralessproportionofthewholewealthproduced。Thus，ifthelabourerhadreceived，as

hisannualwages，fiftyquartersofcornandfiftysuitsofclothing，whenthewholeannualproduceofhislabourwasone

hundredquartersandonehundredsuits；then，ifheshouldreceiveonlytwenty—fivequartersandtwenty—fivesuitswhenthe

wholeproduceofhislabourbecameonlyfortyquartersandfortysuits，hiswages，insteadofhavingfallenone—half，would

haveexperiencedaconsiderablerise；becausetheproportionoftwenty—fivetoforty—fiveisgreaterthantheproportionof

fiftytoonehundred。Inthissenseoftheterms，wagesmaybefallingwhilethelabourerisearningamoreabundantquantity

ofallthenecessariesandcomfortsoflife；andmayberising，whileheissinkingtoastateoftheutmostdestitution，andactuallyperishingoffamine。Thisisastrangeandunnecessary，nottosayabsurd，perversionoflanguage。Thetermwagesissometimesemployedinaveryextensivesense，beingmadetosignifynotonlythatwhichisgiventothe

labourer，butalltheotheradvancesofthecapitalist。Thisgeneralizationisimproper。Thetermcapitalisthegeneralterm，

comprisingthatwhichisgiventothelabourer，andthatwhichadvancedasseed，material，andmachinery；thetermwagesis

thespecificterm，markingthatparticularportionofthecapitalist’sadvanceswhichisgiventothelabourerforhislabour。

Whenweextendthesignificationofthetermwagestoseed，material，andmachinery，werenderitsynonimouswiththeterm

capital。Forthesakeofconvenienceandprecision，itisnecessarythatsomeonetermshouldbeappropriatedtosignifythat

particularportionofcapitalwhichisadvanceddirectlyandimmediatelytothelabourer，inpaymentforhislabour；andthe

termwhichgeneralusagehassoappropriatediswages。Tocallseed，material，andmachinery，wages，isaconfoundingof

terms；tocallthemthewagesofthatnon—entity，accumulatedlabour，isstillworse。Suchvaguegeneralizationinvolvesusin

endlessambiguity，obscurity，andconfusion。InthevocabularyofPoliticalEconomy，asinthelanguageofcommonlife，the

termwagessignifiesthatwhichispaidforlabour，andsignifiesnothingmore。

TheMaximumofWages。Aswagesarepaidoutoftheproduceofindustry，itisobviousthattherearenaturalandnecessarylimits，beyondwhichthey

cannotbepermanentlyincreased。Thus，if100labourersexpend200quartersofcornforseedandimplements，andraisea

returnof500quarters，itisphysicallyimpossiblethattheirwagesshouldcontinuetobemorethan300quarters；because，if

theydid，seedandimplementswouldnotbereplaced，andthecapitalistscouldnotcontinuethecultivationoftheearth。

Again，ifitwerenecessarytoresorttoaninferiorsoil，uponwhich100labourers，withanexpenditureof200quartersfor

seedandimplements，couldraisenomorethan400quarters，then，forthesamereason，itwouldbecomephysicallyimpossiblethattheannualwagesof100menshouldexceed200quartersofcorn。Intheabovecases，thelabourerissupposedtoreceiveashiswagesthewholeproduceoflabour，whichremainsafterthe

replacementofthecapitalist’sotheradvances。Thiscanoccuronlyinthoserareinstancesinwhichthecapitalist，without

seekinganyprofitforhimself，employslabourersfrompurebenevolenceandcharity。Inthevastmajorityofactualcases，the

capitalist，inadditiontothereplacementofallhisadvances，willreserveaportionoftheproduceofindustryashisprofit；

andthoughtherewillexistnophysical，yettherewillbeamoralimpossibility，thatwagesshouldexceedthat，whichremains

afterthecapitalist’sotheradvanceshavebeenreplaced，withthelowestrateofincrease，forthesakeofwhichhewillcarry

onhisbusiness。This，then，wemaycallthemoralmaximumofwages。Thelabourermayreceivemore，asabenevolentgift，

frommenoffortune，whodonotliveupontheirindustry；buthecannotreceivemore，inexchangeforcommonlabour，inthosegreatandpermanentbranchesofemploymentwhichsupplythecommunitywiththenecessariesandcomfortsoflife。Therateofincrease，whichissufficienttoinducethecapitalisttocontinueinbusiness，varies，fromcauses，whichitisnot

necessaryheretoexplain。Wemayforthepresentsafelyassume，thatthecapitalistwillnotengageintheworkofproduction，unlesshecanobtainaprofitofsevenpercent。Ifwetakesevenpercent。asthelowestrateofprofit，thenthemaximum，beyondwhichwagescannotrise，willbethat

portionoftheproduce，whichremains，afterreplacingtheadvancesnotconsistingofwages，anddeductingwhatisequi—

valenttosevenpercent。uponthewholeadvances。Thus，ifafarmeradvanceto100labourers200quartersofcorn，as

wages，with200quartersmoreforseedandimplements；andifheobtainareturnof428quarters，wageswillbeatthe

maximum，for，ifwetakefromthewholeproduceof428quarters，200quarters，toreplacetheseedandimplements

consumed，andalsodeduct28quarters，orsevenpercent，uponthewholeadvanceof400quarters，thenjust200quarters

willremaintobeagainadvancedaswages。Underthesecircumstances，itisself—evidentthatwagescouldnotriseabove

200quartersfor100men，forweremorethanthisgiventothelabourers，toolittlewouldremain，eitherforseedsandimplements，orforthatlowestrateofprofitwhichwillinducethefarmertocultivate。Itisobvious，thatthemaximumofwagesmayberaised，eitherbythecultivationoflandofabetterquality，orby

improvementsintheeffectivepowersofindustry；andthatitmaybelowered，eitherbyresortingtopoorersoils，orbya

fallingoffintheeffectivepowersofindustry。Inanimprovingcountry，bettermodesofculturearegraduallyintroduced，and

labourismoreeffectuallyapplied，particularlyinmanufactures。Buttheeffectofsuchimprovements，inraisingthemaximum

ofwages，isingeneralcounterbalancedbythenecessityofresortingtoinferior，ormoredistantsoilsforthesupplyoffoodandmaterial。Thecircumstances，whichraisethemaximumofwagestothehighestpoint，arethoseinwhichathickly—peopledcountry，

excellinginmanufacturingindustry，carriesonaperfectlyfreetradewiththinly—peopledcountries，inwhichnonebutsoilsoffirst—ratequalityareundertillage。Asimpleillustrationwilldemonstratethis。Ifamastermanufactureremploy100labourers，whofabricateforhim428suitsofclothing，andif，fromtheinferiorquality

ofthesoilundercultivation，heisobligedtogive200suitsforthematerialsheworksup，itisevidentthatthehighestpoint

towhichthewagesofthe100labourerscanascendwillbe200suitsofclothing；becauseifmoreweregivenforlabour，thecapitalistwouldhavelessthanthelowestrateofprofit，whichisnecessarytoinducehimtocontinueinbusiness。Now，letanunrestrictedcommerceinagriculturalproducebeestablishedwithanewcountry，cultivatingnonebutfirst—rate

soils，andletrawproducebeinconsequencesoreducedinvalueascomparedwithwroughtgoods，thatthemanufacturer

canpurchasehisrawmaterialfor100，insteadoffor200suitsofclothing；andimmediatelythemaximumofwages，forthe

100labourers，willrisefrom200to300suitsbecausethecapitalist，obtaining428suits，andadvancingonly100for

materials，maygive300tohislabourers，andyetretain28suits，orsevenpercent。uponhiswholeadvanceof400suits。

Measuredinclothing，maximumwageswillhaverisen50percent，measuredinrawproducetheywillappeartohaverisen300percent。Englandhavingacquiredinmanufacturingindustryanefficacyunexampledinthehistoryoftheworld，andhavingthenew

countriesoftheAmericancontinentopentohercommerce，isplacedinthatprecisesituation，inwhichthemaximumof

wagesmaybeelevatedtothehighestattainablepoint。Butthevast，theincalculableadvantagesofthissituationare

counteractedbytherestrictivesystem，whichexcludescheaprawproducefromourmarkets。

TheMinimumofWages。Theminimumbelowwhichwagescannotpermanentlyfall，consistsinaquantityofthenecessariesandconveniencesoflife

sufficienttopreservethelabourerinworkingcondition，andtoinducehimtokeepuptheraceoflabourers。Thepoint，

belowwhichwagescannotfall，isnotafixedandimmutablepoint，butis，onthecontrary，liabletoconsiderablevariation。

Theshelterandclothingindispensableinonecountrymaybeunnecessaryinanother。AlabourerinHindostanmaycontinue

toworkwithperfectvigour，whilereceivingasupplyofclothingwhichwouldbeinsufficienttopreservealabourerin

Russiafromperishing。Evenincountries，situateinthesameclimate，differenthabitsoflivingwilloftenoccasionvariationsintheminimumofwages，asconsiderableasthosewhichareproducedbynaturalcauses。ThelabourerinIrelandwillrearafamilyundercircumstanceswhichwouldnotonlydeteranEnglishworkmanfrom

marriage，butwouldforcehimontheparishforpersonalsupport。Now，itiscertain，thatagradualintroductionofcapital

intoIreland，accompaniedbysuchadiffusionofinstructionamongstthepeople，aswouldimparttothematasteforthe

comfortsoflife，mightraisetheminimumofwagesinthatcountrytoanequalitywiththeirminimuminEngland；andwecan

conceiveasuccessionofimpoverishingandcalamitouscauses，whichmightsoreducethespiritofthepeopleofEngland，as

torenderthemsatisfiedwiththescantypittance，thatthelabourerobtainsinthesisterisland。Alterations，however，inthe

minimumofwagescannotbesuddenlyeffected。Sofarasthisminimumdependsuponclimate，itisunchangeable；andeven

sofarasitisdeterminedbythehabitsofliving，andtheestablishedscaleofcomfort，itcanbeeffectedonlybythose

circumstancesofprosperityordecay，andbythosemoralcausesofinstructionandcivilization，whichareevergradualin

theiroperation。Theminimumofwages，therefore，thoughitvariesunderdifferentclimates，andwiththedifferentstagesof

nationalimprovement，may，inanygiventimeandplace，beregardedasverynearlystationary。

Onthecircumstances，whichdeterminethepoint，atwhichactualWagessettle。Wehaveseen，thattheminimumofwagesisthatquantityoftheproducts，ofindustry，whichclimateandcustomrender

necessary，inordertosupportthelabourerwhileatwork，andtoinducehimtokeepuptheraceoflabourers；andithas

appearedthatthemaximumofwagesisthatquantityoftheproductsofindustrywhichremains，afterreplacingthe

advances，notconsistingofwages，andpayingthecapitalistthelowestrateofprofit，whichwillinducehimtocontinuetheworkofproduction。Now，whenclimateandcustomhavefixedtheminimum，belowwhichtherewardoflabourcan—notfall，andwhenthe

qualityofthesoil，theskillwithwhichlabourisapplied，andthedegreeoffreedomwhichisallowedtotrade，havedeter—

minedthemaximum，beyondwhichitcannotrise，whatistheprecisecircumstancewhichfixesthepointatwhichactualwagessettle？Inordertoputthisimportantquestioninamoreexactanddefiniteform，wewillassumethattheminimumwagesofthe

labourerarefivequartersofcornayear；andthattheminimumprofit，forthesakeofwhichthecapitalistwillmake

advances，issevenpercent。；andwewillsupposethatafarmer，byemploying100labourers，andadvancing500quartersof

cornforseedandimplements，obtainsareproductionof1605quarters。Inthiscase，whatistodeterminethewageswhich

the100labourersshallreceive？Theymayreceiveonly500quarters，shouldwagesfalltotheminimum；ortheymayreceive

1000quarters，shouldwagesrisetothemaximum；because，asthefarmerobtainsareproductionof1605quarters，hemay，

inadditiontohisadvanceof500quartersforseedandimplements，pay1000quarterstohis100labourers，andstillhave，

uponthiswholeadvanceof1500quarters，theminimumprofitofsevenpercent，whichissufficienttoinducehimto

continuehisbusiness。Whatthendetermineswhetherthe100labourersshallreceiveastheirwages500quartersor1000quarters，orsomemediumquantitybetweenthesetwoextremes？Theanswertothisquestionis，thattheoneandtheonlycausewhichcandeterminewhere，betweenthemaximumand

minimum，thewagesofthese100labourersshallbefixed，is，theproportionbetweenthenumberoflabourersandthe

quantityofthatcomponentpartofourfarmer’scapital，whichhecanexchangeforlabour。Amerestatementoftherelation

betweentheamountofthecapitalandthequantityofthelabourwillrenderthisself—evident。

HowtheproportionbetweenCapitalandLabourregulatesactualWages。Thefarmer，oncommencingbusiness，commands，wewillsay，acapitalof1000quartersofcorn；500quartersofwhichhe

advancesforseedandimplements。Overandabovehisnecessaryexpenditureforthesecomponentpartsofagricultural

capital，hehasbut500quartersdisposable；andthereforeitisphysicallyimpossiblethatheshouldgivetohis100labourersmorethanthose500quartersastheirwages。Thefarmerobtainsareproductionof1605quarters；butif605quartersoftheseareabsorbedinthecurrentexpensesofhis

family，hiscapital，atthecommencementofthesecondyear，willremainexactlythesameasitwasatthecommencementofthefirst，andanyincreaseofwageswillcontinuetobeimpossible。Butsupposingthatourfarmer，outofthe605quartersformerlydevotedtothecurrentexpensesofhisfamily，contrivesto

save250quarters，andaddsthemtohiscapitalof1000quarters，thenitwillimmediatelybecomepossibleforanadvanceof

wagestotakeplace；andassumingthatthenumberoflabourersremainasbefore，anadvanceofwagesequaltotheincrease

ofcapitalnecessarilywilltakeplace；the100labourersreceiving725quartersinsteadof500quarters。Forwhenthefarmer，

inordertoextendhiscultivation，makesanadditiontohiscapital，hewillrequireagreaternumberofhands，andwillseekto

temptthemintohisemploybytheofferofhigherwages。Butastheincreaseofcapitalissupposedtobegeneral，allother

capitalistswillrequireadditionalhandsaswellasourfarmer，andwillbeofferinghigherwagesalso。Allthecapitalistswill

beunwillingtolettheiradditionalcapitallieidleforwantofhands，and，withthetwo—foldobjectofretainingtheirown

labourers，andofobtainingthoseoftheirneighbours，willgoonadvancingwages，untilthewholeoftheiradditionalcapitalisabsorbed。Assumingthatallthelabourersarealreadyemployed，andthatnoadditionismadetotheirnumbers，itismorallycertain，

thatthewholeofeverynewaccumulationofcapitalwillassumetheformofincreasedwages，untiltherewardofthe

labourerhasreacheditsmaximum。Newaccumulationsofcapitalaremadeforthesakeofobtainingadvantagetherefrom。

Butitisimpossiblethatnewaccumulationsofcapitalshouldbeadvantageouslyemployed，unlesslabourerscanbeprocured。

Thenewcapital，accumulatedforthepurposeofgaininganadvantagebytheemploymentoflabourers，comesintothe

marketandbidsforhands；theoldcapital，inordertoretainitshands，iscompelledtobidagainstthenew，andthisprocess

goesonuntilthewholeexistingcapitalisinvestedinwages，seed，materials，andmachinery。Butasagivennumberofhands

canuseonlyagivenquantityofseed，materials，andmachinery，theseingredientsorcomponentpartsofcapitalcannotbe

increased，whilethequantityoflabourremainsthesame；andthereforeitisonlyintheformofincreasedwagesthatthenewaccumulationsofcapitalcanappear。Whenthenumberoflabourersremainsthesame，nothingcanpreventnewaccumulationsofcapitalfromappearingunder

theformofincreasedwages，exceptsuchanintimateunderstandingandconcertamongstcapitalists，aswouldinduceeach

individualoftheclass，insteadofseekingforadditionalhands，toallowallhisnewaccumulationsof’capitaltoremainidle

andunproductive。Butthesuppositionofanintimateconcertamongstcapitalists，forsuchapurpose，involvesthismanifest

contradictionandabsurditynamely，thattheyaccumulatecapitalforthesakeofemployingitadvantageously，atthesame

timethattheyresolvenottoemployitatall。Iftherewereanunderstandingthatallnewcapitalshouldbekeptunemployed，

nonewaccumulationwouldtakeplace。Whenevernewaccumulationsdotakeplace，theysupplyacompletedemonstration

thatnocombinationforthepurposeofnotemployingthemexists。Ifsuchnewaccumulationsaremade，itisinorderthat

theymaybeemployed；andiftheyareemployedthequantityoflabour，andthestateofknowledgeinapplyingmechanicalpowerremainingthesame，thereisnoforminwhichtheycanappear，exceptinthatofincreasedwages。Onthisprinciple，ifourfarmer，employingasbefore，100labourers，advancing500quartersofcornasseedandimplements，

andobtainingareproductionof1605quarters，were，outofthe605quartersformerlydevotedtothecurrentexpensesofhis

family，tosave500quartersinsteadof250quarters，thenthesecond250quarters，therebyaddedtohiscapital，would，like

thefirst，taketheformofincreasedwages，andtherewardofthe100labourers，whichhadbeforerisenfrom500to750

quarters，wouldnowriseto1000quarters。Herewageswouldhavereachedtheirmaximum；forthefarmer，advancing500

quartersforseed，and1000quartersforlabour，andobtainingareproductionof1605quarters，wouldgainnomorethantheminimumprofitofsevenpercent。，which，bythesupposition，isnecessary，toinducehimtocarryonhisbusiness。Underthesecircumstances，itisplainthatifthenumberoflabourersdidnotincrease，wageswouldcontinueattheir

maximum。Shouldthelabouringclass，duringtheincreaseofcapitalandadvanceofwages，haveacquiredatastefor

superiormodesofliving，theminimum，belowwhichwagescannotfallwithoutreducingthesupplyoflabour，mightbe

madetocoincidewiththemaximum，beyondwhichtheycannotrisewithoutsuspendingtheemploymentofcapital。When

thecoincidenceofminimumandmaximumwagesisbroughtaboutbysuperiorhabitsoflivingamongthepeople，raisingthe

formertothelevelofthelatter，thelabouringclasseswillbeinthemostaffluentconditioninwhich，inthenatureofthings，itispossibletheyshouldbeplaced。Thisaffluentconditioncanbepreservedtothelabouringclassessolongonlyastheymayrefusetoburthenthemselveswith

familiessufficienttokeepuptherace，unlesstheyreceivethehighestwageswhichcanbepaid，withouttrenchinguponthe

minimumrateofprofit。Anincreaseinthenumberoflabourers，withoutacontemporaneousandproportionalincreaseinthe

quantityofthoseingredientsofcapitalbywhichlabouris，maintained，isinevitablyfollowedbyadeclineofwages。While

ourfarmer’scapitalconsistsofseedandimplementssufficienttoemploy100labourers，andofaquantityofnecessaries

sufficienttopaythemwages，attherateof10quartersofcornperman，itisphysicallyimpossiblethatheshould，withthiscapital，giveemploymentto110labourersatthesamewages。Itnecessarilyfollows，fromtheprinciplesofrent，thatwhen，onthelastlandresortedto，thesmallnessoftheproduce

obtained，deprivesthefarmerofthepowerofgivinghislabourersmorethanissufficientforthesupportofanimallife，the

highrentwhichcompetitioncausestobepaidforallthemorefertilesoils，reducesthecultivatorofthebesttothesamelevelwiththecultivatoroftheworst，andbringsdownuniversallythemaximumofwagestotheminimum。Hithertowehavetakenourproofsandillustrationsfromagriculturallabour，becauseinagriculturetheprincipalthings

expended，suchasfoodandseed，beinghomogeneouswiththethingsreproduced，weareenabledtoformadirect

comparisonbetweenthequantitiesexpendedandthequantitiesreproduced，andthustogiveasimplicityanddistinctnessto

ourillustrations，whichcouldnototherwisebeobtained。Theprinciples，however，whichregulatewagesinagriculture，also

regulatetheminmanufactures。Where，asisnowthecaseinthiscountry，competitionisallowedtooperate，thevalueofthe

commonlabouremployedinproducingthefirstnecessariesoflifewillregulatethevalueofallotherkindsoflabour；

allowancebeingmadefordifferentdegreesofhardshipandofhazard，andforthetimeandexpenserequiredinlearninga

trade。

Beyondacertainpoint，theproportionbetweenCapitalandLabourceasestohaveanyinfluenceonWages。Ithasappearedthatminimumwagesarefixedbyclimate，andbythehabitsoflivingprevalentamongthelabouringclasses；

thatmaximumwagesaredeterminedbythequalityofthesoilundercultivation，bytheskillwithwhichlabourisapplied，and

bythedegreeoffreedomallowedtotrade；andthatthepointatwhichactualwagessettleisregulatedbytheproportion

whichexistsbetweenthenumberoflabourerstobemaintained，andthequantityofthoseingredientsofcapitalwhicharedestinedfortheirmaintenance。Theratiobetweenlabourandcapitalappearssometimestobeconsideredastheonlyregulatorofwages。Iftheconditionof

thegreatbodyofthepeoplebeeasyandcomfortable，itiscontendedthatallthatisnecessarytokeepitsoistomakecapital

increaseasfastaspopulation；or，ontheotherhand，topreventpopulationfromincreasingfasterthancapital；andthatifthe

conditionofthepeoplebenoteasyandcomfortable，itcanbemadesoonlybyquickeningtherateatwhichcapitalincreases，orbyretardingtherateatwhichpopulationincreases。（4）Thisistakinganarrowandincompleteviewofthecircumstanceswhichregulatewages。Theratiobetweenlabourand

capitalisnottheonlycause；itisbutoneoutoftheseveralcausesbywhichwagesaregoverned。Whenclimateandcustom

havedeterminedthepointbelowwhichtherewardoflabourcannotfall，andwhenthequalityofthesoil，andtheskillwith

whichin—dustryisapplied，havefixedthemaximumbeyondwhichitcannotrise，thentheratiobetweenpopulationand

capital，or，morecorrectly，betweenthequantityoflabourandthequantityoftheingredientsofcapitaldestinedforits

maintenance，determinestheintermediatepointatwhichactualwagessettle。Butthoughlabourandcapitalshouldgoon

increasinginthesameproportion，andthoughtheyshouldconstantlypreservethesameratiotoeachother，yetthenecessity

ofresortingtoinferiorsoilsmightgraduallyreducethemaximumofwagesuntilitcoincidedwiththeextrememinimum，

belowwhichlabourcannotbesustained。Atthispointthesupplyoflabourcouldbenofurtherincreased；andifhabitsof

frugalityamongsttheopulentclassescontinuedtoconvertrevenueintocapital，theratioofcapitaltopopulationmightgoonincreasing，withoutproducingtheslightestadvanceofwages。When，intheprogressofwealthandpopulation，wagesandprofitshavefallentotheirminimum，andwhenthenextquality

oflandtobetakenincannotbemadetoyieldareproductionsufficienttopaytheseminimumwagesandtoreplaceadvances

withminimumprofits，thenthatwhichissavedfromrevenuetobeaddedtocapitalcannotbeemployedathome，andwillbe

investedinforeignloansandforeignadventures。Atthispointthemostrapidaccumulationofcapital，thoughgoingonwhile

populationremainedstationary，couldhavenopossibleinfluenceonwages。

ThemeansbywhichWagesmaybeincreased。Thecircumstancesmostfavourabletothecomfortandhappinessofthegreatbodyofthepeople，arethoseinwhichthe

cultivationofnonebutsuperiorsoils，andthedivisionsofemployment，withtheaidofmachinery，raisetheeffectivepowers

ofindustry，and，consequently，themaxi—mumofwagestothehighestpoint；whiletherapidincreaseofcapital，orthe

prudentialhabitsofthepeoplewithrespecttoincreasingtheirnumbers，preservesbetweenthequantityoflabourandthe

quantityofthoseingredientsofcapitalwhichareapplicabletoitssupport，thatproportionwhichbringsactual，uptothelevelofmaximumwages。Thecircumstancesmostunfavourabletothecomfortandhappinessofthelabouringclass，arethoseinwhichthelow

effectivepowers，eitherofagriculturalorofmanufacturingindustry，bringdownthemaximumofwagestoalevelwiththe

extrememinimum，belowwhichthemerelyanimalwantsofthelabouringpopulationcannotbesupplied。Undersuch

circumstances，theconditionofthegreatbodyofthepeopleismelancholyandcalamitousinthehighestdegree。Already

standingontheextremevergeofexistence，oneverystagnationoftradeanddeficientharvest，theyaredeprivedofsupport，andvisitedbyfamine。Shouldtheresortingtosoilsofaninferiorquality，andtheloweffectivepowersofagriculturalindustryconsequentthereto，

bethecausewhichbringsdownthemaximumofwagestotheleveloftheirextrememinimum，thenthedegradationand

miseryofthepeoplecannotberemoved，unlesstheinferiorlandsarethrownoutofcultivation，eitherbythefree

importationofforeignagriculturalproduce，orbysuchareductionofthepopulationasmayenablethelandsofsuperiorqualitytoyieldasufficientsupplyoffoodandmaterialforthenumberswhichremain。Itistobecarefullyremembered，however，thattheimportationofforeignagriculturalproduce，andtheconsequentthrowing

outofinferiorsoils，thoughtheywillhavetheeffectofraisingmaximumorpossiblewages，cannotraisetheactualwages

received，unlesstheproportionwhichthequantityoflabourbearstothequantityoftheingredientsofcapitalapplicableto

itsmaintenanceshouldbeatthesametimereduced。If，previoustotheimportationofforeigncorn，100labourers，withan

expenditureof500quartersforseedandimplements，couldraise749quartersfromthelastqualityofsoilbroughtunder

cultivation，then，minimumprofitsbeingsevenpercent。，themaximumwagesof100menwouldbe200quarters；andif，

aftertheimportationofforeigncorn，allsoilswerethrownoutoftillage，exceptthosefromwhich100labourers，withan

expenditurefor500quartersforseedandimplements，couldproduce1605quarters，thenthemaximumwagesofthe100

labourerswouldrisefrom200quartersto1000quarters。Butthoughmaximum，orpossiblewages，mightthusadvance，itis

self—evidentthatactualwagescouldnotberaisedtothismaximum，unlessthequantityoflabourhadsodiminished，orthe

amountofcapitalhadsoincreased，thatforevery100labourerstobeemployed，thefarmer，inadditiontohisnecessaryadvancefor500quartersforseedandimplements，had1000quarterstoadvanceaswages。Itisalsotoberemembered，thatinacountrywhichhasapproachedtheultimatelimitsofheragriculturalresources，and

whichrefusestoadmitforeignagriculturalproduce，areductionofthepopulation，sufficienttothrowtheinferiorlandoutof

cultivation，thoughitincreasesmaximumorpossiblewages，yetwillnotadvanceactualwages，ifcapitalshouldbereduced

inthesameproportionwithpopulation。Ifthefarmer，whoemploys100men，hasacapitalofonly400quartersofcorn，and

ifheisobligedtoadvance200quartersforseedandimplements，thewagesofthe100menwillnecessarilybe200quarters，

whetherthesoiltheycultivateyields428or856quarters。Intheformercasethefarmer’sprofitswillbesevenpercent。；in

thelattertheywillbe114percent。Thisveryhighrateofprofitwouldoccasionarapidincreaseofcapital；andifthe

population，remainingstationary，rendereditun—necessaryagaintoresorttotheinferiorland，thewagesofthe100

labourerswouldrisefrom200quartersto600quarters，theextrememaximumdeterminedbythesuperiorqualityofthesoilundercultivation。Fromallthathasbeensaid，itmustbeevidentthattheimportantpowerofincreasing，orofdiminishing，therewardof

labour，is，bytheessentialorderofsociety，placedinthehandsofthelabourersthemselves。Irregularitiesintheseasons

bringingonscarcityandfamine，foreignincursions，ordomesticcommotions，destroyingproperty，orsuspendingproduction

byrenderingitinsecure，maysometimesoccasionadepressionofwages，whichnoprudenceonthepartofthelabouring

classescanavertormitigate。Butunderallordinarycircumstances，whentheusualcourseofnatureispreserved，andwhen

lawandorderaremaintained，itdependsuponthelabouringclassesthemselveswhetherwagesshallascendtotheultimate

maximum，orsinktotheextrememini—mum。Bydulyregulatingtheirnumbers，inrelationtotheextentandfertilityofthe

soil，theyenlargetherangeofmaximumwages；andbyregulatingtheirnumbers，inrelationtothecomponentpartsofcapitalemployed，theycauseactualwagestoascendtotheirultimatemaximum。Undersuchcircumstanceseveryimprovementinagricultureeveryadditiontomechanicalpowereverynewfacilityafforded

tocommunicationandtransporteverything，inshort，whichreducesthecostofbringingthenecessariesoflifetomarket，

raises，atoneandthesametime，bothpossibleandactualwages，bestowsuponthelabouringclassesmoreamplemeansofcomfortandenjoyment，andliftsthemtoahigherplaceuponthescaleofsociety。Ontheotherhand，whenthelabouringclassesallowtheirnumberstobearahighproportion，eithertotheextentoffertile

land，ortotheamountofcapitalapplicabletotheirmaintenance，wageswillsettledowntotheextrememinimum，below

whichanimalexistencecannotbesustained。Undersuchcircumstances，everyfluctuationoftheseasons，everystagnationor

revulsionintrade，willbringdownuponthelabouringpopulationallthemiseriesofwant，anddegradethemtoastatemore

precariousandwretchedthanthatofnegroservitude。

ThereisnotendencyinPopulationtoincreasefasterthanCapital，andthustodegradeWages。Wereittrue，ashasbeensometimesstated，thatpopulationhasatendencytoincreasemorerapidlythancapital，（5）all

endeavourstoimprovetheconditionofthepeoplewouldbecompletelyidleandabortive。Theexistenceofsuchatendency

wouldfixthelabouringclassinastate，notonlyofhopeless，butofperpetuallyincreasingmisery，andwouldcauseineach

succeedingyearagreaternumbertobecutoffbyfamine，andbytheepidemicsitengenders。Thefact，thattheconditionof

thelabouringclasseshasimprovedwiththeprogressofwealthandcivilization，demonstratesthatpopulationhasnotatendencytoincreasefasterthancapital。AdamSmithhastoldus，thatintheuniversalopulenceofanimprovingcountry，thecommonlabourercancommanda

greaterquantityofthenecessariesandcomfortsoflifethanmanyanAfricanking，theabsolutemasterofthelivesand

fortunesofthousandsofsubjectsavages。Atthepresenttime，acommonlabourer，inEngland，isbetteroff，withrespectto

food，clothing，andfurniture，thanwerethechiefmenofthelandinthedaysoftheSaxonHeptarchy；andmanyaninhabitant

ofawork—houseisbetteraccommodatednowthanweretheKingsofBritainattheperiodoftheRomaninvasion。Thesefactsaretotallyinconsistentwiththesupposition，thatpopulationhasatendencytoincreasefasterthancapital。Thepovertyandmiseryofmankind，inalmostallpartsoftheglobe，isnoproofthatpopulationhasatendencytoincrease

fasterthancapitalhasactuallyincreased。Toprovetheexistenceofsuchatendency，otherfactsmustbesupplied。Itmustbe

shown，notonlythatthelabouringclassesaregenerallyinastateofmiseryandpoverty，butthat，fromthetimethat

capitalistsandlabourersbecamedistinctclasses，themiseryandpovertyofthelatterhasgoneonincreasing。Eventhisisnot

enough。Whenthefactoftheconstantlyincreasingwretchednessofmankindhasbeenestablished，itisfurthernecessaryto

show，thattheincreasingmiseryhasnotbeenproducedbyanothercause，fullyadequatetotheeffect；namely，byanincrease

intheratioofpopulationtotheextentofthefertilelandsfromwhicherroneouslegislationpermitssubsistencetobeobtained。Whenweexaminethisquestionwiththeattentionandaccuracywhichitsgreatimportancedemandsandcomparethe

motiveswhichinfluencemankindinincreasingtheirnumbers，andinaccumulatingwealth，wefindthat，inalmostevery

society，thetendencyisnottoincreasepopulationfasterthancapital；but，onthecontrary，toincreasecapitalmorerapidlythanpopulation。Innewcountries，likeNorthAmerica，whereabundanceoffertilelandremainstobereclaimed，andwheretheobstacleto

productionisthewantofapopulationsufficientlydenseforthedivisionofemployment，andtheco—operationofonedistinct

branchofindustrywithanother，alargefamilybecomesanimportantsourceofwealth；thedesireofbetteringtheircondition

actsinconjunctionwiththeinstinctofnatureinimpellingthelabouringclassestoearlymarriages；andpopulationincreases

withasmuchrapidityasthehumanconstitutionwilladmit。Yetinnewcountries，wherepopulationdoublesintheshortest

possibleperiod，theaccumulationofwealthisatleastasrapid；andcapitalcontinuestobearthatproportiontolabourwhich

makesactualwagespermanentlyhigh。Inoldandwell—peopledcountries，suchasEng—land，theincreasingcostofprocuring

rawproducegivesahighvaluetofood，andtothosecoarsemanufacturedarticlesintowhichrawmateriallargelyenters。

Thehighvaluethusgiventothethingswhichconstituterealwages，isofnoadvantagetothemarriedlabourer，whomust

consume，inthemaintenanceofhisfamily，allthesubsistencehereceives；butisofgreatadvantagetotheunmarried

labourer，who，receivingmorefoodandclothing，orthepriceofmore，thanhecanhimselfconsume，hasasurplusquantity，

orthepriceofasurplusquantity，withwhichtopurchasethefinermanufacturedgoods，andthearticlesofconvenienceand

luxury，whichhavefalleninvalueascomparedwiththenecessariesoflife。Hencetheunmarriedlabourerfindshimselfin

muchmoreaffluentcircumstancesthanthemarriedlabourer。Whileinanewcountryanumerousfamilyisapowerfulmeans

ofbetteringtheconditionofthelabourer，inanoldcountry，wheretheproduceofthesoilhasacquiredahighvalue，sucha

familydeprivestheworkingmanoftheease，andcomfort，andindependencewhichheenjoysinthesinglestate。Itfollows，

thatasacountryapproachesthelimitsofheragriculturalresources，marriagesbecomelessfrequent；andthepower\"to

increaseandmultiply，\"insteadofbeingstimulatedtoitsutmostactionbytheconsiderationsofprudence，andthedesireof

betteringourcondition，ischeckedandcontrouledbytheprevailingefficacyofthesecausestosuchanextent，thatthe

tendencyineverycivilizedcommunityisnotforpopulationtoin—creasefasterthancapital，butforcapitaltoincreasefasterthanpopulation。TheseprinciplesareestablishedbytheactualconditionofthelabouringclassesineverycountryofEuropeexceptIreland。

Thestrengthofthemotivesbywhichinanoldcountrytheimpulsetoanincreaseofnumbersiscontrouled，cannotbe

sufficientlyappreciated，unlesswetakeintoourconsiderationthefact，thatthesemotiveshavehithertoactedunderallthe

discouragementsoferroneousopinion，andmistakenlegislation。Whenthelawswhichgiveabountytoover—population

shallberepealed，andwhenprudenceandprecautioninenteringuponthemarriagestate，andinlimitingthenumbersof

families，insteadofbeingobjectsofcensureanddislike，receivefromtheapprobationofanenlightenedpublicvoice，the

rewardtowhichtheirprevailinginfluenceonhumanhappinessentitlesthem，thenwillpopulationbeatalltimesso

regulated，thatthesupplyoflabourwillbedulyapportionedtothequantityoffertileland，andtotheamountofcapital

employed；andthelabouringclasseswillemergefromtheirdegradation，andwillpermanentlyenjoyindependenceandcomfort，unaccompaniedbytheexhaustionofimmoderatetoil。TherapiditywithwhichallkindsofusefulinstructionareatthistimespreadingamongstthelabouringclassesofGreat

Britainwouldspeedilybringaboutthisconsummation，sodevoutlytobewished，wereitnotforonemostfatalcounter—

actingcausetheannualinundationsofIrishlabour。Untilthiscauseisremoved，noconsider—ableimprovementinthe

conditionofthelabouringclassesinEnglandandScotlandcan，bypossibility，takeplace。Untilatasteforahigherscaleof

comfortbecomesprevalentamongstthepeopleofIreland，noprudentialcalculations，nodesireofliftingthemselvesfrom

theirdegradation，willcontroulthepowerofincrease，andthusraisetherewardoftheirlabourtoalevelwiththatwhichis

obtainedinEngland。ButthetwoislandsaresointimatelyconnectedsteamnavigationhasbroughttheirshoresintosuchimmediatecontactthatifIrishwagesdonotrisetothelevelofEnglish，EnglishwagesmustfalltothelevelofIrish。LetthepeopleofEnglandlooktothis。LetthelabouringclassesthroughoutEnglandandScotlandrestassured，thatif

effectualmeansbenotappliedforimprovingthehabitsoftheirIrishbrethren，thepoliticaldegradationintowhichtheyhave

fallenwill，inthere—actionofmoralcauses，sinkthegreatbodyofthepeoplethroughouttheUnitedKingdomtoone

commonlevelofextremeandhopelessmisery。

CHAPTERII。

ONTHEEFFECTOFMACHINERYUPONWAGES。Fromtheprinciplesestablishedintheprecedingchapter，itmustbeevident，thatinwhateverdegreetheemploymentof

machinerymaydiminishthecostofproduction，itmustinthesamedegreeraisemaximumorpossiblewages。Assuming，as

before，thatsevenpercentisthelowestrateofprofit，forthesakeofwhichindustrywillbecontinued，thenifafarmer，

employing100labourers，withanexpenditureof500quartersforseedandimplements，couldraise749quarters，the

maximumwagesofthe100men，shouldnorentbepaid，wouldbe200quarters，ortwoquartersperman。Nowsuppose

thatthefarmer，byintroducingathreshingmachine，awinnowingmachine，andasowingmachine，canraise749quarters

fromthelandundercultivation，withthelabourof50insteadof100men，thenitisself—evidentthatmaximumorpossible

wageswillbedoubled，andwillrisefromtwoquarterstofourquartersperman。Beforetheintroductionofthesemachines，

itwasphysicallyimpossiblethatanyeffortofprudence，anydiminutionofthesupplyoflabour，oranyincreaseinthe

demandforit，couldenablethelabourerstoearn，astheirpermanentwages，morethantwoquartersperman。But，nowthat

thecostofproductionhasbeenloweredbytheemploymentofmachinery，anincreaseinthedemandforlabour，ora

diminutioninitssupply，maydoublewages。Acapabilityofbetteringtheconditionoftheworkingpeoplehasbeen

createdtheobstacle，formerlyinsuperable，totheirimprovementhasbeenremoved。

Butthepracticallyimportantquestionsarewouldimprovementreallytakeplacewhenitceasedtobeimpossible？Wouldactualwagesrisebecausemaximumwageshadrisen？Letussee。Theemploymentofthemachineshascausedanenormousincreaseintheprofitsofthefarmer。Whilehisproduce，equivalent

to749quarters，remainsasbefore，hisexpenditure，whichwas500quartersforseedandimplements，and200quartersfor

wagesfor100men，isnowreducedto500quartersforseedandimplements，with100quartersforwagesfor50men。His

profitis，therefore，raisedfromsevento24percent。Nowthisincreasedrateofprofit，occasionedbythediminishedcostofproduction，willbefollowedbyanincreaseinactual，aswellasinmaximumwages。The100quarterswhichthefarmerformerlypaidaswagesto50men，andwhicharenowaddedtohisprofits，hecannoteat，

andhewillnotdestroy。Hewillexpendthem，eitherunproductivelyasrevenue，orproductivelyascapital。Shouldheexpend

themunproductively，uponanadditionalquantityofarticlesofdressandfurnitureproducedwithinthecountry，theywillgo

topaythewagesoftheadditionalnumberoflabourersrequiredtofabricatethisadditionalsupplyofhome—madegoods。

Shouldheexpendthemunproductivelyuponforeignluxuries，theywillgotopaythewagesoftheadditionalnumberof

labourers，requiredtoproducetheadditionalquantityofhome—madegoods，withwhichtheadditionalsupplyofforeign

luxuriesmustbepurchased。Ineithercase，theunproductiveexpenditureofthe100quarters，addedtothefarmer’sprofits，

willcreateanewdemandforlabour，exactlyequaltothequantityoflabourthrownoutofemploybytheintroductionofthe

machines。Thediminisheddemandforagriculturallabourwillbebalancedbytheincreaseddemandformanufacturing

labour，andtheaggregatedemandwillremainundiminished。Thechangeofoccupationwill，inthefirstinstance，be

accompaniedbyconsiderablelocaldistress；butafterthenewproportions，betweentheagriculturalandmanufacturing

populations，havebeenadjusted，thesamenumberoflabourerswillbeemployedatthesamerateofwagesasbefore。Onthe

supposition，therefore，thatthefarmerexpendsthewholeofhisincreasedprofitsunproductively，theultimateeffectwillbe，

thatmaximumwageswillbeincreased，whileactualwageswillremainunchanged。Thequantitiesofrawmaterialsandfood，

thefundsforemployingandmaintaininglabour，willremainasbefore；and，shouldnovariationtakeplaceinthenumberstobeemployedandmaintained，wageswillremainasbefore。Butwhentheintroductionofthemachinesincreasedthefarmer’sprofitfromsevento24percent。thewholeofthis

increasedprofitwouldnotbeexpendedunproductively。Increasingprofitsalwaysoccasionamorerapidaccumulationof

capital，andanincreaseofproductiveexpenditure。Wehave，therefore，toconsiderwhateffectwouldbeproducedupon

actualwagesbythemorerapidaccumulationofcapital，andtheincreasedproductiveexpenditure，consequentupontheemploymentofthemachines。Previoustotheemploymentofthemachines，thefarmerobtained，fromthemostinferiorsoilsthenundertillage，therateof

profitrequisitetoinducehimtoinvestcapitalincultivation。Hecannowobtainthisrateofprofitfromlandswhichcould

notbeforebetilled。Whentheexpenditure，uponagivenquantityofland，was700quarters，thelowestqualityofsoilwhich

couldbecultivatedwiththeminimumprofitofsevenpercent。musthaveyielded749quarters；nowthatthemachineshave

reducedtheexpenditureuponthisquantityoflandto600，aqualityofsoilyielding642willaffordthisrateofprofit；anew

andextensivefieldforthe`employmentofaccumulatingcapitalwillbecreated；thatportionofthefarmer’sin—creased

profitswhichheaddstohiscapitalwillbeemployedinbringingadditionallandintotillage；anincreasedquantityof

subsistencewillberaised；and，unlessthesupplyoflabourshouldincreaseinthesameproportion，actualwageswilladvance。Theemploymentofimprovedmachineryinmanufactureswouldproducepreciselysimilareffects。Letustaketheinstanceofthepower—loom，and，forthesakeofdistinctness，letustracetheresultinfigures。Amanufacturer’sexpenditureis，inthefirstinstance，rawmaterialandwearandtear，equivalentto500quarters，andwages

to100hand—loomweavers，equivalentto200quarters，andwiththisexpenditurehefabricatesclothequivalentto749

quarters。Hesubsequentlyintroducesthepower—loom，which，byenablinghimtogetthesameworkdoneby50labourers，

effectsasavingofthewagesformerlyadvancedtotheother50，whoarethrownoutofemploy。Thethingsconstitutingthe

wagesthussaved，themanufacturerwillnotdestroyhewilladvancethemeitherinpurchasing，orinproducingotherthings；

andineithercase，theaggregatequantityoffoodandclothingappropriatedtothemaintenanceofthelabouringclasseswill

suffernodiminution。Thenewdistributionofemploymentwill，foraconsiderableperiod，beaccompaniedbygreatprivation

anddistress；butwhenasufficientnumberofthehand—loomweavers，forwhoseworkthereisadiminisheddemand，shallbe

transferredtothoseothertrades，inwhichthereisanincreaseddemand，therewillnotbe，uponthewhole，anyreductionin

actualwages，evenuponthesuppositionthatthewholesavinginthecostofproductionisexpendedunproductively，and

thatnoadditionismadetothoseingredientsofcapitalwhichareapplicabletothemaintenanceoflabour。Butthis

suppositionwouldbecontrarytofact。Thesavingwhichtheintroductionofimprovedmachinerywouldeffectinthecostof

producingmanufacturednecessaries，wouldspeedilyoccasionanincreasedcreationofthefundsapplicabletothe

maintenanceoflabour；and，unlessaproportionalincreaseshouldatthesametimetakeplaceinthesupplyoflabour，would

causeactualwagestoadvance。Thedemandforlabourwouldberenderedeithermoreintenseormoreextensive，or，in

otherwords，eitherthesamenumberoflabourerswouldbeemployedathigherwages，orelseagreaternumberatthesame

wages。Thereductioninthecostofpreparingwroughtgoods，occasionedbytheemploymentofmachineryinmanufactures，

reducesthevalueofthatportionofthefarmer’sadvanceswhichconsistsofclothing，furniture，andimplements，andthereby

enableshimtoobtainadditionalsuppliesoffoodandrawmaterials，fromtractswhichcouldnotformerlybetilled。Letustakeanexample。###第2章Wewillassumethat，beforetheintroductionofimprovedmachineryinmanufactures，thatpartofthefarmer’sadvances

whichconsistsofwroughtgoodsisofequalvaluewiththatpartwhichconsistsofrawproduce。Inthiscase，ifheadvance

100quartersasfoodandseed，hemustalsoadvanceclothing，furniture，andimplements，equivalentto100quarters；andhe

willbeunabletocultivate，withtheminimumprofitofsevenpercent。，anylandwhichdoesnotyieldtothisadvancea

produceof214quarters。Now，lettheemploymentofim—provedmachineryinmanufacturesdiminishbyone—halfthe

productivecost，andthevalueofwroughtgoods，andthefarmer’sadvance，whichwasbeforeequivalentto200quarters，

willnowbeequivalentonlyto150quarters；andhewillbeabletocultivate，withtheminimumofsevenpercent，land

yieldingonly160？quarters。Tractswhichcouldnotformerlybereclaimedfromtheiroriginalwildandforeststate，will

nowbebroughtundertheplough，andtherewillnotonlybeagreatlyincreaseddemandforagriculturallabour，butlarge

additionalsuppliesoffoodandrawmaterialwillberaised，tomaintainandemployamorenumerousmanufacturingpopulation。Machineswork，butdonoteat。Whentheydisplacelabour，andrenderitdisposable，theyatthesametimedisplaceand

renderdisposabletherealwages，thefoodandclothing，whichmaintainedit。Theaggregatefundforthesupportoflabouris

notdiminished，andtherefore，unlessthenumberstobemaintainedshouldincrease，eachindividual，assoonasthefree

subsistenceandfreelabourarereadjustedtoeachother，willhavethesamecommandofthenecessariesoflifeasbefore。

Butmachinesnotonlyleavetheaggregatefundforthemaintenanceoflabourundiminished，theyactuallyincreaseit。They

areemployed，becausetheyreduceproductivecost；andwhethersuchreductiontakeplaceinagriculture，orin

manufactures，itallowscultivationtoextendoverdistrictswhichcouldnototherwisebetilled，andcausesadditionalfunds

forthemaintenanceoflabourtobecreated。Whenamachineisemployedinagriculture，thequantityoffoodandclothing

expendedinraisingagivenproduceisreduced；andwhenitisemployedinmanufactures，thevalueoftheclothingand

implementsexpendedinraisingagivenproduceisreduced；andtherefore，ineithercase，theploughisdrivenoverregions

intowhichcultivationcouldnototherwiseextendthesameeffectisproducedasifincreasednaturalfertilityhaddescended

onthesoilthefundforthemaintenanceoflabourisenlarged，andthesamenumberswillobtainhigherwages，oradditionalnumberswillobtainemployment。Mr。Ricardohasstatedanhypotheticalcase，inwhichtheemploymentofmachinerymightdiminishthefundforthe

maintenanceoflabour，andinjuretheworkingclasses。Thecaseisthis。Shouldanynumberoflabourers，nowemployedin

producingthenecessariesoflife，bewithdrawnfromthatoccupation，andemployedinconstructingmachines，theimmediate

consequencewouldbe，adiminutioninthequantityofthenecessariesoflife；and，asthediminishedquantitywouldhaveto

bedividedamongstthesamenumberofpersonsasbefore，alessquantitywouldfalltotheshareofeachindividual，andreal

wageswouldbereduced。Thediminutionofthefundsforthemaintenanceoflabour，andtheconsequentfallofrealwages，

couldonlybetemporary。Assoonasthemachineswerecompleted，thelabourersemployedinconstructingthemwould

againbecomedisposablefortheproductionofnecessaries，whiletheincreasedefficiencyofindustry，occasionedbyamore

extendedapplicationofmechanicalpowerinaidoflabour，wouldleadtoextendedtillage，andcauseaugmentedsuppliesoffoodandrawmaterialtoberaisedfromsoilswhichcouldnotbeforeremuneratethecultivator。Itistobeobserved，thatthishypotheticalcase，putbyMr。Ricardo，neveroccursinpractice。Thelabourersemployedin

agriculture，andinmanufacturingnecessaryarticlesofclothingandfurniture，areneverwithdrawnfromtheseoccupations

forthepurposeofconstructingmachines。（6）If，inanygivenyear，themanufactureofmachineryweretoincreaseten—fold，suchincreasewouldnotoccasion，eveninthatsameyear，anyperceptiblediminutioninthesupplyofthenecessariesoflife。Theonlycaseinwhichtheemploymentofmachinerycaninpracticediminishthefundsforthemaintenanceoflabour，isthat

inwhichthemachineryisworked，notbymechanical，butbyanimalpower。Should100labourers，employedinspade

husbandry，consume200quartersofcorn，andproduce220quarters，thefarmer，whoadvancedtheirconsumption，would

obtain20quartersashisprofit。Now，lettheploughbesubstitutedforthespade，andhorsesforlabourers，andthenitis

possiblethattheprofitsofthefarmermaybeincreased，whilethefundsforthemaintenanceoflabourarediminished。Forif

20horses，consuming40quarters，candotheworkof50men，consuming100quarters，thefarmer’swholeexpenditurewill

bereducedfrom200quartersto140quarters，andhisreturnof220quarterstothisreducedexpenditure，willleave80

quartersinsteadof20quarters，ashisprofit。Butinthiscase，thefundforthemaintenanceoflabourwouldbereducedtothe

wholeextentoftheconsumptionofthehorses。Therewillbe50agriculturallabourersthrownoutofemployment；butthere

willnotbe，asiftheploughswereworkedbyanon—food—consumingpower，anequivalentsupplyofsubsistencesetfreetosupporttheminotheroccupations。Itistoberemarked，however，thattheinjuriouseffectofsubstitutinghorsepower，forhumanlabour，wouldbegradually

counteractedbytheextendedtillage，renderedpracticablebythediminutioneffectedinthecostofproduction。Whilethe

farmeremployedinspadehusbandry100men，consuming200quarters，hecouldnotcultivate，withtheminimumprofitof

sevenpercent，anylandyieldingtothisexpenditurealessproducethan214quarters。Butwhenthesubstitutionofploughs

andhorsesreduceshisexpenditurefrom200to140quarters，hecanimmediatelyextendcultivationoverinferiorsoils，

yieldingtothisreducedexpenditureaproduceofonly150quarters；andthus，bytheextensionoftillage，thefundsforthe

maintenanceoflabourwouldbeagainenlarged。Inacountrynotexportingtherawproduceofthesoil，thepermanent

interestoftheworkingclassesmustalwaysbepromotedbythesubstitutionofacheaperforamoreexpensiveinstrumentof

production。Whencheaperinstrumentsofproductionareemployed，maximumorpossiblewagesareraised，andunlessthe

supplyoflabourincreaseswiththeincreasedpowerofextendingcultivationoverinferiorsoils，actualwagesaremadetoapproximatetotheirmaximum。Thefundsforthemaintenanceoflabourreceivetheirgreatestpossibleincrease，when，intheworkingofmachines，horse

powerissuperseded。Inthiscase，humansubsistenceisaugmented，notonlybytheextensionoftillagerenderedpracticable

bythereductioninthecostofproduction，butalsobythewholequantityofproducewhichthehorsesformerlyconsumed。

Thismostimportantaugmentationinthesupplyofhumansubsistencehasnowcommenced。Alreadyinthiscountrysteamis

supersedinghorses，anditisscarcelypossibletomeasuretheextenttowhichthissupplantingprocessmaybecarried。Ina

fewyearsdraughthorsesmaydisappearfromallthegreatlinesoftrafficthroughoutEngland；anditseemsnotimprobable，

thatatnodistantperiodtheploughandtheharrowwillbemovedbysteam，aswellasthecarriageandthewaggon。Upon

thefundsforthemaintenanceoflabour，thesubstitutionofsteamforcattlewillhavethesameeffectasthatwhichwouldbe

producedbydoublingthefertilityofthesoil。Therewillbeanunprecedentedincreaseinthedemandforlabour；doublethenumberofpeoplemaybeemployedatthesamewages，orthesamenumberatdoublewages。Fromthisexaminationoftheresultsofmachinery，itappearsthatallinventionsforabridginglabour，anddiminishingthe

costofproduction，withtheexceptionofthoseinwhichcattleareemployedasthemovingpower，augmentthefundsforthe

maintenanceoflabour，andhavetheeffectofincreasingbothmaximumandactualwages。Italsoappears，thatthegeneral

goodwhichresultsfromtheemploymentofnewandimprovedmachineryisaccompaniedbypartialevil。Whilethepublic

acquiresadditionalwealth，theindividualswhoaresupplantedintheiraccustomedoccupationsarereducedtopoverty。

Humanityandjusticedemand，thatthosewhothussufferforthepublicgoodshouldberelievedatthepublicexpense。

Wheneveranewapplicationofmechanicalpowerthrowsaparticularclassofoperativesoutofemployment，anationalfund

shouldbeprovided，toaidtheminbetakingthemselvestootheroccupations。ItisadisgracetotheLegislatureandtothe

country，thatthenumerousbodyofhand—loomweaversshouldhavebeenleftsolonginmiseryanddestitution，andtoiling

tothedeathinhopelesscompetitionwiththepower—loom。Acomprehensiveplanfomtheirreliefshouldbeoneofthe

earliestmeasuresofthereformedParliament。

CHAPTERIII。

ONTHEEFFECTOFCOMBINATIONS

FORREDUCINGWAGES。InordertotracetheeffectofCombinationsforLoweringWages，letussuppose，inthefirstin—stance，thatthefarmersinan

agriculturalparish，inadditiontotheirseedandimplements，haveeachafundof200quartersofcornforthemaintenanceof

labour，whichfundisadvancedto50labourers。Inthiscase，therealwages，estimatedincorn，ofeachlabourer，willbefourquarters。Letusnowsuppose，inthesecondinstance，thatallthefarmersoftheparishenterintoacombinationforreducingthe

wagesoftheirworkmenfromfourtothreequarters；andthattothisreductionthelabourersarecompelledtosubmit。Theimportantquestionis，whatwouldbethefinaleffectsofthiscombination？Itisobviousthatthefirsteffectmustbeagreatincreaseintheprofitsofthefarmers。Allthatthelabourerslost，thefarmerswouldgain。Itisequallyobviousthatthefarmerscouldretainthisadvantageonlysolongastheyagreedamongstthemselvestoemploy

theirincreasedprofits，notinaddingtotheircapital，butinaugmentingtheirunproductiveexpenditure。Theycouldnot

employadditionalcapitalwithoutbiddingagainsteachotherforadditionalhands，andthusbreakingupthecombinationfor

thereductionofwages。Theexistenceofthecombinationinvolvesthenecessityofdevotingthewholeoftheincreasedprofits，resultingfromit，toimmediateenjoyment。Thisbeingthecase，thereductioninagriculturalwagesgivestoeachfarmeranadditionalrevenueof50quartersofcornto

beexpendedbyhisfamilyinthedecorationsofdressandfurniture。Inthemanufacturingtowns，therefore，therewillbean

increaseddemandforthosearticles，whiletherewillbeadiminisheddemandforthewroughtnecessaries，usedbythe

agriculturallabourerswhosewagesarereduced。Buttheincreaseinthedemandformanufacturedluxuries，willbegreater

thanthediminutioninthedemandformanufacturednecessaries；because，therevenuewhichtheagriculturallabourershave

lostwaspartlyexpendeduponfood，andpartlyuponmanufacturedgoods；whilethewholeoftherevenuewhichthefarmers

havegained，andwhichisequivalenttothewholewhichthelabourershavelost，isexpendeduponmanufacturedluxuries。Theresultmust，therefore，beaconsiderableincreaseinthedemandformanufacturedgoods。Theincreaseddemandformanufacturedgoodswillcreateanincreaseddemandforlabourinthemanufacturingtowns；and

inthosetowns，therefore，wageswilladvance。Butifwagesriseinthetowns，whiletheyfallinthecountry，aportionofthe

ruralpopulationwillseekemploymentinthetowns。Adiminutioninthesupplyoflabourinoneagriculturalparish，

threateningtocontractcultivation，willthereforecompelthefarmers，notwithstandingtheircombination，toconsenttoanadvanceofwages。Butsupposethatthecombinationforthereductionofwagesextendstothetowns，andthatallmastermanufacturersagree

together，toreducethewagesoftheirworkmen，inthesameproportioninwhichthefarmershavereducedthewagesofagriculturallabour。Theeffectsofthismoreextendedcombinationitwillbeimportanttotrace。When，inthetowns，theemployersoflabourhavereducedwagesbyone—fourth，aconsiderablereductionwilltakeplacein

thequantityandqualityofthefoodconsumedbythelabouringclassesinthetowns。Hence，whilethereductionofwages，

andtheconsequentdiminutionintheconsumptionoffoodinthecountrydistricts，leavethefarmersagreaterquantityof

agriculturalproducetobringtomarket，thetowndemandfortheirproducewilldecline。One—fourthofthefoodandraw

materialsofnecessaries，formerlyconsumedbythelabouringclass，willbeunsaleable；onefourthofthelandmustbethrown

outofcultivation；andone—fourthoftheagriculturalpopulationmustbetransferredtothetowns，theretofabricatetheincreasedquantityofmanufacturedluxuries，forwhichtheincreaseofprofitscreatesademand。Whilethisprocessisgoingon，therewillbeagreatdestructionofagriculturalcapital，andmanyfarmerswillbeinvolvedin

distressandruin。Butweassume，forthesakeofargument，thatnot—withstandingthedistressandruin，throughwhichthe

classoffarmersmustpassinattainingtheirobject，theyneverthelessadheretothecombination，andultimatelysucceededin

effectingauniversalreductionofone—fourthintherateofwages。Letusendeavourtotracetheconsequenceswhichwouldflowfromthisreduction。Thefirsteffectoftheuniversalreductionofwageswouldbe，anenormousriseintherateofprofit。Wecanestimate，not

indeedtheexact，buttheproximateextentofthisrise。Itwillbedeterminedbytheaverageproportionwhich，beforethey

werereduced，wagesboretothewholeadvancesofthecapitalist。Thus，ifwagesbeforetheywerereduced，constituted

one—halfofthecapitalist’sadvances，theirreductionbyafourthwoulddiminishhisadvancesbyaneighth；and，ashisreturn

wouldremainthesameasbefore，theextentoftheincreaseofprofitswillimmediatelyappear。Forif，beforethereductionof

wages，thefarmers，orothercapitalists，advanced100quartersaswages，and100quartersforotheroutgoings，andobtained

areproductionof220quarters，oraprofitof10percent，thenitisevidentthatwhenwagesarereducedfrom100to75，the

capitalist’sreproductionof220tohisreducedexpenditureof175，willyieldhimaprofitof25percent。Itisobvious，thatif，

ontheaverage，wagesconstitutedmorethanone—halfofthewholeadvances，theriseofprofitswouldbegreater；while，if

wagesconstitutedlessthanone—halfthewholeadvances，theriseofprofitswouldbeless。Theprincipleis，thatanygivenfall

inthegeneralrateofwageswillcauseagreaterorlessriseintherateofprofits，accordingaswages，ontheaverage，forma

greateroralessproportionofthecapitalist’swholeadvances。Forthepurposesofourargument，itisasufficient

approximationtotheactualstateofthings，toassumethatwagesformone—halfofthecapitalist’sadvances；andthat，

therefore，ageneralfallofwages，totheextentofone—fourth，willraisetherateofprofit，ifithadbeen10percentbeforethefallofwages，to25percent。Nowtheimportantpracticalquestionsforourconsiderationare，woulditbepossibletokeepthingsinthisstate？Wouldit

bepracticabletoperpetuatethisforceddepressionofwagesandriseofprofits？Alittlecarefulinquirywillconvinceusthat

itwouldbequiteimpracticable，andthatthefinaleffectofthecombinationwouldbe，nottoraiseprofitsattheexpenseof

wages，but，onthecontrary，toelevatewagesattheexpenseofprofits。Letusconsider，inthefirstplace，thecircumstances

whichwouldrenderitimpracticabletokeepwagesatthereducedleveltowhichthecombinationofemployershadforced

themdown，andthenproceedtotracethereactionandrecoilbywhichtheywouldascend，notmerelytotheirformer，buttoastillhigherlevel。Tokeepwagesatthelowleveltowhich，bythesupposition，thecombinationhasreducedthem，itwouldbenecessarythat

thefollowingcircumstances，eachmorallyimpossible，shouldconcurFirst。Itwouldbenecessarythatthewholeoftheemployersoflabourthroughoutthecountry，shouldexpendthewholeof

theirprofitsunproductively。Noadditionmustbemadetotheaggregateamountofcapitalwhichtheyemploy。Thefarmer

mustnotextendhiscultivation，northemanufacturerincreasehistransactions。Childrenmustnotbeputouttotrade，but

mustcontinuetobedependentupontheprofitsrealizedbytheirparents，untiltheirparentsdieoff，andmakeplaceforthem

tocarryonbusinessontheirownaccount。Shouldanyoftheseeventsoccur（andunlesstheprinciplesandmotivesofhuman

conductwerereversed，theywouldoccurperpetually），thecombinationwouldbeneutralized，thedemandforlabourwouldbeincreased，andwageswouldadvance。Secondly。Itwouldbenecessary，notonlythatallfarmersandmastermanufacturers，actuallyanddirectlyemployinglabour，

shouldabstain，asabove，fromincreasingtheircapital，andextendingtheirtransactions；butalsothatallmoniedcapitalists，

bankers，merchants，traders，annuitants，civilandmilitaryfunctionaries，togetherwithalllandedproprietorsthroughoutthe

country，shouldbecomepartiestoacombinationforoppressingthelabourer，andinflictingpositiveevilandgrievousinjury

uponthemselves。Thewholeoftheseclassesmustspendthewholeoftheirincomesunproductively；or，iftheymake

savings，musthoardthem。Theiraccumulations，whenmade，theymustneitheremployproductivelythemselves，norlend

out，tobeemployedproductivelybyothers。Thereductionofwageshascausedtherateofprofittoriseto25percent，and

thethrowingoutofone—fourthofthelandwhichsuppliedthelabouringclasseswithfoodandtherawmaterialsof

manufacturednecessaries，bylimitingthenecessaryextentoftillagetosoilsofasuperiorquality，musthaveoccasioneda

stillfurtherincreaseofprofits，andhaveraisedthemto30，perhapsto35percent。Thenaturaleffectofahighrateofprofit

istoraisetherateof’interestalso。If30，oreven25percentcouldbemadebytheemploymentofborrowedcapital，

individualsdestituteofcapitalthemselves，buthavingtheskill，industry，andintegritywhichcommandcredit，mightbe

willingtogive15or20percentfortheuseofmoney。Butifmoneybelenttobeemployedproductively，thecombination

cannotbemaintained。Inordertomaintainit，itisnecessarythatpersonshavingmoneyatcommandshouldhoarditin

strongboxes，orburyitunderground，ratherthanlenditat15or20percent。Again，thecombinationforthereductionof

wageshasthrownoutofcultivationone—fourthofthelandwhichformerlysuppliedthelabouringpopulationwithfoodand

thematerialsofwroughtnecessaries，andhasthereforeoccasionedatotallossofrentuponallthelandsthrownout，anda

considerablefallofrentsuponallthebettersoilsstillremainingundertillage。Inordertomaintainthecombination，itis

furthernecessarythatthelandedproprietorsshouldjoinintheleagueforreducinganddestroyingthevalueoftheirown

property。Theymustnotlendtheirmoney，ortheircredit，ataninterestof15or20percent。toindustriousandhonest

tenants，whowouldcultivatethelandswhichhadbeenthrownout，andoccasionarecoveryofrents；because，shouldthey

advancetheirmoney，ortheircredit，forsuchapurpose，thefundsforthemaintenanceoflabourwouldbeincreased，wageswouldrise，andtheeffectofthecombinationwouldbedestroyed。Thirdly。Itwouldbenecessary，inordertomaintainthecombination，thattheinfluxofforeigncapitalshouldbeprohibited。

Thoughallthefarmersandmastermanufacturersthroughoutthecountryshouldjoinintheconspiracyforthereductionof

wages；andthoughmoniedcapitalists，andmerchants，andbankers，andannuitants，andpublicfunctionaries，andlanded

proprietors，shouldenterintoasolemnleagueandcovenant，tolendneithermoney，norcredit，toanyonedesirousof

engagingintheworkofproduction，yetthecombinationwouldbeinoperativeandabortiveiftheimportationofforeign

capitalwerepermitted。Therateofprofithasatendencytopreserveacertainlevel，notonlythroughouttheseveraldistricts

ofthesamecountry，butalsothroughouttheseveralcountriesofthecommercialworld。Shouldthedepressionofwages，

andthethrowingoutofinferiorland，raisetherateofprofit，inEngland，inanyconsiderabledegreeabovethelevelithad

ordinarilypreserved，inrelationtotheratesofprofitinHollandandinFrance，thedisengagedandfloatingcapitalofthese

countrieswouldflowintoEngland，andthereseekproductiveinvestment。Thecombinationwouldthereforebeineffectual，

unlesstheconspiratorsagainstwagescouldsecuretheco—operationoftheLegislature，andobtainanActofParliament

prohibitingtheimportationoffoodandofrawmaterials，andalltheingredientsofdirectlyproductivecapital，whichconstitutethefundforthemaintenanceoflabour。Afterthisenumerationofthecircumstanceswhichmustconcur，inordertogiveeffecttoacombinationforthereductionof

wages，itwouldbesuperfluoustogointoanyargumentorillustrationtoshowthatthemaintenanceofsuchacombination

wouldbeutterlyimpracticable。Itisonlynecessarytotraceouttheprocessbywhich，wereitpossible，whichitclearlyisnot，

togivesuchacombinationabriefandpartialexistence，itwouldnecessarilycounterworkitself，andultimatelytend，nottodepress，buttoelevatewages。Wehaveseenthattheminimumbelowwhichwagescannotpermanentlyfall，consistsofthatquantityofthenecessariesof

lifewhichisrequisitetokeepupthelabouringpopulation；andwehaveseen，thatthisquantityofnecessariesisnotafixed

immutablequantity，butvariesunderdifferentclimates，andundertheinfluenceofdifferenthabitsofliving。Itisself—evident，

thatshouldwagesbeattheirphysicalminimum，asdeterminedbyclimate，acombinationdepressingthembelowthispoint

wouldcutoffaportionofthepopulation；thatitwoulddiminishthesupplyoflabourinrelationtothedemand；andthatits

ultimateeffectwouldbe，nottodepressbuttoelevatewages。Amoment’sconsiderationwillrenderitapparent，thatshould

wagesbeatthemoralmini—mum，asdeterminedbyhabitsofliving，acombinationfordepressingthem，ifforatimesuccessful，wouldbefollowedbysimilarresults。Customisasecondnature，andthingsnotoriginallynecessarytohealthfulexistencebecomesofromhabit。ThoughtheIrish

peasantry，livinguponpotatoesandbutter—milk，arenotsubjectedtogreatermortalitythantheirneighbours，yetwerethe

labouringclassesinEngland，broughtupuponthemoresubstantialdietofbreadandcheese，andbutchers’meat，reducedto

thelessnutritiousfoodwhichusehasrenderednotunhealthfulinIreland，debilityanddiseasewouldrapidlythintheirranks。

Ahigherrateofmortalityamongthelabouringclasseswouldspeedilyfollowtheestablishmentofacombinationfor

reducingwages。Wheretherewerenumerousfamiliestheywouldbethinnedbydeath；thedelicateandinfirmwouldsink

prematurelytothegrave；andwhilemoredied，fewerwouldbeborn。Thecautiousandtheprudent，andthosewhowere

attachedtotheformersuperiorscaleofcomfort，wouldabstainfrommarriage，andfromencumberingthemselveswith

families；andthus，byrenderingdeathsmorenumerousandbirthslessfrequent，aneffectualcombinationforthereductionof

wages，howeverbriefitsexistence，would，forawholegeneration，reducethesupplyoflabourinrelationtothedemand。

Nothingcouldnowpreventtherecoilofwages。Aneffectivecombinationforthereductionofwageswouldbearwithinit

theprincipleofalmostimmediateself—destruction；and，afterabriefexistence，wouldleavewagesatahigherlevelthanthat

fromwhichtheyhadfallen。For，theinstantthecombinationshouldbebrokenup，increasedcapitalaccumulatedathome，or

importedfromabroad，wouldbeemployedincultivatingthelandwhichhadbeenabandoned，andinsupplyingtherenewed

consumptionofthenecessariesoflife。Thustherewouldbeanincreaseddemandforlabour，actinguponadiminished

supply。Thesupplyoflabour，inrelationbothtolandandcapital，wouldbelessthanbefore，and，therefore，upontheprinciplesalreadyexplained，bothmaximumandactualwageswouldbehigherthanbefore。Fromallthathasbeensaid，itmustbeapparent，thataneffectualcombinationforthereductionofwagescanneverby

possibilityexist。Inthefirstplace，suchacombinationcouldnotbeestablished；and，inthesecondplace，ifitcouldbe

established，itcouldnotbemaintained。Ifnotimmediatelybrokenup，byproductiveadvances，madefromincome，orbythe

importationofcapitalfromabroad，itwouldspeedilyperishbyself—destruction；anditsevilinfluence，afterhavingforatime

afflictedthelabouringclasses，wouldrecoilupontheinsaneconspirators，lowering，insteadofraising，therateofprofit，andelevating，insteadofdepressing，wages。CHAPTERIV。ONTHEEFFECTOFCOMBINATIONSFORRAISINGWAGES。Inacountrynotdependinguponforeignmarkets，Combination。mayraiseWagestotheirmaximum，providedthesupplyoflabourdonotincrease。Thelabouringclassesformthegreatmajorityofeverycommunity，and，ashasbeenalreadyobserved，acountrymustbe

consideredashappyormiserable，inproportionasthoseclassesareabundantlyorscantilysuppliedwiththenecessariesand

comfortsoflife。Fromthisprincipleitneces—sarilyfollows，thatcombinationsforloweringwages，couldtheybeeffectual，

mustberegardedasconspiraciesforincreasinghumanmisery；andthatcombinationsforraisingwages，couldtheybe

effectual，mustbeapprovedasassociationsforthepromotionofhumanhappiness。Inthewholecompassofeconomical

science，themostimportantpracticalquestionisthis，namely，cancombinations，amongstthelabouringclasses，effectapermanentincreaseofwages？Itisevident，thatifwageswerealreadyattheirmaximum，acombinationwhichshouldhavetheimmediateeffectofraising

wages，mustspeedilyterminateinreducingthem。Whenwagesareattheirmaximum，profitsareattheirminimum。Butwhen

profitsareattheirminimum，anincreaseofwagesmustcheckproduction，diminishthefundforthemaintenanceoflabour，andleaveforeachlaboureralessquantityofthecomfortsandnecessariesoflife。Supposing，asinourformercases，thatthelowestrateofprofit，forthesakeofwhichthecapitalistwillcontinuetheworkof

production，issevenpercent。，then，shouldthefarmer，advancing100quartersofcornforseed，and100quartersforthe

wagesof25men，cultivateatractoflandyielding214quarters，profitswouldbeattheirminimum，andwagesattheir

maximum。Underthosecircumstances，ifthe25labourersweretocombinetogether，andrefusetowork，unlesstheirwages

wereraisedfrom100to115quarters，itisevidentthatallprofitwouldbeabsorbed，thatthetractoflandmustbe

abandoned，andthatthe25labourers，insteadofcontinuingtoreceivetheincreasedwageswhichtheydemandedfromthefarmer，would，atnodistantperiod，bethrownoutofwork。Now，supposethatprofits，insteadofbeingattheminimumofsevenpercent。，were10percent。Inthiscase，wagesmight

risesoastoreduceprofitsbythreepercent。，beforethelastqualityoflandundertillagewouldbethrownoutofcultivation。

Our25labourersmightthereforecombine，untileachreceivedashiswagesfourquarters，andthefractionofaquarter，

insteadoffourquarters。Butshouldthisimmediateimprovementintheircondition，bydiminishingdeaths，orincreasing

births，causetheirnumberstoincreasefrom25to27，theultimateresultwouldbe，notanadvance，butadeclineofwages。

Whenthefarmer，cultivatingatractoflandyielding220quarters，advanced100quartersasseed，and100quartersaswages

to25labourers，herealisedaprofitoftenquarters，whichisthreepercent。abovetheassumedminimum。Butifheadvances

100quartersasseed，andfourquarterseachto27labourers，hisadvanceswillbe208quarters，andwillyieldaprofitless

thantheminimumofsevenpercent。Hewill，therefore，eitherreducethewagesofhis27labourersbelowtheoriginalrateoffourquartersaman，orelseabandonhisfarm，andthrowthemoutofemployment。Inacountrygrowingitsownsuppliesofrawproduce，notexportingmanufacturedgoods，andthereforenotexposedto

foreigncompetition，acombinationforraisingwagescanbemaintainedonlywhenaccompaniedbyanauxiliarycombination

amongstthelabouringclasses，forpreventingtheincreaseoftheirnumbers。Letusproceedtoconsidertheeffectofa

combinationforraisingwagesinacountrywhich，importingrawmaterials，andexportingmanufacturedgoods，isexposedtoforeigncompetition。Thisisthepractical，and，totheoperativesofEngland，thevitallyimportantbranchofthesubject。Inacountrydependinguponforeignmarkets，CombinationsforraisingWagesbeyondthelimitdeterminedbyforeigncompetition，ultimatelyoccasion，notanadvance，butareductionofWages。Asbeforewewillassume，forthesakeofillustration，thattheactualratesofprofitinEnglandandinFrancearetenpercent，

andthat，inbothcountries，theminimumrateofprofit，withoutwhichthecapitalistwillnotcontinueproduction，isseven

percent。Underthesecircumstances，letussupposethattheoperativesinEnglandcombine，andobtainsuchanincreaseof

wagesaswillreducetheprofitsoftheirmasterstotheminimumofsevenpercent。InthiscasetheEnglishmanufacturer

cannotpermanentlyreducethepriceofhisgoodsintheforeignmarket，because，ifhedid，hecouldnotrealiseminimum

profits。ButtheFrenchmanufacturercanaffordtounderselltheBritishmanufacturerintheforeignmarket，byone，two，or

threepercent。，andstillrealisehisminimumprofitofsevenpercent；and，therefore，thenecessaryeffectofthecombinationwillbe，tocausethemanufacturersofFrancetodrivethemanufacturersofEnglandoutoftheforeignmarket。Writersuponcommercialpolicy，whoseopinionsareentitledtogreatrespect，havecontendedthatariseofwageshasno

influenceuponforeigntrade。Theymaintain，thatariseofwagesisaccompaniedbyacorrespondingfallofprofits，anddoes

notthereforeraiseprices；andtheyfurtheraffirm，thatafallintherateofprofitdoesnotsubjectthecountryinwhichit

takesplace，tobeundersoldintheforeignmarket，byothercountriesinwhichprofitsarehigher。（7）Thereasonadvancedfor

thedoctrine，thathighwagesandlowprofitsdonotsubjectacountrytoanydisadvantageintheforeignmarketis

thisShouldalowerrateofwagesrenderthecostofproductioninFrancethreepercent。lessthaninEngland，andshould

therateofprofitbethreepercent。higherinFrancethaninEngland，theFrenchproducersmightselltheirgoodsinany

foreignmarket，threepercentlowerthantheEnglishproducerscouldsellsimilargoods，byconsenting，liketheEnglish

producers，toacceptaprofitofsevenpercent。Butitiscontendedthat，underthesecircum—stances，theFrenchproducers

wouldnotconsenttomanufacturefortheforeignmarket，ataprofitofsevenpercent，fortheobviousreason，thattheycouldmake10percentupontheircapitalinanyoccupation。Thisargument，whenstatedingeneralterms，appears，atfirstsight，satisfactory；but，whenconsideredstrictlyandanalytically，itwillbeseentobewhollyfallacious。Thesubjectissoveryimportant，thatitrequiresadetailedexamination。LetussupposethatanEnglishandaFrenchmanufacturerhaveeachinvested50，000l。inbuildingsandmachinery，andthat

theyeachexpend，inayear，50，000l。inmaterialsandwages。Letusalsosupposethat，inconsequenceoflowerwagesin

France，theFrenchmanufacturerisabletoemploymorelabourers，andtousemorematerialthantheEnglish，andtherefore

fabricates，bysixpercent。uponhisfloatingcapital，agreaterquantityofgoods。Thegoodsbeingsimilarinkind，andin

quality，thepricesobtainedforthemintheforeignmarketwillbeinproportiontotheirquantities，andtheFrench

manufacturerwillsellhisgoodsforagreatersum，bysixpercent。uponhisfloatingcapitalof50，000l。，thantheEnglish。If

theEnglishgoodssoldfor57，000l。，theFrench，beinggreaterinquantityintheproportionstated，wouldsellfor60，000l。

Underthesecircumstances，woulditbetheinterestoftheFrenchmanufacturertosellhisgreaterquantityofgoodsforthesamesumthattheEnglishmanufacturersoldthelessquantity，andthussecureasuperiorityintheforeignmarket？WhentheEnglishmansellshisgoodsfor57，000l。，hereplaceshisfloatingcapital，andobtainsaprofitofsevenpercent。，

bothuponhisfloatinganduponhisfixedcapital；andwhentheFrench—mansellshisgoodsfor60，000l。，hereplaceshis

advanceforwagesandmaterials，andrealizesaprofitoftenpercent。uponhiswholecapital。Now，iftheFrenchmanwould

sellhisgreaterquantityofgoodsforthesamesumforwhichtheEnglishmansellsthelessquantity，andwouldbesatisfied

forashorttimewithsevenpercent。uponhisoriginalcapitalof100，000l。，hemightunderselltheEnglishmanufacturer，and

drivehisgoodsoutoftheforeignmarket。TheFrenchmanufacturermightnowselldoublehisformerquantityofgoods。He

mightadvanceanadditional50，000l。inwagesandmaterials，andselltheadditionalquantityofgoodsforanadditionalsum

of57，000l。；and，shouldnoadditionaloutlayberequisiteforbuildingsandmachines，thiswouldyieldhim，onhissecond

portionoffloatingcapital，aprofit，notofseven，butoffourteenpercent。Itisself—evident，therefore，thatifagreater

quantityofmaterialscanbeworkedupwithoutanadditionaloutlayforfixedcapital，itwillbetheinterestoftheFrench

manufacturertotakelessthantheaveragerateofprofitinFranceuponthefirstportionofhisadvances，inordertogain

morethanthisaveragerateupontheadditionalportionsoffloatingcapital，whichhecanemploybyundersellingtheEnglishmanufacturer，andbeatinghimoutoftheforeignmarket。Itmustbeapparent，thattheforceofthisargumentdependsuponthefact，whether，inmanufacturingindustry，additional

floatingcapitalcanbeemployedwithoutaproportionateadditionoffixedcapital……Nowwithrespecttothematteroffact

therecanbenodoubt。Themarketisoccasion—allyunder—stocked，andoccasionallyoverstocked，withmanufacturedgoods。

Whenthesupplyofsuchgoodsisdeficienttheirproductionisincreased；andwhentheirsupplyisinexcess，their

productionisdiminished。Butwhentheproductionofmanufacturedgoodsdiminishes，thefixedcapitalofthemanufacturer

ceasestobefullyemployed。Itisself—evident，therefore，that，amidtheebbingsandflowingsofthemarket，andthealternate

contractionsandexpansionsofdemand，occasionswillconstantlyrecur，inwhichthemanufacturermayemployadditional

floatingcapital，withoutemployingadditionalfixedcapital。Itadmitsofthestrictestdemonstration，thatifadditional

quantitiesofrawmaterialcanbeworkedupwithoutincurringanadditionalexpenseforbuildingsandmachinery，the

manufacturersofthecountryinwhichtherateofprofitiscomparativelyhigh，willhaveaninterestinloweringtheirpricesintheforeignmarket，soastobeatoutthefabricsofthecountryinwhichtherateofprofitiscomparativelylow。TheFrenchandEnglishmanufacturersinvest，each，50，000l。inbuildingsandmachines；and，whentheirfixedcapitalisin

fullaction，eachcanemployafloatingcapitalof50，000l。inwagesandrawmaterials。TheFrenchman，payinglessfor

labour，isabletoworkupmorematerial，andproducesaquantityofgoodsgreatertotheextentofsixpercent。uponhis

floatingcapitalof50，000l。thanthequantityproducedbytheEnglishman。Thegoodsofeachbeingsimilarinkindand

quality，ifthoseoftheEnglishmansellfor57，000l。thoseoftheFrenchmanwillsellfor60，000l。Nowitisself—evident，that，

underthesecircumstances，itwouldnotbetheinterestoftheFrenchmanufacturertounderselltheEnglish，anddrivehim

fromtheforeignmarket。Forhismachinerybeingfullyemployed，hecannotadvanceadditionalfloatingcapitalforwages

andmaterials，withoutmakingaproportionaladditiontohisfixedcapital；andhecannotrealize10percent，thecustomary

rateofprofitinFrance，uponhisadvances，unlessthegoodsproducedbyafixedcapitalof50，000l。，andafloatingcapital

of50，000l。，continuetosellintheforeignmarketfor60，000l。Hecannot，therefore，underselltheEnglishmanufacturer

withoutemployingadditionalcapitalintheforeigntrade，atalessrateofprofitthanthatwhichhemightobtaininotheroccupations。Verydifferentwouldbetheresult，shouldarevulsionoftradecheckproduction，andpreventthefixedcapitalinvestedin

manufacturesfrombeingfullyemployed。Letussupposethatthequantityofgoodsonhandissomuchinexcess，thatour

manufacturersareobligedtodiminishthesupply，and，insteadofemployingafloatingcapitalof50，000l。each，canemploy

floatingcapitalofonly25，000l。each。Inthiscase，thefactorieswillworkonlyhalftime；onlyhalfthequantityofgoodswill

beproduced，and，pricesremainingthesame，（8）theFrenchman’sgoods，insteadofsellingfor60，000l。willsellforonly

30，000l。Thiswillreplacehisfloatingcapitalof25，000l。withasurplusof50001。，whichwillamounttoaprofitofsixand

two—thirdspercent。uponhiswholecapitalof75，000l。Underthesecircumstances，itwillbethedecidedinterestofthe

Frenchmanufacturertolowerhisprices，anddrivetheEnglishmanufactureroutoftheforeignmarket。Bydoingso，hewill

beabletoemployanadditionalfloatingcapitalof25，000l。，withoutincurringanadditionalexpenseforfixedcapital；and

mayproduceanadditionalquantityofgoods，greaterbythreepercent。thanthequantitywhichtheEnglishmanufacturer

soldfor28，500l。Shouldhesellhisgreaterquantity，forthesamesumof28，500l。，forwhichtheEnglishmanufacturersold

hislessquantity，hewilldrivetheEnglishmanufactureroutoftheforeignmar—ket，andobtainareturnof28，500l。foran

advanceof25，000l。Thiswillbeaprofitof14percentupontheadditionalfloatingcapitalemployed。Now，bythe

supposition，thegeneralrateofprofitinFranceisonly10percent。Insteadofobtainingless，theFrenchmanufacturerwill

gainmuchmorethanthecustomaryrateofprofit，byemployingallthefloatingcapitalhecancom—mand，infabricatingmoregoodsatlowerprices，andtherebyexpellingcompetitorsfromtheforeignmarket。Thusweseethattheargument，soconfidentlyadvancedinsupportofthedoctrine，thatariseofwageshasnoinjurious

effectuponforeigntrade，isaltogethererroneous，andinvolvesthefallacy，unfortunatelytooprevalentamongsteconomical

writers，ofconfoundingdistinctionsbyhastygeneralizations，andofattributingtodifferentthingsthesamecommonproperties，becauseweclassthemunderthesamecommonname。Thebuildingsandmachinesofthemanufacturer，aswellasthemoneywithwhichhepayshiswages，andpurchaseshisraw

materials，areclassedunderthegeneraldenominationofcapital；andthosewho，intheirpronenessforgeneralreasoning，

forgetthatscienceisanalysis，fallintotheerrorofconceiving，thatbecausecapital，consistingofmoney，maypassfrom

employmenttoemployment，inordertoobtainthecustomaryrateofprofit，capital，consistingofbuildingsandmachinery，

maybeequallylocomotive。Thereasoninginsupportoftheposition，thathighcomparativewages，andlowcomparative

profits，arenotinjurioustoforeigntrade，anddonotinvolvethedangerofforeigncompetition，wouldbeperfectlycorrect，

providedfixedcapitalwerenotfixed。Ifmoneysunkinbuildingsandmachinerycouldbemadetorealizethesame

customaryrateofprofitwhenthemachineryisnotemployed，aswhenitisemployed，then，indeed，themanufacturersina

countryinwhichprofitswerecomparativelyhigh，wouldhavenoinducementtoundersellthemanufacturerofacountryin

whichthecustomaryrateofprofitswerelow；because，inthiscase，thehighcomparativerateofprofitmight，atalltimes，be

obtaineduponthewholecapital，fixedaswellasfloating，whichthemanufacturersofthehigh—profit—countryemployed。But

solongasbuildingsandmachinery，whennotinwork，existasdeadstock，realizingnoprofitatall，solongwillitbethe

interestofproducerstoemploy，atthecustomaryrateofprofit，asmuchoftheirfloatingcapitalaspossible，without

referencetotheconsiderationwhether，bysoemployingit，theyrealizethecustomaryprofitupontheirfixedcapitalalso。

Thisisaconsiderationwhichwillalwaysdeterminewhethernewandadditionalbuildingsandmachinesshallbeerected；but

whenoncetheyareerected，itwillbethedecidedinterestofthemanufacturertokeeptheminfullwork，providedhecan

therebysecurethecustomaryprofituponthefloatingcapitalemployedinpayingwages，andinpurchasingrawmaterials。

Hence，whentheforeignmarketisoverstocked，itwillhetheinterestofthemanufacturerofthehigh—profit—countryto

continuetosupplyitatpricesgreatlybelowthoseordinarypriceswhichgavethecustomaryreturnuponhiswholecapital，

fixedandfloating。Thiscustomaryprofitonhiswholecapitalwasnecessarytoinducehimtocommencebusiness，butisnot

necessarytoinducehimtocontinueit。Tosecurethis，itissufficientthatheobtainsthecustomaryprofituponthatportionofhiscapitalwhichhecantransferwithoutlosstootheroccupations。Anobjectionmayherebeurged。Itmaybecontended，thattheargumentcutsbothways，andisasapplicabletothe

manufacturersofthelow—profit，astothemanufacturersofthehigh—profit—country。Ifitbetheinterestofthelatterto

continuetosupplytheforeignmarket，atpricessoreducedastoleavethecustomaryrateofprofitonlyonthemoveable

portionoftheircapital，itmustbetheinterestoftheformertodosolikewise。Butifthemanufacturersofthe

low—profit—countryfoundittheirinteresttocontinuetosupplytheforeignmarketatareductionofpriceswhichleftthem

customaryprofitsontheirfloatingcapitalonly，themanufacturersofthehigh—profit—countrycouldnotundersellthem

withoutadiminutionoftheircustomaryrateofprofituponthatportionoftheircapitalwhichtheycouldtransfertomore

advantageousoccupations。Itfollows，therefore，thatacomparativelylowrateofprofitcannothavetheeffectofcontractingtheextentofforeigntrade。Thisobjectionproceedsupontheassumption，thatpricesintheforeignmarketneverfallbelowthatpointatwhichthe

manufacturerobtainshiscustomaryrateofprofituponthatportionofhiscapitalwhichcanbetransferredwithoutlossto

otheroccupations；and，werethisassumptionconformabletofact，theobjectionwouldbevalidandconclusive。Butthe

assumptioniscontrarytofact。Frequentisthefallofpricesbelowthepointsupposed。Revulsionsoccasionallyoccur，during

whichthemanufacturerscarcelyobtainsareturnsufficienttoreplacethefloatingcapitalheadvances。Nay，inthevibrations

ofthemarket，thedepressionoftradewillsometimesbesogreatthatthemanufacturercannot，atexistingprices，replacehis

floatingcapital，andthathecontinuestoadvancewagesandmaterialsatapositiveloss，becausehecannot，without

incurringagreaterloss，abandonhisbuildingsandmachinery；orbecauseheisabletokeephisgoodsonhanduntiltheglut

isremoved，andpriceshaverecovered。Now，onallsuchoccasions，themanufacturersofthehigh—profit—countrywillhavea

decidedadvantageoverthoseofthelow—profit—country，andwilldrivethemoutoftheforeignmarket。Letusexemplifythisprocessbyareferencetoourformercase。AFrenchmanufactureradvancesafloatingcapitalof50，000l。，andproduces10，300balesofgoods；anEnglish

manufactureralsoadvancesafloatingcapitalof50，000l。，but，asfromthehigherrateofwageswhichhepays，canemploy

fewerhands，andpurchaselessmaterial，heproducesonly10，000bales。Underthesecircumstances，letussupposethatthe

pricesoftheforeignmarketfallsolow，thattheEnglish10，000balesselltherefornomorethan50，000l。，whiletheFrench

10，300bales，ofthesamekindandquality，sellforagreatersuminproportiontotheirgreaterquantity，orfor51，500l。In

thiscasetheEnglishmanufacturerjustsaveshimself，whiletheFrenchmanufacturerrealizesaprofitofthreepercent。uponhisfloatingcapital。Letusnowsupposethatthepricesintheforeignmarketcontinuetodecline，untiltheFrenchman’s10，300bales，produced

byafloatingcapitalof50，000l。，sellfornomorethan50，000l。andtheEnglishman’sbales，producedbythesame

expenditure，sellforalesssuminproportiontotheirlessquantity。InthiscasetheFrenchmanwilljustsavehimself，whiletheEnglishmanwillin—curapositiveloss。Thusitisself—evident，thatinallrevulsionsofforeigntradetherewillbe，inthecountryinwhichprofitsarecomparatively

low，amuchheavierloss，andamuchgreaterdestructionofcapital，thanincountriesinwhichprofitsarecomparatively

high。Shouldthedifferenceintheratesofprofitbeconsiderable，thehigh—profit—countrymaycontinuetorealizemoderate

gainsunderarevulsionofforeigntrade，anddepressionofthemarkets，whichspreadbankruptcyandruinthroughoutthemanufacturingdistrictsofthelow—profit—country。###第3章Oneotherconsiderationremains，anditisamostimportantone。Floatingcapitalhasaconstanttendencytotransferitself

fromcountriesinwhichprofitsarelowtothoseinwhichtheyarehigh。Loveofcountry，theinconvenienceofconformingto

foreignmanners，andthedifficultyofacquiringforeignlanguages，may，toacertainextent，counteractthistendency；but，

notwithstandingthesebarrierstoaperfectequalization，thistendencyofprofits，throughoutthecommercialcountriesofthe

civilizedworld，togravitatetowardsacommonlevel，willpreventcapitalfromrestingonthoseplaceswherethecostof

productionhasbeenundulyelevated。Wemaylayitdownasaprincipleestablishedbyacompleteinductionfrom

experience，thatmanufacturingindustrywillestablish，andextenditself，inthosecountriesinwhichmanufacturingcapital

obtainsahighcomparativereward；andwillpartlybedriven，andpartlyretireofitsownaccord，fromthosedistrictsinwhichmanufacturingprofitsarecomparativelylow。Fromtheseillustrations，whichthevitalimportanceofthesubjecthasledusthustoextendintodemonstrativedetails，we

candistinctlytracetheultimateeffect，upontheworkingclasses，ofcombinationsforraisingwages，inacountrywhich

exportsmanufacturedgoods。Insuchcountrythepriceofmanufacturedgoodsintheforeignmarketcannotexceedtheprice

atwhichtheycanbesuppliedbytheforeignproducer。Now，whenthepriceofgoodsisthusfixed，everyincreaseofwages，

otherthingsremainingthesame，mustincreasethecostofproductionuponthedomesticproducer，andlowertherateofhis

profit；andthisreductionofprofitmustexposehimtothesuccessfulcompetitionofthoseforeignmanufacturingcountries，

inwhichacorrespondingincreaseofwageshasnotoccasionedasimilarfallintherateofprofit。Uponeveryrevulsionof

trade，andstagnationofthemarket，thisfallofprofitswillcausethedomesticproducertobeundersoldintheforeign

market；willcompelhimtocontract，ortodiscontinuehisoperations，andtothrowhislabourerspartially，orwholly，outof

employment。Thelabourers，thusthrownout，willnotbeabletoobtainotheremploymentatthesamerateofwagesas

before；because，asalessquantityofmanufacturedgoodscanbeexported，alessquantityofrawmaterialandoffoodcanbe

imported，andthegeneralfundforthemaintenanceoflabourwillbediminished。Now，ifthewholeofthefundforthe

maintenanceoflabour，thewholequantityoffoodandmaterial，bediminished，itisself—evident，thatthenumberoflabourers

remainingthesame，eachindividualmustreceivelessrealwagesthanbefore。Itthusappears，byproofamountingtostrictly

mathematicaldemonstration，thatinacountryexportingmanufacturedgoods，aneffectualcombinationforincreasing

wages，whichshouldhavetheeffectofloweringtherateofprofitbelowtherateobtainedinothermanufacturingcountries，

mustultimatelyterminate，notinanadvance，butinareductionofwages。

Inacountrypossessingsuperiorityinmanufacturingfortheforeignmarkets，Wagesmayberaisedwithinthelimitsofsuchsuperiority。Bythetermsinwhichtheimportantprincipledemonstratedintheprecedingsectionisstated，itwillbeapparent，thatitis

liable，inpractice，totwoexceptions。Itisbyincreasingthecostofproduction，andbyrenderingprofitscomparativelylow，

thatsuccessfulcombinationsforraisingwagescontractthefieldofindustry，andlimitforeigntrade，andthusultimately

terminateinthrowinglabouroutofemployment，andinrenderingwageslowerthanbefore。Itfollows，that，werethey

formedundercircumstanceswhichshouldpreventanincreaseinthecostofproduction，andarelativefallintherateof

profit，suchcombinations，insteadofcreatingthisinjuriousreaction，mightpermanentlysecure，tothelabouringclasses，a

largershareofthenecessariesandcomfortsoflife。Here，then，averyimportantpracticalquestionarises，namely，what

accompanyingcircumstanceswillpreventariseofwagesfromincreasingthecostofproduction，andfromreducingtherateofprofitbelowtheratesobtainedinothercountries？Letusinquire。Shouldalabourer，whenhedemands，andobtains，anadvanceofwages，executeanadditionalquantityofworkproportional

tothisadvance，itisevidentthatnoincreaseofproductivecost，nodeclineintherateofprofit，couldbetherebyoccasioned。

Ifthefarmerandthemanufacturerpaidmoreforlabour，theywouldcultivateandmanufacturemore。Theincreaseintheir

returnsbeinginthesameproportionastheincreaseintheiradvances，thecostofproduction，andtherateofprofit，would

remainthesame。Agreaterquantityofnecessariesandcomfortswouldbeproduced，thefundforthemaintenanceoflabour

wouldbeincreased；andthisincreasedfund，di—videdamongstthesamenumberofindividuals，wouldgiveanincreased

quantityofnecessariestoeach。Itisobvious，nay，itisself—evident，thatshouldacombinationforraisingwagesbe

accompaniedbyanancillarycombinationforincreasingthehoursoflabour，andthequantityofwork，inthesame

proportioninwhichwagesmightbeincreased，itwouldgivetothelabouringclassesanincreasedsupplyofthecomforts

andnecessariesoflife。Itmightbedifficult，itmightbeimpracticable，toestablishtheseco—operatingcombinations；but，were

theyoncefairlyestablished，noinjuriousreaction，orrecoil，couldbeoccasioned，andwageswouldbepermanentlyincreased。Thereisanotherlimitationoftheprinciple，that，inacountryexportingmanufacturedgoods，andimportingfoodandraw

materials，theultimateeffectofcombinationsforraisingwagesis，toreducethembelowthepreviouslevel。Insucha

countrythemannerinwhichacompulsoryelevation，occasionsapermanentdepressionofwages，is，byreducingtherates

ofprofitbelowtheratesobtainedinothermanufacturingcountries，andthusgivingtosuchcountriesasuperiorityinthe

foreignmarket。Now，shouldtheparticularcountryinwhichthecompulsoryriseofwagestookplace，possessanadvantage

overothermanufacturingcountries，insupplyingthearticlesdemandedintheforeignmarket，thisparticularcountrymight

payhighcomparativewages，andyetretainitssuperioritywithrespecttoforeigntrade，providedthedisadvantagecreated

bythehighwages，werelessthantheadvantagearisingfromothercauses。Forexample，if，infabricatingagivenquantityof

cloth，theEnglishmanufacturerexpends100l。infuelandmachinery，100l。inmaterials，and100l。inwages；whilethe

Frenchmanufacturerexpends150l。infuelandmachinery，100l。inmaterial，and100l……inwages；thenitisevident，thata

combinationmightraisewagesinEnglandfrom1001。to140l。，andyetleavetoEnglandthepowerofundersellingFrance

intheforeignmarket。ThedisadvantagearisingfromthehighpriceoflabourinEngland，wouldbemorethan

counterbalancedbytheadvantagecreatedbythelowpriceoffuelandmachinery。Aftertheriseofwages，thewholecostof

producingtheclothinEnglandwillbe340l。，whileinFranceitwillbe350l。；andtheFrenchmanufacturerwillstillbe

unabletocompetewiththeEnglishintheforeignmarket。Norwouldsuchariseintherewardoflabourbeinjurioustotheemployersoflabour。Inacountrywhichcanmanufacturefortheforeignmarketatalesscostthanothers，acompulsoryriseofwages，providedit

didnotgothelengthofequalizingproductivecost，wouldnothavetheeffectofreducingmanufacturingprofits。Undersuch

circumstances，thepriceofmanufacturedgoodswouldriseintheforeignmarket，anditwouldbetheforeignconsumer，and

notthehomecapitalist，whowouldpaytheadvanceofwagesobtainedbytheoperativeclass。Thegreatvalueandimportanceofthisfactwilljustifyusinagainresortingtpthedetailsofanillustrativeexample。If，inEnglandandinFrance，thecostofproductionwereequal，andtheordinaryrateofprofit10percent。，thenshouldthe

EnglishandtheFrenchmanufacturerexpendeach100l。infabricatingandconveyingagivenquantityofclothforthe

foreignmarket，inthatmarketthisquantityofclothwouldsellfor110l。Now，supposethat，inEngland，thediscoveryof

cheaperfuel，oranimprovedmachine，enablesthemanufacturertofabricateandconveythisquantityofclothfor90l。，

insteadoffor100l；then，whileitcontinuestosellintheforeignmarketfor110l。，hewillrealizeaprofitof22percent。

Butthishighrateofprofitwouldattractcapitaltothebusinessoffabricatingcloth，untiltheincreasingsupplyofthearticle

soreduceditsprice，astoleavetheproducernomorethantheordinaryprofitof10percent。Thequantityofclothwhich

hadsoldfor110l。，whenitsproductivecostwas100l。，willsellfornomorethan99l。，whenitscostisreducedto90l。The

Frenchmanufacturerwouldbedrivenoutoftheforeignmarket：butthoughtheEnglishmanufacturerwouldobtaintheexclusivesupplyingofthatmarket，andwouldconsequentlybeabletosellamuchlargerquantityofgoodsthanbefore，yet，domesticcompetitionwouldeffectuallypreventhimfromrealizingahigherrateofprofitthanbefore。Letusnowsuppose，that，aftertheseeffectshavebeenproduced，theoperativesinEnglandcombine，andobtainanadvance

ofwages，whichraisesthecostoffabricatingthegivenquantityofcloth，from90to98，whilethisquantityofcloth

continuestosellintheforeignmarketfornomorethan99。Thisadvanceofwageswillreducethemanufacturer’sprofitfrom

10tolittlemorethanonepercent。Butcapitalwouldgraduallybewithdrawnfromanoccupationyieldingsoslendera

return；and，evenifnotwithdrawnfromtheactualfabricationofcloth，themorewealthymanufacturerswouldkeeptheir

goodsonhand，untilthediminishedsupplyintheforeignmarketelevatedprices，andenabledthemtorealizeordinary

profits。Thequantityofclothwhich，beforetheriseofwages，andtheconsequentincreasedcostofproduction，hadsoldfor

99l。，willnowsellfor108l。intheforeignmarket。ThisriseinthepriceofBritishgoodswillnot，however，deprivethe

Britishmanufactureroftheexclusivesupplyoftheforeignmarket；for，bythissupposition，heisstillabletoundersellthe

Frenchmanufacturer，bynearlytwopercent。But，iftheBritishmanufacturerrealizesthesamerateofprofitasbefore，and

retains，asbefore，theexclusivesupplyoftheforeignmarket，itisevident，thattheadvanceofwagesobtainedbytheoperative，mustbepaidbytheforeignconsumer，intheincreasedpriceofcloth。Thusitappears，uponthefullestevidence，thatinacountrypossessingasuperiorityoverothermanufacturingcountries，in

producinggoodsfortheforeignmarket，therateofwagesmaybeincreasedabovetheratesobtainedinothercountriesto

nearlythewholeextentofsuchsuperiority，withoutreducingtherateofprofit，orexposingthemanufacturertoforeign

competition。Butitwillalsoappear，uponevidenceequallyconclusive，thatthishigherscaleofwagescannotbemaintained，

iftheoperativesincreasetheirnumbersbeyondthedemandforlabour。If，inanyneighbourhood，onethousandhandsare

requiredtofabricatethegoodsdemandedintheforeignmarket，andifthehandsincreasefromonethousandtoeleven

hundred，nopossiblecombinationamongsttheoperativescanavertafallofwages。Wehaveseen，thatallthatitispossible

forthemostperfectcombinationtoperformis，toincreasetherateofwagestonearlythewholeextentofwhatever

superioritythecountrymaypossess，insupplyinggoodsfortheforeignmarket。Whenariseofwagestothisextenthasbeen

obtainedforthatnumberoflabourerswhichmayberequiredtofabricatethequantityofgoodsdemandedintheforeign

market，thepriceoflabourcannotbefurtherincreased，withoutlosingtheforeignmarket。Butifacombinationsolimited

thehoursoflabour，thatitrequiredelevenhundredtodotheworkformerlydonebyathousand，andifeachoftheeleven

hundredshouldreceivethesamewagesformerlyreceivedbyeachofthethousand，thepriceoflabourandthecostof

productionwouldbeincreased，theforeignmarketwouldbelost，andthewholeofthelabourerswhichsupplieditwouldbe

thrownoutofemployment。Ifthecombinationshouldlimitthehoursoflabour，thewagesofeachlabourermustbereduced，

inpro—portiontothediminutionintheworkheperformed；andshouldthecombination，withoutreducingthehoursof

labour，limitthenumberofhandswhoshouldofferthemselvesforemployment，thosewhowereemployedwouldhaveto

maintainthosewhowereunemployed，whichwouldbethesamethingineffect，asareductionofwages。Toretain

possessionoftheforeignmarket，andatthesametimetoincreasethepriceofagivenquantityofwork，beyondthe

proportionofthesuperioritypossessedinsupplyingtheforeignmarket，ismanifestlyimpossible。Butifthepriceofagiven

quantityofworkcannotbein—creased，whilethehandsemployedinperformingitareincreased，itisself—evidentthatthe

wagesofeachindividualmustbereduced。Inacountrypossessingsuperiorityinsupplyinggoodsfortheforeignmarket，a

combination，coulditbeformedandmaintained，mighteffectanadvanceofwages，withinthelimitsofthatsuperiority，

providedthenumberofhandsseekingforemployment，didnotincreaseinagreaterproportionthanthequantityofworktobeperformed。TheCornLaw’sdeprivetheoperativesofEnglandofthehighcomparativeWagesduetothesuperioritywhichEnglandpossessesinmanufacturingfortheforeignmarket。Theprincipleswhichhavebeenestablishedintheprecedingsectionareliabletoexceptionandlimitation，intheirapplication

totheactualcircum—stancesofthiscountry。InEngland，theoperativesexecuteinagiventime，sayaweekoramonth，a

muchgreaterquantityofworkthantheoperativesofthecontinent；and，inEngland，coal，andiron，canals，railroads，coasts，

harbours，andgeographicalposition，givetothemanufactureramostdecidedsuperiorityinsupplyingtheforeignmarket

withmanufacturedgoods。Yet，notwithstandingallthesepeculiaradvantageswhichhepossesses，theEnglishmanufacturer

issonearlyundersoldbytheforeigner，thatanymaterialadvanceintherealwagesoftheoperativeclasses，woulddisable

himfromencounteringthecompetitiontowhichheisexposed；and，ifrenderedcompulsory，eitherbyanactofthe

Legislature，orbycombinationamongtheworkingpeople，woulddestroymanufacturingprofits，andtransfertheseatsofmanufacturingindustrytoothercountries。Thesefacts，apparentlysoirreconcilable，arefullyestablishedbytheevidencegivenbeforesuccessiveparliamentary

committees。Thefact，thattheoperativesinEnglandexecute，inagiventime，amuchgreaterquantityofworkthanthe

operativesofthecontinent，isprovedbythewit—nessesexaminedbytheCommitteeonArtisansandMachinery，whichsat

inthesessionof1824。ManyofthesewitnesseswereEnglishmanufacturers，whohadworkedinFrance。Theyagreeasto

thecomparativeindolenceoftheFrenchlabourer，evenduringhishoursofemployment。Oneofthewitnesses，Adam

Young，hadbeentwoyearsinoneofthebestmanufactoriesofAlsace。（9）Heisasked，\"Didyoufindthespinnersthere，as

industriousasthespinnersinEngland？\"andreplies，\"No；aspinnerinEnglandwilldotwiceasmuchasaFrenchman；they

getupatfourinthemorning，andworktilltenatnight；butourspinnerswilldoasmuchinsixhoursastheywilldointen。\"

\"HadyouanyFrenchmenemployedunderyou？\"\"Yes，eight。\"\"SupposingyouhadeightEnglishcordersunderyou，howmuchmoreworkcouldyouhavedone？\"\"WithoneEnglishmanI

couldhavedonemoreworkthanIdidwiththoseeightFrenchmen。Itcannotbecalledworktheydo；itisonlylookingatit，andwishingitdone。\"Upongeneralprinciples，thisgreatsuperiorityintheefficacyofBritishlabour，aided，asitis，bybettermachinery，cheaper

fuel，andcheapercarriage，shouldgiveanextensivemargin，enablingtheoperativesofEnglandtoobtainaconsiderable

increaseofwagesabovethoseoftheircontinentalbrethren，withoutdeprivingtheBritishmanufacturerofhissuperiorityin

theforeignmarket，orexposinghimtothedangerofforeigncompetition。Butwefind，bytheevidencegivenbeforethe

CommitteeoftheSessionof1833，thattheBritishmanufacturerisalreadystandinguponthatextremeanddangerousverge，

beyondwhichhisforeignrivalcanencounterhimuponequalterms；andthatanincreaseofwages，relativelytothewages

obtaineduponthecontinent，woulddeprivehimofhisfootingintheforeignmarket。Whatthenisthecounteracting

circumstancewhichtakesfromtheoperativeclassesofEnglandthepowerofobtaininganincreaseofwages，withinthe

limitsofthegreatsuperiorityintheefficacyoftheirlabourarisingfromtheextraordinaryadvantages，naturalandacquired，

whichtheypossess？Thiscounteractingcircumstanceisthehighpriceoffood；andthecauseofthehighpriceoffood，isthe

existingCornLaws。Averybriefillustrationwillbesufficienttodemonstrate，thatwhilethepriceofcorninEnglandremains

nearlytwiceashighasuponthecontinent，itismorallyimpossiblefortheEnglishoperativetoobtain，eitheranincreaseof

wages，oradiminutioninthehoursofhistoil。

LettheexpenseofmanufacturingagivenquantityofclothinEnglandandinFrancebeasstatedinthefollowingcases：

CASEI。ENGLAND。Wagesof200men，at4quartersofcornperman，800

quarters，at40s。perquarter？1600

Rawmaterials400

Fuel，wearandtearofmachinery950

Carriage50

TotalcosttoEnglishmanufacturer？3000

CASEII。FRANCE。Wagesof300men，at2quartersperman，600quarters，at

40s。perquarter？1200

Rawmaterials400

Fuel，wearandtearofmachinery1350

Carriage80

TotalcosttoFrenchmanufacturer？3030Inthesecases，thepriceofprovisionsisassumedtobeequal；butas200Englishoperativesworkupasmuchmaterialas

300French，andastheexpenseofmachinery，andfuel，andcarriage，whichisonly1000l。inEngland，is14301。inFrance，

theEnglishmanufacturercanaffordtounderselltheFrenchmanufacturerintheforeignmarketbyonepercent，thoughinEnglandtherealrateofwagesis100percenthigherthaninFrance。Nowletussuppose，thatwhileallotherthingsremainthesame，thefirstnecessariesoflifebe—come100percentdearerin

EnglandthaninFrance；thepriceofaquarterofcornrisingfrom40s。to50s。intheformercountry，andremainingat40s。in

thelatter。InthiscasetheEnglishmanufacturercannotretainhisformersuperiorityintheforeignmarket，withoutmakinga

deductionof50percent。，oronehalfinthecorn—wagesofhisworkmen。Thus，CASEIII。ENGLAND。

Wagesof200men，at2quartersofcornperman，400quarters，at80s。perquarter？1600

Rawmaterials400

Fuelandmachinery950

Carriage50

CosttoEnglishmanufacturer？000

CosttoFrenchmanufacturerasinCaseII。？3030Underthesecircumstances，ifour200Englishlabourersweretocombine，andrefusetoworkuntiltheyobtained425

quarters，thistriflingdifferenceoftheeighthpartofaquarterofcornintherealwagesofeachindividual，woulddrivethe

manufacturerfromtheforeignmarket，andwouldthrowoutofemploymentallthosewhodependedupontheforeigntrade

fortheirsubsistence。ForiftheEnglishmanufacturer，whencornwasat80s。，advancedtohis200labourers425quarters，

insteadof400quarters，hisoutlayforwageswouldbeincreasedfrom16001。to1700l。，andhiswholecostfrom30001。to

31001。ButthewholecostoftheFrenchmanufacturercontinuestobeonly30301。TheEnglishmanufacturer，therefore，

insteadofpossessingintheforeignmarketanad—vantagetotheextentofonepercent。wouldnowbeundersold，andwould

becompelled，eithertoreducetherealwagesofhislabourers，orelsetoabandontheforeigntrade，andthrowthemaltogetheroutofwork。Theillustrationsnowproducedwillbesufficient，itishoped，todemonstratethemannerinwhichthehighcomparativevalue

offoodinthiscountry，counteractsallouractualandacquiredsuperiorityinproducinggoodsfortheforeignmarket，and

bringsussoneartothevergeofequalitywithourcontinentalrivals，astorenderitimpossiblethatouroperativesshould

obtainanymaterialincreaseofpriceforthequantityofworkwhichtheyperform。SolongastheexistingCornLawsremain，

solongwillitbefoundimpracticable，eithertodiminishthehoursoflabour，ortoincreasewages；andsolongwillevery

attempttodoeither，inflictadditionalprivationupontheworkingclasses，bynarrowingtheforeignmarket，andcontractingtrade。Nomeasuresforincreasingtherewardoflabourcanbesuccessful，untiltheCornLawshavebeenfirstabolished。

Benevolentindividuals，inattentivetotheparalysinginfluenceoftheselaws，havesoughttoimprovetheconditionofthe

peoplebylimitingthesupply，andtherebyincreasingthevalueoflabour；andwiththisview，haveatonetimerecommended，

thatthelabouringclassesshouldreducetheirnumbersbyaprudentialabstinencefrommarriage；and，atanothertime，have

urgedthemtoobtain，eitherbyLegislativeenactment，orbycombinationsamongstthemselves，alimitationofthehoursof

labour。Eitherofthesemodesofdiminishingthesupplyoflabourinthemarket，mighthavetheeffectofraisingrealwages，

providedthenaturalandacquiredsuperioritywhichEnglandpossessesinmanufacturingindustry，werenotcounteractedby

thehighcomparativevalueoffood。ButwhiletheCornLawscontinuetokeepupthevalueoffood，andtoplaceus，inthe

foreignmarket，onthevergeofequalitywithourcontinentalcompetitors，neitherthese，noranyotherconceivablemeasures，

canhavetheeffectofimprovingtheconditionoftheoperativeclasses。Areferencetotheprecedingillustrationswill

immediatelydemonstratethis。WhileaFrenchmanufacturer，inproducingagivenquantityofgoods，advances1680l。for

materials，machinery，andcarriage，and600quartersofcornat40s。perquarter，or1200l。，forthewagesof300men；and

whiletheEnglishmanufacturer，inproducingthesamequantityofgoods，advances1400l。formaterial，machinery，and

carriage，and400quartersofcornat80s。，or1600l。，forthewagesof200men；adiminutioninthesupply，andincreasein

thepriceoflabour，compellinghimtoadd25quarters，or100l。，tohisadvanceforwages，wouldenabletheFrench

manufacturer，whomhehadpreviouslyunder—sold，todrivehimoutoftheforeignmarket。Itwouldsignifynothing，from

whatcausethediminutioninthesupply，andriseintheprice，oflabourmightproceed。Whetherthereductioninthesupply

oflabourwereoccasionedbyaprudentialabstinencefrommarriage，orbyacombinationforlimitingthehoursofwork，the

effectwouldbethesame；andtheabortiveattempttoforceupwagesbeyondtheartificialmaximumcreatedbytheCorn

Lawsforenhancingthevalueoffood，wouldterminateinthelossofemployment，andinoverwhelmingcalamity。Werefood

ascheapinEnglandasitisinothermanufacturingcountries，itwouldbepracticabletosecuretotheoperativeclasses，in

England，ahigherrateofrealwageswithinthelimitofthesuperiority，whichmoreefficaciouslabour，cheaperfueland

carriage，andbettermachinery，allcontributetoconferuponEngland，inproducinggoodsfortheforeignmarket。Butwhile

thevalueoffoodinEnglandisartificiallyraisedaboveitsvalueinthoseothermanufacturingcountries，whichareour

competitorsintheforeignmarket，suchanimprovementintherateofrealwagesismorallyimpossible。Untilanalterationin

theCornLawsshallhavesecuredusagainstforeigncompetition，allprojectsforraisingwageswillbefounderroneousin

principle，andruinousinpractice。

CHAPTERV。

ONMR。FIELDEN’SSCHEMEFORLIMITINGTHEHOURSOFLABOUR。Mr。Fielden，thememberforOldham，incon—junctionwiththebenevolentmono—maniac，RobertOwen，haspropoundeda

planforthebenefitoftheworkingclasses，whichitmaynotbeimproperorunusefultoexamine。Theplanis，thatauniversal

combinationshallbeformedforlimitingthehoursoflabourforadults，aswellasforchildren，toeighthoursaday；andfor

securingtotheworkpeople，afterthetimeoflabourshallbethusreduced，thesamewageswhichtheynowreceive，Inexplainingthisplan，Mr。Fieldenstates，thatifthechangeweregeneral，thelesserquantityproducedwouldcommandas

muchmoneyasthegreaterquantitynowdoes；\"andthat\"thoseemployedinfactories，inmakingcloth，&；c。，wouldonlybeabletoprocurethreegarments，orthreeotherthings，aftertheadvance，wheretheynowpurchasefour。\"Herewehaveasingularinconsistencynay，apalpablecontradiction。Theoperativesaretoreceivethesamewagesasat

present，whiletheirwagesarereducedone—fourth。Thebenefitstheyaretoderivefromtheproposedcombinationamounttothis，that，whenthechangebecomesgeneral，theyshallgetthreegarments，andthreeotherthings，wheretheynowgetfour。Mr。Fieldenstates，andstatesmostcorrectly，that\"ourforeigntraderesolvesitselfintobarter；\"andthat，aftertheproposed

planshallbecarriedintoeffect，\"themanufacturerwillgivetotheforeigner，andothers，thesamequantityofhis

manufactures，forthesamequantityofrawmaterials，ashenowgives；whichquantitytheforeignerwillhave，ornot

continuetotradewithhim。\"Mr。Fieldenstatesthesefacts，toshowthatunderthechangeheproposes，\"weshouldnotlose

ourforeigntrade。\"Butthefacts，ashehashimselfstatedthem，leadtoadirectlyoppositeconclusion。Itcanbeprovedby

thestrictestdemonstrationnay，itamountsverynearlytoaself—evidentpropositionthatwerethecircumstancesassumedbyMr。Fielden，reallytooccur，theforeigntradeofEnglandmustbeinstantlysuspended。ThefactsassumedbyMr。Fieldenare，thatthecombinationtoworkonlyeighthoursadaywilldiminishthequantityof

goodsone—fourth；andthatthediminishedquantitywillsellforthesamepriceforwhichthelargerquantityformerlysold；so

thatif400l。wasformerlythepriceof100balesofanykindofgoods，400l。willbethepriceof75balesofthesamegoods。

Nowitmustbeapparent，uponamoment’sconsideration，thatthisextraordinaryriseinthepriceofallBritishgoods，would

havetheeffectofarrestingtheexporttrade，andofprodigiouslyincreasingtheimporttrade。Butiftheexporttrade

diminished，andtheimporttradeincreased，Englandwouldbecomeindebtedtoothercountries；and，inordertobalanceher

foreignaccounts，moneymustbesentabroad，insteadofgoods。Nowifmoneywere，inthismanner，sentabroad，the

currencywouldbecontracted，andpriceswouldcomedownasrapidlyastheyhadrisen。Butinwhatconditionwouldthe

manufacturernowbeplaced？Heisobligedtopaythesamemoney—wagestohislabourersasbefore，whilehereceives，for

thediminishedquantityofgoodswhichtheyproduce，onlythree—fourthsofthesumwhichheformerlyreceived。Hisprofitisturnedintoloss。Hemustleaveoffbusiness，orbecomeabankrupt。Letusshow，byfigures，inwhatmannertheruinofthemanufacturerwouldbebroughtabout。Wewillstatehiscaseinthree

differentways：1st，beforethehoursoflabourarereduced，asbytheplanproposed；2nd。afterthehoursoflabourhavebeen

reduced，andwhiletheincreasedpriceofgoods，assumedbyMr。Fielden，continues；and，3rd。afterpriceshavefallenback

totheoriginallevelfromwhichtheywereraised。

I。CaseoftheManufacturerbeforetheReductioninthehoursoflabour。

EXPENDITURE。

Wagesto100menworking12hours？2000

Fuelandmachinery1000

Rawmaterials1000

Totalexpenditure？4000

RETURN。

1100balesofgoods，at41。perbale？4400

Deductexpenditure4000

Profit400II。CaseoftheManufactureraftertheReductionofthehoursoflabourfrom12to8，andwhilethediminished

quantitiesofallgoodssellsforthesamesumforwhichtheundiminishedquantitiesformerlysold。EXPENDITURE。

Wagesto100menworking8hours？2000

Three—fourthsofformerfuelandmachinery1000

Three—fourthsofformerquantityofmaterials1000

Totalexpenditure？4000

RETURN。

Three—fourthsofformerquantityofgoods，or825bales？4400

Deductexpenditure4000

Profit？400III。CaseoftheManufacturerafterthereturnofPricestotheirformerlevel，andwhilehecontinuestopayfull

wagesfor8hourswork。

EXPENDITURE。

Wagesto100menworking8hours？2000

Three—fourthsthequantityoffuelandmachineryemployedinCaseI。750

Three—fourthsformerquantityofmaterialusedinCaseI。750

Totalexpenditure？3500

RETURN。

Three—fourthsofformerquantityofgoods，or825bales？3300

Excessofexpenditure，ordeadloss？200Thuswesee，thatitamountstoastrictlymathematicaldemonstration，thatunlessthepricesofallgoodscanbepermanently

raised，bythediminutionofproduction，reducingthehoursoflabourbyone—fourth，orfrom12to8hours，whilewages

remainunreduced，mustoccasionalosstothemanufacturerequivalenttoone—fourthofthewageswhichhepays。Ifhis

profithadpreviouslybeenjustequaltoone—fourthofthewagesheadvanced，thislosswouldabsorballprofit；andif，asin

practicemustalmostalwaysbethecase，hisprofitswerelessthanone—fourthofthewagesadvanced，thenthelossequivalenttoone—fourthofhisexpenditureforwages，wouldnotonlyabsorballprofit，butwouldtrenchuponhiscapital。AllMr。Fielden’sargumentsinsupportofhisplan，turnupontheassumption，thatpriceswillriseintheproportioninwhich

productionisdiminished；buthehasbroughtforwardneitherfactnorargument，toprovethatforeignconsumerswould

consenttopurchaseBritishmanufactures，werefive—and—twentypercent。addedtotheirpresentprice。Thecontinentof

Europe，andtheUnitedStatesofNorthAmericacannowmanufacturenearlyascheapasEngland，andcouldmanufacture

muchcheaper，werethepricesofBritishgoodsincreasedbytwenty—fivepercent。GrantMr。Fieldenhisassumption，thathis

planwouldhavetheeffectofraisingthepricesofBritishgoodsbyfive—and—twentypercent，anditfollows，asanecessary

consequence，that，ontheadoptionofhisplan，Englandmustceasetobeamanufacturingcountry。Denyhisassumption，

respectingtheincreaseofprices，andequalruinwillbewrought，thoughinasomewhatdifferentway。Themerchantmayin

thiscasecontinuetosellBritishgoodsintheforeignmarket，untilthedestructionofthemanufacturerputsanendtotheir

production。Thisdestruction，aswehavealreadyseen，wouldfollowcertainlyandrapidlyupontheadoptionofaplanfor

compellingthemanufacturertopaythesamemoney—wagesasatpresentforworkingupadiminishedquantityofgoods，

whichhecouldnotsellatadvancedmoney—prices。WhetherMr。Fielden’sassumptionrespectingtheriseofpricesbeadmitted，ordenied，hisprojectfordiminishingproductionwillbefoundequallyimpracticable，andequallyruinous。Mr。Fieldentellsus，andtellsusmosttruly，thattheforeignerwillnotcontinuetotradewithus，unlesswegivehimthesame

quantityofmanufacturesforthesamequantityofrawmaterial。Butgoldisamaterialproducedinaforeigncountry；andon

Mr。Fielden’sownprinciple，theforeignerwillnotcontinuetodealwithus，unlesswegivehimthesamequantityof

manufacturedgoodsforthesamequantityofgold。Now，ifgoodsandgoldexchangeinthesameproportionsasbefore，

priceswillbethesameasbefore。Mr。Fielden，therefore，assumestwofacts，whichareatvariancewith，anddestructiveof，

eachother。Iftheforeignerwillnotcontinuetogiveusagreaterquantityofmaterialforthesamequantityofgoods，hewill

notgiveusagreaterquantityofgoldforthesamequantityofgoods。andpriceswillnotrise；andifhewillcontinuetogive

agreaterquantityofgoldforthesamequantityofgoods，soastomakepricesrise，hewillgiveagreaterquantityof

materialforthesamequantityofgoods。ThusMr。Fieldenanswers，andoverthrowshisownargument。Whenhetellsus，and

tellsustruly，thatforeigntraderesolvesitselfintobarter；andthattheforeignerwillnotcontinuetodealwithus，unlesshe

obtainthesamequantityofmanufacturesforthesamequantityofmaterial；he，byanecessaryinference，alsotellsus，andtellsustruly，thathisassumption，respectingtheriseofprices，iserroneous。Mr。Fielden’smotives，inendeavouringtoaidthelabouringclassesintheirlaudableendeavourstoimprovetheircondition，

entitlehimtopublicapprobation。Butitisevident，that，inundertakingthismomentoustask，hehasfailedinmakinghimself

sufficientlyacquaintedwiththecauseswhichdeterminetherealrateofwagesinamanufacturingcountryextensively

engagedinthebusinessofsupplyinggoodsfortheforeignmarket。Ifsuchacountrydoesnotpossesspeculiaradvantages

overtheothermanufacturingcountrieswhicharehercompetitorsintheforeignmarket，itismorallyimpossibletosecure

forheroperativesahigherrateofwagesthanthatwhichprevailsintherivalmanufacturingcountries。Andontheother

hand，ifsuchacountrydoespossesspeculiaradvantagesinthefabricationofgoodsfortheforeignmarket，then，withinthe

limitsoftheseadvantagesitbecomespossible，underjudiciousarrangement，torenderthewagesofheroperatives

permanentlyhigherthanthewagesobtainedbytheoperativesofothercountries。NowtheplanproposedbyMr。Fielden，is

notinconformitywiththesefundamentalprinciples，but，onthecontrary，isindirectoppositiontothem。Oneofthemost

considerableadvantageswhichEnglandpossessesoverothermanufacturingcountries，andwhich，ifnotcounter—balancedby

thehighvalueoffood，wouldenableheroperativestoreceivehigherwagesthantheoperativesofothercountries，consists

inthatsuperiorenergyoflabour，bywhich，aswehaveshown，agivennumberoflabourersexecute，withintheyear，amuch

greaterquantityofworkthanthesamenumberoflabourersinothercountries。Thisadvantage，andthistitletosuperior

wages，theplanofMr。Fieldengoestodestroy。IfthetimeoflabourshouldbelimitedinEnglandtoeighthoursaday，while

onthecontinentitcontinuestobeextendedto12and14hours，nohumanpowercansavetheoperativesofEnglandfrom

thenecessityofsubmittingtoalowerrateofwagesthanthatwhichtheoperativesofthecontinentreceive。Nocandidman

candenythatMr。Fieldenis，inintention，thefriendoftheworkingpeople；butnoloveroftruth，acquaintedwiththecauses

whichregulatetheamountofwages，willhesitatetosay，that，inpractice，theplanwhichbehasproposedfortheiradoptionwouldleadthemtodestruction。TheoperativesofEnglandmayobtain，underjudiciousarrangement，eitherasuperiorrateofwages，orareductioninthe

hoursoflabourwithinthelimitsofthesuperiority，naturalandacquired，whichEnglandpossessesinsupplying

manufacturedgoodsfortheforeignmarket。ThissuperiorityconsistsinthegreaterquantityofworkwhichanEnglishman

performsinadayoryear，andinthegreatercheapnessofmachinery，offuel，andofcarriage；andthissuperiorityis

counteractedandlimited，bythecomparativedearnessoffood。Noplanforimprovingtheconditionofthepeoplecanby

possibilitybeeffectual，unlessitincreasesthequantityofworkwhichcanbeexecutedinadayoryear，orthecomparative

cheapnessofmachinery，fuelandcarriage，ordiminishesthecomparativedearnessoffood。Allprojectsforincreasingwages，

orfordiminishingthehoursoflabour，whichdonotcontainefficientprovisionsforaccomplishingoneormoreofthose

objects，arefoundedinignoranceandindelusion，andmustterminateindisappointment，andinaggravateddistress。Thefirst

steptowardsimprovementmustbetheabolitionoftheCornLaws。

CHAPTERVI。ONTHEQUESTION，WOULDTHEPROFITSOFTHEFARMERBEREDUCEDBYSUCHAREDUCTIONINTHEVALUEOFFOOD，ASWOULDADMITOFANINCREASEOFREALWAGES？Inmanufacturingindustry，theelementarycostofproductionconsistsoffoodandrawmaterial。Itthereforeamountstoa

self—evidentproposition，that，otherthingsremainingthesame，theprofitsofthemanufacturermustfall，asthevalueof

agriculturalproducerisesinrelationtomanufacturedgoods。Itissometimesimagined，however，thatthiscircumstancedoes

notreduceagriculturalprofits；butthat，onthecontrary，anincreaseinthevalueofrawproduceisbeneficialtothefarmer，

inthesameproportioninwhichitisprejudicialtothemanufacturer。Thisisafundamentalerror，anditsprevalenceamongst

theagriculturalclass，leadstothemostmischievouspracticalresults。Inthelongrun，theinterestsofthecapitalist，who

engagesinagriculture，areidenticalwiththeinterestsofthecapitalistwhoengagesinmanufactures。Thesamecauseswhich

raiseorlowertherateofprofitinoneoccupation，raiseorloweritinall。Whenrentsareadjustedtothepriceofproduce，a

fallinthevalueoffoodandrawmaterial，isasbeneficialtothefarmer，astoallothercapitalists；andariseintheirvalue，as

injurious。Theseprinciplesaresoseldomacknowledged，andareofsuchvastpracticalim—portance，thatitmaybeexpedient

brieflytodemonstratethem。Inendeavouringtodothis，wewillsuppose，forthesakeofavoidingcomplexdetails，thatthat

partofproductiveexpenditurewhichconsistsofwroughtgoodsisrepresentedbyyardsofcloth；andthatpartwhich

consistsofrawproduce，byquartersofcorn。Thiswillgreatlysimplifyourproofs，withoutinanywayimpairingtheir

conclusiveness。

CASE1。Inwhichayardofclothisequalinvaluetoaquarterofcorn。

MANUFACTURERADVANCESFoodandrawmaterial，equivalentto100quartersof

corn=100yardsofcloth100yds。

Clothing，furniture，andmachinery，equivalentto100yards100

200

OBTAINS

Returnsequivalentto300yards300

Gainsaprofitof，being50uponhisadvances100

FARMERADVANCES

Foodandseed==100quartersofcorn100qrs。

Clothingandfurniture，equivalentto100suitsofclothing=100quarters100

200

OBTAINS

Areturnof400quarters400

Grosssurplusofreturnsaboveadvance200

Paysasrent，100quarters100

Nettsurplus，orprofitof50percent。100CASEII。Inwhichtheincreasedvalueofagriculturalproduce，inrelationtomanufacturedgoods，causesonequarterof

corntobeworththreeyardsofcloth。

MANUFACTURERADVANCES

Foodandrawmaterial，equivalentto100quarters=150yards150yds。

Clothing，furniture，machinery，=100

yards100

250

OBTAINS

Return，300yards300yds。

Profit20percent。uponadvances50

FARMERADVANCES

Foodandseed=100quarters100qrs。

Clothing，implements，furniture=100suits=66quarters66

166

OBTAINS

Produce，400quarters400

Grosssurplus234

Rent201

Profitof20percent。uponadvance166quarters33Inthesetwocasesthecapitalsemployedareidentical。Inboth，theadvancesofthefarmer，aswellasthoseofthe

manufacturer，consistofagriculturalproduceequivalentto100quartersofcorn，andofmanufacturedgoodsequivalentto

100yardsofcloth。When，asinCaseI，aquarterofcornandayardofclothwereofequalvalue，therateofprofit，bothin

agricultureandinmanufactures，was50percent。；becausethefarmer，ascompetitionwillalwayscompelhimtodo，paid

away，asrent，aportionofhisproducesufficienttoreducethesurplusremaininginhishandstoanequalitywiththesurplus

realizedbythemanufacturer。When，asinCaseII，thevalueofagriculturalproduceinrelationtomanufacturedgoods，rose

50percent。，andtwoquartersofcornexchangedforthreeyardsofcloth，thentherateofprofit，aswellinagricultureasin

manufactures，fellfrom50to20percent；competition，asbefore，compellingthefarmertopay，asrent，allthatportionof

hissurpluswhichexceededthesurplusgainedbythemanufacturer。InCaseII，rentisraisedfrom100to201quartersof

corn；and，asbythesupposition，thevalueofagriculturalproduce，inrelationtomanufacturedgoods，hasrisen50percent。，

these201quarterswillcommandinexchange301？yardsofcloth。Measuredincorn，rentwillbedoubled；measuredin

cloth，itwillappeartobetrebled。Theownerofthelandwillobtainanenormousadvantage；buttheadvantagethusgained

bytheownerofland，sofarfrombeingbeneficialtothefarmer，willbeobtainedathisexpense。Theinterestoftheowner，

andtheinterestofthecultivatorofthesoil，sofarfrombeingthesame，aredirectlyopposedtoeachother。Itcanbeshown

bystrictlymathematicaldemonstration，thatanincreaseinthevalueofagriculturalproduce，raisesthelandlord’srentbyreducingthefarmer’sprofit。Whenarisetakesplaceinthevalueofagriculturalproduce，thesubsequentfall，whichtakesplaceinthefarmer’sprofit，is

occasionedbythecompetitionwhichcompelshimtoofferahigherrent。Butwhenthefarmerhasaleaseforatermofyears，

atafixedrent，heisnotimmediatelyexposedtothiscompetition；and，consequently，duringthecurrencyofhislease，the

riseinthevalueofproducewillbeadvantageoustohim。Shouldthefarmer，underthecircumstancesstatedinCaseI，have

takenaleaseatthefixedrentof100quartersofcorn，then，whenthevalueof’hisproducerose50percent，asinCaseII，

hisprofitwouldnotfallfrom50to20percent；but，onthecontrary，wouldriseto80percent。Because，advancing100

quartersforseedandfood，and66forclothingandimplements，heobtainsagrossreturnof400quarters。Outofthis，he

pays100quartersforrent，andhastherefore，forhistotaladvanceof166quarters，anettreturnof300quarters，beinganincreaseof80percent。###第4章Forthefarmer，permanently，toretainarateofreturntohisadvanceshigherthanthatrealizedbyothercapitalists，wouldbe

morallyimpossible。Ontheexpirationofhislease，hewouldencountercompetition；hisprofitswouldsink，notmerelyto

theirformerlevel，buttothatlowerlevelnowrenderedgeneral；andtheriseinthevalueofagriculturalproduce，afterconferringatemporarybenefituponthefarmer，wouldfixhiminastateofpermanentdepression。Bythosewhohavenotgivensufficientattentiontotheimportantandfundamentalprinciple，that，otherthingscontinuing

thesame，theultimateeffectofariseinthevalueofagriculturalproduce，is，toraisetheproprietor’srent，andtolowerthe

farmer’sprofit，itmaybesupposed，perhaps，thattheproofofthisprinciple，presentedintheprecedingcases，is

inconclusive；becausetheadvancesandreturnofthemanufactureraremeasuredincloth，andthoseofthefarmer，incorn。It

willbeseen，however，thatthisdifferenceinthemeasuremakesnodifferenceintheresult。Ifweestimatetheadvancesand

thereturnsofthemanufacturerincorn，orthoseofthefarmerincloth，theconclusionwillcomeoutthesame。Thevastthe

incalculable，practicalimportanceoftheprinciplewilljustifyusinresortingtofurtherdemonstrativedetails，inorderto

showthatwhetherweemploycloth，orcorn，ormoney，asourmeasureinestimatinghisadvancesandreturns，apermanentriseinthevalueofagriculturalproduce，musthavetheeffect，asleasesexpire，ofreducingthecultivators’profit。WithrespecttoCaseI，noerrorcanbypossibilityresultfromestimatingtheadvancesandreturnsofthemanufacturerin

cloth，whilethoseofthefarmerareestimatedincorn；because，ayardofcloth，andaquarterofcorn，beingofequalvalue，it

isindifferentwhichisselectedasthemeasure。WithrespecttoCaseII，however，inwhichtwoquartersofcornareequalin

valuetothreeyardsofcloth，thosenotfamiliarwiththeprinciple，thatariseinthevalueofagriculturalproduceleadstoa

fallinagriculturalprofits，mayentertainasuspicion，that，inadoptingonemeasureforthemanufacturer，andanotherforthe

farmer，somelatentfallacymaybeinvolved。Toremovealldoubt，astothecompletenessoftheproofofthismostimportant

principle，wewillre—stateCaseII，measuringtheadvancesandreturnsofthemanufacturerincorn，andthoseofthefarmer

incloth。Itwillbeimmediatelyperceived，thattheresultswillbeidenticalwiththosewhichwereobtainedwhenthemeasure

forthemanufacturerwascloth，andthatforthefarmercorn。Whatevermaybethemeasure，therateofprofit，whichwas50

percentwhenaquarterofcornandayardofclothwereofequalvalue，willfallto20percentwhentwoquartersbecome

equivalenttothreeyards。

CASEII。REPEATED。

TheManufacturer（`measurechangedfromclothtocorn）

ADVANCESFoodandrawmaterialequivalentto100quartersofcorn100qrsClothingandimplementsequalto100yardsofcloth662/3

quarters662/3

Totaladvance1662/3

OBTAINS

Returnof300yardsofcloth，equiva—

lentto200quarters200Surplusofreturn，being20percent。abovetheadvanceof

1662/3331/3

TheFarmer（measurechangedfromcorntocloth）

ADVANCES

Foodandseed=100quarters=150

yardsl50yds。

Clothingandimplements=100yards100

Totaladvance250

OBTAINS

Produce=400quarters=600yards600yds。

350

Paysrentasbefore=200quarters=

300yards300

Retainsnettsurplus，being20percent。

uponhisoutlayof250yards50Therealcostofproduction，bothinmanufacturesandinagriculture，consistsofacertainquantityofmanufacturedgoods，

andofacertainquantityofagriculturalproduce。Inestimatingproductivecost，andincomparingthecapitalist’sreturnswith

hisadvances，wemayemployasourmeasure，agivenquantityeitherofwroughtgoods，orofrawproduce。Measuringin

kind，andbyquantities，hassomeadvantagesovermeasuringbymoneyvalue，inasmuch，asbytheformermethod，weget

ridofthecomplicationarisingfromtheconsiderationsofcurrencyandofprice，andareenabledtoperceivemore

immediatelyanddistinctlytheproportioninwhichthearticlesproduced，exceedthearticlesexpendedinproducingthem。

Butmeasuringcostandreproductioninkind，thoughitmayconducetoscientificalaccuracyandprecision，isyetliableto

theobjectionofbeinglessfamiliartothegeneralreader，thanmeasuringinmoney。Asinthepresentstateofthecountry，

thereisnodelusionmoremischievousthantheveryprevalentone，thatthehighvalueofagriculturalproduceisbeneficialto

thefarmer，itisexpedienttodemonstrate，undereverypossibleform，thegreatpracticaltruth，thatapermanentriseinthe

valueofagriculturalproduce，leadstoareductionintherateofagriculturalprofit。Withthisview，theprecedingcasesare

re—stated，withthisdifference，thatmoneyisemployedasthemeasureofvalue，inestimatingandcomposingtheadvancesandreturns。InCase1。，whenthemanufacturedgoods，andagriculturalproduceconsumedinproduction，areofequalvalue，wewill

assumethatayardofcloth，andaquarterofcorn，sellfor40s。each；andinCaseII，whentheincreaseddemandfor

agriculturalproduceadds50percenttoitsvalue，wewillassume，thatthepriceofaquarterofcornrisesto60s，whilethe

priceofayardofclothremainsat40s。

CASEI。Inwhichayardofcloth，andaquarterofcorn，selleachfor40s。

MANUFACTURERADVANCESClothing，furniture，andmachinery，equivalentto100yardsofcloth，at40s。peryard？200Foodandrawmaterial，equivalentto100quartersofcorn，

at40s。

perquarter200

TotalExpenditure？400

OBTAINS

Finishedarticles，equivalentto300yards，at40s。peryard？600Surplusorprofitof50percent。uponhisexpenditureof？400？200

FARMERADVANCESClothing，furniture，andimplements，equivalentto100yardsofcloth，at40s。peryard？200Foodandseed，equivalentto100quartersofcorn，at40s。

perquarter200

TotalExpenditure？400

OBTAINSProduce，equivalentto400quartersofcorn，at40s。per

quarter？800

Grosssurplus，200quarters400

Paysasrent，100quarters200

Nettsurplus，orprofit，being50percent。uponexpenditure？200CASEII。Inwhichthedemandforagriculturalproduceraisethepriceofcornto60s。perquarter，whilethepriceofcloth

remainsat40s。peryard。

MANUFACTURERADVANCESClothing，furniture，andmachinery，equivalentto100yardsofcloth，at40s。peryard？200Foodandrawmaterial，equivalentto100quartersofcorn，

at60s。

perquarter300

Totaladvance？500

OBTAINSFinishedgoods，equivalentto300yardsofcloth，at40s。per

yard？600

Profit，being20percent。uponexpenditureof？500？100

FARMERADVANCESClothingandimplements，equivalentto100yardsofcloth，at40s。peryard？200Foodandseed，equivalentto100quartersofcorn，at60s。

perquarter300

Totalexpenditure？500

OBTAINS

Produceequivalentto400quarters，at60s。perquarter？1200

Grosssurplus？700

Paysasrent，200quarters600Nettsurplus，beingaprofitof20percentupontheexpenditureof。？00？100Thusagainwesee，thatwhatevermediumofmeasurementweemploy，wearriveatthesameinevitableconclusion，thata

riseinthevalueofagriculturalproduce，isfollowedbyafallinagri—culturalprofits，Whenthequantityofwroughtgoods

obtainedbytheadvanceofagivenquantityofrawproduce，commands，inexchange，alessquantityofrawproducethan

before，itisself—evidentthatmanufacturingprofitsmustdecline。Hadthecultivatorsofthesoilleasesforever，atunalterable

rents，thesamecausewhichdepressedmanufacturing，wouldraiseagriculturalprofits，andthefarmerwouldflourishamidst

thegeneraldistress。Butthisisimpossible。Throughoutallthedepartmentsofindustry，theratesofprofittendtoacommon

level。Whenthequantityofmanufacturedgoodspreparedbytheexpenditureofagivenquantityofagriculturalproduce，

purchasedalessquantityofsuchproducethanbefore，thecapitalinvestedinmanufactureswouldgainaless，whilethe

capitalinvestedinagriculturewouldobtainagreater，returnthanbefore。Butaslongasthisdifferenceintheratesofreturn

tocapitalcontinued，solongwouldthecompetitionforlandberenderedmoreintense。Thenatural，thein—evitableresult

wouldbe，thattenantsatwill，andallothertenants，astheirleasesexpired，wouldbecompelledtopay，asrent，suchan

increasedportionoftheirsurplusproduce，aswouldbringdownagriculturalprofitstothereducedlevelofmanufacturing

profits。This，then，isthegreatpracticalconclusionwithwhichallshouldbefamiliar。Anincreaseinthevalueofagricultural

produce，whileitconfersatemporarybenefituponfarmers，protectedagainstcompetitionbyacurrentlease，inflictspermanentinjuryanddepressionupontheimportantclasswhoinvesttheircapitalinthecultivationofthesoil。Afallinthevalueofagriculturalproducewill，ofcourse，befollowedbyeffectsthereverseofthoseoccasionedbyarise。

Whenthequantityofmanufacturedgoodswhichisfabricatedbytheadvanceofagivenquantityoffoodandmaterials，

exchangesforagreaterquantityofthesearticlesofrawproduce，thenmanufacturingprofitsbecomehigherthanbefore；and

whenthequantityofagriculturalproduce，raisedwiththeexpenditureofagivenquantityofclothingandimplements，

exchangesforalessquantityofthesefinishedarticlesthanbefore，then，itisself—evident，thatagriculturalprofitswillbe

lowerthanbefore。This，foratime，willoccasionagriculturaldistress。Butastheprofitsofthemanufacturerincrease，and

thoseofthecultivatordecline，therewillbelesscompetitionforfarms；andtenantsatwill，andallothertenants，onthe

expirationofcurrentleases，willdemand，andmustultimatelyobtain，suchareductionofrents，aswillleaveintheirhandsa

surplusproduce，sufficienttoraiseagriculturalprofits，notmerelytotheirformerlevel，buttothathigherleveltowhich

manufacturingprofitsmayhaverisen。Thus，withrespecttotheeffectsofafallinthevalueofagriculturalproduce，the

importantpracticalprinciplesare，thatsuchfalloccasionstemporaryagriculturaldistress，whilerentsareinthecourseof

adjustmenttothereducedlevel；andthat，asthisadjustmentiseffected，thefallinthevalueofproduceconfersuponthosewhoinvestcapitalinthecultivationofthesoil，apermanentprosperity，greaterthanthatwhichtheypreviouslyenjoyed。Theprinciplesaboveunfoldedenableustoexplain，withdistinctnessaridprecision，thecausesofagriculturaldistress。When

thepriceofagriculturalproducefell，aftertheterminationofthelatewar，thereweretwo，andonlytwoways，bywhicha

considerablefallinagriculturalprofits，andadiminutionofagriculturalcapitalmighthavebeenprevented；namely，first，by

anim—mediatereductionofmoneyrents，andofothermoneychargesuponland，incorrespondencewiththediminished

priceofproduce；secondly，bysuchareductionintheancientstandardofvalue，aswouldhaveperpetuatedhighnominal

prices，andhavebeen，ineffect，thesamethingasareductionofrents，andofotherfixedmoneycharges。Hadthelanded

proprietorsofEngland，whothenpossessedthewholelegislativepower，adoptedeitherofthesecourses，nofallof

agriculturalprofits，nodestructionofagriculturalcapital，couldhaveoccurred。Theyattemptedneither。Unacquaintedwith

theprinciplesofeconomicalscience，andnotpossessingsufficientintelligencetoperceivetheirownignorance，thelanded

proprietorsofthatdaybecamewillinginstruments，andco—operatingagents，inworkingouttheirowndestruction。Ifthey

chosetoconsenttomeasuresforraisingthevalueofthecurrency，theyshould，atthesametime，havemadeacorresponding

reductionintheirownrents，andhavecompelledtheGovernmenttomakeacorrespondingreductioninthepublictaxes。

And，ontheotherhand，whentheydeterminedtokeepuptheirownrents，andtosupporttheministerinmaintaining

enormousestablishments，theyshouldhavemadeitanindispensablecondition，thatthevalueofmoneyshouldnotbe

increased。Buttheyseemtohaveactedundertheinfluenceofjudicialblindness。Theyconceived，thatwithoutlossofprofit，

anddestructionofcapital，theirtenantsmightcontinuetopayundiminishedmoneyrents，andmoneycharges，inacurrency

enhancedinvalue；and，inordertorenderanimpossibilitypossible，theyclamouredfortheCornLaws，and，blindleadersof

theblind，deludedtheirtenantryintothebelief，thatthefarmerisbenefitedbyhighpricesandhighrents。Thisdelusion，and

theexpectationthattheCornLawswouldeventuallyrestoreprices，causedthenecessaryreductioninrents，andinother

moneycharges，tobedeferred。Thecon—sequenceswere，aruinousfallintherateofagriculturalprofit；thelossof

agriculturalcapital；lessperfectcultivation；thedeteriorationofthesoil；thebankruptcyoftenants；theabandonmentofland；

thethrowingoutoflabour；theall—absorbingincreaseofthepoor’srate；andallthattrainofdesolatingevils，which，ifthe

powerofknowledgecannotnowremovethem，mustspeedilyoverwhelmlabourer，farmer，andlandlord，inonecommonruin。Howdifferentwouldhavebeentheresultshadthelandedproprietors，insteadofclamouringforaCornLaw，and

endeavouringtomakefooddear，adjustedrents，andotherfixedmoneychargesontheland，tothealteredvalueofthe

currency，andreducedscaleofprices。Areferencetothepre—cedingcaseswilldemonstrate，that，hadsuchanadjustment

takenplace，theconsequencewouldhavebeen，notafall，butariseintherateofthefarmer’sprofit。Acorrespondingriseof

profitswouldhavetakenplaceinmanufactures，andintrade。ThesuperioritywhichEnglandpossessesinmanufacturing

industry，notbeingcounterbalancedbyahighcomparativevalueoffood，realwagesmighthavebeenadvanced，without

incurringthedangerofforeigncompetition。Anabsorbingpoorratewouldnothaveincreasedthecostoftilling，orhave

threatenedtointerdictthecultivationofthesoil。Amorenumerous，andamorewealthypopulation，causingamoreintense

demandforbuildingground，forgardens，andforallthoseproductionsoftheearth，which，fromtheirbulkandperishable

nature，cannotbeimported，wouldhavesecuredtothelandedproprietors，arentalfarexceedingthatwhichitispossibleto

derivefromfarmsemployedinraisingthemainfoodofthepeople。Buttheeffectofafreeimportationoffood，inincreasing

thevalueofland，inacountrypossessingmanufacturingsuperiority，hasbeenshowninanotherplace；（10）anditis

unnecessarytopursuethediscussion，intowhichwehaveheredigressed。Sufficienthasbeensaidforthepresentpurpose，

whichis，toestablishtheprinciple，thatanunrestrictedimportationofforeigncorn，allowingofanincreaseofrealwages，withinthelimitsofourmanufacturingsuperiority，couldnothavetheeffectofreducingtherateofthefarmer’sprofit。Itishopedthattheproof’sandillustrationsinsertedintheprecedingpages，haveestablished，beyondthepossibilityofdoubt，

theimportantpracticaltruth，thatfarmershavenopermanentinterestintheserestrictionsontheimportationofforeign

agriculturalproduce，whichraisethepriceoffoodandrawmaterials。Farmers，whoareunderleasesatafixedmoneyrent，

have，nodoubt，atemporaryinterestinhighpricesduringthecurrencyoftheseleases。But，inthelongrun，protecting

duties，forraisingthepriceoffood，produceagriculturaldistressascertainlyastheyoccasionmanufacturingdistress。Never

wasdelusionmoregross，thanthatwhichtheproprietorsofthesoilpractiseupontheirtenants，whentheyadvisethemto

clamourforincreasedprotectionforthelandedinterest。Whensuchadviceistrulyinterpreted，itamountsjusttothisAid

usinenforcingarrangementswhichshall\"havetheeffectofraisingourrents，andofdecreasingyourprofits，andof

renderingitimpossibletoincreasetherealwagesoflabour，withoutlettinginforeigncompetition，andthrowingmillionsout

ofwork。\"

CHAPTERVII。ONTHEQUESTION，WOULDAFREETRADEINCORNDIMINISH

EMPLOYMENT，ANDREDUCEWAGES，BYCONTRACTINGTHEHOME

MARKETINAGREATERPROPORTIONTHANITEXTENDEDTHEFOREIGNMARKET？Theexclusiveadvocates，notofthelandedinterestatlarge，butofthelandedproprietor：inparticular，endeavourto

practiseuponthemanufacturers，aspeciesofdelusionsimilartothatwhichtheyhavehithertopractised，toosuccessfully，on

thefarmers。Theycontend，thatthehomemarketisbetterthantheforeignmarket；andthatimportingcorn，insteadof

purchasingitfromthehomegrower，wouldbecontractingthebetter，forthesakeofextendingtheworsemarket。Were

theseadvocatesofthelandedproprietorsaskedtoexplainwhattheirmeaningis，whentheysaythatthehomemarketis

betterthantheforeign，itispossiblethattheymightfindsomedifficultyingivinganintelligiblereply。Itisessential，

however，tocorrectinquiry，thatthemeaningoftermsshouldbeaccuratelyfixed。Incommondiscourse，theterm，market，

meanstheplacewherecommoditiesaresold；inthelanguageofcommerce，thetermexpressestheplacewherecommodities

findaneffectualdemand。Nowwhatisthateffectualdemand，theexistenceofwhich，inanyparticularplace，constitutesa

market，inthesenseinwhichthattermisemployedinthelanguageofcommercialscience。Effectualdemandissimply

thistheoffer，inexchangeforcommodities，ofthatwhichwillreplace，withasurplus，orprofit，thatwhichisexpendedin

reproducingthem。Now，thatwhichisexpendedinproducingmanufacturedgoods，isfoodandrawmaterial。When，

therefore，wespeakofamarketformanufacturedgoods，wespeakofaplaceinwhichtheywillexchangeforagreater

quantity，orthepriceofagreaterquantity，offoodandrawmaterial，thanthatwhichwasexpendedinproducingthem。A

goodmarketforsuchgoods，isaplacewheretheywillexchangeforaquantityoffoodandmaterialconsiderablygreater

thanthatexpendedintheirproduction；andabadmarket，isaplacewheretheywillexchangeforaquantityoffoodand

materiallittlegreaterthantheirproductioncost。Totellthemanufacturerthatthehomemarketisbetterthantheforeign，

wheninthehomemarkethisgoodsexchangeforalessquantityoffoodandmaterialthanintheforeign，istoassertagrossabsurdityapalpablecontradiction。Withrespecttoeffectualdemand，itisimportanttobearinmindthedistinctionbetweenitsextentanditsintensity。Effectual

demandisextensive，inproportiontothequantityofcommoditieswhichcanbesoldatapricewhichwillreplacethecostof

productionwithasurplusorprofit，whetherthatsurplusbegreatorsmall。Effectualdemandisintense，inproportionas

commoditiessellatapricewhichreplacesthecostofproductionwithalargesurplus，whetherthequantityofgoodswhich

canbethussoldbegreatorsmall。Itisplainthatdemandmaybeextensive，withoutbeingintense；andintense，withoutbeingextensive。Fromwhathasbeenalreadysaid，itmustbeapparent，thatwhen，bydutiesontheimportationofagriculturalproduce，we

increasetheextentoftheeffectualdemandofthehomemarket，wemust，bytheself—sameprocess，diminishitsintensity。

Whenthevalueoffoodandrawmaterialisin—creased，inrelationtowroughtgoods，suchgoodsmustsellatapricewhich

replacestheelementsofproductionwithalesssurplusthanbefore；or，inotherwords，theintensityofthedemandmustbe

diminished。Theextentofthedemandmeasurestheamountofbusiness；theintensityofthedemandmeasurestherateof

profitatwhichbusinessmaybedone。Thecultivationofinferiorland，raising，inrelationtohisfinishedgoods，thevalueof

themanufacturer’selementaryexpenditure，canincreasetheamountofhistransactionsinthehomemarket，onlyby

reducing，atthesametime，therateofprofitheisabletorealize。Competitionevertendstobringprofitstoacommonlevel。

Whentheprofitsofthemanufacturerwhosuppliesthehomemarketarebroughtdown，thoseofthemanufacturerwhoworksfortheforeignmarket，mustspeedilycomedownalso。TheeffectsoftheCornLawsinloweringtherateofprofitinamanufacturingcountry，wouldhavebeensufficientlyobvious

toreason，eveniftheyhadnotbeenbroughthometooursensesbypainfulexperience。Onenecessaryandveryinjurious

consequenceofafallintherateofprofit，istothrowsmallcapitalsoutofemployment，andtocausewealthtoaccumulatein

afewhands。Themiddleclassesarepresseddown，andtheextremesofopulenceandofpovertyriseinprominentcontrast。

Whenprofitsarehigh，fortunesarerealizedfromsmallbeginnings，andthereisaconstantbountyuponindustryand

frugality。Butwhenprofitsarelow，thestimulusofhopeiswithdrawnfromthosewhoarenotborntowealth，andreckless

indifferencereplacesperseveringexertion。Asprofitsfall，thecapitalistisdriventopressmoreandmoreheavilyuponthe

operativeswhomheemploys。ThisistheworsteffectoftheCornLaws，andofthelowrewardofindustrywhichthey

occasion。Acapitalist，wewillsuppose，pays1000l。inwages，and1000l。formaterials，andgetsafinishedarticle，whichhe

sellsfor2200l。Butthe200l。，thusgaineduponhisadvances，forwagesandmaterials，isinsufficienttopaytherentofhis

buildings，andthewearandtearofhismachines，andheperceivesthathemusteitherdobetter，orgiveuphisbusiness。Now

inwhatwaycanhedobetter？Hecannotgetmoreforhisgoodshecannotgethismaterialsforlessandhecannotdo

withoutbuildingsandmachines。Hethereforegoestotheoperative，andsays，Icannotemployyouonthesametermsasbefore；youmustconsenttotakelesswages，ortoworkagreaternumberofhours。Whenalowrateofprofitpredisposesindustrytoperiodicalparoxysmsofdistress，itwillnotunfrequentlyoccur，that

thoughwageshavecomedowntothestarvingpoint，andthoughthehoursofworkhavebeenextendedtotheutmostlimits

ofhumanendurance，yetthefinishedarticlewillnotsellatapricewhichwillreplaceitscost。Itisobviouslyimpossiblethat

thisshouldlongcontinue。Whatthencanbe（lone？newmachineryisresortedto，whichneithereatsnortires，andthus

humanlabourissupplantedbymechanicalpower。TherecanbenodoubtthattheCornLawshavecausedmachinerytobe

employedinthiscountrymoreextensivelythanitotherwisewouldhavebeen。Whenthepriceofprovisionsislow，human

labourmaybecheaperthanmechanicalpower。Butasfoodbecomesdear，themachine，whichdoesnoteat，willbecomeless

costlythantheoperative，whomustbefedwhileatwork。Inmanybranchesoftrade，itisthepriceofcornwhichdetermines

whethermachinerycanbeadvantageouslyintroducedornot。Otherthingsremainingthesame，asthevalueoffoodisraised，

mechanicalpowerwillbebroughtmoreandmoreintocompetitionwithhumanlabour；andtheoperativewillbeemployedatwagesreducedtothestarvingpoint，andforthelongestperiodoftimewhichnaturecanendure。Thisisthestateofthingstowhichwearerapidlyapproaching；thestateofthingsatwhich，insomeoftheprincipalseatsof

industry，wealreadyhavearrived。Theconditionoftheworkingpeopleisatoncedistressingandalarming，anddemandsthe

immediateattentionoftheLegislature。Parliamentcannotcompelthecapitalisttocarryonhisbusinessataloss。Itisboth

morallyandphysicallyimpossible，thatproductionshouldbelongcontinued，whenitsexpensesceasetobereplaced。Asthe

valueofrawproducerisesinrelationtowroughtgoods，weatlengtharriveatthepointatwhichthefinishedarticleceases

tobeworththefoodandmaterialwhich，inthepreviousstateofwages，wereconsumedinpreparingit。Whenthingshave

beenbroughttothispass，theoperativehasbutonealternative：hemusteitherdomoreworkforthesamewages，orelsebe

thrownaltogetheroutofemployment。Nocombination，nobill，forregulatingthehoursoflabour，can，bypossibility，relievehimfromthishardnecessity。HasParliament，then，nopowertorelievethepeoplefromthedistresswhichoverwhelmsthem？Yes：ithasthepowertogo

atoncetotherootoftheevil，andtoremoveentirelythecauseofthedisease。ParliamenthaspowertoabolishtheCorn

Laws，andtoopenafreetradewiththosecountrieswhich，havingvastregionsoffertileterritoryyettoreclaim，can，with

thegreatestadvantagetothemselves，giveuscheaprawproduceinexchangeforourwroughtgoods。Thisisthatwhichwouldrelievethepeople。Nootherremedycaneradicatethenationaldisease。Russia，andtheUnitedStatesofNorthAmerica，aretheprincipalcountrieswithwhichafreetrade，consistingofthe

interchangeofwroughtgoodsforrawproduce，canbeestablished。Toregulatethetradewiththesecountriesuponthe

principlesofreciprocityandfreedom，isthemainobjecttowhichtheattentionoftheLegislatureshouldbedirected。Toits

attainment，noinsuperable，noseriousdifficultyisopposed。Itistheobvious，thedecidedinterestofRussia，andofthe

UnitedStates，toestablishwithEnglandcommercialrelations，foundedontheseprinciples。Givingrawproduceforwrought

goods，aspeciesoftradewhichwouldimpoverishanddepopulateFrance，wouldimpartadditionalmomentumtothe

progressofRussiaandAmerica；and，rapidastheadvanceofthesegreatcountrieshithertohasbeen，wouldrenderit，infuture，morerapidstill。Whereabundanceofnewandfertilelandremainstoberesortedto，thecauseofretardationis，thedifficultyofworkingup

therawproduceofthesoil。Thiscauseofretardation，freetradewithamanufacturingcountryimmediatelyremoves。If，ina

remoteandthinly—peopleddistrictofRussia，100menraisedfoodfor300，whileitrequired200mentomakeclothingfor

300，thenasthelabourof800woulddonomorethanjustreplacethefoodandclothingconsumedby300，industrywould

besuspended；forthesimplereason，thatitcouldrealizenoprofit。ButwerethefoodraisedinRussiaby100mensentto

England，andwereclothingfor300broughtbackinexchange，theninRussiatheadvanceoffoodandclothingfor200

wouldbringareturnoffoodandclothingfor300；andtheprofitsofagriculture，whichbeforewerenothing，would，throughtheinterventionofcommerce，become50percent。Thus，inurgingRussiatoestablishwithEnglandanunfetteredandreciprocaltrade，wecanprovetoher，byreasoning

strictlydemonstrative，that，byadoptingthisliberalpolicy，shewouldobtainforherselfthemostdecisiveadvantage。But，

lesttheprospectofadvantageshouldbein—sufficienttoinducehertodepartfromestablishedusage，weoughtatthesame

timetoquickenherapprehension，bythefearofloss。Withthisview，whileweproposetotakeofftheimportdutiesupon

thecorn，andtallow，andhides，producedinthedominionsofRussia，ontheconditionthatRussiashouldremitherduties

upontheimportationofBritishgoods，weshouldatthesametimedistinctlyinformher，thatifshepersistsinenforcingher

tariffagainstus，weshallnotonlyretainourexistingimportdutiesupontheproductsoftheRussianterritory，butwill

reimpose，asrespectsRussia，thedutyuponhemp，prematurelytakenoffbythelastParliament，whilewereceive，dutyfree，

thecorn，andhemp，andtallow，andhides，fromallothercountries，consentingtoamoreliberalcommercialcode。This

modeofproceedingwouldbeeffectual。ThehopeofobtainingamoreextendedexporttradetoEngland，combinedwiththe

fearofthrowingintothehandsofothercountriesapartofthatwhichshenowenjoys，wouldconstrainRussiatolowerher

tariffinfavourofourmanufacturedgoods。Weknow，byrepeatedexperience，thattheRussiangovernment，despoticthough

itbe，darenotoffendthegreatproprietorsofthesoil，byriskingthatexporttradetoEngland，uponwhichtheirrevenue

principallydepends。Ononeoccasion，whentheautocratinterdictedtheexportationofhemp，andothernavalstoresto

England，hepaidforhistemeritytheforfeitofhislife。Andatalaterperiod，itwasthenationalresentmentkindledinRussia，

bytheinterruptionofcommerce，whichgavebirthtothegrandeffortagainstFrance，thenapparentlyirresistible，whichendedinthedown—fallofNapoleon。Therecanexistnodoubtbutthat，byatemperate，firm，andjudiciousenforcementoftheprincipleofreciprocity，wemay

succeedinestablishingwithRussiaatradefreeonbothsides，andconsistingoftheinterchangeofwroughtgoodsandraw

produce。Theadvantagesofsuchatradeitwouldbedifficulttoestimate。Ascultivationextendedoverthevastregionsof

theRussianempire，themarketforBritishfabricswouldperpetuallyexpand。Whocancalculatewhattheextentandthe

intensityofdemandmightbecome，ascanalsandrail—roadsconveyedfoodandrawmaterials，fromremoteinteriorregions，

toallthenavigablestreamsfallingintotheBalticandtheBlackSea；andthusenabledtheBritishmanufacturertoreplace，atdecreasingcost，theelementsofhisproductivecapital。Itmaybethoughtthatthisisdrawingtoolargelyonthefuture；andthat，withrespecttoRussia，thedayisyetfardistant

whensuchimprovementscanberealized。Beitso，withrespecttoRussia。WithrespecttotheUnitedStates，thedayisnot

distantitisnowathanditalreadyhasarrived。Inthatcountryofthefree，thereisapopulationoftwelvemillions，doubling

inaperiodofaboutfive—and—twentyyears。Themeanannualincreaseisupwardsofhalfamillionofsouls；andofthis

increase，thegreaterportionspreadsovertheunreclaimedlandsofthewesternterritory。Heretheforestrecedesbeforethem

；townsandvillagesriseupasbyenchantment；andthetideofagriculturalimprovement，andofChristiancivilization，flowswithstillincreasingvelocity，fromtheshoresoftheAtlantictowardsthoseofthePacific。Letusdescendfromgeneralstoparticulars。Wefind，fromaninspectionofthedocumentsaccompanyingthePresident’s

messagetoCongress，thatitisstated，inthereportoftheCommissionersoftheGeneralLandOffice，thatthequantityof

landpurchasedfromindividualsbytheGovernment，duringtheyear1826，was1，274，644acres。Someyearspriortothis，

thelandsintheGeneseecountry，nowformingtheStateofOhio，werepurchasedfromtheUnitedStatesforabout3s。an

acre，though，attheperiodofthepurchase，therewasscarcelyachristianinhabitantthroughoutthewholedistrict。In1821，

however，thepopulationoftheStateofOhioamountedto500，000souls；sincethatperiod，hundredsofthousandshave

passedintoothernewstates，foundedstillfurtherwestward；andnowthroughoutthevastregionsoftheOhio，theWabash，

theMissouri，andMississippi，cultivationisspreadingwithmiraculousrapidity。Here，thereisamarketinwhich，for

generations，thedemandforwroughtgoodsmustincreasebothinextentandinintensity。ThevalleyoftheMississippi，1400

milesinlength，andnearlythesameinbreadth，andintersectedthroughoutallitsvastextentbynavigablestreams，isitself

capableofsupplyingfoodandrawmaterialforapopulationgreaterthanthatofthewholeofEurope。Whenthelanded

proprietorsurgethemerchantsandmanufacturers，topreferthehometotheforeignmarket，theirlanguage，truly

interpreted，amountstothis，\"Aidusinraisingthevalueofyourfoodandrawmaterials，andinexcludingyoufrommarkets

ofincalculableextent，inorderthatwe，thelordsofthesoil，maykeepuptherentsofland，andkeepdowntheprofitsoftrade，andthewagesoflabour。\"Neverbefore，in。thehistoryoftheworld，hadanytwocountriessovastandextraordinaryapowerofpromotingthe

prosperityofeachother，asthatpossessedbyEnglandandtheUnitedStates。Eachhasanunlimitedcommandoverthat，

which，inthepeculiarcircumstancesoftheother，istheonethingneedful。Withhoweversmallaproportionofhislabour，

theagriculturistmaybeabletoraisethefoodandseedconsumedincultivation，ifitrequirealargeproportionofhis

produce，toreplacehisclothingandimplements，thesurplusorprofitcannotbegreat。And，ontheotherhand，withhoweversmallaportionoflabour，themanufacturercanworkuptheclothingandmachineryheexpends，ifitrequiresagreatproportionofhisfinishedarticles，toreplacefoodandmaterial，profitwillbereducedtothelowestrateatwhichbusiness

canbecarriedon，andwageswillsinktothestarvingpoint。IntheagriculturalregionsofAmerica，prosperityislessrapid

thanitotherwisemightbe，becausethevalueofrawproduceislow，inrelationtowroughtgoods；while，inthe

manufacturingdistrictsofEnglanddistressprevails，becausethevalueofwroughtgoodsislow，inrelationtofoodand

material。WerethemanufacturesofEnglandadmitteddutyfreeintoAmerica，prosperitywouldbethereaccelerated；and

weretheagriculturalproduceofAmericaadmitteddutyfreeintoEngland，thecauseofthepressureuponthepeoplewouldberemoved，andtherewardoflabourmightbecomeasampleasitisintheUnitedStatesofNorthAmerica。Neverbefore，inthehistoryoftheworld，didanytwocountriespossess，insoextraordinaryadegree，thepowerof

promotingtheprosperityofeachother；andneverbefore，intheannalsofhumanfolly，wastheresomelancholyanexample

\"ofthesmallportionofwisdomwhichgovernsnations，\"asthatexhibitedbyEnglandandtheUnitedStates，inrefusingto

receivefromeachothertheinestimablegiftswhichanunrestrictedcommercialintercoursewouldhavebrought。Inthisrace

ofwretchedabsurdity，AmericawasoutstrippedbyEngland。ThetariffridersoftheUnitedStates，incheckingthe

importationofmanufacturedgoods，haveloweredprofits，andretardedprosperity；whiletheborougholigarchyofEngland，

inexcludingforeignagriculturalproduce，havenotonlyplunderedthecapitalist，buthavebroughtsomeportionsofthe

workingclassestothevergeofstarvation。Butinbothcountriesabettersystemisapproachingagreatandbeneficial

changeisathand。ThesouthernstatesoftheAmericanUnionwillnolongersubmittobeplunderedbythetariff；andnow

thatthegreatmanufacturingtownsofEnglandarere—presentedinParliament，theywillnolongersubmittobeplunderedbytheCornLaws。TheabolitionoftheCornLaws，isthegreatmeasureofnationalrelief，whichthepeopleshoulddemand，andwhichthe

Parliamentshouldadopt。Werethehoursoflabourreduced，withoutareductioninthevalueoffood，eitherprofitsor

wages，orboth，mustcomedown。Butcanthemastermanufacturergoon，ifprofitsfall？Cantheoperativelive，ifwagesare

reduced？Thesearequestionsoffearfulimport。Ifindustrybenotrelievedbyreducingthevalueofrawproduceinrelation

towroughtgoods，itwillrequirenospiritofprophecytopredictthecalamitousresult。Weshallhavefirst，adistressing

stagnationoftrade，andthenaterrificconvulsion。Whilethereisyettimetoavertthedanger，letmastersandoperatives，

insteadofengaginginruinouscontestswitheachother，uniteinpetitioningtheLegislaturefortheimmediate

commencementofthatreforminourcommercialpolicy，withoutwhichthedistressofthepeoplecannotberelieved，northe

peaceofthecountrypreserved。

FINIS。

1。M’Culloch。

2。Mill。

3。Ricardo，M’Culloch，Mill。

4。Mill。

5。Mill。

6。SeeSenior’sableLecturesonWages。

7。M’Culloch。8。Underthecircumstances，priceswouldfall；butthis，insteadofweakeningthecaseasnowput，wouldrenderitstill

stronger。

9。Senior’sLecturesonWages。

10。Essay，ontheExternalCornTrade，FourthEdition。Seealso，arecentpublication，entitled，\"EnglandandAmerica。\"