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 From poverty to plenty, or, The labour qu 
 
 T iq94 nn:^ hi i 191 
 
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 MARTIN P. CATHERWOOD 
 
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 RELATIONS 
 
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FROM POVERTY TO PLENTY; 
 
 THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 
 
FROM POVERTY TO PLENTY 
 
 OK, 
 
 THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. / 
 
 BY 
 
 W. L. EEES. 
 
 All Rights Reserved. 
 
 WYMAN & SONS, GREAT QUEEN STREET, 
 LiNCOLjf's-iNN FIELDS, w.c.Properxy ot 
 
7^oC, 
 
TO SIR GEOEGE GEEY, KC.B. 
 
 [HIS work is inscribed to one whose wise 
 counsels have so often aided me to attain 
 results at which I have arrived, and who 
 will recognise in its pages many tokens of the 
 familiar interchange of thought between us during 
 the past fifteen years ; to whose sympathy and 
 encouragement I owe more than I can express, and 
 to whom every effort made for the happiness of men, 
 especially of men of his own race, is an effort in a 
 sacred cause. To a great statesman, profound 
 thinker, and sincere philanthropist, brave in the field, 
 wise in council, true to his country, loyal to his 
 'Queen, and, above all, a humble servant of the Great 
 Master, this book, with all reverence and affection, is 
 dedicated by 
 
 The Authoe. 
 
PEEFACE. 
 
 |ANY years sincBj I was called upon in tlie 
 practice of my profession to advise the 
 native landowners of the east coast of the 
 North Island of New Zealand in regard to their 
 lands. The native land laws of New Zealand 
 were and are a disgrace to any civilised community. 
 The Maories were prevented by legislation from 
 raising any money upon their lands for the purpose 
 of utilising them, and by the same laws were prac- 
 tically prevented from cultivating, or in any way 
 improving their vast estates, extending in the North 
 Island over twelve millions of acres. 
 
 After mature consideration, I advised them that 
 the only possible method of profitable enjoyment of 
 their tribal properties was by conveying the lands to 
 Europeans or joint-stock associations upon terms 
 
IV PBEFACE. 
 
 mutually beneficial to both parties. Large numbers 
 of the Maories accepted my advice and acted upon it, 
 and lands to the extent of about 250,000 acres were 
 so conveyed. 
 
 I soon found that the mere possession of large 
 territories in a state of nature entailed grave respon- 
 sibilities and very heavy expenses. 
 
 Recognising the fact that large masses of unemployed 
 labour, together with great hoards of capital, existed 
 in the United Kingdom which, properly directed, 
 would enable me to utilise the great estate committed 
 to my care, I set myself to the task of solving the 
 problem of joining uninvested capital and unem- 
 ployed labour upon these waste lands. 
 
 The one science from which I could gather informa- 
 tion as to the proper method, as a matter of course, I 
 saw to be the science of wealth. Political Economy. 
 
 To the study of that subject I, therefore, at once 
 proceeded. In the progress of reading and of 
 examination, it soon became apparent that not only 
 was it idle to seek from that science, as at present 
 taught, any practical assistance, but that the whole 
 system was a huge collection of false principles, 
 inhuman maxims, and deplorable results. I then 
 
PEEFACB. V 
 
 determined to carry my researches and efforts to a 
 final conclusion by attempting to lay down a true, 
 practical, and philosophic system, through which the 
 wealth which abounds in nature should be developed 
 and realised for the happiness of man. 
 
 In the succeeding pages I have somewhat severely 
 criticised the work of Mr. Henry George. He will 
 permit me here to state that I have received more 
 assistance, notwithstanding what I consider to be its 
 errors, from " Progress and Poverty " than any other 
 book or books ever written upon the subject. 
 
 The results of my work and the conclusions to 
 which I have arrived I now set forth, hoping and 
 believing that they will be useful to the suffering 
 multitudes of my beloved country, and through them 
 to the whole human family. 
 
 In the prosecution of my endeavour to unite labour 
 and land and capital, I approached the Trades and 
 Labour Congress of New Zealand, and was by that 
 body unanimously appointed its delegate to the Trades 
 and Labour Congress of G-reat Britain. 
 
 The rules of the English Congress, however, being 
 necessarily strict and exclusive, prevented my admis- 
 sion as the New Zealand delegate on the grounds of 
 
VI PREFACE . 
 
 my not being a labouring man working at a trade^ 
 and that my expenses to England are not paid by the 
 body which I represent. 
 
 My interest in the working classes may be judged 
 by the contents of this Tolume. It is with deep 
 regret that I gather from the reports of this twenty- 
 first Congress that the representatives still look to 
 politics and political power as the source from whick 
 safety and comfort will be derived by their class. 
 
 Though unable to speak in this Parliament oF 
 working men, I here point out to a still wider 
 audience that the remedy for the present wrongs of 
 the industrial classes and the only source of hope for 
 the future lies, not in politics, but in economics. 
 
 The delegates of the Trades Unions of Great Britain 
 will only achieve the enfranchisement of labour by 
 enabling labour to organise for the purpose of the 
 production and distribution of wealth. 
 
 All the majorities in Parliament will fail to distribute- 
 wealth equitably, and I would impress most earnestly 
 upon the Trades Unions and their representatives that 
 they can more easily join their labour and avail them- 
 selves of fresh sources of wealth from nature for their 
 mutual benefit, than obtain a majority in Parliament,. 
 
PREFACE. Vlt 
 
 useless to them as that majority would be. Were the 
 Trades Unions to approach the co-operative bodies with 
 a view to the production of fresh wealth, becoming 
 their own employers, and drawing forth the treasui'es 
 of Nature for their own subsistence and enjoyment^ 
 they would take the first step in a victorious marcL 
 towards the final triumph of labour. 
 
CONTEISTS. 
 
 Dedication 
 Preface ... 
 Introduction 
 
 CHAPTER I, 
 
 Present perilous condition of civilised society caused by want 
 — Absence of any practical suggestion for improvement 
 — 'Antagonism of labour and capital — Not caused by 
 national poverty, or war, or pestilence, nor by causes 
 popularly ascribed, but by inequitable distribution of 
 wealth ... ... ... ... ... 9 
 
 CHAPTER II, 
 
 Gradual cultivation of practical economics — Modern economy 
 founded on a passion for gain — Difference between chrema- 
 a * 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 tistic and economic, modern science chrematistic — Mon- 
 gredien — Scope of political economy — Blanqui — Theology, 
 politics, therapeutics, and political economy compared — 
 Professor Huxley on liberal education — Uselessness of 
 such advice — Political questions and parties fading — 
 Irish question one of economics and of food — Signer 
 Giovagnoli's speech to the Italian Parliament — Churches 
 waking to importance of economics — Lambeth conference 
 on Socialism — Certainty of successful issue under a 
 proper sysj;em of economy 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Columbus and the true crusade — Gradual rise of economic 
 thought — The mercantile system — Quesnay and the 
 Physiocratic School — The Land Nationalists— Physiocrats 
 —Multifarious springs of wealth — Quesnay the pioneer 
 — Adam Smith and the " Wealth of Nations"— Smith's 
 position — "Theory of Moral Sentiments" and " Wealth of 
 Nations'' contrasted — ^Evil foundation of selfishness — 
 Smith only summarising former systems and adding 
 suggestions as to distribution. His great authority—Its 
 disadvantages — Erroneous teaching as to the source of 
 wealth and measure of value ... ,., ... ... 46 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Summary of orthodox economic teaching — J. S. Mill — Mis- 
 taken belief as to scope of Smith's work — Malthus on 
 population— Errors of Malthus— Ricardo's laws of rent 
 
CONTENTS. xi 
 
 PAGE 
 
 and wages — Laisser /aire— Else of Free Trade— Its con- 
 sequences — Probable disastrous results of unrestricted 
 competition — Decrease of agricultural population in 
 Great Britain — Cheapness of goods useless without 
 means to purchase — Ireland in 1848— Lords' Eeport on 
 sweating ... ... ... ... gg 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Contradictory and uncertain meanings of terms as used by 
 different writers, Whately, Price, Perry and Wealth — 
 Jevons and Value— Are land and labourers capital 1 — 
 Sidgwick — Graham, attacks on theory of economy — The 
 wage fund — Smith in error as to labour being the source 
 of wealth and measure of value — Sismondi, his repug- 
 nance to selfish foundation — Anticipation of disaster from 
 Free Trade — Summary of laws and principles of orthodox 
 economy, their false and erroneous nature — Quesnay and 
 Smith compared — Evil effects of Smith's selfish system — 
 Attempts of economists to dismember the empire . . . 126 
 
 CHAPTEE VI. 
 
 Eemedies proposed by economists for the condition of in- 
 dustrial classes — Poor Law condemned — Legal minimum 
 of wages — Grants in aid of wages — The allotment system 
 — Its advantages and disadvantages — Education — Free 
 Trade and Protection — Uncertainty in many minds upon 
 these rival theories — Both parts only of the laws of 
 Exchange — Tendency of each — Emigration — Difference 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 between emigration and colonisation — Necessity for pro- 
 viding new fields for surplus population — Systematised 
 co-operative colonisation — Its nature and advantages — 
 Proportionate increase in wealth and population in this 
 century — Aggregation of wealth in few hands owing to 
 ignoraace of laws of distribution 163 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Political economy as yet not a science — Senior's claim — 
 Kingsley's denial — Natural development of economic 
 practice — Abnormal modern ideas concerning it — Wake- 
 field on colonisation — Functions of nature — Necessity 
 for labour — Necessity for capital — Gladstone, Fawcett, 
 and Cairns on unequal distribution — Two cardinal errors 
 in orthodox system — First, positive, selfishness as only 
 motive power ; second, negative — Utter ignorance of 
 economists as to surplus or accumulated wealth, and the 
 laws of its distribution — Krroneous canon of distribution 
 — The profits of capital — Senior and Mill examined — 
 Their errors on this point — No distribution of surplus 
 wealth to industrial class ; proportional increase of wealth 
 and population since 1800 — Labour gets no share of 
 surplus wealth — Silence of modern economists on dis- 
 tribution — Guyot ... ... ... ... 195 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Utopian theories — Communal and Socialist plans — Their 
 weakness and errors — Inherent causes of failure in all — 
 
CONTENTS. xni 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Confusion of morals, politics, and economics in all — 
 American Socialism — J. H. Noyes — Mormonism — Its 
 polygamy — Its economy — Nordhoflf Vineland — Sugges- 
 tions as to drink traffic — Continental CoUectivist plans 
 and writers — Henry George — ^Confiscation of rent value — 
 Illogical and vicious nature of proposals — Defects and 
 wrongs requiring redress — No salvation in politics — True 
 economic science the only source of hope — Identity in 
 principle between George and Socialists — Atheism of 
 ordinary Socialism — Christian Socialists described — 
 General condemnation of modern Socialism — Dr. Woolsey 
 Gronlund's co-operative commonwealth — Nihilism — The 
 International — Its history and end — Hyndman — H. V. 
 Mills — Pauper colonies of Holland — Penal colonies of 
 Australasia — Their wonderful success — The Irish exodus 
 — The present wealth of Irish emigrants in America and 
 the colonies — Keflections upon these three great instances 
 of recuperative human power — The story of Er — Close of 
 Plato's Bepublic — Necessity for immediate action — Time 
 and tide wait for no man — EesponsibUities of national 
 leaders and higher classes ... 230 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Necessity for a constructive science of economy, with definite 
 objects — Purposes of such a science — The liquor 
 traffic — Its evils and remedy— Relief for poverty and 
 employment of industry must be permanent — Present 
 antagonism between individualistic and socialistic systems 
 — Antagonism between labour and capital — Necessity 
 for combination — Association or co-operation the only 
 solvent — ^Disraeli's " Sybil "—Necessity for economic 
 changes ... .... ... ■•• •■. ••• ••• 301 
 
XIV CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Concurrent growth of individualistic and associative spirit 
 and practice — ^Antagonism between political economy 
 and philanthropy — Mr. Goschen's statement— History and 
 nature of trades and labour unions — Friendly societies 
 and co-operative associations — Howell's conflicts of 
 capital and labour — Thorold Eogers — Strikes — Their 
 nature and results — Position of the labourer and capitalist 
 contrasted — Trades unions should become producers of 
 wealth in lieu of striking — Possible disasters both to 
 employers and employed of strikes and lock-outs — Co- 
 operative anxiety to become producers — Failure of eflforts 
 — Proper organisation will effect the desired result — 
 History of co-operation — Its imperfect character and scope 
 — Mr. Holyoake — Rochdale pioneers — Profit sharing — 
 Difference in co-operation in England, France, and 
 Germany— Schultze de Litsch — De Laveleye — First co- 
 operative festival — The Times on failure of co-operative 
 production — Hopeful anticipations — Ralahine — Co-opera- 
 tive failures discussed and compared — All traceable to 
 one cause — This cause easUy avoided — Toynbee and 
 Rogers — Necessity of union between trades unions and 
 co-operators and, perhaps, friendly societies — Vast results 
 possible 329 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Civilisation bringing necessity for mutual assistance — ^Defini- 
 tions of some ordinary terms — Political economy — Its 
 nature and objects— Wealth — The factors of production 
 — Production — Exchange and distribution or appropria- 
 tion — Value — Present and proposed systems compared 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 and contrasted — Summary of the three systems, mercan- 
 tile, physiocratic, and orthodox — The three classes who 
 aid in producing and exchanging wealth, capitalist, pro- 
 ducer, consumer — All life full of organisation — Money — 
 Specie — Paper currency — Public credit, proportion in 
 which labour, capital, and consumption should share . . . 385 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Necessity for voluntary action — Organisation and combination 
 develope the powers of the human race — Application of 
 this truth to the science of wealth — The joint-stock 
 system — Adam Smith on stock-joint companies — Such 
 associations monopolists — Expanded nature and powers 
 of proposed association — Basis proposed — Partnership 
 between capitalists, producer, and consumer — Possibility 
 under such organisatiojis of universal employment and 
 destruction of pauperism — Memorandum of association — 
 Possible prosperity for the multitudes under new system 
 — Objections to State aid discussed — Dilemma of Govern- 
 ment — The great opportunity now offered — Commerce 
 between Great Britain and the colonies 410 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Statistics of occupations of English people — Same causes of 
 depression operating in England, the States and the 
 colonies — The English colonies compared with the great 
 European States — Mulhall's "Fifty Years of National Pro- 
 gress "—Suicides — Emigration — Distribution of wealth — 
 Australasian wool and gold compared — Possible organisa- 
 
XVI CONTENTS. 
 
 tion of all unemployed labour in Great Britain for coloni- 
 sation — Condition of the English people contrasted with 
 that of Continental nations — Probability of war and 
 devastation in Continental Europe — No possibility of 
 escape or field for expansion for Continental Powers — 
 Antagonism between commerce and philanthropy existing 
 through selfish economy — Associative economy harmonises 
 philanthropy and commerce, religion and business — Appli- 
 cation of same principle which abolished slavery to relief 
 of unemployed industry — Necessity for precaution in 
 first experiment — Eequisites for final solution of social 
 problems now exist possessed by the English race — The 
 present time the final crisis in the history of civilisation 
 — Necessity for universal action ... ... ... ... 446 
 
INTEODUCTION. 
 
 IROJi the fifteenth century down to the 
 present time, the growth of knowledge 
 and the spread of education and of 
 thought have sent changes in the his- 
 tory of the human race and conditions of human 
 society spinning onwards at an ever-increasing rate. 
 But the speed at which modern civilisation has ad- 
 vanced has been in no case regular or persistent. 
 The tide of human progress has, in truth, since the 
 great events of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries 
 been constantly flowing, and no doubt will continue 
 to flow until the end of time. But the rising of the 
 waters has been neither calm nor regular. The fall 
 of Constantinople and the destruction of the Eastern 
 Empire released a mass of buried learning, and scat- 
 tered over Europe a number of scholars deeply versed 
 in Greek literature and philosophy. 
 
 A few years before the fall of the Eastern capital, 
 Columbus had been born and already, as a child, had 
 listened with eagerness to the tales of mariners as to 
 the wonders and the wonderlands across the seas. 
 We need not be surprised that the resurrection of 
 ancient philosophy and learning, the discovery of a 
 new world, and the intellectual development attend- 
 ing the Eeformation, should quicken the mental powers 
 
 A* 
 
INTRODUCTION, 
 
 and inflame the imagination of great numbers of 
 adventurous minds. Twenty-three years after the 
 death of Constantine Palaeologus and the downfall of 
 the Eastern Empire, and fifteen years before Colum- 
 bus, almost heart-broken, sighted the Bahamas, 
 Caxton had issued the first book ever printed in 
 England, and within six years of the " Game of Chess," 
 and yet nine years before Columbus discovered 
 America, Luther was born. Thus, in less than forty 
 j-ears philosophy had been born again, a new world 
 had been discovered, Bartholomew Diaz and Yasco 
 di Gama had doubled the Cape and opened the sea- 
 way to India, the great leader of the Reformation 
 saw the light, and the art of printing, by which the 
 records of philosophy, of discovery, and of invention 
 should be for ever preserved, had been reduced to 
 common practice. Prom that time forth no accident 
 could bury, the hand of no rude conqueror could 
 destroy, the history of men. The records of heroism 
 must for ever stand inscribed upon the golden page ; 
 the long tale of noble purposes and ignoble crimes, 
 the story of success and failure, of virtue and vice, 
 of selfishness and philanthropy, would be graven as 
 with a pen of iron upon tablets of brass. The hopes, 
 the fears, and the struggles of men, their achievements 
 and their failures, were destined to be eternally re- 
 corded to teach and to inspire succeeding generations. 
 And yet the progress of human advancement was not 
 equal. 
 
 Amid the constant rise ■ of the tide of human 
 
INTEODUCTION. 6 
 
 knowledge and civilisationj there have been inter- 
 mittent periods of swift advancement and partial re- 
 trogression. And on some occasions periods of such 
 disorder and uncertainty have arisen as seemed to 
 threaten the very fabric of social life itself. The close 
 of the last century and the ending of the first half of 
 the present were, viewed in this light, two notable 
 periods; and no man can predict when, from some 
 unseen and unthought-of contingency, all Europe 
 may be set ablaze, and war, terror, and revolution 
 shatter to atoms the political organisations that now 
 exist. Prom the close of the fifteenth century to the 
 present time, four races have contended for maritime 
 supremacy and the control of colonisation. Spain, 
 which at first seemed likely to become the future 
 mistress of the nations ; Holland, issuing from its 
 storm-beaten home, won by incredible exertions from 
 the marsh and sea; France, both under its kings 
 and the great Jfapoleon; and finally England, have 
 in turn prevailed; but none of the former either to 
 the same extent or with the same characteristics as 
 the English people. It has been pointed out very 
 clearly by several writers that the modern wars be- 
 tween France and England were in truth wars for the 
 possession of great colonies and the extension of great 
 empires. The power of the English people in the 
 earth is now so widely extended and so firmly based, 
 that, without some turn in future history which would 
 partake of a miraculous nature, the English tongue 
 and English influence must prevail above all others 
 
'1* INTEODUCTION. 
 
 within the next hundred years. The era upon which 
 attention is now fixed has produced the most remark- 
 able development of knowledge and practice, in regard 
 to civil and religious liberty which the world has yet 
 seen. Especially is this the case in the three branches 
 of the English people, the United Kingdom, the 
 United States, and the colonies of Great Britain. 
 The foundations of civil freedom are wide and firmly 
 laid. So keen has been the disputation of philosophic 
 teaching and historic criticism, so free and unsparing 
 the discussions upon every possible side of every 
 possible subject which could affect humanity, so strong 
 has that unseen but wonderful influence which we 
 call " public opinion " gradually become, that abuses 
 of all sorts and errors of all descriptions are disap- 
 pearing from the stage of that theatre whereon, for 
 so long a period, they have inflicted sufferings upon 
 mankind. 
 
 The latter half of the fifteenth century is, as we have 
 seen, the horizon which bounds modern history. From 
 that period the causes and changes which seem likely 
 to result in the final social civilisation of the world 
 gradually rise. The use of gunpowder, the art of 
 printing, the revival of learning and the spread of 
 scientific knowledge, the Eeformation, the con- 
 tinuous opening and developments of new worlds, 
 and in them the establishment of great and free 
 nations, the growth of manufactures and commerce 
 the establishment jof civil and religious liberty, the 
 practical annihilation of space and time by steam and 
 
INTEODUCTIOX, O 
 
 electricity, all help to indicate and to ensure the 
 final development of human society. Two important 
 questions only yet remain to be decided in order to 
 close this volume of the history of mankind. The 
 one being, " What race is to dominate and lead the 
 world ? " the other, " How shall the distribution of 
 wealth be so ordered that labour and industry shall 
 fairly participate in the wealth they produce, and want 
 and poverty exist no more ? " 
 
 What a heritage has God given to the English ! 
 In Australia I have travelled for months to and fro 
 over thousands of square miles of level fertile land, un- 
 broken by the spade or plough, rich with flowers and 
 herbage, in a climate like that of Spain or Italy, 
 where the air was redolent with the odours of the 
 flowering gum and wattle, seeing but seldom the glance 
 of a human eye or the imprint of a human foot. I 
 have journeyed over hills and valleys in New Zealand, 
 through streamlets clear as crystal, beneath waving 
 ferns and Nikau palms, by snowy mountains which 
 melt into the deep blue of the southern sky, by 
 capacious harbours whose waters teem with fish, over 
 territories as large as Yorkshire, with soil and climate 
 unrivalled in the British Isles, where fruits, — the apple 
 and the orange, the strawberry and the walnut, the 
 apricot and the melon, — ripen in the open air ; where 
 all the productions of a temperate climate grow in 
 almost unexampled profusion ; which, untilled and un- 
 touched, lie desolate and waste. In those colonies 
 alone the whole population of Great Britain and 
 
U IHTRODUCTION. 
 
 Ireland ten times told could find homes and subsis- 
 tence upon lands now lonely and unoccupied, " The 
 wilderness and the solitary place would become glad 
 for them, and the desert would rejoice and blossom as 
 the rose." For the convenience and comfort of this 
 great empire, this "expanded England," we see a 
 world-wide commerce being carried on, while across 
 continents and beneath oceans is stretched the 
 electric wire. Our people also now enriched with 
 knowledge, and daily adding to their stores of accumu- 
 lated wealth, possess, as no former generation pos- 
 sessed, the skill of organisation and the capability of 
 association for all the purposes of life. Bat, strangest 
 fact of all, this great nation, — this people, rich beyond 
 comparison, — having an untenanted estate of at least 
 five thousand millions of acres of land, situated 
 in all regions and in every climate, whose fleets 
 whiten the ocean with their sails or darken the 
 skies with smoke, keeps within its own bosom millions 
 of its children in want, in rags, and in misery. 
 Land, labour, capital, every factor of production, 
 belongs to it in measureless abundance. Its leaders 
 are eminently brave and skilful. Every land and 
 every sea has borne witness to the courage, the en- 
 durance, the patience and faith of those races which 
 inhabit the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and 
 speak the English tongue. Nor are they deficient in 
 wisdom. Especially are they distinguished among the 
 nations of the earth for reverence to God and charity 
 to man. How is it, then, that the materials for 
 national greatness and prosperity lying about them 
 
INTRODUCTION. 7 
 
 are not made available for the happiness and welfare 
 of the British nation ? Why do the leaders of our 
 people let the masses starve when plenty is within 
 their reach ? Why do those leaders allow the people 
 to be paupers when these armies of workers could in 
 the outside empire become free men^ holding up their 
 heads in the proud consciousness of independence and 
 the dignity of self-respect. The colonies languish for 
 men and money ; England groans beneath the burden 
 of a pauperised multitude and impossibility of good 
 investments. English manufacturers seek fresh 
 markets for their goods, English shipowners seek 
 cargoes and freights and charters for their ships, 
 English patriots toil for the welfare and safety of their 
 country and their race, and English Christians pray 
 for their fellow-countrymen whose case seems now so 
 dark and hopeless. In olden times, when populations 
 increased beyond the capacity of the parent State to 
 support them, they pushed their way to new lands, 
 and founded or conquered new homes. The tribes of 
 Asia, the Phoenicians, the Greeks,, the many armies of 
 barbarians who pressed on and at last conquered the 
 Imperial city ; the rolling tides of Huns, Vandals, 
 Goths, Visigoths, Germans, Saxons, Danes, Normans, 
 did but exemplify the law of nature which forced 
 overcrowded populations to leave their original homes, 
 and " seek fresh fields and pastures new." They 
 went out like Abraham from Ur of the Ohaldees " not 
 knowing whither they went," to cross mountains and 
 deserts, to face the terrors of unknown forests 
 and swim great rivers, — to encounter, perchance, 
 
O INTRODUCTION. 
 
 starvation in the wilds^ or death or slavery in 
 a foreign land. It remains for Christian England, 
 whose senators are the heirs of the knowledge, the 
 courage, and the charity of all time, to keep starving 
 and degraded within her boundaries great multitudes 
 of her people, while the God-given, glorious, unten- 
 anted territories of her mighty empire, and her 
 boundless wealth are offering homes and peace 
 and plenty to them all. Could we but ascertain 
 the numbers of the hordes, vast as they were, which 
 overran Europe, I believe that their united numbers 
 would not equal the millions who are to-day in 
 idleness and want in the home of liberty, the 
 shrine of the faith of Christ, that Britain whose 
 imperial sway extends over waste lands practically 
 illimitable in extent. 
 
 When the people of Israel were in Egypt, and their 
 cry went up to Heaven, was that cry more terrible 
 than the voice of the daily, hourly agony which rises 
 from " Merrie England " to the eternal throne ? 
 
 The existence ot such a mass of misery and poverty, 
 of suffering and consequent sin in Great Britain, in 
 the presence of our unparalleled advantages, is a 
 shame and a disgrace. 
 
 In that shame, in that disgrace, all must partici- 
 pate. The politicians of every name, the philosophers 
 of every school, the churches of every denomination, 
 the press of every class, the nobility, the professions, 
 the universities, the mercantile classes, the universal 
 public, are all more or less concerned and guilty. 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 Present perilous conditiou of civilised society caused by want- 
 Absence of any practical suggestion for improvement — An- 
 tagonism of labour and capital — Not caused by national 
 poverty, or war, or pestilence, nor by causes popularly ascribed, 
 but by inequitable distribution of wealth. 
 
 HE present position and evident tendencies 
 of modern civilised communities call with 
 a voice of imperative authority for the 
 most serious consideration which the 
 human mind can give. 
 
 The forms of agitation by which modern society is 
 shaken are various, but beneath them all lies the one 
 great wrong which the vast majority of men are com- 
 pelled to suffer, namely, the inequitable distribution of 
 this world's goods. A great part of the popula- 
 tions of our great cities, as well as of the rural 
 districts, are either in a condition of semi-starvation 
 or are liable to be brought into that condition by the 
 happening of circumstances, of which they may be 
 ignorant, and over which they have not the slightest 
 
 B 
 
10 FEOM POVEETT TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 control. The records of daily history are to the 
 reflective miad suggestive of grief and terror, for 
 our instinct teaches us that the want and suffering 
 endured by men in such numerous and diverse forms 
 are not only dangerous, but unnecessary. 
 
 The earth is broad, nature is bountiful, God is good, 
 and yet amid profusion the multitudes are in want. 
 In the presence of almost boundless wealth, drawn 
 by industry fron nature, the haggard cheeks of 
 millions tell of hunger and privation. This is the 
 true fountain whence flow the agitations which afllict 
 society. This, the wrong, which calls upon every 
 heart not destitute of human feeling to aid in its 
 redress. And it is certain that many hearts are ready 
 to respond to the cry which goes forth so unceasingly 
 from the sufferers of every land. To such these 
 words of the poet utter a summons : — 
 
 " For the cause that lacks assistance, 
 For the wrong that needs resistance, 
 For the future in the distance. 
 And the good that we can do." 
 
 No more noble motto was ever written. To per- 
 form these duties, to maintain these principles, men 
 have fought and died in every land and in every age. 
 YoT this martyrs have su3"ered on the rack and 
 endured the flames. For this patriots have bared 
 their breasts to the sword of tyranny. For this 
 women have visited the hospital and prison, and 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 11 
 
 followed tke steps of armies to distant lands. For 
 "this missionaries have gone forth into the wilderness 
 and dwelt among savage tribes. For this Christians 
 faced the lions in the Colosseum. For this Havelock 
 and Gordon, in India and Egypt, fought and fell. 
 For this Peter the Hermit roused the nations of 
 Western Europe to the Crusades ; Arnold of Winkel- 
 reid drew a sheaf of spears into his heart; and 
 Howard " gauged the dimensions of human misery." 
 For this, in the plenitude of mercy, Jesus of Naza- 
 ireth endured the cross, despising the shame. The 
 •one subject for consideration now is how to distribute 
 wealth fairly amongst those who help to create it. 
 
 " This association of poverty with progress is the 
 great enigma of our times. It is the central fact 
 from which spring the industrial, political, and social 
 ■difficulties that perplex the world, and with which 
 statesmanship, philanthropy, and education grapple in 
 vain. From it come the clouds that overhang the 
 future of the most progressing and self-reliant nation. 
 It is the riddle which the sphinx of fate puts to our 
 <5ivilisation, and which not to answer is to be destroyed. 
 So long as all the increased wealth which modern 
 progress brings goes but to build up great fortunes, 
 to increase luxury, and make sharper the contrast 
 between the house of Have and the house of Want, 
 progress is not real and cannot be permanent. The 
 tower leans from its foundations, and every new 
 story but hastens the final catastrophe. To educate 
 
 B 2 
 
12 TEOM POVKRTY TO PLENTY; OR, 
 
 men who must be condemued to poverty is but to 
 make them restive ; to base on a state of most glaring 
 social inequality political institutions under which 
 men are theoretically equal is to stand a pyramid on 
 its apex."* 
 
 It is not necessary to multiply quotations. The 
 pages of all political economists, the columns of all 
 the newspapers, the records and evidence of Poor- 
 Law Commissions, and the inquiries into the state of 
 the agricultural labourers, the everlasting wail that 
 goes up to Heaven from the poor ; the articles in 
 magazines, the speeches of the leaders of all political 
 parties, and the thrilling appeals for help and for 
 assistance uttered by a thousand voices, all with 
 dreadful unanimity testify to the truth of the assertion 
 made. 
 
 "What reason have we to suppose that the future 
 condition of our people, even in the great colonies of 
 the empire, under existing economic laws, will pre- 
 sent features in any degree different from the state 
 of Englishmen, Irishmen, and Scotchmen in the 
 United Kingdom ? Clearly none at all. 
 
 In the meantime, neither in England nor the 
 colonies is any adequate plan suggested which shall 
 change either the operation of the economic laws or 
 those laws themselves, in order to prevent that oppres- 
 sive distribution of wealth which at present makes tho 
 
 * Henry George, " Progress and Poverty," pp. 6, 7. 1884. 
 
THE LABODE QUESTION SOLVED. 13 
 
 rich more wealthy and the poor still poorer. So deeply, 
 indeed, has the injustice of the present order of things 
 been felt by the coldest and most dispassionate of 
 men, that they have been willing to pass into the 
 deepest shade of Communism rather than endure the 
 dreadful evils of the present, if no other means of 
 ameliorating the condition of the labouring classes 
 could be found. 
 
 John Stuart Mill, one of the clearest, most compre- 
 hensive, and impartial writers of modern times, speaks 
 thus : — " If, therefore, the choice were to be between 
 Communism, with all its chances, and the present 
 state of society, with all its sufferings and injustices, — 
 if the institution of private property necessarily carried 
 with it, as a consequence, that the produce of labour 
 should be apportioned, as we now see it, almost in an 
 inverse ratio to the labour, the largest portion to 
 those who have never worked at all, the next largest 
 to those whose work is almost nominal, and so in a 
 descending scale, the remuneration dwindling as the 
 work grows harder and more disagreeable, until the 
 most fatiguing and exhausting bodily labour cannot 
 count with certainty on being able to earn even the 
 necessaries of life, — ^if this or Communism were the 
 alternative, all the difiBculties, great or small, of 
 Communism would be as dust in the balance." 
 
 With equal energy speaks another writer and 
 thinker of the present day, one truly of more warmth 
 and enthusiasm than our own great countryman, the 
 
14 FEOM POVEETT TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 celebrated Belgian economist^ M. Bmile de Laveleye r 
 — " When we look with an unprejudiced eye at the 
 present division of this world's goods, and see, on the 
 one hand, the labourer earning for his daily bread 
 barely what is needful, — less, indeed, than the where- 
 withal to live if there be the slightest possible crisis, 
 — and then turn our eyes to the other side of the 
 picture, and see the owners of property yearly adding 
 to their estates, and living in ever-increasing ease and 
 comfort, it is quite impossible to bring this inta 
 conformity with notions of justice, and one can but 
 exclaim with Bossuet : ' The complaints of the poor 
 are just. Wherefore this inequality t ' " 
 
 Hear also the verdict of another great Englishman,, 
 John Kuskin : " For most of the rich men of England 
 it were indeed to be desired that the Bible should not 
 be true, since against them these words are written in 
 it : ' The rust of your gold and silver shall be a 
 witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it 
 were fire.' " 
 
 Carlyle wrote volumes of terrible denunciations 
 against the state of things which in his time dis- 
 graced his country ; while the whole of one of 
 Disraeli's novels, " Sybil," is devoted to the same 
 subject. 
 
 Yet, amid all this sorrow, no adequate plan is 
 propounded for its alleviation. It is impossible to 
 conceal the approach of a great conflict between 
 Wealth and Poverty, — between the classes who own 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 15 
 
 the wealth of civilised communities and the poor. 
 The rapid growth of population in Europe, whose 
 increasing millions must find food and homes in less 
 densely populated countries, or starve; the unpre- 
 cedented accumulations of wealth ; and the terrible 
 uncertainty of food for the multitude; the seething 
 and bubbling fears and aspirations of great majorities 
 in the different nations, — are all signs of the times 
 which he who runs may read. Every mail, every 
 daily telegraphic summary of news, contains the 
 record of occurrences which show plainly enough the 
 tremendous forces operating beneath the surface of 
 society, and that we are in truth, as Mr. Hyndman 
 has said, "in the dawn of a revolutionary epoch." 
 There are two causes which conduce to revolution, — 
 oppression and want. In Great Britain both causes 
 operate ; in the colonies as yet neither to any great 
 extent. Colonists, however, should remember that 
 they are merely laying the foundations for future 
 generations. In these new lands, unfettered by 
 ancient prejudices or customs, and as yet possessing 
 wide territories of public lands and sparsely populated 
 private estates, we should endeavour so to shape our 
 course as to avoid the dangers which threaten, older 
 countries, and find a means of banishing poverty. 
 Our political privileges are already great, and we 
 should now unite in the attempt to build up a system 
 of social economy that will ensure general prosperity 
 and cause want to be uoiknown. 
 
16 FROM rOVEETT TO PLEJJTY ; OR, 
 
 The next proposition which attracts attention in 
 the records of every-day life is that, in addition to the 
 wide and widening separation between wealth and 
 poverty, labour and capital are antagonistic. They 
 live in different camps ; they display different sym- 
 pathies. And the contentions between them in the 
 colonies are as fierce and bitter and prolonged as in 
 Great Britain. 
 
 No adjustment of differences, no courts of concilia- 
 tion, no reference to arbitration, will or can, under 
 the social economy which has hitherto obtained, 
 reconcile the conflicting interests of capital and 
 labour. 
 
 While considering the want and poverty which are 
 revealed in modern society as the lot of the great 
 majority of people, it is proper to consider the cause 
 or causes of that poverty. This condition of the 
 working classes certainly does not arise from the 
 decrease of national wealth. No age has witnessed 
 such a rapid and extensive increase of the aggregate 
 possessions of communities as the last fifty years has 
 shown in the British Empire and the United States. 
 While the population of Great Britain and Ireland 
 have not douhled during the last half-century, the 
 aggregate wealth of the United Kingdom has at least 
 quadrupled. Nor has this condition arisen from losses 
 and sufferings entailed upon the multitude by adverse 
 fate in war, such as in other days brought nations into 
 bondage. On the contrary, the wars of the last 
 
THE LABOUK QUESTION SOLVED. 17 
 
 century have vastly extended and developed the 
 possessions of the empire^ and opened fresh fields, 
 practically boundless in extent, for the production of 
 fresh wealth. 
 
 Nor can it be attributed to famines, which often- 
 times have reduced people to the point of starvation. 
 Here again the opposite is the case. All regions of 
 the earth have poured forth, and still continue to 
 pour forth, their treasures of food and clothing, of 
 fruit and gold, pearls from the sea, diamonds from the 
 mines, and all the products of a rich and ungrudging 
 nature. Commerce suffers, we are told, not from 
 stinted supplies, but from a continuous glut of over- 
 production. Wonderful paradox ! A continual glut 
 in the markets of the great nation, whilst vast 
 numbers of the English people are ill clad, half fed, 
 and housed in pig-styes. 
 
 Nor can it be traced to another cause which in the 
 Dark and Middle Ages filled Europe from time to 
 time with suffering" and dismay ; the Pestilence is not 
 responsible. Sickness there has been, the cholera, 
 the small-pox, and the typhus have indeed visited the 
 Western Islands, and have caused bereavement and 
 sorrow in every circle. 
 
 But the peculiar and remarkable disparity in the 
 social conditions of different classes has not been by 
 them affected. 
 
 There are some writers who attribute the con- 
 dition of the poor generally to want of thrift, to 
 
18 EEOM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OE^ 
 
 prodigal expenditure and drunkenness. As for the- 
 " prodigal expenditure " of whicli a man can be 
 guilty who earns twelve shillings a week, and has to- 
 keep a wife and children besides himself, I leave that 
 to others to explain and to define. 
 
 Nor does it arise from any grave inequality of 
 
 law or class legislation. The positive laws of a 
 
 country cannot include within their proper scope and 
 
 jurisdiction either the production or distribution of 
 
 wealth. The differences in the eye of the law 
 
 between the various classes in the State are rapidly 
 
 vanishing. Yet with the increase of political power- 
 
 /and influence the industrial population do not enjoy 
 
 / a corresponding equality and fairness in the distribu- 
 
 I tion of the national possessions. 
 
 The reason of this is obvious. The laws and 
 science which govern the production and distribution 
 of wealth are entirely distinct from politics. The- 
 Socialists point to the great public services conducted 
 by the G-overnment, Post Offices, Telegraphs, Public 
 Works, but it will be seen upon examination that 
 these have nothing to do with political or social, 
 economy, strictly so called. They are but services 
 rendered to the public by the public. They do indeed 
 afford employment and thereby the means of liveli- 
 hood to large numbers of citizens and subjects of the 
 Crown. But they do not include the production of 
 wealth from nature ; the manufacture of natural 
 objects ; the commercial dealings between classes,. 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 19- 
 
 communitieSj and individuals; or the distribution and 
 enjoyment of created wealth amongst the people. 
 
 They afford protection and a general power of 
 regulating the conditions of social life. And I 
 believe that the G-overnment of a country^ which^ 
 after all, is but the embodiment and representation of 
 the whole life of the people, may wisely and properly 
 go much further than any Grovernment has yet gone 
 in aiding the voluntary efforts of its subjects to obtain 
 from land and natural agents the means and appli- 
 ances of a life of comfort. By a judicious use and 
 administration of the public lands ; by the interven- 
 tion and assistance of public credit ; by using the vast 
 forces and power at the disposal of Government, not 
 merely to provide postal and telegraphic communica- 
 tion, but to afford also swift, easy, and economical 
 means of transit both for men and merchandise on 
 land and sea; and by encouraging voluntary asso- 
 ciations for mutual help upon a wider basis and 
 with more extended powers than any which have 
 hitherto existed. Governments may yet, without 
 undue interference with the liberty of the subject, 
 lend powerful and useful aid to the nations over which / 
 they rule. 
 
 The causes which have produced results so emi- 
 nently disastrous and full of peril have been the 
 subject of much discussion and inquiry. The impro- 
 vident habits of the working classes, idleness, 
 drunkenness, ignorance, the maintenance of great 
 
20 PEOM POVERTY TO PLENTY j OR, 
 
 standing armieSj the strange and unaccountable de- 
 pressions of trade and commerce whichj from time to 
 time sweep over tlie nations like the plagues of the 
 Middle Ages; the rise and spread of Socialistic and 
 Revolutionary ideas, the dependence of commerce 
 upon the precious metals as the sole medium of ex- 
 ■change and standard of value, are all advanced by 
 ■different writers as the cause of poverty among the 
 labouring population. But all these are manifestly 
 inadequate to account for the result so much deplored. 
 ; They would, indeed, be sufficient causes for a general 
 f and universal depression, but they are not sufficient 
 .to afford a reason for the disparity between the con- 
 ditions of different sections of the same community. 
 It is manifest that in almost all countries, especially 
 in those where the lines of demarcation between 
 riches and poverty are most widely sundered and 
 xlistinct, the aggregate riches are increasing at a 
 speed and in a volume heretofore unparalleled. Not 
 one of these causes, therefore, nor all combined, can 
 be sufficient. We must find some other cause for 
 the present condition of things. It is not the absence 
 •of wealth in the community, for that abounds more 
 and more; it is the partial and unequal distribution of 
 that wealth when created which alone accounts for the 
 luxurious profusion enjoyed by the minority, and the 
 absolute or comparative misery endured by the many. 
 Nor is there any hope of a reformation in this matter 
 'Until some method shall be discovered by which the 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 21' 
 
 treasures obtained from nature by human labour shall 
 he, to some extent, fairly shared amongst those who 
 help to produce and create them. If all the causes of 
 poverty and suffering hitherto alleged could be at once 
 destroyed ; if idleness, ignorance, and drunkenness 
 were buried in the past ; if standing armies were for 
 ever disbanded ; if trade were at a permanent level,, i 
 and the restraints and difiBculfcies imposed by a mone- \ 
 tary standard of gold and silver discarded from the.' 
 laws of commerce ; if Socialism and Revolutionary 
 theories were forgotten; and the distribution of" 
 wealth were yet still governed by the pernicious 
 economic laws which now exist, want, hunger, penury, 
 and wretchedness would remain the heritage of the 
 multitude, greater and more boundless wealth the 
 patrimony of the few. The only hope for the future- 
 of civilised mankind lies in the discovery and applica-- 
 tion of a system of economic distribution which shall 
 be at once just and practicable. 
 
 So imperious is the demand for change and reform 
 in this direction, — so beneficent the end to be ob- 
 tained, — that the highest efforts and the most constant, 
 thought may, with hopes of ultimate benefit to man- 
 kind, be properly directed to the solution of the= 
 problem thus presented. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 •Gradual cultivation of practical economics — Modern economy- 
 founded on a passion for gain — Difference between chrema- 
 tisticand economic, modern science chrematistic — Mongredien 
 — scope of political economy — Blanqui — Theology, politics, 
 therapeutics, and political economy compared — Professor 
 Huxley on liberal education — Uselessness of such advice — 
 Political questions and parties fading — Irish question one 
 of economics and of food — Signer Giovagnoli's speech to the 
 Italian Parliament — Churches waking to importance of 
 economics — Lambeth conference on Socialism — Certainty of 
 successful issue under a proper system of economy. 
 
 flN every age, tlie production, exchange, 
 and distribution of wealth have been prac- 
 tised. Through the earlier days of 
 liistory a very simple plan existed. The 
 patriarchal age made but little demand upon a 
 scientific system. The head of the household was 
 the owner of all. His children were in a sense, espe- 
 cially as they arrived at maturity, part owners of the 
 family property, although in different countries some 
 individual members of the family were more highly 
 favoured than others. During those primitive periods, 
 when pastoral and agricultural pursuits engrossed the 
 main portion of human industry, there was but little 
 even of practical exchange, and comparatively little 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 23 
 
 •distribution of wealth. Gradually as communities 
 arose, to satisfy the demands of a rapidly-increasing 
 population, when all the diversified wants of society 
 pressed forward for satisfaction, a practical political 
 •economy was developed, suited to the exigencies of 
 dififerent periods and races. Thus all human know- 
 ledge has been obtained. Man has been the same in 
 .all time. In those dim ages, of which no certain 
 record now exists, the history of which mustbe gathered 
 from fable, legend, and tradition, from the pyramids 
 of Egypt, the rocky tablets of Petra, the sun-burned 
 bricks of Nineveh, the golden shields of Agamemnon, 
 and the treasure-chest of Priam, king of Troy, man 
 was as man is now. Heroes brave as Ney or Picton, 
 led their hosts to battle. Intellects as clear as those 
 of Newton or Laplace observed the laws of nature. 
 Orators as eloquent as Burke or Mazzini charmed the 
 ears and hearts of men. Ail through the long record of 
 human powers and of human vice there is no change. 
 Men were as great and as degraded in the days before 
 the historic period as they are to-day. But knowledge 
 has marvellously increased. In all paths of learning men 
 have but gradually become acquainted with the natural 
 laws which govern the different parts and developments 
 of social life. After the family rule had ended, the 
 tribal rule commenced. In this also the weak and the 
 poor were cared for. The very slaves were at least 
 tolerably sure of food and shelter. To this succeeded 
 the despotic form of political government. Here also. 
 
24 FROM POVEETY TO PLENTY; OE^ 
 
 although the social conditions of different classes were 
 growing moi-e strongly contrasted^ and the distance 
 between poverty and riches widened, there still re- 
 mained till the latter part of the eighteenth century 
 something of the old sympathy and fellow-feeling. 
 Before the time of Christ, Aristotle and Xenophon had 
 taught that a system or science of wealth really existed. 
 As the sanction of Divine authority had in the Mosaic 
 Books been given to the merciful proprietorship of 
 land, and to the kindness of neighbourly feeling, so 
 the Athenian philosopher placed on record the human 
 and mundane foundation upon which even now the 
 science of political economy is built. The great pupil 
 of Plato clearly pointed out the difference between the 
 two branches, or principles, of economic science. The 
 mere desire and. effort to accumulate wealth he 
 denominates " chrematistic."* Chrematistic is solely 
 the art of making money. Economic, on the other 
 hand, is the art of gaining a livelihood, or of obtaining 
 wealth for useful purposes. It is the procuring and. 
 enjoyment of those things which are necessary to 
 existence, and useful either to the household or the 
 State. The very term used to express it, the law or 
 order of the house, is significant. It is a pity that in 
 all the contentions that have raged during this century 
 upon the subject, Aristotle's wise definitions have not 
 been remembered. The two principles have been 
 
 * Aristotle, De Eep., edit. Bekker, lib. i., c. 8,' 9. 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 25 
 
 •confounded in all modern teaching. Bat there is a 
 ■strong bias towards chrematistic philosophy in all its 
 teachings. 
 
 " The inextinguishable passion for gain/' says one 
 of the greatest economists,* "the miri sacra fames, 
 will always lead capitalists " ; and nearly all masters 
 of this science agree that this principle of covetous 
 selfishness is the foundation and the key-stone of 
 both theory and practice. 
 
 It is worthy of remark that many of the modern 
 economists simply con^der the chrematistic science 
 as the whole of political economy. Guyot and 
 Roscher are striking exemplifications of this ten- 
 dency. Among English writers Mr. Mongredien 
 stands pre-eminent in this respect. ' In his book 
 on "Wealth Creation,"t published in 1882, although 
 he does indeed make a doubtful promise as to writing 
 a further book on the co-operative distribution of 
 wealth, he considers the whole subject from the 
 one point of view indicated by the title of his 
 work. To him, as to all the economists, the increase 
 of wealth means the increase of comfort and the 
 means of subsistence for all, especially the "labour- 
 sellers," as he calls the industrial classes. One of 
 his earliest, and undoubtedly his main proposition, 
 is, — "The more wealth there is created, the more 
 
 * McCulloch, "Principles of Political Economy," p. 179. 
 London, 1830. 
 
 t " Wealth Creation." London, 1882. Oass'ell, Peter, Galpin, 
 &Co. 
 
 C 
 
26 TEOM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OR, 
 
 there is for distribution, and the more ' objects of 
 desire ' fall to the lot of each human being."* It is 
 evident that under our present system this is alto- 
 gether erroneous. Would that it were true. Under 
 a proper system, no doubt, it would be true ; but Mr.. 
 Augustus Mongredien, in common with the rest of 
 the apostles of this school, is ignorant of the nature 
 and laws of the distribution or enjoyment of wealth. 
 
 The science of Political Economy deals with all 
 that concerns the temporal and material prosperity of 
 men. It is limited to the production, exchange, and 
 distribution of wealth; that is, to the causes which' 
 induce, the laws which govern, the results which 
 follow the production, exchange, and enjoyment of 
 material good. For the human and temporal nature 
 of man, with all its varied wants and desires, so 
 far as they relate to the possession of property in 
 material wealth, this science is the only guide. We 
 may confidently believe that there is a perfect system, 
 of political economy, could we but find it, — a system 
 which, properly understood and widely practised, 
 would always produce from the varied and exhaust- 
 less stores of nature ample provision for every 
 reasonable want of every family upon the earth. 
 Every department of human life is governed by its 
 own appropriate laws, both in regard to this world 
 and the world to come. If the state of mankind,. 
 — at any rate, of that vast majority which in every 
 * Ibid, pp. 1, 4. 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 27 
 
 age is doomed to toilj — is to be improved permanently 
 npon a foundation of independence, of self-help, and 
 mutual help, it must be by a widely-diffused know- 
 ledge of the true laws of economics. " Because I 
 think," says Blanqui, " I have seen in Political 
 Economy a science truly social rather than a theory 
 of finance, I have wished to show as far as the vision 
 of man can extend the providential thread which 
 guides nations in the accomplishment of their destiny. 
 I firmly believe that some day there wiU be no more I 
 Pariahs at the banquet of life; and I find the source' 
 of that hope in the study of history, which shows us 
 the generations marching from conquest to conquest 
 in the career of civilisation. By the progress that 
 has been made I judge of that yet to be, and when I 
 see labour, extricated from the Roman galleys, take 
 refuge in feudal servitude, then organise into corpo- 
 rations and fly across the seas on the wings of 
 commerce, to rest at length in the shadow of political 
 liberty, I feel that there is in economic science 
 something besides a question of words, and I trust 
 I shall be pardoned for having sketched in bold 
 outlines the history of its progress through nations 
 and ages.^^* 
 
 In the same spirit I, too, seek to discover from 
 the history of the past, and from the theories and 
 contentions of the present, those invariable laws 
 which will give to men the proper reward of their 
 
 * Blanqui, " Political Economy," Introduction, pp. 32, 33. 
 C 2 
 
28 
 
 FEOM POTEETT TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 labour, which will disenthral industry from the un- 
 natural servitudes which humau error and selfishness 
 have forced upon it, and which will give new hope 
 and new life to the toiling multitudes of every land. 
 It is not possible, nor would it be expedient, to 
 examine minutely the well-nigh innumerable thoughts 
 and suggestions upon this subject which during the 
 course of history have been preserved to us. It is 
 sufficient to take the main lines of thought, the main 
 principles embodied in different theories, and the 
 results which in such instances have ensued from 
 putting theory into practice. 
 
 In some cases reason and argument will themselves 
 sustaia or disprove the theories advanced, while in 
 others experience will decide for us the truth or false- 
 hood of principles, and the value or worthlessness of 
 plans. Over such wide areas of thought and action 
 both the inductive and deductive methods may be 
 applied with safety and advantage. One branch of 
 reasoning will teach us to fix definitely the lines upon 
 which the greatest production and fullest enjoyment 
 of wealth can be obtained ; the other may enable us 
 to project more or less luminously upon the future 
 those just laws of distribution which will produce a 
 liappy revolution in the household records of labour. 
 Allusions may be made to and instances quoted from 
 tradition and the days of early history, but it must 
 be borne in mind that it is only since the commence- 
 ment of modern history that the human mind has in 
 
THE LABOUE QUESTION SOLVED. 29 
 
 any sense attempted to reduce to order the science of 
 Political Economy. 
 
 " Political Economy/' says a very learned author^* 
 " is not, as we have just said, a new science. It has 
 been a distinct science only a short time. Until the 
 eighteenth century it was confounded with philosophy, 
 morals, politics, law, and history.-" 
 
 In what manner, under what aspects and phases, 
 and with what success those attempts have been made 
 I shall consider. 
 
 It is a remarkable circumstance that in regard to 
 the greatest of all temporal questions, namely, the 
 condition of the toilers among civilised communities, 
 and the solution of that problem which threatens, 
 if unsolved, to destroy civilisation itself, no definite 
 principles of action have been agreed to, and neither 
 an object to be attained nor a clear and distinct path 
 to be travelled has been resolved upon. 
 
 French and German Socialists seem up to the pre- 
 sent day to have formulated no sach plan without the 
 formula itself becoming the rock on which the agree- 
 ment between teachers and professors must be broken 
 and shattered. Even the International, at its last 
 meeting at the Hague, divided into two factions, 
 one holding the tenets of Karl Marx, the other those 
 of Michael Bakunin. The latest apostle of progress, 
 
 * Wolowski, " Essay on the historical Method," introduction to 
 Eoscher's "Political Economy," 13th edition, translated by 
 J. J. Lalor. Vol. i., p. 25. 
 
30 FROM POVEETT TO PLENTY; OK, 
 
 Mr. Henry George, in proposing the remedy wticli 
 he offers to mankind, — the nationalisation of the land, 
 or the taking of all rent values as taxation, — is making 
 a proposition which, in the first place, cannot be 
 carried into effect without a revolution, and, in the 
 second place, confers but comparatively slight bene- 
 fits upon the mass of the population. The schemes of 
 English Socialists, as propounded by Messrs. Hyndman 
 and Morris in their most recent speeches and writings, 
 and defined in the Social Democratic Federation, are 
 of the vaguest character, and present no foundation 
 on which to erect either a mental argument or prac- 
 tical effort. That the State can do much is certain, 
 but that the State should absorb all individual effort 
 and crush all individual ambition is impossible. If 
 it were possible, it would only amount to social 
 suicide. 
 
 There are four branches of science which intimately 
 affect the existence and welfare of men : — 
 
 Theology, or religious science, which regards the 
 moral conduct of men and their spiritual wel- 
 fare in this world and the world to come 
 respectively. 
 Politics, which affect the relationship of men to each 
 
 other in human governments. 
 Sanitary Science, which has to do with the study 
 of health and the physical well-being of 
 men; and 
 Political Economy, which relates to and governs 
 
THE LABOUK QUESTION SOLVED. 31 
 
 the production, exchange, and distribution of 
 all those material objects that minister to the 
 sustenance and comfort of men. 
 
 Religious truth, so far, at any rate, as it proceeds 
 beyond the teaching of mere morality, depends, and 
 must depend, upon revelation. No system of religion 
 ever yet existed which did not claim as the ground of 
 its authority a revelation from unseen and undiscover- 
 able sources. In all, the foundation of their claims 
 to authority was that a word was spoken by the 
 Unseen and Superior Being to the creatures whom He 
 governed. The Christian faith is in no sense singular 
 in this. Reason itself proves tons that all knowledge 
 obtained regarding a world unknown, undiscoverable, 
 ■and imperceptible to our senses, must, if enjoyed by 
 us at all, be so enjoyed by communication from that 
 world itself. Science can teach nothing concerning 
 ifcs^ laws ; discovery cannot explore its habitations ; 
 experience cannot impart wisdom concerning* it. 
 The fountain and source of all knowledge or belief 
 concerning the attributes and commandments of the 
 Divine Ruler must of necessity be found in revelation. 
 
 The study of politics is different, for that lies fully 
 within the scope of human thoughts, powers, and. 
 experience. 
 
 The histoi-y of mankind is mainly composed of 
 (records upon this subject, which has always exer- 
 cised the minds of men. Concerning it, we have 
 arrived through long historic expei'ience, if not at 
 
32 FROM POVHETT TO PLENTY; OH, 
 
 ultimate perfection, at any rate at approximate 
 justice and wisdom. Especially is this the case 
 among the English communities of the earth. No 
 doubt, further developments of knowledge and an 
 increasing sense of justice will in many directions- 
 advance the practice as well as the theory of true 
 freedom. It is, however, unnecessary and impossible 
 to believe that any complete or fundamental change 
 in our forms of government would advance the 
 interests of our people or settle their liberties upon a 
 firmer basis. 
 
 The laws of health are manifold : the study of the- 
 structure of the human frame, the operations and 
 workings of the different parts of that wonderful 
 machine the human body, have well-nigh reached 
 perfection. But so completely interwoven are the- 
 mind and the soul with the body of man that diseases, 
 disorders, and maladies of innumerable kinds prove 
 inscrutable to our most searching inquiry and defy 
 the skill of the physician. 
 
 Political or social economy is yet in its early stages- 
 of development. As we shall directly see, two- 
 schools and two leaders only, and those absolutely 
 recent in time, have as yet attempted to determine 
 and to develope the laws of this science. Yet, next- 
 to religion, it is undoubtedly the most important to 
 mankind. 
 
 As a true and correct theology must perforce in- 
 clude within its limits a possible happiness and 
 
THE LABOUE QUESTION SOLVED. 33- 
 
 salvation for every living soul, as a perfect and correct 
 system of political government -will have regard to the 
 rights and liberties of each individual in the State; 
 as true sanitary laws will provide for the health of all 
 classes and of every family in a community ; so a 
 perfect system or science of political economy will 
 ensure the greatest amount of production, the widest 
 and most beneficial exchange, and the most complete 
 distribution of the aggregate wealth of a nation or of 
 a district. Until a limit shall be placed to the productive 
 powers of nature ; until population shall have so in- 
 creased as to outrun the possibilities of production, not 
 from onespot, norfrom one country, nor from one con- 
 tinent, but from all thfe earth, a true and wise system 
 of political economy will ensure ever available oppor- 
 tunities for labour, and such rewards to the labourer, 
 as win banish want from the homes of the industrial 
 classes, and will restrict the necessity of charity or 
 eleemosynary aid to cases in which the recipients are 
 physically or mentally incapable to compete in the 
 labours of life. Nay, such a science, carried to its 
 ultimate limits, would provide from the superabun- 
 dance of Nature's gifts a reserve fund, out of which 
 all such cases should, as a matter of public policy and 
 justice, be provided with the means of subsistence. 
 Nor would the benefits arising be restricted to the- 
 certain possession by the labouring classes of ample 
 means of subsistence merely. Time for recreation, at 
 stated and frequent intervals, could be afforded; 
 
54 FROM POVEETY TO PLENTY J OE^ 
 
 periods of rest for body and mind, for study both in 
 nature and art; and education, both physical and 
 intellectual, would become the common heritage of 
 all. There exists no reason why every boy or girl 
 born into the British Empire or the United States 
 should not participate in those amusements and pas- 
 times which the English, as a people, passionately 
 love. Reason and logic will both show that, under 
 &, system such as I have mentioned, knowledge, which 
 is power, would leave the small and petty channels in 
 which for centuries it has been confined, and flow in 
 infinitely deeper and wider streams, the limits of 
 which should be co-extensive with the existence and 
 capacities of the whole English race. 
 
 It is difiBcult to regard possibilities so wonderful 
 in the future development of the national prosperity 
 and happiness without an intense desire to behold its- 
 realisation. Under circumstances so auspicious, a 
 new era would dawn upon the world, — an era of peace, 
 happiness, and contentment. Nothing can produce 
 such a state of things but the knowledge and practice 
 •of a new and perfect science of political economy. 
 This must be obvious to the most superficial con- 
 sideration. It must be produced and sustained by 
 the simplest and most perfect rules for the production 
 and distribution of wealth. And these rules, or laws, 
 must and will in their very nature and existence, form 
 a complete and perfect science of political economy. 
 
 Exceptions may, and no doubt will, exist. To the 
 
THE LABOUE QUESTION SOLVED. 35 
 
 simple religion of Christ, with its promise of peace 
 here and eternal life hereafter, many are found opposed. 
 The mind can hardly imagine a state o£ politics to 
 which there shall be no opposition. Their name is 
 legion who disregard or treat with contempt the laws 
 •of health. And the coveteousness and selfishness of 
 humanity, the indolence and vice which unhappily 
 <3haracterise numbers in every community, will be 
 marshalled in opposition to the wisest and most just 
 principles of political economy. But truth is mighty 
 and will prevail. Side by side, and, as it were, shoul- 
 der to shoulder, the great principles planted by the 
 hand of the Creator in human existence and character 
 will march onward through desperate conflicts, some- 
 times defeated, sometimes victorious, to the final 
 victory of truth over error. 
 
 The laws of nature, which are the laws of Grod, are, 
 even to our limited comprehension, at once simple, 
 profound, and perfect. They are, indeed, restrained 
 and limited by each other, but work in harmony. What 
 boundless purposes or infinite manifestation of power 
 and skill may hereafter be revealed we cannot even 
 conjecture ; but we can here and now discern, if we 
 do but study their workings with earnestness, and 
 humility, that each in its appointed place and operas- 
 tions is perfect and complete in itself, though but a 
 part of the universal machinery. 
 
 Thus Eeligion should include within its control 
 -every thought of the mind, every desire of the heart. 
 
36 
 
 PKOM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OR, 
 
 and every action of the life ; and no religious teaching' 
 or theological science can be true which is not 
 applicable to every human beings past^ present, or to 
 come. So with the science of health. That also 
 must include within its laws and regulations the 
 young and the old, the rich and the poor, the bond 
 and the free together. E'o political science can be 
 correct in every particular and for all purposes, unless 
 in rewards and punishments, in duties and advantages, 
 it includes and controls members of the community, 
 irrespective of any difference in circumstance or 
 condition. 
 
 In like manner a proper political or social economy 
 must regard and influence the whole people. In 
 these four branches of the universal law of humanity, 
 true science will give fair and equal advantages to all. 
 Differences there must ever be in appearance, in 
 stature, in mental and physical power. No two 
 countenances, no two characters, are exactly similar. 
 The histories of no two lives, the thoughts and wishes 
 
 [ of no two human hearts, would be or could be 
 identical, and men differ and will ever differ as one 
 
 f star differeth from another star in glory. Differences 
 therefore there will ever be; difference in wealth,, 
 difference in position ; difference in power, difference 
 in capacity. And yet upon all, equally and fairly, 
 will rest the sanction and control of natural law. 
 And as in the world of Theology the highest moral 
 and spiritual welfare of each individual in the world's 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 37 
 
 countless multitudes is desired ; as in the world of 
 Health true science will aim at the physical well-being 
 of every living individual ; as in a complete political 
 system the widest possible development of individual 
 liberty and safety compatible with the general welfare 
 is the object to be attained j so the true science of 
 political economy will have for its object not only the 
 growth of the aggregate wealth of the human race or 
 of any one portion of mankind^ but also the personal 
 well-being of each unit in the social existence and the 
 widest equitable distribution of communal possessions 
 among the various members of the community. 
 
 Never before has it been possible to use the terms 
 of logical argument, or to sketch with possible accu- 
 racy the circumstances necessary to such an effort to 
 ameliorate the condition of mankind. When, how- 
 ever, the public mind and attention have been directed 
 to the consideration of a more correct system than 
 has hitherto obtained; when, in lieu of the narrow, 
 selfish, and un-Christian principles which have hitherto 
 guided and controlled the study of this subject, a 
 more benign and righteous theory is received, the 
 world will be within measurable distance of the reign 
 of eternal peace and universal plenty. 
 
 Of all the sciences which exist it would be difficult 
 to point to one, the laws and phenomena of which lie 
 so completely upon the surface and fully open to 
 discovery as political economy. Production is the 
 result of human effort exerted upon the forces of 
 
38 PROM POVEETT TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 nature. Every single article possessed by man has 
 its own history^ which can be discovered and written 
 down. Every fish placed upon the marble slabs of 
 the market has been caught by some hand of man. 
 Bach loaf of breads each article of wearing apparel, 
 the houses in which we dwell, the ships and trains in 
 which we travel, the pictures on the wall, each coin 
 we give in payment for goods or services, our wine 
 and fruit and flowers, our books and watches, each 
 implement of husbandry, each existing article used 
 in business or in pleasure, in peace or in war, from a 
 cricket-bat to a sextant, from an umbrella to an 
 anchor, from the good-will of a business to the price 
 of land, is the result from nature of man^s presence 
 and labour individually or collectively, and its history 
 can be ascertained, its worth valued. 
 
 In exchange also the agencies and results are within 
 the scope of human knowledge. So too all produced 
 wealth may be traced with certainty to the possession 
 of the ultimate recipient. The exact sciences which 
 proceed by fixed and unalterable laws and language, — 
 the existence and operation of which can be under all 
 circumstances absolutely demonstrated, — are indeed 
 more strict and invariable. But the various processes 
 of political economy lie equally within the domain of 
 fact and history. The difficulties and variations 
 which surround other subjects of investigation do not 
 exist here. No matter of mental speculation or of 
 opinion here defies calculation. No human passion 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 39' 
 
 Can prejudice or affect the existence of the facts and 
 processes of production^ exchange, and distribution. 
 Every year so much wealth is drawn from nature and 
 finally distributed amongst men. Every year the 
 national wealth accumulates and is shared out 
 amongst its holders. While the facts can be so 
 surely ascertained the value of true knowledge upon 
 this matter cannot be overrated. No other branch of 
 learning, at any rate so far as this world is concerned, 
 can pretend to equal this in importance. Other 
 studies confer great benefits upon the human family : 
 sanitation, chemistry, music, ethics, astronomy, 
 philosophy, history, mechanics, politics, dynamics, 
 metaphysics, numbers, literature, and the fine arts, 
 each and all add to the powers and pleasures of man. 
 But political economy is that which concerns his 
 food, clothing, and shelter ; the reward of his daily 
 toil, provision for his declining years, bread for his 
 wife and children, the means of existence for them 
 all. 
 
 It is impossible to argue or reason properly upon 
 the distribution of the good things of this world 
 without having some approximately correct idea of 
 true economic science, and the laws through which 
 that science operates. 
 
 As every individual instance of sickness is due to 
 some breach of sanitary laws ; as every case of crime 
 arises from the disobedience to moral or positive 
 ordinances, so every 'example 'of' want or poverty must 
 
40 FKOM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OR, 
 
 be traceable to an infraction of the rules of political 
 economy properly so called. So far^ however, from 
 the truth ai'e all the current systems, that the 
 speculations of economists concerning the wretched 
 condition of the masses are either, like those of Mr. 
 Malthus, diametrically opposed to the religion of 
 Christ, or, like those of the Manchester School, to 
 humanity, and would, if carried to their ultimate con- 
 clusion, produce, first, a condition of capitalistic 
 monopoly unequalled in the annals of history, and 
 last, a revolution which would go far towards realising 
 the dreams and hopes of Nihilism. The increase of 
 I population, however numerous and rapid, ought not 
 ' to deprive one solitary family or individual in the 
 empire of proper food, suitable raiment, and sufficient 
 shelter ; but the great increase of national wealth, if 
 achieved upon the present principles of selfishness, 
 individualism, and unrestricted competition, must 
 lead, ever more and more swiftly as we near the 
 edge, to a Niagara of national destruction. It is 
 depressing, while considering this subject from many 
 points of view and in many different lights, 
 to recognise the wonderful and wide - spread 
 ignorance which exists upon a matter of such vital 
 importance. 
 
 One might suppose, after reading the very numerous 
 dissertations upon this theme, that every argument 
 had been worn threadbare, that every field of dis- 
 covery had been explored, that every plan possible to 
 
THE LABOUE QUESTION SOLTED. 41 
 
 human ingenuity Lad been discussed, in or from 
 whicli might be found a system for the amelioration 
 of social suflferings, the abatement of enforced idleness, 
 poverty, and hunger, and the fairer and the more 
 equal distribution among men of the bounties of 
 nature and the rewards of toil. But a discursive view 
 of economic literature is sufficient to prove, beyond 
 doubt, that even learned men are ignorant^ of the 
 pi'inciples which control the distribution of wealth j 
 that they look upon the present unnatural and 
 dangerous position of things as fixed and unalterable ; 
 and that they counsel the wretched victims of the 
 present pernicious and oppressive social economy, to 
 submit patiently and with resignation to evils which, 
 according to them, arise inevitably from the order of 
 nature and the decrees of God. 
 
 Thus the churches have in their catechisms and 
 from their pulpits preached submission and resigna- 
 tion. Thus, too, the teachers and philosophers of a 
 purely human and materialistic science inculcate 
 the same doctrine. In a paragraph quoted by the 
 Marquis of Blandford, Professor Huxley thus speaks 
 in one of his lay sermons on Liberal Education : — 
 "A workman has to bear hard labour and perhaps 
 privation while he sees others rolling in wealth and 
 feeding their dogs' with what would keep his children 
 from starving. Would it not be well to have 
 helped that man to calm the natural promptings of 
 discontent by showing him in his youth the necessary 
 
42 FROM POVERTY TO PLENTY ; OE^ 
 
 connexion of the moral law, which prohibits stealing, 
 with the stability of society, — by showing to him, once 
 for all, that it is better for his own people, better for 
 himself, better for future generations, that he should 
 starve than steal ? If you have no foundation of 
 knowledge and habit of thought to work upon, what 
 chance have you of persuading the hungry man that 
 a capitalist is not a thief 'with a circumbendibus'? 
 And if he honestly behoves that, of what avail is it to 
 quote the command against stealing when he proposes 
 to make the capitalists disgorge ? ''* 
 
 And this is the stuff which the leaders of modern 
 thought offer, not only to the'ravenous multitudes, but 
 also to those who, with eager inclination, desire to lead 
 those ravenous multitudes to a happier future, and are 
 seeking for some pillar of cloud and fire to guide 
 them in the way. These husks that the swine might 
 eat, whether dealt forth from the pulpits of orthodoxy 
 or pronounced by the teachers of Rationalism, are 
 uttered as the gospel of salvation for the people. If in 
 lieu of nonsense such as this, when thus applied, these 
 teachers would show to the hungry multitudes and to 
 their starving children a way by which they might 
 enjoy the bounteous harvests of the earth, breathe the 
 fresh air of heaven, behold the glories of nature, taste 
 the delights of men^l and physical recreation, imbibe 
 some feeling of honourable ambition, and while drinking 
 from the now untasted stream of happiness, have time, 
 
 * Nineteenth Century, February, 1882, p. 229. 
 
THE LABOTJE QUESTION SOLTED. 43 
 
 ■opportunity, and inclination to worship God and to 
 rejoice in His goodness, — then, indeed, they would be 
 worthy of the lofty position which they hold among 
 their fellows. This great question modern thought 
 and experiment must solve. All political questions 
 are fading in their significance. All political parties 
 are lapsing into confusion. The old land-marks are 
 disappearing ; the old war cries losing their meaning 
 or their force. The one subject which, so far as the 
 British Empire and the States of America are con- 
 cerned, is destined to pre-eminent and immediate im- 
 portance, is the subject of certainty of food for all, 
 and of some just distribution of the products of nature 
 and of labour among the people. The Irish question 
 itself, which has kept Great Britain in a ferment for 
 so many years, will ultimately resolve itself into a 
 matter of economics and a certainty of the means of 
 subsistence. The evident tendency towards this state 
 of things is more clearly seen and acknowledged in 
 foreign countries and by Continental philosophers 
 and politicians than in England or by English- 
 men. What voice in the English Houses of 
 Parliament has ever given utterance to words so 
 plain and significant as those spoken in 1881 in 
 the Italian legislature by Signer Giovagnoli : — -" The 
 economists and financiers in the chambers pay too little 
 attention to the world outside. They have forgotten 
 the existence of eighteen millions of the working 
 classes who contributed largely to the charges of the 
 
 D 2 
 
44 FEOM POVEETY TO PLENTY j OE, 
 
 State and upon whom the tax now under discussion " 
 (the grist tax) "presses most heavily. 'In past 
 times religious belief helped to mitigate the suflferings 
 of the poorer classes^ but now that science has done 
 away with the religious delusion, even the poor aspire 
 in this world to their share of happiness, of bread, of 
 meat, and of wine, and unless science can also do 
 away with the delusion of these necessities, social 
 violence will make short work of legislation and 
 legislators. "J The most satisfactory sign of the present 
 day is found in the earnest efforts of a considerable 
 section of the Eaglish Church to teach and practise a 
 wiser economy than now obtains. The report on 
 " Socialism " at the recent Lambeth Conference is a 
 noteworthy and hopeful sign of this tendency. 
 
 Every human being has wants, the satisfaction of 
 which is necessary to existence. The aggregate toil 
 of a community, even in the rudest ages, was always 
 more than sufficient to provide the necessaries of life 
 for its members. A great margin of production was 
 always possible, even under the rule of ignorance 
 and the most unfavourable conditions. Now the 
 labour of man can produce far more than enough for 
 his subsistence. Bach year beholds a vast increase in 
 the surplus wealth of the English world, and this too 
 lis achieved in the face of wasted time, vicious economic 
 flaws, the enforced idleness of millions, unutilised terri- 
 itories,andthe expenditure of countless treasures in war, 
 Istrong drink, and useless prodigality. The true worth 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 45 
 
 and power of the great mass of tlie English-speaking 
 race can never be known until all the millions of our 
 people shall be above want and the fear of want; until 
 that position is assured to them as a reward for their 
 labour, until all are able to obtain the elements of a 
 plain education, and until every child born into the 
 world amongst us shall have a well-founded hope of 
 success and happiness in this life as well as in that 
 which is to come. Pood, clothing, shelter, and educa- 
 tion, not stinted in extent nor inferior in quality, may yet 
 be ensured from the cradle to the grave, and that, not 
 as a gift of charity nor a pauper's portion, but as the 
 rightful reward of labour. And added to these such 
 leisure and such participation in, at any rate, some of 
 the comforts and even luxuries of life as will tend to 
 elevate the mind and satisfy the higher wants created 
 by increased knowledge. 
 
 Removed from the region of despair into that of 
 comfort and hope, — free to think and work for the 
 general good, — how would the efforts of great multi- 
 tudes aid in the general success ? How high would be 
 the standard of public and private life ? 
 
 A revolution of this nature, to be lasting, must not 
 be brought about by violence, nor accompanied by 
 great and undue excitement. It must be a peaceful 
 change, wrought out by reason, by argument, and by 
 example, resulting from and in accordance with a 
 natural and proper science of wealth. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 Columbus and the new crusade — Gradual rise of economic- 
 thought — The mercantile system — Quesnay and the Physio- 
 cratio School — The land nationalists — Physiocrats — Multi- 
 farious springs of wealth — Quesnay the pioneer — Adam 
 Smith and the Wealth of Nations — Smith's position — Theory 
 of Moral Sentiments and Wealth of Nations contrasted — 
 Evil foundation of selfishness — Smith only summarising former 
 systems, and adding suggestions as to distribution — His great 
 authority — Its disadvantages — Erroneous teaching as to the 
 source of wealth and measure of value. 
 
 IN attempting a review of the history of 
 Political Bconomyj so far as it has 
 been brought within the boundaries of 
 knowledge as a distinct science, the 
 horizon is limited by that period at which commences 
 the real development of modern civilisation. The 
 dreams of Columbus may yet be found prophetic of 
 the ultimate condition of civilised humanity. For, 
 although in these days almost forgotten, it is certain^ 
 that the one dominant idea in the mind of Columbus 
 while prosecuting his immortal voyage across the 
 Atlantic was the commencement of a great and final 
 crusade. To this end the treasures, the gold and 
 silver, the power and influence which might flow fromi 
 
THE LABOUK QUESTION SOLYED. 47 
 
 his discoveries were all to be devoted. For ttis lie 
 waited upon the pleasure of kings, braved the mutin- 
 ous disposition of half-starved seamen, faced with 
 triumphant serenity the storms of the Atlantic, and 
 gave to the world a new and boundless heritage 
 across the Western Ocean. For this he implored the 
 prayers of the faithful and the assistance of the 
 brave J for this he sacrificed ease, comfort, and 
 ultimately life itself, while invoking in such a glorious 
 effort the approval and guidance of Heaven. 
 
 Strange if the dreams of Columbus should yet be 
 realised in a fashion and manner which he never could 
 have anticipated; if the discovery of the Western 
 Continent, and the aid which that discovery lent to 
 the development of modern progress, should bring 
 about a true crusade of mercy and of love, not to 
 rescue the tomb of a dead, but the living temples of 
 a living Christ. The science of Political Economy, so 
 far as that science has yet been developed, so far as 
 any rules and principles have been laid down in 
 regard to the production and distribution of wealth, is 
 altogether, as we have seen, of modern origin. Indeed, 
 the first systematic efforts made to explore this un- 
 known land, were the voyages of Quesnay and Adam 
 Smith into the untravelled realms of economic thought. 
 
 All earlier plans or theories, such, for instance, as 
 the Theocratic Government of the Hebrews in Canaan, 
 the Eepublic of Plato, the Politics and Economics of 
 Aristotle and Xenophon, or any writings down to the 
 
48 FROM POVEETY TO PLENTY J OE, 
 
 times of tlie JPrencliand Scotch philosopliers, records 
 of the more modern of which are to be found in 
 Cossa's " Guide to Political Economy," and in Mr. 
 Ingram's able article in the "Encyclopedia Britannica," 
 either contained histories of commercial life and 
 practice, rather than rules relating strictly to the 
 production and distribution of wealth, or disquisitions 
 and speculations upon the fiscal policy of Governments 
 rather than Political Economy, as we understand it. 
 
 The earliest efibrts to lay a logical and scientific 
 basis for the study of the causes of the wealth of 
 nations, or of individuals, was first systematically 
 attempted within the memory of parents of men now 
 living. From the dawn of history, and from ages 
 yet more remote, the records of which reach us 
 only in legends, songs, and customs, the sole method 
 of ensuring material prosperity to communities or 
 families was the general practice of industry in 
 production, manufacture, and commerce, or the 
 waging of victorious war. Gradually, after the 
 commencement of the modern period, an indistinct, 
 but comparatively general, belief arose in Europe that 
 certain causes conduced to the prosperity of com- 
 munities altogether distinct and apart from the mere 
 industry of their people or the pillage incident to 
 conquest. The shadowy belief then held is known 
 now as the commercial or mercantile system, which, 
 although erroneous in its principles, and pernicious in 
 its results, was the first recognition made of the 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 49 
 
 existence of such a science as Political Economyj and 
 for some centuries exercised a complete ascendency 
 •over the minds of European statesmen. 
 
 The mercantile system was but a clumsy attempt 
 to interpret one portion or branch of natural law. 
 This system laid down generally as its foundation, 
 one postulate, namely, that all wealth consisted in 
 and was derived from possession of the precious 
 metals, and that commerce, which brought gold and 
 silver into a countrj', alone created it. Thus, 
 capital as developed in the precious metals was 
 the sole source and substance of wealth. The mer- 
 cantile system has still its exponents in those who 
 favour the doctrines of protection, and in the 
 adherents of a metallic standard and currency. 
 When increasing commerce, discovery, and invention 
 compelled the nations to realise the truth that they 
 were all but members of one family, and that there 
 was wealth outside and independent of mere gold 
 and silver, the mercantile system was broken to 
 pieces and crumbled into ruins. 
 
 The decay of this system preceded and helped to 
 stimulate those inquiries which led to the investiga- 
 tion of the sources of wealth for the purpose of 
 ascertaining the laws which governed production. 
 As exchange had under the old system claimed 
 exclusive attention, so under the new ideas which 
 now began to ferment in men's minds, production 
 assumed not only the most prominent position, but 
 
50 FROM POTEETT TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 claimed for itself the sole right to regard. The 
 change thus produced, however, did not merely mean 
 the placing of one portion of the science in the 
 position formerly held by another. It was a far 
 greater change than that, and one of more serious 
 import. It arose from the well-founded belief in th& 
 mind of one great man, that there were laws which, 
 directed the production of all wealth, — considered in 
 its wider sense; and that these laws could be dis- 
 covered and revealed for the happiness of mankind. 
 To this task the one man devoted his best powers. 
 
 " The celebrated M. Quesnay^^ a physician attached 
 to the Court of Louis XV., has the merit of being 
 the first who investigated and analysed the sources 
 of wealth with the intention of ascertaining the 
 fundamental principles of Political Economy, and 
 who, in consequence, gave it a systematic form and 
 raised it to the rank of a science."* 
 
 Quesnay assumed as a self-evident truth, and as the 
 basis of his system, that the earth or physical nature 
 is the only source of wealth. Hence his system is 
 called the '' Physiocratic." He divides society into 
 three classes. The first or productive class, by whose- 
 agency all wealth is produced, consists of the farmers 
 and labourers engaged in agriculture, who subsist on a 
 portion of the produce of the land reserved to them- 
 selves as the wages of their labour, and as a reasonable 
 
 * Adam Smith. Fifth edition. Introductory Discourse, by 
 J. E. McCuUoeb, pp. 40, 41. 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 51 
 
 profit on the capital ; the second or proprietary class 
 consists of those who live on the rent of the land, or 
 on the net surplus produce, etc. ; and the third 
 or uTuproductive class consists of manufacturers, mer- 
 chants, menial servants, etc., who derive their entire 
 subsistence from the wages paid them by the other 
 two classes, and whose labour, though exceedingly- 
 useful, adds nothing to the national property. 
 
 To the group of philosophers gathered round the 
 three founders of the new system, Quesnay, Turgot, 
 and Gournay, we are indebted for the rudiments of 
 scientific thought and inquiry on this the most im- 
 portant of all temporal subjects to mankind. Quesnay 
 first directed attention to the sources of wealth, to 
 the means and methods of its production, to the mode 
 of its distribution, and to the respective positions 
 occupied by different classes in the light of political 
 economy. In every age monuments have been raised 
 to commemorate the actions of men or the possession 
 of character worthy of the admiration of posterity.- 
 But many of the greatest benefactors of mankind 
 have gone down into the grave silently, leavings 
 behind them not the lofty pillar, the stately mauso- 
 leum, or the sculptured marble, but a thought or word 
 of truth which has grown, flourished, and borne 
 glorious fruit in generations and in ages long after 
 the name and memory of the speaker or thinker have 
 been buried in oblivion. Thus no statue, no monu- 
 ment records the virtue of Quesnay, but in ages yet 
 
S2 FEOM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 to come, when a true political economy shall, with the 
 blessing of God, have driven want and penury from 
 iihe abodes of men, the meed of praise will be uttered 
 iand loving memories will be cherished of that French 
 physician who, amid the cares, the ambitions, and the 
 tollies of the Court of Louis XV., found time to 
 indulge his feelings of beneficence towards humanity 
 by tracing out the first rude track towards universal 
 plenty. One result of the inquiries and speculations 
 of this group of philosophers, was the proposition by 
 M. Gournay to abolish all existing taxes, and in their 
 place to impose one single tax (Fimpot unique) which 
 was to be based directly upon the rent of all land in 
 France. It will be seen that the reasoning of the 
 physiocrats was founded upon the assumption that all 
 wealth proceeded from land or nature, which was 
 primarily national property, and that therefore all the 
 ■expenses of government must be borne by a portion 
 of that wealth. Hence the proposal to abolish all 
 taxes, and levy one tax upon land and rent of land 
 was, according to their theory, in the highest degree 
 philosophical. 
 
 The physiocratic system never exerted any power- 
 ful or extended control over the intellect or the 
 ■economic life of the nations. 
 
 One of its principal errors, as pointed out by Mr. 
 McOuUoch, called by him its " capital " error, lies in 
 its representing the class of artificers, manufacturers, 
 ^nd merchants as altogether barren and unproductive. 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 53 
 
 The physiocratic system^ like the mercantile system, 
 contained a partial truth. Nature is, indeed, strictly 
 speaking, the sole source of wealth, but before that 
 wealth can be developed and enjoyed, labour has to 
 be bestowed upon it, and this in so many forms andi 
 in such manifest and diverse directions that for all 
 practical purposes nature and labour are co-operators 
 as the producers of wealth. Nor is the physiocratic 
 system without its disciples and exponents in these 
 days. Two of the most prominent are Mr. A. R. 
 Wallace and Mr. Henry George, both of whom, espe- 
 cially the latter, in the promulgation of the theory of 
 land nationalisation, take up almost the identical posi- 
 tion assumed by Gournay. The teachings of the- 
 modern masters are uttered in clearer light and with 
 greater knowledge. Yet even under these favourable 
 circumstances, their theories and arguments do not 
 compare favourably with the logic, the common-sense, 
 and the philosophy of their intellectual progenitors. 
 It is somewhat remarkable that Mr. Henry George, in 
 his now celebrated book, " Progress and Poverty,"' 
 advocates and claims the authority of Quesnay for ad- 
 vocating the identical plan proposed by Gournay, that 
 of a solitary tax upon the rent values of land. The 
 premises and principles of . the physiocrats are im- 
 perfect. In the wide and general sense in which 
 they seek to use and to apply the term, wealth is not 
 solely derived directly from land. Nor are the classes 
 properly divided in their theory. 
 
04 FROM POVEETT TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 The swift, but gradual increase, of wealth in modern 
 communities is the result of a complex system of 
 causes and results. The great river of national pros- 
 perity is fed by a thousand rills. Agriculture, manu- 
 facture, commerce, art, science, literature, the pastures 
 which sustain ever-increasing flocks and herds ; the 
 earth, whence come coal, iron, gold, jewels, silver, 
 copper, and other treasures, forests, harvests, and 
 fruits, fish from the sea, all help to swell the deep and 
 mighty volume of that tide whose streams are sufficient 
 to fill the cup of human enjoyment to overflowing. 
 
 One class of material possessions is found in the 
 spontaneous gifts and treasures of nature ; another is 
 the result of individual industry ; another is produced 
 by organised labour and the use of machinery j while 
 yet another is the result of the aggregate existence or 
 labour of the whole society, irrespective altogether of 
 individual efibrt. The wonderful development and 
 imexampled increase of national wealth in England or 
 the United States, for instance, clearly arises from all 
 these causes combined. It is not as Henry George 
 teaches while following the physiocratic doctrine, the 
 growing value or the use of land alone which gives 
 this marvellous accretion, nor is it, as the Socialists 
 teach, the difference alone between the wages and 
 produce of labour, nor, as the orthodox economists 
 assert, the result of free trade, manufactures, com- 
 merce, and unrestricted competition solely. 
 
 Manufacture in its varied developments adapted to 
 
THE LABO0K QUESTION SOLVED. 55 
 
 a thousand uses ; art, invention, and adaptation, all 
 help to create wealth. They take the rough material 
 vsrhich nature provides and shape it in innumerable 
 fashions, join it in innumerable combinations, and 
 use it for innumerable purposes. Iron is provided 
 by nature in the ore ; man reduces it to a pure metal, 
 cleanses it, converts portions of it into steel, and 
 creates ultimately fx'om the dull stone upon the 
 mountain-side, or from the deep mine, millions of 
 articles of use, of comfort, and of ornament. The 
 •oak is grown by nature in the forest, but the hand 
 of man seizes it and shapes it into dwellings and 
 furniture for those dwellings ; into ships to carry the 
 fruits of distant countries over seas : thus in many 
 ways and fashions creating from the material primarily 
 provided by nature the wealth which sustains and 
 enriches human existence. Wide areas of land, 
 fertile plains and valleys, advantageous conditions 
 of climate, the riches which nature bestows in her 
 favoured regions, are by no means necessary to a 
 people as their own in order that they should become 
 prosperous and wealthy. Witness the rise and pro- 
 gress of Holland and the overwhelming opulence of 
 the Great Britain of to-day. Regard the history of 
 the Mormon settlements in the deserts of Utah and 
 the comparative prosperity and comfort of the Swiss. 
 What made Genoa rich and famous ? What built 
 the palaces of Venice upon her silent waters, and 
 filled those palaces with silk and gold and velvet and 
 
56 PEOM POVEETT TO PLENTY; OB, 
 
 the fruits and productions of many ]ands ? What in 
 ancient days made Tyre and Sidon centres of luxury ? 
 or to-day fills London and Liverpool and Manchester 
 with treasures ? The weavers and the looms sent 
 forth in ancient days the Tyrian purple, and to-day 
 disperse the textures of Manchester. As the har- 
 bours and docks of ancient times gave homes to trade 
 and filled with wealth the houses of their merchants, 
 so now the Thames, the Clyde, and the Mersey are 
 crowded by forests of masts, and the air is darkened 
 by the smoke of steaming fleets which enrich Britain 
 with their commerce. Manufacturers, artificers, and 
 the many workers in the difiEerent callings of life, are 
 also engaged in creating, producing, and adapting 
 those articles which tend to swell the aggregate 
 possessions of mankind. 
 
 The spirit of enquiry was during the latter half of 
 the eighteenth century fully alive. Between the years 
 1750 and 1789, when the storm of revolution burst 
 upon France and Europe, the minds of men were in a 
 state of great excitement. Every subject was dis- 
 cussed, every principle attacked, and every theory 
 analysed. It became evident that the doctrines of 
 the physiocrats were not sufficient to satisfy the 
 demand for information upon a subject of such 
 great importance. As the mercantile system was but 
 a clumsy attempt to reduce the methods of exchange 
 into order, so the investigations of Quesnay, and the 
 principles he deduced from them, were merely a crude 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 57 
 
 effort to elucidate the laws of production and to 
 demonstrate the source of wealth. This was the sole 
 object aimed at, and even in this it was but partially 
 successful. The imperfect and fragmentary character 
 of the principles laid down by these economists 
 rendered it impossible for the physioci'atic system 
 ever to assert itself with effect as a complete method. 
 The great value of the work of Quesnay is this, that 
 it revealed the existence of political economy as a 
 distinct science. A new continent had been dis- 
 covered. Its hills and valleys, forests and streams, 
 its climate and productions might be unknown, but 
 its existence was demonstrated beyond a doubt. 
 And it was' certain that, in a time of such exceeding 
 mental activity and intellectual doubt, other men 
 would follow in the steps of these discoverers and 
 seek to explore the treasures of the new world. In the 
 mercantile system wealth had been treated separately 
 from other matters, but wealth had been restricted 
 in meaning to the precious metals, and the only 
 method of obtaining it was by commerce. The 
 speculations and investigations of Quesnay were 
 altogether of a different character. He altered and 
 enlarged the popular conception of wealth, and he it 
 was who first investigated the sources from whence 
 it was drawn, as well as the laws which governed 
 its production, and gave to such inquiries form and 
 method. 
 Although Quesnay was the first to open the path 
 
 E 
 
58 fEOM POVERTY TO PLENTY J OE, 
 
 of Critical investigation, there can be no doubt that 
 to Smith belongs the chief position in the ranks 
 of philosophical enquirers into the laws and principles 
 of political economy. 
 
 In the year 1776, after long and careful prepara- 
 tion, Adam Smith gave to the world his " Enquiry 
 into the Causes of the Wealth of Nations," a book 
 which from that time to the present has been the one 
 foundation of political economy. As the French philo- 
 sopher had been the first to attempt to demonstrate the 
 existence of such a science, Adam Smith was the 
 first to lay down the laws which regulate production, 
 exchange, and distribution. A great step was taken 
 by the physiocrats in the assertion that there 
 was a definite source of wealth, and that it was 
 produced according to fixed laws. But the work 
 of the Scotch philosopher in striving to reduce all 
 the phenomena involved in the production and 
 distribution of utilities, to lay down the maxims 
 and the principles which govern manufacture and 
 commerce, and to adduce motives of universal appli- 
 cation from a multitude of chaotic facts, was a work of 
 the highest order of intellectual power. It is of little 
 consequence that both Quesnay and Smith, while cor- 
 rect in some of their main propositions, were on 
 others completely wrong, and in all possessed but 
 partial knowledge. The fact remains eternal that 
 they demonstrated the distinct and separate existence 
 of a science before known only as a part of general 
 
THE LABOUR QTJESIION SOLVED. 5& 
 
 philosophy, — a science which, when elaborated by 
 others who have taken advantage of their labours, 
 will endow humanity with perpetual abundance and 
 give for our temporal and material wants the same 
 blessings which the religion and the faith of Christ 
 bestow eternally upon the soul. Adam Smith, when 
 composing this great work, occupied the chair of 
 Moral Philosophy at Glasgow, and was engaged in 
 a series of ethical teachings, of which the enquiry 
 into the causes of the wealth of nations was but a 
 part. 
 
 Smith, in writing his " Enquiry " was completing a 
 work intended to be an integral part of a wider dis- 
 cussion than was contained within the limits of that 
 book alone. In his " Theory of Moral Sentiments," 
 which had been published some years before, he pro- 
 ceeded upon the assumption that the groundwork of 
 man's moral nature and action was sympathy. In 
 the later part of his compendious attempt to expound 
 the laws which govern the existence and conduct of 
 mankind he approached the consideration of those 
 causes which conduce to material prosperity. From 
 this point of view the sagacious Scotchman recognised 
 the fact that sympathy was not in the pursuit of wealth 
 the prevailing principle or moiive power. In all 
 matters, therefore, pertaining to the acquisition and 
 retention of property, he laid down the principle of 
 selfishness as the governing and ruling force. In 
 short, while in the world of morals man was regarded 
 
 E 2 
 
60 FEOM POVEETT TO PLENTY; OK, 
 
 as a being, not only capable of, but largely influenced 
 by, the divine principle of sympathy, in the realm, of 
 business and the individual ownership of property, he 
 was placed entirely beneath the domination of the 
 lowest and meanest of all motives — that of selfishness. 
 To the present day this teaching has been accepted. 
 The selfish system has been taught in every school 
 and in every university. It has infected every branch 
 of trade in every civilised land. It has been recog- 
 nised by legislators and endorsed by Governments; 
 Philosophers have adopted it, the ministers and mem- 
 bers of the churches have preached and practised it; and 
 after a century of rule ib has so engrained itself into 
 and become interwoven with the mercantile life and 
 conduct, especially of the English race, as to amount 
 to a second nature. It has destroyed the kindly 
 feelings, the genial relationships which once existed 
 between capital and labour, between employer and 
 employed. It has brought with it in the race for 
 wealth, the hurry to be rich, that unrighteous and 
 merciless competition which has well-nigh ruined the 
 reputation of our manufacturers, which has turned the 
 multitudes of our labouring classes into mere 
 machines, and which has sacrificed all affection and 
 every principle at the shrine of gold. It has per- 
 meated every rank and all callings in the State ; it 
 has weakened the patriotic spirit of Englishmen, and, 
 more than all other causes combined, it has beclouded 
 the spirit of the nation with scepticism and infidelity. 
 
THE LABODE QUESTION SOLVED. 61 
 
 In these two cardinal but opposing points of Smith's 
 theories are contained the principles which during the 
 last century have been and still are engaged in a 
 desperate and so far endless conflict. 
 
 This conflict is waged over every department of 
 human life. It has roused an intellectual warfare, 
 which at this time engages many of the greatest 
 minds. 
 
 Beside the question of the future condition of the 
 working classes other subjects are comparatively 
 trivial. Discovery, invention, political reform, the 
 balance of power, and the thousand and one subjects 
 of public debate are but of passing interest. It is 
 with this question that political economy is particu- 
 larly concerned. 
 
 " The poor ye have always with you " was spoken 
 nearly nineteen centuries ago in a land and at a 
 period in no sense under similar conditions to those 
 which now exist, and still the poor are with us. Not 
 so much, indeed, are the dreadful features of poverty 
 revealed in the new countries where land is cheap and 
 labour dear, but in older communities and in the 
 great centres of population especially, the masses of 
 the people have become the subjects and possessors 
 of poverty more dreadful than that which any former 
 generation of mankind has seen or suffered. More 
 dreadful because of the vast opulence which accom- 
 panies it, because of the education which has 
 sharpened the appetite of the multitude for better 
 
■62 
 
 FROM POVERTY TO PLENTY J OEj 
 
 things, and by which the working and labouring 
 classes are taught that the splendour and luxury 
 upon which they gaze with ever-unsatisfied desire 
 are the fruit of their toil, the produce of their labour. 
 
 The almost immeasurable distances which separate 
 extreme wealth from extreme poverty are not as yet 
 prominently seen in the colonies of Great Britain, 
 but as surely as the day dawns and season follows 
 season in the course of nature, so surely the same 
 economic laws which have produced in other lands 
 the terrible contrast between luxury and want will, as 
 years roll by, produce similar effects even in the 
 richest colonies. 
 
 Unless land and capital become the co-operators 
 with, instead of the masters of, labour, there are those 
 now living who in these new lands will yet look with 
 longing but hopeless eyes across the deep abyss which 
 will separate poverty from riches amongst them also. 
 This subject is one which is fairly and properly 
 within the scope of scientific enquiry. There is no 
 more reason to expect a divine or miraculous revela- 
 tion concerning the laws of political economy, than 
 there is to expect a revelation from Heaven concern- 
 ing the nature and application of steam, electricity, 
 the differential calculus, or representative govern- 
 ment. 
 
 In one sense the poor will indeed be always with 
 us. The widow and the orphan, the lame, the halt, 
 and the blind, the impotent and imbecile, the sick 
 
THE LABOUK QUESTION SOLVED. 63 
 
 and aged, the victims of accident and cruelty, these 
 and others of similar classes will furnish " the poor " 
 to whom our charity will ever be called forth. But 
 that the able-bodied, the industrious, the great armies 
 of toilers who produce the stores of wealth which 
 enrich modern life should be poor, in this sense, is a 
 scandal and a shame. They are only poor because 
 we are governed by erroneous economic laws. The 
 science and philosophy necessary to enable us to 
 make and to alter the laws governing both the pro- 
 duction and the distribution of wealth, are no more 
 •difficult to discover than those sciences and that 
 philosophy a knowledge of which enables us to con- 
 struct the safety lamp or "put a girdle round the 
 ■earth in forty minutes.^' 
 
 There is no subject about which, in its remedial 
 aspect, so little is known. Certain principles have 
 been deduced from the workings of the various cus- 
 toms of trade, taxation, exchange, and the inter- 
 aspects of land, capital, and labour. The laws which 
 now govern the relative positions of these three last- 
 named forces have been laid down with considerable 
 •clearness and certainty, and from them we can see 
 that, while the production of wealth is marvellously 
 increased, its inevitable tendency is to aggregate in 
 the bands of the owners of land and capital, while 
 the owners of labour simply obtain sufficient to pre- 
 serve that life and those energies which are spent in 
 the creation of wealth which others enjoy. In the 
 
64 PROM POVEETY TO PLENTY j OE, 
 
 earlier periods of English history under the feudal 
 tenure, the great land-owners held their land in fee 
 from the Crown, either directly or indirectly. The 
 labourers who tilled the land were generally serfs, 
 subject equally with the estates themselves to the 
 lord of the manor. In those days all manufacturing 
 industries were conducted upon a small scale. A 
 master workman, employing a few assistants, held 
 the place now occupied by the mill-owner with his 
 thousand hands, and a merchant owning two or three 
 shallops, carrying in the aggregate perhaps four hun- 
 dred tons, and manned by thirty or forty sailors, held 
 the same relative position to commerce as is now 
 occupied by the owners of great ocean lines, whose 
 machinery drives a hundred thousand tons of freight- 
 age, and whose crews are well-nigh as numerous as 
 the mariners that followed Howard, Drake, and 
 Hawkins to the destruction of the great Armada. 
 In all branches of commerce, of agriculture, and 
 indeed of civilised life generally, the employer was 
 looked upon as the guardian, the ruler, and the friend 
 of the employed. And although wages were small, 
 and many comforts the labouring classes now enjoy 
 were then absolutely unknown, yet there was generally 
 a certainty and a regularity of employment which was 
 a guarantee to the workers, at least of the means of 
 subsistence. Besides this, the country sustained a 
 large class of yeomen or small farmers, who, from 
 father to son, through many generations, lived in 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 65 
 
 sturdy independence and in comparative comfort 
 npon a few acres of their own land. Then, again, 
 every village had its common land, whereon the cow, 
 the pig, the geese and other poultry, or the horse or 
 donkey of each villager was maintained. 
 
 Gradually things changed. Serfdom, on the one 
 hand, was a.bolished ; but, on the other hand, the com- 
 mons were taken, the lands of the great landed pro- 
 prietors were released from any equitable or moral 
 right which the people had in them, and became the 
 absolute property of the lord of the soil. Old ties 
 were broken, and no new ones made. Gradually, too, 
 the yeomen perished. The causes which led to the 
 extinction of the fyeomanry of England are too various 
 and important to be here discussed. The result, how- 
 ever, is that the yeomanry have passed away, and 
 their small holdings have merged into the estates of 
 territorial magnates. To a great extent also with the- 
 commons the villages to which they belonged hava 
 vanished; the dwellings of the labourers have de- 
 teriorated; and though wages are in many districts 
 higher, and many of the comforts of life cheaper than 
 in olden days, yet the condition of the agricultural 
 labourer is much worse by comparison than it was 
 four centuries ago. The workman is now a free man, 
 and, compared with his progenitors, an educated man. 
 If not taught in the schools, he has learned from the 
 increasing progress which he beholds everywhere- 
 around him. In the railway carriage he visits the 
 
^6 PEOM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 great towns ; the newspaper gives him intelligence of 
 all that is going on from day to day in the most dis- 
 tant portions of the earth ; in the village ale-house he 
 hears discussed, with more or less accuracy and infor- 
 mation, the leading topics of the age. So life itself 
 for him is a great public school. When he beholds 
 the vast accumulation of wealth in the hands of the 
 higher classes, which affords to them the luxury, the 
 ease, the social distinction, and the means of enjoy- 
 ment denied to him, and when he reflects that this 
 wealth is mainly created by the toils of himself and his 
 fellow-labourers, he is naturally filled with discontent 
 and envy, wherein may yet, perhaps, be found the 
 seeds of anarchy. Amid such circumstances he is 
 exposed, on the one hand, to the teachings of 
 Socialistic advocates ; and, on the other hand, to the 
 inculcation of the doctrine of passive obedience, and 
 to that blasphemous as well as puerile philosophy 
 which would enjoin him to submit meekly, in the 
 name of reason or religion, to a condition of things 
 which is abhorrent to every sentiment of justice and 
 to every feeling of humanityj such as that which I 
 before illustrated from one of Professor Huxley's lay 
 sermons on " Liberal Education." 
 
 Which teaching is most likely to find a lodgment 
 and an echo in his heart ? 
 
 In the same manner, the small industries of old, in 
 which master and servant were to a great extent 
 friends and companions, have yielded to the advancing 
 
TEE lABOUE QUESTION SOLVED. 67 
 
 requirements and increasing capabilities of the great 
 machine and factory system. In these hives of in- 
 dustry armies of operatives^ controlling and working 
 machinery which multiplies their labour a hundredfold^ 
 produce manufactured goods which supply the wants 
 ■of nations. Wages here also have advancedj but 
 freedom of person, of speech, and of thought have 
 created wants, reasonable in themselves, but which 
 cannot be gratified. Were we to traverse all the 
 varied branches of human industry, we should find 
 the same unsatisfied wants of the multitude filling the 
 mind with discontent and the heart with bitterness. 
 The sailor, bringing from distant lands through storm 
 and danger the products of every clime, has to be 
 content with the wretched pittance for which he has 
 braved tempests and endured privations, while he 
 beholds the great stream of wealth which he has 
 helped to guide into London or Liverpool or Glasgow 
 flow into the co3"ers of his employer, or of the 
 merchants whose splendid warehouses line the banks 
 •of the Thames, the Mersey, or the Clyde. 
 
 So, from the deep recesses of the mine, from the 
 loom of the manufacturer, from the counter of the 
 great shop-keeper, from the cellars of vast breweries 
 and distillers, from every scene of toil, the same 
 sense of injustice and unsatisfied longing is experi- 
 enced. This law is not created by any statute, for 
 step by step all positive laws which enjoined and con- 
 firmed those circumstances which operated against 
 
68 FKOM POVEETY TO PLENTY J OE, 
 
 the interests of the labourers, have been altered or 
 repealed. It is not announced nor supported in the 
 moral law ; indeed, its very existence is an absolute 
 and entire contradiction of the second great Com- 
 mandment. 
 
 In reviewing the social condition of the great 
 majority of men, — the wage-earners of society, — it 
 became necessary to give some reasons for the 
 poverty of the many and the opulence of the few. 
 Smith and his followers, including nearly all the 
 masters in that school, have assumed the truth of 
 certain principles, by which to account for the great 
 disparity existing between the conditions of the 
 different classes of society. Throughout the whole of 
 their writings the central sun of their system is 
 capital. This capital, to which they individually 
 ascribe different attributes, and to which they apply 
 different and divers definitions, is exalted by them to 
 the position of a deity. It is capital which employs 
 labour, and while the labourers have, according to the 
 laws thus laid down, to be content with the bare 
 wages of subsistence, the profits of all commerce, of 
 all manufacture, of agriculturej and exchange are 
 offered upon the altar of capital. It is, in truth, the 
 worship of Mammon ; orthodox political economy is- 
 its revelation; political economists its priests j capita- 
 lists, speculators, and middlemen its worshippers > 
 and the toiling multitudes its slaves and victims. 
 
 So far as Adam Smith and all those who have 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 69 
 
 succeeded him in teaching upon the subject are 
 concerned, two assertions may with confidence be 
 aflSrmed. The first is that the historical facts 
 collated and examined, and some of the principles 
 deduced therefrom, are of great value to every 
 student in this department of knowledge. Such, for 
 instance, are the laws of supply and demand; of com- 
 petition, so far as its effects are concerned ; the laws 
 of wages now existing, as propounded by Ricardo; 
 the principles of combination and co-operation of 
 labour, more fully demonstrated by John Stuart Mill 
 and Professors Cairnes, Fawcett, and Sedley Taylor. 
 The thinkers of all nations during the present century, 
 whether the Socialists of the chair, the school of 
 historical criticism, the French, Italian, and other 
 Continental thinkers, Sismondi, Jean Baptiste Say, 
 and his very able but unstudied successor Blanqui, 
 Victor Hugo, Louis Blanc, together with the whole 
 range of English and American economists down to 
 Henry George, Karl, Marx, and H. M. Hyndman, all 
 resort to the work of Adam Smith as the fountain- 
 head of knowledge upon this subject. The very 
 value and importance attached to Smith's work 
 is, perhaps, the main reason why so little progress 
 has been made during the past century. The history 
 of nations and communities ; the knowledge which 
 during the last fifty years has been gained as 
 to the effects of commerce; the new principles of 
 combined action discovered through the extension 
 
70 FROM POVERTY TO PLBNTT ; OE, 
 
 of co-operative social laws and customs ; the 
 advantages possible to be derived from an exhanstive 
 enquiry intOj and a comparison of the foundations 
 and principles of the three schools of economic science,, 
 have all been overlooked in the species of religious 
 faith with which the work of the great Scotch philo- 
 sopher has been regarded. 
 
 This devotion, both of teachers and students, has 
 blunted the edge of analytic criticism. It has enabled 
 erroneous principles and manifest inaccuracies to 
 stand unquestioned in the canon of belief. In the 
 face of confusion, strife, inequality of conditions, and 
 the appalling contrast between luxury and famine, 
 which are the fruit and harvest of the present ortho- 
 dox economy, the certain and necessary result of 
 the false foundation and the false principles of 
 the science as it now stands, it still, from every 
 school and from every chair of the civilised world, 
 teaches the mistaken creed of Adam Smith,^the 
 gospel of greed and selfishness^ The guiding and 
 controlling principles thus propounded, upon which 
 the present acquisition and distribution of wealth 
 absolutely depend, are only evil, and pregnant with 
 mischief and suffering. The basis is utter selfishness. 
 Capital is the supreme ruler, the aggrandisement and 
 enriching of self by the labour and privation of 
 others is the one object ; the result is the dethroning 
 of justice and mercy, and the reign of covetousness, 
 which is idolatry. 
 
THE LABOTIR QUESTION SOLVED. 71 
 
 Adam Smith does little more than summarise and 
 improve the two previous imperfect theories. The 
 Scotch philosopher endorsed and strengthened the 
 belief that political economy is a distinct science. 
 He showed clearly the errors and imperfections of the 
 mercantile system, and proved beyond a doubt that 
 the science was broader and more comprehensive than 
 the physiocrats supposed. 
 
 Smith hadj however, no apprehension of the true 
 nature or boundaries of his theme. Every word 
 of the title of his book is significant. It is an 
 " Enquiry " only,^and it enquires merely as to the 
 causes of the wealth of nations. And its final limit is 
 the causes of the wealth of nations, not of families or 
 individuals. 
 
 This was the scope of his argument. The distribu- 
 tion of wealth when produced among the families or 
 individuals, and its enjoyment by the different sections 
 or classes of the community, did not form an import- 
 ant part of his self-appointed task. The question 
 of distribution might, and did, arise incidentally, 
 but the direct scope of his enquiries embraced only 
 the causes of national wealth, and nothing more. 
 A complete system of political economy must go 
 much further. 
 
 In any review of the subject it is not at all necessaiy 
 to advert to the multitude of matters upon which 
 Adam Smith wrote in his celebrated work. That 
 book, while it contains the first attempt made to treat 
 
72 . FEOM POVBETT TO PLENTY ; OE, 
 
 the subject systematically embraces also a large 
 number of matters properly falling under other 
 heads and branches of knowledge. It is indeed a 
 mine of wealth from which the student may enrich 
 himself upon many important subjects, from the 
 ■expense of supporting the dignity of kings, to the 
 history of the Bank of Amsterdam ; from the inci- 
 dence of taxation to the cost of education ; from the 
 rise and progress of cities and towns after the fall of 
 the Eoman Empire, to the public debts of modern 
 nations j the cause of prosperity of new colonies, and 
 the costs and defects of standing armies. 
 
 Useful as Adam Smith has been to the world, 
 venerated as his name must ever be, yet we may well 
 rejoice at the rise of a new school, whose formulae are 
 ^iifferent from his, whose teachers and disciples will 
 speak a different language and learn and practise 
 different laws. Human nature revolts at the deadly 
 coldness of unmitigated selfishness, and all its best 
 instincts prompt to association and sympathy. 
 Against the errors of the orthodox philosophy a great 
 war has risen. 
 
 McCuUoch says of Adam Smith that one of his 
 greatest claims to renown is this : that "in opposition 
 to the economists. Smith has shown that labour is the 
 real source of wealth," But the economists of whom 
 McOulloch spoke, the school of the physiocrats, were 
 in reality a great deal nearer to the truth in this 
 matter than Smith and those who have followed him. 
 
THE LABOUE QUESTION SOLVED. 73 
 
 For- nature, aud not laboaT, is in deed and truth the 
 primal source of wealth. Labour, whether mental or 
 manual, is necessary to produce or utilise it, but it is 
 produced from nature. In many paths nature herself 
 spontaneously produces it, and but scant labour is 
 required to fit it for human enjoyment. 
 
 Were it not that the dictum of Adam Smith has 
 been accepted by nearly all succeeding writers, and 
 has provided a battle-field upon which the most seri- 
 ous conflicts of modern thought have contended, it 
 would seem almost childish to enter into any argu- 
 ment or cite any illustrations to prove that nature and 
 not labour is the real source of wealth. 
 
 The mines of various treasures, the exhaustless 
 fertility of .the earth, the laws interpreted and de- 
 veloped by invention, the triumphs of art and of 
 literature ; everything which ministers to man's life 
 and happiness are all contained in or produced from 
 nature. Labour, indeed, draws forth and utilises 
 these treasures, but all the labour in the world with- 
 out the elements and forces of nature could not create 
 a single block of coal, a square foot of timber, an 
 ounce of metal, or a grain of wheat. When, there- 
 fore, the world rings with disputes between capital 
 and labour, and the nations are harassed by the exist- 
 ence of starving multitudes, the very existence of 
 whom forebodes disasters innumerable, and, at the 
 same time, both those who attempt to defend and to 
 maintain the present order of things and those who 
 
74 FROM POVEETY TO PLENTY J OR, 
 
 attempt to overturn it are basing their arguments 
 upon the erroneous assumption that labour is the real 
 source of wealth, it becomes necessary to place the 
 subject in its true light. For the arguments are use- 
 less and the illustrations vain, if the premises admitted 
 upon both sides as correct be in reality untrue. Nature 
 is the source of all wealth ; labour is the instrument 
 by which it is rendered available, whether in agricul- 
 ture, manufacture, in exchange, or in adaptation. 
 Capital is that which assists and supports labour, 
 while drawing forth from nature and rendering avail- 
 able for human enjoyment all upon which life is main- 
 tained and by the enjoyment of which comfort is 
 bestowed. 
 
 Nearly all the recognised teaching of modern days 
 has, more or less, accepted and insisted upon the 
 truth of Adam Smith's assertion, that labour is the 
 real source of wealth and measure of value. Not only 
 do the more distant masters of the modern schools 
 insist upon this, but it is still retained as a funda- 
 mental axiom. So indistinct are the ideas of the most 
 recent writers upon this subject, that, though some of 
 them perceive the weakness of the argument by which 
 it is attempted to support this theory, yet they do not 
 perceive the simple truth which, by its mere exist- 
 ence, contradicts the whole of the scientists. 
 
 Even the clear intellect and logical mind of M. de 
 Laveleye are sorely puzzled at the difficulties pre- 
 sented by orthodox scientific teaching upon this point.. 
 
THE LABOUE QUESTION SOLVED. 75 
 
 In that very excellent and useful book^ " Socialism of 
 To-day," De Laveleye devotes a considerable amount 
 of attention to the doctrines promulgated by Karl 
 Marx, especially in his last work, " Das Kapital." 
 The Belgian philosopher states that "Marx bases 
 his system on principles formulated by economists of 
 the highest authority, Adam Smith, Ricardo, De 
 Tracy, Bastiat, and the multitude of their followers. 
 In reaction [against the physiocrats, who derived all 
 wealth from nature. Smith asserts that labour is the 
 source of all wealth. He even makes labour the 
 measure of values. ' Labour alone,' he says, ' is the 
 ultimate and real standard by which the value of all 
 commodities can^ at all times and places, be estimated 
 and compared. Equal quantities of labour, at all times 
 and places, may be said to be of equal value to the 
 labourer.' "* De Laveleye then proceeds to show that 
 all the modern economists have followed Adam Smith, 
 and that, accepting this definition as true, the reasoning 
 of Karl Marx and other Socialists is absolutely conclu- 
 sive. He then goes on to argue the question^ disput- 
 ing and refuting the propositions laid down by Adam 
 Smith ; but very strangely, after conclusively proving 
 the fundamental principle of Smith and of the SociaKsts 
 that labour is the sole source of wealth to be incorrect 
 and erroneous, he leaves the subject altogether with- 
 out attempting to advance any affirmative statement 
 
 * "Socialism of To-day," translated by Orpea, p. 23. 
 
 P 2 
 
76 FROM POVBETT TO PLENTY J OE^ 
 
 upon this most important point. Some writers accept 
 a truer system of philosophy, and admit that nature is 
 the primal source of wealth, while labour, both of the 
 mind and hand, is the force which reduces it to human 
 possession and prepares it for human enjoyment. But 
 no writer, so far as I am aware, has attempted to de- 
 duce from these general statements those important 
 consequences which flow from so simple a fact. 
 
 Nor would the position taken up by Marx and the 
 Socialists be at all weakened through the admission of 
 a wider and more correct principle into the argument. 
 The assertion that the labourer receives only a portion 
 of the real value of his labour is incontrovertible. 
 Were it not so, the wealth which is produced from 
 nature by labour would go to the labourer, which it 
 does not, for there is a perpetual and increasing 
 surplus of accumulated wealth remaining in the hands 
 of the capitalist or propertied class after the wages 
 of labour have been paid. The admission of the true 
 principle lends another condemnation to the present 
 system. For it proves beyond doubt that an additional 
 wrong is inflicted upon the industrial classes beyond 
 those which the Socialists themselves assert. The 
 wealth of nature is the common property of all. Tha 
 discoverer of any new source or fountain of wealth in 
 nature, whether a mine of gold or coal, or new un- 
 inhabited lands, or the application of the laws of 
 nature to machinery in production or manufacture, is, 
 no doubt, entitled to consideration from the public. 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 77 
 
 It may be safely asserted that beyond such recognition 
 or reward, no individual or group of individuals has 
 any natural right to appropriate and monopolise the 
 powers, forces, and capabilities which the Creator has 
 placed as an environment for the present condition of 
 mankind. To take from a man a portion of the real 
 value of his labour is, without doubt, to do him a 
 grievous wrong. But when, in addition to this, that 
 portion of natural wealth which is his birth-right im- 
 prescriptible, and bestowed upon him by the Creator, is 
 also taken from him, this is to do him a further 
 injury. 
 
 The second proposition contained in Adam Smith's 
 theory, that labour is the criterion and measure of 
 value, is equally untrue and illogical. Labour is no 
 more the measure of value than it is the source of 
 wealth. The value of labour must arise, either from 
 the intrinsic worth of the labour itself bestowed upon 
 some object, or the object on which it is bestowed, or 
 which it produces. How is it possible to make 
 labour, — that is, both mental and manual labour, — of 
 the same intrinsic value or utility ? The immortal pro- 
 ductions of Plato and of Shakspeare, of Aristotle and 
 Bacon, cannot be contrasted nor compared with the 
 work of a ploughman or the writing of an unknown 
 village scribe. The marble upon which the chisel of 
 Phidias had produced the image of life, the canvas 
 upon which the brush of Raphael had imprinted the 
 face of the Madonna, could not be measured or 
 
78 FBOM POVEETT TO PLENTY; OB, 
 
 gauged, by any common standard of value, witli the 
 work of a miner or a blacksmitli. It would be absurd 
 to attempt to reduce to any common standard of value 
 tlie different kinds and the different capacities of 
 human industry. One thought given forth by a 
 philosopher might enrich a nation, while the toils and 
 lives of 10,000 other men might only provide the 
 means for their own subsistence. It is not improper 
 therefore to characterise the theory that labour is in 
 itself the measure of value as entirely incorrect. 
 
 It is equally irrational if we consider the value or 
 utility of the objects upon which labour is bestowed 
 or which it produces. One man will toil for years 
 for the completion of some petty task, the draining 
 and improvement of a few acres of land, or the erection 
 of a cottage home. Another by an hour's work may 
 unearth a welcome nugget worth £10,000 or a 
 diamond worth a quarter of a miUion. 
 
 Wages, fees, commissions, salaries, emoluments of 
 every sort, earned by the labour of men, are nearly 
 always, in every land, in every age, in every pursuit, 
 unequal in value ; so are the objects upon which in- 
 dustry may be exerted, in their natures, utilities, and 
 intrinsic worth. To expect that a correct measure of 
 value can be founded upon such false premises, and 
 maintained by such illogical reasonings, is to expect 
 an impossibility. 
 
 A fair consideration of the argument at once demon- 
 strates the fallacy of the laboiir standard of value. 
 
THE LABOUE QUESTION SOLVED. 79 
 
 Theories upon whicL. numerous volumes and treatises 
 liave been written pass completely out of the field of 
 argument, when it is once admitted that Adam Smith 
 was wrong in his statement that labour is' the sole 
 source of wealth. 
 
 All human exertion presupposes a motive. In 
 endeavouring therefore to extend the boundaries 
 of investigation into the science of wealth, Adam 
 Smith felt himself compelled to ascribe a motive 
 for the actions of men in this* direction. To 
 what impulse or spring of action were the toils and 
 anxieties of men to be ascribed in the pursuit of 
 riches. In the world of morals he had advanced the 
 supposition that men^s actions were prompted by 
 sympathy. To what all-powerful principle were the 
 actions of men due in the acquisition of material 
 good? It is impossible to discover the parity of 
 reasoning between the two results of Smith's logic. 
 Why did he allege sympathy as the proper governing 
 motive in morals and selfishness in political economy ? 
 It certainly is not easy to acquiesce in the assertion that 
 sympathy always governs men in the moral world. 
 That it ought to do so is certain ; that it does is by 
 no means beyond dispute. In the struggle for riches 
 selfishness as a matter of fact does generally prevail, 
 but it is equally certain that it ought not to do so. 
 And this covetousness leads to every species of 
 wrong-doing. The love of money is, indeed, a root 
 of all evil. It is not necessary to a happy life that 
 
80 FEOM POVERTY TO PLEMT? ; OE, 
 
 man should become wealthy. The necessaries of 
 life and many of its most valuable enjoyments can be 
 obtained without a great estate or the possession of 
 a fortune. And it is too often found that they who 
 make haste to be rich, who spend their lives in 
 amassing wealth, are but piercing themselves through 
 with many sorrows, and neglecting those fountains of 
 pleasure which offer their streams freely to the con- 
 tented mind. History is full of instances which 
 illustrate both phases of this argument. 
 
 Because selfishness and covetousness are, de facto, 
 the ruling motives in the pursuit of temporal pos- 
 sessions, it does not follow that they are right- 
 Were we to adopt that motto, — " Whatever 
 is is right,'" we should at once destroy all hope 
 of improvement in the world. The aim of those 
 who desire the welfare of their fellows, and the 
 world's progression in knowledge, virtue, and happi- 
 ness, must be to alter and amend all that is 
 wrong, all that works evil amongst men. Especially 
 is this the case regarding those matters which afiect 
 the happiness or suffering of mankind. The onward 
 march of man towards a perfect state is but a record 
 of evils cured and reforms efi'ected. In politics, in 
 religion, in every part and path of life reform and 
 improvement are at once the index and accompani- 
 ment of that progress which the human family is ever 
 making towards the final goal and destiny of civilisa- 
 tion. Considered in this light, it is as much our duty 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 
 
 81 
 
 to destroy the selfish principles of political economy 
 and to replace them by other and more lofty sources 
 of action, as it is to strive for any other reform.. 
 Ajid it is as much more important than other matters, 
 as the necessaries of life are more needful to men 
 than other things. 
 
s 
 
 B 
 
 M 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 E^ 
 
 m 
 
 
 ^'^^^K^ReS 
 
 ^^^^^ 
 
 ^^ 
 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Summary of orthodox economic teaching — J. S. Mill — Mistaken 
 belief as to scope of Smith's work — Malthus on population — 
 Errors of Malthus — Eicardo's laws of rent and wages — 
 Laisser faire — Rise of Free Trade — Its consequences — Proba,- 
 ble disastrous results of unrestricted competition — Decrease 
 of agricultural population in Great Britain — Cheapness of 
 goods useless without means to purchase — Ireland in 1848 — 
 Lords' Report on sweating. 
 
 OLITICAL Economy, as now understood, 
 embraces a very wide variety of sub- 
 jects. It is not, indeed, so discursive as 
 when Adam Smith first attempted to 
 define it, but it still wanders far a-field. And there 
 are but few writers who attempt to confine their 
 remarks to its strict consideration. Taking Mr. 
 John Stuart Mill as a fair exponent of modern thought, 
 we find in his " Political Economy," people's edition, 
 1865, 591 closely-printed pages of small type, divided 
 into five books, dealing respectively with the following 
 matters : — 
 
 (1.) Production. 
 (2.) Distribution. 
 (3.) Exchange. 
 
THE LABOUK QUESTION SOLVED. 83 
 
 (4.) Influence of the Progress of Society on Produc- 
 tion and Distribution ; and 
 
 (5.) On the Influence of Government. 
 
 The writer^ in the preface to his book, states : — 
 " The ' Wealth of Nations ' is in many parts obsolete, 
 and in all imperfect. Political economy, properly so 
 •called, has grown up almost from infancy since the 
 time of Adam Smith ; and the philosophy of society, 
 from which, practically, that eminent thinker never 
 separated his more peculiar theme, though still in a 
 very early stage of its progress, has advanced many 
 steps beyond the point at which he left it." 
 
 In the five books of which Mr. Mill's treatise 
 is comprised, the first, upon Production contains 
 thirteen chapters dealing with labour and capital, and 
 a few on the law of the increased production of land. 
 The fifth chapter, which speaks of the fundamental 
 rules respecting capital, contains four propositions as 
 follow : — 
 
 (1.) That industry is limited by capital; 
 
 (2.) That capital is the result of saving; 
 
 (3.) That capital is consumed ; and 
 
 (4.) That capital is continually reproduced. 
 
 The fourth chapter defines the nature of capital 
 itself. The eighth contains a striking and convincing 
 series of proofs of the superior advantages of the 
 combination and co-operation of labour ; and the ninth 
 practically demonstrates the superior advantages of 
 production upon a large scale. 
 
84 FEOM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 The second book, which treats of Distribution, 
 covers a very wide field of discussion, and divides the 
 distribution of wealth into rent, wages, and profits. 
 
 The third book treats of Exchange, and is mainly- 
 taken up with the questions of value and of money 
 as a circulating medium, including credit and paper 
 currency. 
 
 The fourth book, which contains the thoughts of 
 the writer on the Influence of the Progress of Society 
 on Production and Distribution, consists of only seven 
 chapters, of which the last, and incomparably the most 
 important, is devoted to the probable future, or, as it 
 is strangely put, "the probable futurity," of the work- 
 ing classes. 
 
 This chapter contains in itself half the fourth book, 
 and deals with the question of co-operation in England 
 and Prance at the date at which this edition was pub- 
 lished, 1865. Mr. Mill makes no secret of his belief 
 that the practice of co-operation is destined to effect 
 a social revolution in the condition of the labouring 
 classes at no very distant date : an opinion which is 
 shared by all recent writers except Mr. Henry 
 George. 
 
 The last book, on the Influence of Government, con- 
 tains many wise and far-seeing remarks upon those 
 functions of government which affect the social 
 economy of the nation ; but it contains, as do many 
 other treatises, a great number of arguments and a 
 considerable mass of writing upon subjects which 
 
THE LABOUB QUESTION SOLVED. 85 
 
 have, if any, merely a remote connexion with the 
 main subject. 
 
 Before examining the maxims and principles of 
 the orthodox system, and the results arising from 
 their practice, we may consider the statement made 
 by Mr. Mill as to the obsolete nature and general 
 imperfections of the " Wealth of Nations." 
 
 It is the fashion amongst more recent writers some- 
 what to depreciate the results of Adam Smith's labour, 
 and to assert that they are giving to the world a more 
 extended and accurate knowledge of true principles. 
 
 I do not hesitate to express my opinion that instead 
 of advancing upon the true lines of this science since 
 the days of Adam Smith, subsequent writers have 
 abandoned some of the most valuable propositions 
 asserted by that great thinker, and put forward others 
 much less consistent with truth and logic. Nor is it 
 in this direction only that they have deteriorated. 
 Nearly all the new principles and rules laid down by 
 the more modern teachers are either useless for the 
 solution of the practical difficulties which present 
 themselves in life, or they are untrue as well as un- 
 philosophic, and so selfish and oppressive as to be 
 abhorrent to every sentiment of humanity. 
 
 Besides departing in principle, the successors of 
 Adam Smith have spent a very considerable portion 
 of their time and ingenuity in attempting to define 
 the meaning of those terms which are necessary to 
 the proper discussion of their theme. In spite of, 
 
86 FEOM POVEETT TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 or perhaps in consequence of, their strenuous efforts 
 in this direction^ confusion has grown worse con- 
 founded. In lieu of the plain and easily-compre- 
 hended terms which the majority of other sciences 
 enjoy, all the commonest terms of political economy 
 have different meanings in the writings of different 
 standard authors. The interpretation of the whole 
 technical terminology of the science is in a hopeless 
 state of disorder, — abstraction after abstraction, — 
 refinement after refinement, — contradiction upon con- 
 tradiction, — leave the student in a state of uncertainty 
 absolutely fatal to the attainment of any true know- 
 ledge upon the question. -Sismondi, one of the most 
 just and upright thinkers of modern days, after 
 reviewing with intense feeling the terrible contrasts 
 of London and English life, thus speaks : " At 
 a period when sufEering humanity has the utmost 
 need that the science which is the theory of the 
 well-being of all should draw near to common 
 intellects and speak a popular language, political 
 economy is lost in abstractions and enveloped in 
 calculations more and more difficult to follow." This 
 is nowhere more clearly demonstrated than in the 
 latest work of one of the latest authors, Mr. Stanley 
 Jevons. 
 
 The almost incredible anarchy which exists in and 
 demoralises the definitions of terms in the treatises 
 of the more modern teachers, as well as the de- 
 teriorated character of the principles propounded in 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION" SOLVED. 87 
 
 oppositioii to or in amendment of those of their great 
 leader, may be mainly ascribed to the idea entertained 
 by nearly all writers that Adam Smith's work com- 
 prehended the whole structure of a complete system, 
 and that there remained for them nothing to do but 
 to define more clearly the meaning of the necessary 
 terms, to amplify details, and to supply those minor 
 principles and laws which would render complete for 
 all practical purposes the theory which the great 
 Scotchman had propounded. There are, however, 
 some remarkable exceptions to the current belief as 
 to the scope of Smith's teaching and the extent of 
 his pretensions. For instance. Professor Sidgwick 
 expresses his opinion that upon several subjects 
 Smith's followers have laid claim to a generalised 
 system which Smith not only never asserted, but, 
 on the contrary, avoided.* Of the same opinion 
 is the great Italian economist Cossa,t — " By the 
 work of Adam Smith political economy lost the 
 exclusive character which the physiocrats had given 
 to it, and was freed from the disguise of the 
 sublime language which they affected. It gained 
 a definite position among the social sciences, and 
 acquired a definite object. It assumed a special 
 function and adopted a convenient method. It laid 
 the stones of a great edifice of social progress. 
 
 * Sidgwick, " Scope and Method of Economical Science," 1B85. 
 t "Guide to the Study of Political Economy," 1880, 2nd 
 edition, p. 168. 
 
OO FEOM POVERTY TO PLENTY J OE, 
 
 But it must not be thought that the new science 
 was perfectly constituted by Adam Smith. The 
 wealth of nations did not comprehend the whole 
 body of economic doctrines. If it were so. Smith 
 would have done for economics what no single man 
 has ever been able to do for any science, physical or 
 moral." Most men, however, seem to have thought 
 that Smith had drafted a system complete in all 
 its points, whereas he had but summarised the two 
 branches of the science taught respectively in the 
 mercantile and physiocratic schools, and had amplified 
 and systematised them. But far ahead as he was of 
 the ideas and knowledge of his time, he had, of 
 course, none of that knowledge which has come 
 into existence since. His ideas, therefore, upon 
 production and exchange were necessarily less com- 
 prehensive than the ideas of to-day, as ours must 
 be necessarily less than those which our great- 
 grandchildren will possess. As for distribntion, 
 the third and perhaps the most important branch 
 of political economy, neither Adam Smith nor any 
 of his successors knew anything of its real nature, 
 its real subjects, or the laws which govern it. Be- 
 lieving, therefore, that they were dealing with a 
 complete science, those who followed in the footsteps 
 of the Glasgow Professor had to square the facts 
 with their system instead of making a system to 
 square with, account for, and amend the facts. As 
 we consider the laws promulgated and the diverse 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 89 
 
 meanings of terms employed by different writers, 
 we shall see how these causes have operated, and 
 we shall not only cease to be astonished at the" 
 terrible confusion which rules with a splendid liber- 
 ality in the theories of orthodox political economy ; 
 but we shall cease to wonder at the distressing 
 contrasts visible in social life and the apparently 
 inevitable unequal distribution of wealth. 
 
 The immediate successor to Adam Smith was the 
 Rev. T. E.. Malthus, a clergyman of the Church of 
 England. His celebrated essay on the principles of 
 population, published as a protest against Paine's 
 '' Rights of Man," and Godwin's pamphlets, pro- 
 pounded a theory upon the increase of mankind, 
 diametrically opposed to the commandment of God, 
 and the laws of nature. Incredible as it may seem, 
 this writer, who has been by many people praised in 
 terms that would have been flattering to Aristotle or 
 Bacon, taught that one of the operations of nature 
 was to restrict the increase of population, and 
 that she appointed diseases of various sorts for that 
 purpose. 
 
 He thus writes : — " If, however, we all marry at 
 this age, and still continue our exertions to impede the 
 operations of nature, we may rest assured that all our 
 efforts will be vain. Nature will not, nor cannot, be 
 defeated in her purposes. The necessary mortality 
 must come in some form or other, and the extirpation 
 of one disease will only be the signal for the birth of 
 
 G 
 
"90 from: povbety to plenty; or, 
 
 another, perhaps more fatal."* And so resolute, 
 according to Mr. Malthus, was nature in this matter, 
 / that she would not fail in her determination, nor be 
 defeated by the efforts of sanitary science. "The 
 small-pox is certainly one of the channels, and a very 
 broad one, which nature has opened for the last 
 thousand years to keep down population to the level 
 of the means of subsistence, but had this been closed 
 others would have been found. For my own part, I 
 feel not the slightest doubt that if the introduction of 
 the cow-pox should extirpate the small-pox, and yet 
 the number of marriages continue the same, we shall 
 find a very perceptible difference in the increased 
 mortality of some other disease." 
 
 It is a somewhat remarkable fact that all those who 
 desire to support any abuse or tyranny which has 
 become partially sanctioned by custom, appeal to 
 nature as the author. Thus Aristotle says in regard 
 to slavery : " Let us then conclude from these 
 principles that nature creates some men for liberty, 
 and others for slavery, that it is needful and just that 
 the slave should obey." Mr. Malthus continues, when 
 ■criticising the rights of man as asserted by Thomas 
 Paine, — " What those rights are, it is not my business 
 at present to explain, but there is one right which 
 man has generally been thought to possess, which I 
 am confident he neither does nor can possess j a right 
 
 * " Principles of Population," 7th edition, p. 42. 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 91 
 
 to subsistence, when his labour will not fairly 
 purchase it."* This would condemn to death, by 
 starvation and neglect, all orphan children, persons 
 out of work, the sick, and the aged. Mr. Malthus 
 was in favour of prohibitive laws being passed to 
 prevent the increase of the relief to the poor. 
 
 "As a previous step to any even considerable 
 alteration in the present system, which would contract 
 or stop the increase of the relief to be given, it 
 appears to me that we are bound in justice and 
 honour formally to disclaim the right of the poor to 
 support. To this eixd I should propose a regulation 
 to be made declaring that no children from any 
 marriage taking place after the expiration of a year 
 from the date of the law, and no illegitimate child 
 born two years from the same date, should ever be 
 entitled to parish assistance."t 
 
 As to the fate of those who should disobey such a 
 law, he says : — 
 
 " All parish assistance should be denied him, and 
 he should be left to the uncertain support of private 
 charity. He should be taught to know that the laws 
 of nature, which are the laws of God, have doomed 
 him and his family to suffer for disobeying their 
 repeated admonitions that he had no claim of right on 
 society for the smallest portion of food beyond that 
 which his labour would fairly purchase."t 
 
 * Ibid., -p. 421. i Ibid., p. 430. t JTSid, p. 430. 
 2g 
 
92 FEOM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OR, 
 
 Still more fierce were some of his utterances. 
 Amongst them were several passages suppressed in 
 later editions. One of these I give : — 
 
 " A man who is born into the world already fuU^ if 
 his family have no means to support him, or if 
 society has no need of his labour, has not the least 
 right to claim any portion of food whatever, and he 
 is really redundant on the earth. At the great 
 banquet of nature, there is no place for him. Nature 
 commands him to go away, and she delays not to put 
 that order into execution." 
 
 We may rejoice that the dreadful opinions of 
 Malthus were not the sentiments of all the thinkers of 
 that time. In the same year in which " The Enquiry 
 into the Causes of the "Wealth of Nations," was 
 published the great Turgot, in the preamble to the 
 Edict of February, 1776, for the repeal of the Cor- 
 porations in France, an edict which was called the 
 Charter of Freedom for the "Working Classes, uttered 
 these noble words : — 
 
 " God, by giving man wants, by rendering the 
 resource of labour necessary to him, has made the 
 right to work the property of every man, and that 
 property is the first, and most sacred, the most 
 imperscriptible of all." 
 
 Adam Smith knew and respected the leaders of the 
 Physiocratic School, which included the great French 
 minister, and the principles enunciated by him were 
 entirely in accordance with the words bj which the 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLTED. 93 
 
 Edict of 1776 was prefaced. The difference between 
 Adam Smith and Malthus is terrible, yet Mr. Buckle 
 in his " History of Civilisation/' speaks of Malthus as 
 the crowning genius apiong the political economists 
 of that day. He seems to think that Adam Smith's 
 greatest merit was that he introduced the other. " If 
 it had not been for Adam Smith," says Mr. Buckle, 
 "the world would have had no Malthus." To the 
 dreadful imprecations uttered by Malthus, well might 
 Grodwin reply, — " Woe to the country in which a man 
 of this class (the people) cannot marry without the 
 prospect of forfeiting his erect and independent 
 condition ! Woe to the country in which, when 
 unforeseen adversity falls upon this man, he shall be 
 told he has no claim of right to be supported, and led 
 in safety through his diflSculties ! We may be sure 
 there is something diseased and perilous in the state 
 of that community where such a man shall not have a 
 reasonable and just prospect of supporting a family 
 by the labour of his hands, and the exertion of his 
 industry, though he begins the world with nothing."* 
 It is diflBcult to over-estimate the strength and 
 tenacity of the hold which the teaching of Malthus 
 has obtained upon the educated mind of this century. 
 Taking up by chance a pamphlet upon " Elementary 
 Politics," published in Londonin 1886, by Henry Eroude 
 and written by Mr. Thomas Ealeigh, M.A., Fellow 
 
 * Godwin's answer to Malthus. " Inquiries into Population," 
 took vi., chapter 6. 
 
94 FEOM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 of All Souls College^ Oxford, I was struck with the 
 strange commingling of the consciousness exhibited 
 of the terrible condition to which the present political 
 economy has reduced the nation, and the extreme ad- 
 hesion given to the theories and general principles 
 which have produced that condition. 
 
 I take this bookas an expression of the popular opinion 
 held by men of cultured minds, who are privileged 
 publicly to express those opinions to the world, espe- 
 cially from the great seats of learning in England. 
 And in this case I do so without fear, as I find in this 
 pamphlet of 160 pages a very considerable amount of 
 sound learning, of just criticism, of terse writing, 
 and of clear and vigorous thought, giving perhaps the 
 best view, in so short a space, yet written upon the 
 subject which it professes to elucidate. 
 
 In the 10th, 11th, and 12th chapters of his little 
 work, and in the compass of less than forty pages, 
 Mr. Raleigh gives a tolerably clear statement of the 
 ordinary faith and views of political economists. In 
 the 12th chapter he speaks of the distribution of wealth. 
 " We produce," he says, " a large aggregate of wealth, 
 but we still have to complain of the evils caused by 
 poverty and luxury. Before we speculate as to the 
 causes of this state of things, we must lay down 
 certain general principles which form the basis of all 
 
 sound political economy. 
 
 The Law of Population. — Man is an animal, and. 
 
THE LABOUB QUESTION SOLVED. 95 
 
 like other animals, he has a tendency to multiply- 
 beyond his means of subsistence. Unlike other ani- 
 mals, he can emancipate himself from this tendency by 
 exercising foresight and self-control, not to marry 
 and produce children until he sees his way to pro- 
 viding for them. Unfortunately, foresight and self- 
 control are not universal, and people who are depressed 
 by poverty are specially tempted to be reckless in 
 the matter of marriage and parentage. This is one 
 reason why there are so many poor, even in wealthy 
 countries. 
 
 The foregoing statement contains the gist of the 
 doctrine of Malthus. It is a statement so simple and 
 so true that, in order to argue against it, you must 
 begin by missing the point, and there are able writers 
 
 who miss the point in various ways 
 
 Some people tell us that when God sends mouths 
 he sends food to fill them, or would send it if it 
 were not intercepted by landlords, employers, and 
 bad governments. The stern fact is, that God sends 
 millions of mouths for which no food is provided ; this 
 is true throughout the whole animal kingdom, and it 
 is true of man qua animal. Why the fact should be so 
 we cannot tell ; it is part of the mystery of pain and 
 evil, which bafl3es human understanding. But the 
 fact itself is clear enough for all practical purposes." 
 I have made these quotations because they summarise 
 the modem belief in the Malthusian doctrine. Avery 
 
96 FEOM POVEETY TO PLENTY; OEj 
 
 short examination will show how illogical and 
 childish such reasoning is, and how untrue are the 
 premises upon which it is built. It is asserted 
 that man, like other animals, has a tendency to 
 multiply beyond his means of subsistence. On the 
 contrary, man is utterly unlike all other animals as 
 regards the production of the means of subsistence. 
 In the sweat of his brow he must eat bread. Food, 
 clothing, shelter, are the results of labour co-operating 
 with nature. God does indeed through nature, by the 
 labours of man, indirectly provide food for all living 
 animals, or they must die. But when or where is it 
 that God directly provides food for men. Once, 
 indeed, in history we are told that Jehovah directly 
 provided food during forty years for over two millions 
 of a mixed multitude. Throughout that long period 
 there was enough for all. No one wanted, no mouths 
 in the great host of the children of Israel were unpro- 
 vided for. If the Lord were again to command the 
 nations to look directly to Him for food, there would be 
 sufficient and to spare. And in the miracles of Christ 
 the few loaves and fishes were more than enough for 
 the thousands who ate of them. But man, unlike the 
 beasts, must provide his own food. His hands must 
 till the earth, and reap the grain. His skill and 
 courage must win from the surface of the earth, from 
 the mine, and from the sea, those inuumerable 
 products which sustain life and afford enjoyment. 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 97 
 
 Througli ten thousand channels of production, manu- 
 facture, and commerce man produces, consumes, and 
 enjoys the varied objects drawn by his godlike powers 
 and energies from the exhaustless storehouse of 
 nature. The philosophy which in this matter de- 
 grades man to the same level as the beasts is false 
 and godless. Even towards other living things, man 
 made in the image of his Maker, has to take the place 
 of God. Man has to clear the forest, plough the 
 fields, sow the grass, tend the flocks and herds, carry 
 from land to land the different species of animals, as 
 well as plants, and provide food, shelter, safety, and 
 care for all. How long would it be, were man 
 removed from the earth, before the fair face of 
 nature became desolate, and the great majority of 
 animal creation die. To say as Mr. Raleigh, speaking 
 in the name of the current political economy, says, 
 " The stern fact is, that God sends millions of mouths 
 for which no food is provided " is in one sense true, 
 because God Himself, with all reverence be it spoken, 
 provides directly for no one mouth. Such an occur- 
 rence has always been accounted a miracle, and 
 although there exists no reason against the perform- 
 ance of miracles, yet we have to act as governed by 
 those ordinary natural laws by which the world and its 
 people are controlled. To say that, in the ordinary way 
 in which God provides for men, — that is, by afford- 
 ing the means and capabilities in nature from which 
 
98 PROM POVEETT TO PLENTY; OR, 
 
 food may be obtained, — " God sends millions of mouths 
 for which no food is provided/' is a blasphemous 
 untruth, as well as a ridiculous and contemptible error. 
 So far from there being any tendency in man to 
 multiply beyond his means of subsistence, the contrary 
 is true. The greater the multiplication the easier 
 becomes the attainment of the means of subsistence. 
 Ten men can more easily produce the necessaries of 
 life than one man. A hundred can provide far greater 
 comforts for each other than ten. A thousand will 
 still swell the aggregate of comfort, while a m.illion 
 will carry on all occupations necessary to ensure com- 
 fort to all, with comparative ease and economy. It is 
 indeed true that if the great bulk of wealth created 
 and produced is by a selfish and vicious system taken 
 from the many and given to the few, then the means 
 of subsistence of the many become straitened. That,. 
 however, is the result of a faulty human system and 
 of gross ignorance, and not the operation of a natural 
 law. It can be easily shown that the means of sub- 
 sistence, comfort, and even luxury, not only could be- 
 but are produced in greater quantity than they are 
 consumed. Nor can it be doubted that with a 
 proper system of distribution, no home, no per- 
 son in the empire or the world would be suffering 
 from want. 
 
 Before Malthus, Sir James Stewart, and Mr. Town- 
 send, in his "Dissertation on the Poor Laws, 1786," 
 had already pointed out that the population of 
 
THE LABOTJE QUESTION SOLVED. 99 
 
 every country has a tendency not only to rise to the 
 level o£ the means of subsistence afforded by that 
 country^ but to exceed them. But history is full of 
 such proofs, — ^nearly every migration of ancient tribes 
 aflfords an example. It was not necessary to call in 
 aid of a selfish economy the truth of the increase o 
 men, and then to distort that truth and turn it to a 
 falsehood. Land that will yield food for ten people 
 will not support a hundred. An estate of ten thou- 
 sand acres may support five thousand persons, but in 
 no way can yield food for fifty thousand. But if there 
 be boundless lands to till, if there be boundless com- 
 merce to be created, and boundless wealth to be 
 produced, how can it be true to say that " population 
 outruns subsistence V 
 
 Prom no point of view is the whole theory of Mr. 
 Malthus correct. It is partially true, but a half-truth 
 is generally the source of error. Population in a time 
 of peace and sufficient food naturally increases. But 
 the ratio of increase is always irregular. In times of 
 war, pestilence, and famine, population decreases, or, 
 at best, increases at a much lower rate. No people 
 has ever increased at the same rate for any very long 
 time, while the human family, taken as a whole, does 
 not increase in geometrical ratio during any regular 
 periods. The second part of Mr. Malthus's theory, 
 tried by the same standard as the first, is altogether 
 erroneous. For the means of subsistence generally 
 do not increase in the same way as population 
 
100 FEOM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 increases. Cattle, sheep, and all live, stock used for 
 food do, indeed, increase, but they increase geo- 
 metrically; but all other portions of man's means of 
 subsistence are simply the results of human labour 
 applied to natural agents, and they do not increase 
 spontaneously any more than ships or houses. These 
 can only become more numerous as the three factors 
 of production are brought into contact with each 
 other. Beyond a certain limit of productiveness, the 
 soil and natural forces of any country vfill increase no 
 more. In such a country population will still increase, 
 but the means of subsistence will remain at their 
 highest level, or recede. On the other hand, food 
 and other necessaries may be drawn from distant 
 regions and from countries far removed. England at 
 the present time draws subsistence for the bulk of her 
 people from abroad. And if the population of the 
 United Kingdom were quadrupled, she could still 
 feed and clothe her crowded multitudes from her 
 colonics. 
 
 The means of subsistence are produced from natural 
 forces by the labour of man. If the number of 
 labourers be increased, then, if there be sufficient 
 natural forces to operate upon, more means of sub- 
 sistence can be produced. 
 
 In these days a very small proportion of the labour 
 power of a civilised community is sufficient to provide 
 amply for the wants of all. 
 
 Were all to work, and work in accordance with 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 101 
 
 modern skillj an enormous and superabundant aggre- 
 gate of production would result. 
 
 The greater the increase of the labouring popu- 
 lation when land and the forces of nature can be laid 
 under tributej the more abundant will be the result of 
 labour, and the greater the mass of surplus and 
 accumulated wealth. 
 
 Population, therefore, in the sense used by Mr. 
 Malthus and the economists does not outrun sub- 
 sistence, nor is it possible that it can so long as 
 available land in any part of the earth is obtainable, i 
 
 Mr. Mill, following and apologising for Mr. Malthus, 
 while asserting that labour, or rather the human 
 family, is capable of almost indefinite increase, and 
 that capital is also, under certain conditions, practi- 
 cally unlimited, lays down the theory that land, being 
 limited in extent and accessibility, the increase of 
 production is thus restricted. Therefore, he says, 
 the expansion of population must be checked lest 
 want, and even famine, overtake the growing multi- 
 tude, there being no available natural agents from 
 which labour may produce food. To this theory there 
 are two practical answers. If it be intended to ac- 
 count by this for the pauperism and want now exist- 
 ing in many countries, it is suflBcient to answer that 
 in the same countries and in others similarly circum- 
 stanced there have been want and misery in every 
 period. The existence of want and misery does not 
 now depend, nor has it in the past depended, upon 
 
102 FROM POTEETT TO PLENIT ; OE, 
 
 the density of population in any given state. The 
 most sparsoly-peoplecl portions of the kingdom are 
 more dominated by want and famine than the city of 
 London itself. The most thickly-populated countries 
 of Europe are certainly not pressing upon the means 
 of subsistence more heavily than those most thinly 
 populated; and so it has been always. Again, in every 
 age the natural products of populous countries have 
 been assisted by exchange and commerce. In these 
 days science has practically turned seas into rivers and 
 oceans into lakes. The cost of carriage from the most 
 distant parts of the world to the great capitals of 
 Europe does not equal that which would have been 
 incurred two hundred years ago in transmitting 
 goods from Devonshire to London, while the safety 
 and efficiency of such transport are greatly increased. 
 Under these circumstances, it is folly to assert that 
 the mere increase of population in any country with a 
 great seaboard can of itself cause an undue pressure 
 upon producing power. The population of England 
 has increased nearly threefold during the last century, 
 and were it to increase during the next hundred years 
 to ten times its present number, its people could still 
 be easily supported by supplies drawn from a portion 
 of the colonial empire. With perpetually-increasing 
 powers of transmission, with a perennial flow of in- 
 ventive genius, and a constant growth in knowledge, 
 it is impossible to limit the powers of production 
 available for the sapporb of increasing numbers, save 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 103 
 
 by the ultimate capacity of tlie wliole earth. To a 
 people possessing great territories and enjoying a high 
 state of civilisation, no prudential considerations such 
 as those which form the groundwork of the Malthusian 
 theory, and which have been adopted by so many 
 political economists, need for a moment be considered. 
 Eather should the old feelings entertained in times of 
 war be revived, and the increase of population be en- 
 couraged. With a people growing at once in numbers, 
 in intelligence, and in prosperity, with capital drawing 
 to itself continual accretions from extending com- 
 merce, settlement, and production, great territories of 
 waste lands inviting the dominion of man, the nation 
 may, with proper economic laws, reasonably hope to 
 rise to a condition of prosperity and happiness never 
 yet attained. 
 
 Many writers of considerable repute have shown 
 the fallacy of the Malthusian theory. So far from 
 population outrunning subsistence, it is the con- 
 tinuous wail of modern commerce that there 
 is a glut of production. In the presence of the 
 great untilled territories of the empire, it is start- 
 ling to hear men of great reputations still in- 
 sisting upon the truth of a theory as hollow as it is 
 vicious, as un-Christian as it is absurd. It is not 
 nature that denies privileges to the multitudes born 
 into the world. It is not nature that refuses to spread 
 covers at her feast for them. It is not nature that 
 pinches the cheek with hunger and dims the eye. with 
 
104 EKOM POTERTY TO PLENTY ; OB, 
 
 tearSj or that fills the graveyards of our great cities 
 with untimely death. Nature, God's handmaiden, 
 offers her boundless treasures with profuse and loving 
 hands. The earth, the sea, the air, her granaries and 
 storehouses are freely open to the children of men ; she 
 places no locks, no bars, no bolts upon her treasures. 
 The earth, whence comes the wine which gladdens 
 the heart of man, and the bread which strengthens 
 him, providing food, clothing, and happiness for 
 countless multitudes, has been given by nature's 
 Master to His creatures. And until the waste and 
 desolate places of the earth shall have been filled with 
 the habitations of men, until the untrodden wastes 
 of the British colonial empire shall have yielded 
 their fullest harvests to industry, until there shall be 
 no more wilds to conquer, no more lands to till in 
 the interests of humanity, I say that it is treason to 
 the Crown and blasphemy against Heaven to promul- 
 gate a law which shall restrict the national increase of 
 our people on a plea so false and foolish. I care not 
 how great the names, how wide the influence, how 
 lofty the position of those who endorse the principles 
 of orthodox political economy : I am content humbly 
 to follow Him who, in the dawn of the history of 
 man, when he endowed the human race with the 
 earth as an estate, bade His creatures increase and 
 multiply, to be fruitful, and replenish the earth and 
 subdue it. The glory of England is in the number of 
 her people scattered in great and free communities 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 105 
 
 through her boundless realm. The increase of her 
 children, the growth of her colonies, the spreading of 
 her commerce, the extension of her principles of civil 
 and religious liberty, the continuance of that freedom 
 for which her patriots fought and her martyrs bled, 
 — this is her highest destiny, and he is a traitor to 
 his race and to humanity who, by argument or by 
 legislation, shall attempt to stay the onward course of 
 English power and English progress. Southey's 
 noble words should ever be remembered : — 
 
 " Train up thy children, England, 
 In the ways of righteousness, 
 
 And feed them with the bread of wholesome doctrine. 
 Where hast thou mines, but in their industry ? 
 Thy bulwarks where, but in their breasts ? 
 Thy might, but in their arms ? 
 Shall not their numbers, therefore, be thy wealth, 
 Thy strength, thy power, thy safety, and thy pride ? 
 Oh ! grief, then, grief and shame, 
 If in this flourishing land there should be dwelling. 
 Where the new-born babe doth bring unto its parent's soul 
 No joy ! where squalid poverty receives it at the birth. 
 And on her wither'd knees 
 Gives it the scanty bread of discontent." 
 
 These are the sentiments which fill the hearts of 
 those who love their country and their race. The 
 miserable forebodings of pamphleteers, writing in the 
 interests of selfishness, can never form a plan for the 
 extension of a great empire or the growth of a free 
 people. The same selfish spirit which prompted the 
 so-called political economy of the eighteenth century, 
 
 H 
 
106 PEOM POTEKTT TO PLENTY ; OE, 
 
 prompted also, in the interests of property, that 
 long series of laws, more dreadful than the laws of 
 Draco, which sent to prison, to exile, and to the 
 gallows hundreds of thousands of the poor and 
 ignorant classes in Great Britain. The maxim is 
 erroneous. It is an error springing from selfishness, 
 which, reduced to a science, would maintain the 
 labouring classes in sufficient numbers to perform the 
 work required by capitalist employers aud no more. 
 
 Following Malthus in order of time, Ricardo at- 
 tempted to lay down with precision the laws which 
 governed wages and rent. Ricardo's well-known law 
 of wages illustrates with remarkable force the altera- 
 tion and difference, — certainly not improvement, — in 
 the theory of the law of remuneration of labour 
 asserted by Adam Smith and his successors. 
 
 Adam Smith says : " The produce of labour consti- 
 tutes the natural recompense or wages of labour." 
 Ricardo says : " The natural price of labour is that 
 price which is necessary to enable the labourers one 
 with another to subsist and to perpetuate their race 
 without either increase or diminution. The natural 
 price of labour then depends on the price of the goods, 
 necessaries, and conveniences required for the support 
 of the labourer and his family." This is a startling and 
 profound change. From the evidently just principle 
 laid down by the founder of political economy one of 
 his earliest successors so directly departs as to degrade 
 the whole industrial class into a condition of slavery. 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 107 
 
 inasmucli as the total labour of their lives is to be 
 given for the mere means of subsistence. Mr. Ricardo 
 goes on to say that there is another price for labour 
 which he calls the market price, as distinguished from 
 the "natural price.^'* 
 
 " The market price of labour is the price which is 
 really paid for it from the natural operation of the 
 proportion of the supply to the demand ; labour is dear 
 when it is scarce and cheap when it is plentiful." 
 
 " When the market price of labour is below the 
 natural price the condition of the labourers is most 
 wretched ; then poverty deprives them of those com- 
 forts which custom renders absolute necessaries. It 
 is only after their privations have reduced their num- 
 bers or the demand for labour has increased that the 
 market price of labour will rise to its natural price 
 and that the labourer will have the moderate comforts 
 which the natural rate of wages will afford.'" 
 
 In his writings Mr. Ricardo lays down with severe 
 decision those laws which, according to him regulate 
 value, rent, wages, and profits. I do not hesitate to 
 say that upon all^these subjects his principles are either 
 fallacious, useless, or unnatural. His theory of value 
 is in the main unsound ; his theory of wages reduces 
 free labour to worse than slavery ; his theory of profits 
 is untrue, while all are equally unphilosophical. His dis- 
 sertations upon rent are to real political economy of no 
 value, because under a proper system no rent would 
 * Eicardo,^3rd edition, 1821, p. 51. 
 H 2 
 
108 FROM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OK, 
 
 be paid, as organised bodies of industrious workers in 
 co-partnership with owners of capital would own the 
 land they tilled, the mills and mines in which they 
 worked, the ships and warehouses in which commerce 
 was carried on, and all other means of production 
 and exchange. 
 
 The favourite maxim of this philosophy is "Laissez 
 /aire," meaning, as now interpreted by politicians 
 and economists, that things are to be left alone ; that 
 all questions between employer and employed, the 
 capitalists and the labourer, the rich and the poor, the 
 powerful and the weak, are to be left to settle them- 
 selves ; in other words, that the weak are to be 
 abandoned altogether to the tender mercies of the 
 strong. " Laissez faire," " Laissez aller" were not 
 invented by Quesnay. Colbert consulted a merchant 
 named Legendre on the best means of protecting 
 commerce, and Legendre used these words, since so 
 celebrated. But they were not at first intended to 
 mean anything more than that all which was not 
 injurious to morals, nor liberty, nor property, nor 
 personal security should be left alone. They were 
 only a protest against the restraints which hampered 
 the free development of labour. And the same 
 Quesnay used them, who succeeded in having printed 
 at Versailles by the hand of Louis XV. himself the 
 great maxim : " Pauvres paysans, pauvre royaume ; 
 pauvre royaume, pauvre souverain." . 
 
 Laissez faire as now used, contains the most 
 
THE LABOUE QUESTION SOLVED. 109 
 
 pernicious of all doctrines : in Government it would 
 lead to rebellion and anarchy ; in religion it would 
 produce atheism; in social life it would produce 
 barbarism ; in morals, Sodom and Gomorrah ; in 
 science, confusion ; in letters, ignorance ; in the 
 social condition of humanity a condition in no way 
 different from that of the beasts of the field. Under 
 its rule the Garden of Eden became a wilderness. 
 Beneath its baleful guidance in all paths of life, the 
 voices of the patriot, the poet, the teacher, the prophet, 
 and the reformer would be silenced, and hope would 
 be banished from the earth. 
 
 In the course of time, requiring indeed a longer 
 period for its development than other principles, the 
 doctrine of free trade sprang up, blossomed, and bore 
 fruit. This doctrine teaches that each portion of the 
 earth should enjoy free and untrammelled commercial 
 intercourse with the rest. That the peculiar products 
 of every region should be made freely and economi- 
 cally interchangeable for the products of all others. 
 That the advantages of climate, of soil, of position 
 possessed by different parts of the earth should thus 
 become mutually beneficial, that every land and 
 every race should, by exchange of commodities, be 
 mutually benefited and enriched. Nor is it without 
 reason that such a theme should be attractive; for 
 free trade under a condition of political and social 
 economy, by which all who aided in creating wealth 
 and improving commerce should share in the wealth 
 
110 FEOM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 SO created/ and the commerce so extended might be 
 and indeed may yet become, the means of adding to 
 the safety, the comfort, and the advancement of the 
 human family. But free trade, springing from the 
 root of selfishness, trained by the hand of unrestricted 
 competition, and its fruits gathered for the benefi.t of 
 capital, has produced, side by side with cheapened 
 productions and vastly swollen national wealth, in- 
 creasing misery and suffering to the great mass of 
 the working classes. When England started upon 
 the policy of free trade, the minds of the great leaders 
 of that movement were filled with the anticipation of 
 the blessings which would spring from its adoption, 
 not only to foreign countries with whom Great Britain 
 traded, but especially to their own race within the 
 four seas of Britain. At that time, as at present, the 
 bulk of the commerce of the world was carried in 
 English ships. The Colonial Empire of Britain was 
 then beginning to show the promise of its present 
 large proportions. The manufacturing skill and in- 
 dustry of the British Empire stood alone and un- 
 rivalled in the markets of the world. In the East, in the 
 West, in the North, and in the South, from the Pillars 
 of Hercules to the mouth of the Amoor, from Hong- 
 Kong to the golden gates of San Francisco, from 
 Eio de Janeiro to Sydney, multitudes of people were 
 prepared to purchase, in exchange for the varied pro- 
 ducts of all climates and regions of the world, those 
 wares which the great manufacturing centres of Great 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. Ill 
 
 Britain could provide in unparalleled excellence, un- 
 bounded profusion, and at the smallest price. Thus, 
 with the world for its market and with only incon- 
 siderable competition for the produce of its looms and 
 furnaces, English commerce spread suddenly in a 
 thousand streams, flowing far and wide to the nearest 
 as well as the most distant corners of the earth. 
 Not only the commerce, but the manufactures of 
 the nation grew with wonderful rapidity. Employment 
 was offered in every manufacturing town throughout the 
 country to an extent never before known, and at 
 wages never before heard of. A large portion of the 
 agricultural population, especially of the hardier and 
 more adventurous sort, flocked into the great towns 
 to participate in the benefits resulting from constant 
 labour and high wages. And in addition to the 
 attractions thus offered, there has been, especially since 
 the repeal of the Corn Laws, so serious a diminution 
 of the number of persons employed in agriculture, 
 owing to the free importation of wheat and other food 
 stuffs, that great hosts have been compelled to find 
 work in manufacturing occupations. In 1841 there 
 were in the United Kingdom 3,820,000 people en- 
 gaged in agriculture, while in 1886 there were but 
 2,420,000.* Thus in forty-five years, although the 
 population of the country had increased by upwards 
 of ten millions, the numbers of those employed in 
 tilling British soil had decreased by no less a mass 
 * Mulhall, " Fifty Years of National Progress." 1887. 
 
112 FROM POVEETY TO PLENTY; OR, 
 
 than one million four hundred thousand. In the same 
 period the yearly value of the crops had sunk 
 from £74,300,000 to £51,700,000,— a decrease of 
 £22,600,000. 
 
 Wealth increased and multiplied in a manner and 
 at a rate hitherto unrecorded in history ; and in addi- 
 tion to the increase in the amount of wages, the 
 labouring classes participated in still further advan- 
 tages, because the effect of free trade and unrestricted 
 competition was to increase the abundance and de- 
 crease the price of most of those articles necessary not 
 only to sustain life, but to minister to moderate enjoy- 
 ment. Meanwhile the excess of wealth promoted a 
 very great expenditure upon internal improvements, 
 such as railways and buildings, which again afforded 
 employment at high wages to other portions of the 
 community. The spirit of enterprise thus roused ani- 
 mated many classes of the people with a desire for yet 
 further developments, and the discoveries of gold in 
 America and Australasia, united to the wonderful 
 inducements and attractions held out to colonists and 
 settlers throughout America as well as the outlying 
 dependencies of the empire, drew away from Great 
 Britain millions of the more resolute and enterprising 
 of her children. These followed across the seas those 
 bands of adventurous spirits who, with heroic daring, 
 had gone forth to people the solitudes of the earth, 
 and to lay, in waste and savage lands, the foundations 
 of great empires. For a long period all these causes 
 
THE LABOOE QUESTION SOLVED. 113 
 
 combined to raise and maintain a season of prosperity. 
 But the minds of men like Bright and Cobden, who 
 foresaw the brilliant advantages likely to accrue from 
 the policy of free trade, did not pierce far enough into 
 the future, nor did they anticipate three important 
 results which are now pressing heavily upon tbe pre- 
 sent and threatening great disasters in the future. The 
 first of these is found in the fact that with all the 
 accumulation of wealth which has accompanied, and 
 to some extent arisen from, the free-trade policy, the 
 only class which has permanently benefited, materially 
 speaking, are the propertied and speculating classes. 
 The great mass of the people, the multitudes who have 
 toiled on sea and land to produce these treasures, are 
 practically no better off than before ; indeed, they are 
 yet likely to be in a much worse condition than they 
 would have occupied had things gone on in the old 
 grooves down which they ran during the reigns of the 
 Georges. For the second result which was not fore- 
 seen is now exerting a powerful influence upon Eng- 
 lish manufacture and English commerce. The spirit 
 of all political and social economy being essentially 
 selfish, other nations, while taking advantage of 
 British ports and British markets being open for 
 their manufactures, have closed their own markets by 
 almost prohibitory duties against British goods ; and 
 having learned from us that skill which is necessary 
 to enable them to become producers, and possess- 
 ing the advantage of cheap and abundant labour, 
 
114 i'EOM POVEETY TO PLBNTX ; OR, 
 
 are able not only to supply themselves with the 
 articles they require, which once they purchased 
 from us, but to send the surplus of their produce 
 and their manufactures into Great Britain and to 
 undersell us in our own streets. Beyond this there is 
 a far greater danger threatening the British indus- 
 trial classes from this free trade, unrestricted com- 
 petition, and reign of capital. And this seems destined 
 to effect a complete change in the position of the Eng- 
 lish working classes, and either force into existence a 
 new system of political economy, a great migration to 
 the colonies, and a new history for England and the 
 English race ; or produce terrible suffering and a 
 desperate revolution. 
 
 Several contingencies hitherto unforeseen, or at 
 least not sufficiently appreciated, may and probably 
 will arise, which will tend to alter the position of 
 England and the English industrial classes very con- 
 siderably. Free trade is at once the governing 
 principle and the modus operandi of English com- 
 merce. It supplies and demands the fullest and 
 unfettered competition. The enterprise and capital 
 of the commercial world under its inspiration seek out 
 all opportunities to buy in the cheapest and sell in 
 the dearest markets those innumerable wares which 
 gratify the wants and appetites of modern civilised 
 society. For these purposes the floating palaces- 
 which are now launched continuously from a hundred 
 yards, driven with incredible speed by wonderful 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 115 
 
 machinery, traverse every part of the ocean, and 
 search the harbours of the world. The electric wire 
 conveys the news of all markets, the state of all 
 harvests, and the condition and amount of the pro- 
 ductions of every land. 
 
 Ice and cold, which in the frozen regions embalm 
 the giant frames of extinct monsters, are now used to 
 preserve the sheep and cattle of Australasia and 
 America in transit round the world. The rates of 
 wages in all parts of the earth, especially throughout 
 the British Empire, the harbours of different countries, 
 the presence or accessibility of coal, iron, copper, and 
 other substances, are daily becoming better known. 
 
 It is not hazarding too much to say that China on 
 the sea-board, Japan, India, Australasia, the South 
 Sea Islands, and North and South America, are now to 
 the English people better known in everything that 
 relates to production and manufacture than most 
 parts of England, Ireland, and Scotland were a 
 hundred years ago. From these premises commerce 
 has already made one deduction. The seas being 
 bridged by great ships, the products of all countries, 
 preserved by means of scientific skill, can be brought 
 to Liverpool and London, to Glasgow and Dublin, to 
 Manchester and Bristol, without risk and at a trifling 
 cost. So Australia and New Zealand, the United 
 States and Canada, Russia and India, transmit their 
 cargoes of grain and wool, of meat and fruit, with 
 ever-increasing volume. Commerce prospers ; the in- 
 
116 PEOM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OR, 
 
 dustries of all these different places are fostered and 
 stimulated, and, what is better still, the price of the 
 food of the English people is lessened. The con- 
 sequence to the landowners in the United Kingdom 
 is no doubt disastrous. They are finding and they 
 will continue to find increasingly, that a free world- 
 wide commerce must level prices, and that land in 
 the United Kingdom used for the purposes of pro- 
 duction is worth but little more than land in La Plata 
 or New Zealand, in South Africa or the Crimea. I 
 am not deploring the fact nor rejoicing at it, I am 
 only stating it, that we may be better able to judge 
 of the questions which by and by we shall discuss. 
 So swift, certain, and cheap are now the means of 
 communication over every sea, so widely and intimately 
 known are the wants and requirements of every 
 market, so omnipotent in modern days is the 
 power of capital, so certain and inexorable in its 
 operation is that law of wages laid down by Ricardo, 
 so peaceful is the great world outside Europe, 
 that there is nothing to prevent the majority of the 
 manufacturing industries of Great Britain and the 
 United States being shifted to, or replaced by 
 immense manufacturing centres in India., in Africa, 
 in China, in Japan, and in the Islands of the South 
 Pacific. In these places labour can be obtained in 
 practically limitless quantities for one-fiftli part of 
 what it would cost an Englishman to live. Already 
 has the tide begun to flow in these dii'ections, and in 
 
THE LABOUE QUESTION SOLVED. 117 
 
 more than one place, nay, in more than a score of 
 places in the countries mentioned, have huge manu- 
 factories sprung up founded by British capital, 
 guided and governed by British skill and organising 
 power, increasing the wealth of the merchants and 
 employers, but worked by the patient labour of 
 coloured races upon wages which to the humblest 
 English workman would mean starvation. Great trade 
 and great commerce, great manufactures and great 
 wealth, especially when flowing only into the pockets 
 of one class, are not the main requisites for the 
 prosperity and permanent comfort of a people. That 
 sudden attraction which in the manufacturing centres 
 of the United Kingdom drew away so many of the 
 agricultural labourers and peasant proprietors from 
 the cultivation of the soil was not, in the true or best 
 sense, an advantage to the people of England. It 
 was indeed a change, but not a beneficial change, for 
 it loosened the hold and affections of hundreds of 
 thousands from the land of their birth, it made great 
 armies of them absolutely dependent, not upon the 
 soil which their fathers had tilled before them for 
 many generations, but upon the fluctuations of trade 
 and commerce, which at any moment, from events 
 beyond their comprehension, may leave them to 
 distress and starvation. 
 
 When the wages of English workers in manufac- 
 tories are reduced to the few pence upon which 
 Chinese and the natives of Japan, Bengal, or the 
 
118 FEOM POVERTY TO PLENTT; OR, 
 
 South Seas can exist, then will be seen distress and 
 sorrow and terror such as England never beheld and 
 never dreamed of. Hunger; wretchedness, enforced 
 idleness, furnaces blown out, mills stopped, mines un- 
 worked, shipyards idle. It is needless to dilate upon 
 the awful condition of a great and free people, con- 
 quered by cheap labour in distant lands and hunger 
 in their own. Have our philosophers and rulers fore- 
 seen this ? It will surely come ; has it not com- 
 menced ? Capital has no heart, no soul, no country, 
 and no God, — except itself. There will, of course, be 
 no possibility of foreign competition in some things. 
 Duties and works that must be done locally ; indus- 
 tries the requisites for which, whether of soil, climate, 
 position, or materials, are local, or which require 
 peculiar human aptitude, will still go on. But the 
 general class of manufactures can be produced in 
 those lands where labour is a drug and life easily sus- 
 tained. Living and the conveniences of life will, 
 indeed be cheap, cheaper than ever; but will that 
 compensate the workers for the loss of their employ- 
 ment ? There is upon the south-west coast of Ireland 
 in the county of Cork a little village called Glandore. 
 About seven miles off lies the town of Skibbereen, 
 which in the years of plague and famine, '46, '47, '48, 
 and '49, achieved an unenviable notoriety in Ireland, 
 being, as I believe, the saddest union in that sad 
 country. Glandore is prettily situated at the head of 
 an inlet from the great Atlantic, and in wiater the 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 119 
 
 •nrestern gales liurl the waves of the ocean against a 
 rock -bound coast. The land is tolerably fertile, the 
 olimate good, the scenery romantic. As a boy 
 I lived there in '48 and '49 ia an old, half- 
 ruined, but pleasant castle, named after the place, 
 ■Grlandore. Everything in that country was cheap. 
 The castle, furnished and comfortably habitable, 
 <;ost my mother twenty pounds a year. Meat was 
 threepence per lb., everything else in proportion. 
 I knew of men who worked for half-a-crown a week, 
 and supported themselves. Cheap as was food, 
 people were dying of starvation all around. A 
 shilling's-worth of Indian meal would give food for a 
 week ; but they had not the shilling, nor indeed a 
 penny. There was no work, and amid comparative 
 plenty thousands of strong men sank and died from 
 hunger. From the castle windows as a boy I have 
 often in the grey dawn before sunrise looked down 
 upon the cottage and grounds of the Relieving Officer 
 and seen, upon those days when relief was given, 
 hundreds of wretched crouching forms, men, women, 
 and children, old and young, waiting for the few 
 pounds weight of meal that was to keep them alive 
 during the coming week. The sight of such con- 
 tinued suffering drove us from the place, and I shall 
 not forget as long as I live the terrible scenes of 
 famine and plague in that unhappy land. Cheap food 
 and cheap articles of commerce are good, but, if he 
 who requires them has not the money to purchase. 
 
120 FEOM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OR, 
 
 they are for him at famine prices, and are unattainable. 
 It is not only necessary, therefore, to reduce prices 
 and make goods cheap, it is also necessary that those 
 who have to purchase should possess the necessary 
 means. The day is coming when great numbers of 
 Englishmen, besides our present pauper class, will 
 not have the wherewithal to purchase, be the price 
 ever so small. For capital, obeying its laws and 
 instinct, will raise up great manufactures in lands 
 where cheap labour is to be found, and our English 
 labour will be at a discount. Nor are we to forget 
 the swift current of life which continually increases 
 the population of Great Britain. Each year sees 
 nearly three hundred thousand children born into the 
 world in the British Islands, over and above the 
 numbers who die or emigrate. What is to be done 
 with this incoming multitude ? 
 
 A community will be permanently prosperous only 
 in proportion as its people are settled upon the land, 
 or have a personal interest in the national wealth. 
 Any nation wisely governed, possessing civil and 
 religious liberty, and of which the poorest class 
 enjoys good food, suitable clothing, and commodious 
 shelter arising from their own labour or their 
 respective shares in the accumulated wealth of 
 the community, is and must be prosperous and 
 contented. In such a nation want, distress, and 
 suffering would be comparatively unknown. Vice 
 and crime would so materially diminish in extent 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 121 
 
 as to present a new and delightfal pliase in possible 
 human existence. Thus in many parts of the new 
 colonies of the empire where land is easily obtained 
 and work is plentiful, — such, for instance, as the 
 place in which I write, Gisborne, New Zealand, — theft 
 is a thing almost unknown. No one fears to leave 
 the doors or windows of his house open by night 
 or day. There is indeed poverty springing generally 
 from personal misconduct, but real want is seldom 
 seen, and, when seen, soon alleviated by spontaneous 
 kindness and charity. 
 
 Free trade, as at present understood, must make 
 all the world one great community, equalising wages 
 by competition, and reducing all produce and manu- 
 factures, as well as wages, to the lowest price 
 possible. When this is accomplished, the price 
 of all necessaries, and even comforts, will be gauged 
 by the lowest possible wages for which in any land 
 men can live. Of what avail would be such ad- 
 vantages for English labourers or artisans when, even 
 could they obtain employment, their wages were, 
 as they would be, reduced to a few pence per day ? 
 
 The old ideas of earning an honest livelihood, of 
 dwelling in a peaceful home, and of leading a con- 
 tented life, have yielded to an insatiable desire for 
 the acquisition of wealth. To this consuming passion 
 all other considerations are sacrificed ; the one desire 
 is to get rich. In the keen struggle and competition 
 for wealth sympathy is forgotten, obedience to the law 
 
122 FROM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OR, 
 
 of God is disregarded, the noblest feelings of the 
 human heart are blunted, and the glorious teachings 
 of Christ concerning a life of self-sacrifice and 
 devotion towards humanity are ignored as com- 
 pletely as if they never had been uttered. In lieu 
 of the custom by which in other days labour was 
 regulated and lands were held, the rule of competition 
 has been adopted, by which labourers are reduced to 
 starvation point and tenants are rack-rented out of 
 house and home. The motto " Each for himself and 
 God for us all " is used, but there is a commoner and 
 more vulgar rendering of the sentence, by which each 
 is to do the best for himself and a certain unname- 
 able personage will take the hindmost. The results 
 are becoming yearly more disastrous as well 
 as more full of peril. The wretched condition 
 of the poor in England, Ireland, and Scotland, 
 in New York and Massachusetts, is a standing 
 theme for wonder, if not for admiration. Wealth, 
 indeed, is rapidly increasing, its accumulations are 
 extensive beyond precedent. Its evidences abound in 
 every region. Its magnificence outshines even the 
 displays of Imperial Rome. The accounts given of 
 the banquets, the assemblies, and the dances in great 
 modern capitals, in their descriptions of costume, pro- 
 fusion, and luxury, are similar to the stories in the 
 " Arabian Nights " of effects produced by the use of 
 Aladdin's lamp. On the other hand, the picture of 
 the shivering wretches, the homeless and famished 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 123 
 
 crowds, who from the streets watch with fascinated 
 eyes the gleaming of jewels, hear the strains of music, 
 and sniff the odours of the viands, is more terrible 
 in its ghastly misery than anything which history 
 records. The results of many other principles which 
 this science has commonly accepted may be fairly 
 typified by the results of absolute competition. 
 
 The predominant influence of this principle in deter- 
 mining the demand and supply of labour has during 
 the last century, and especially during the last fifty 
 years, given to capital, or rather forced upon the 
 owners of capital, a complete and tyrannical control 
 over the great multitudes of the labouring class. But 
 this control, although it be complete, is not capable of 
 direction even by the capitalists themselves. Like 
 the man in the story brought into existence by unhal- 
 lowed means, this creation breaks loose from the rule 
 and government of its maker, and by the exercise of 
 its ungoverned power causes misery and disaster. 
 Thus, while competition hands over the destinies of 
 the many — the poor — to the government of the few — 
 the rich, — the individual members of the governing 
 class are themselves by no means safe. All modem 
 writers admit the existence of unforeseen perils which, 
 suddenly occurring, involve whole industries, — em- 
 ployers as well as emoloyed, — in one' common catas- 
 trophe of ruin. In olden times, the labourer, unless 
 in days of famine, was tolerably sure of employment 
 and of food. In the country, at first completely, then 
 
 I 2 
 
124 PROM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OR, 
 
 partially, bound to the soil, at least his food and house- 
 room were fairly secure. In the towns, the guild, or 
 corporation, while it regulated his work and his wages, 
 provided him with employment and ensured him a 
 participation in the fruits of his industry. Liberty, 
 which gave him freedom to go and come as he chose, 
 and to offer his services to any employer, also deprived 
 him of the right to claim employment, and left him 
 to the laws of unrestricted competition, which in 
 business and employment is the very essence of 
 selfishness. The workman has to compete with other 
 workmen ; the employer, — whether he be a manufac- 
 turer or a farmer, or a shipowner or a merchant, — has 
 to compete with other employers ; the nation has to 
 compete with other nations. In these days, the 
 different productions, whether of art or nature, of 
 manufacture or of science, from every land are ex- 
 posed side by side for sale in the various markets of 
 the world. This brings to one level the value of 
 the productions of different climates and of different 
 nations. The producer and manufacturer are com- 
 pelled to sell at the same prices as are asked by 
 others for the same class of goods. They are con- 
 strained, therefore, to reduce the cost of production 
 to the same rate. Thus, as in some countries, wages 
 are extremely low, as for instance in India, and in 
 some parts of the continent of Europe, employers 
 of labour in England and those colonies where free 
 trade is practised are forced either to reduce the rate 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 125 
 
 of wages, to produce their commodities at a loss, or to 
 close their places of business altogether. In this 
 direction and manner capitalist employers are them- 
 selves helpless ; but the strife among workmen to 
 obtain employmentj and the necessity which exists 
 among them to obtain work that they may earn the 
 means of living, invariably places in the hands of 
 employers the power, and competition compels them 
 in self-defence to use that power, to reduce wages 
 to the lowest amount which will enable the body and 
 soul of the workman to keep together. The interim 
 Report of the Lords' Committee upon the sweating 
 system at the East End of London illustrates the 
 terrible effects of such cut-throat competition. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 Contradictory and uncertain meanings of terms as used by different 
 writers, Whately, Price, Perry and Wealth — Jevons and 
 value — Are land and labourers capital ? — Sidgwick — Graham, 
 attacks on theory of economy — The wage fund — Smith in 
 error as to labour being the source of wealth and measure of 
 of value — Sismondi, his repugnance to selfish foundation — 
 Anticipation of disaster from Free Trade — Summary of laws 
 and principles of orthodox economy, their false and erronous 
 nature — Quesnay and Smith compared — Evil effects of Smith's 
 selfish system — Attempts of economists to dismember the 
 empire. 
 
 AVING considered the development oi 
 economic teaching since 1776, it is now 
 necessary to consider the meanings of the 
 terms used in it, as well as the component 
 parts and principles of the system itself. The name 
 popularly attached to this branch of study is somewhat 
 ambiguous and misleading. Strictly speaking, its 
 reasonings should be rather devoted to the considera- 
 tion of the good order, especially in finance, of the 
 body politic as a whole, than that of its families and 
 members. But on all sides, the scope of political 
 economy has become more and more identified with 
 and limited to the material well-being of the individual 
 members of the community. 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 127 
 
 Taxation and public finance receive some attention 
 at the hands of writers, but the main parts, both of 
 facts and arguments, are more directly devoted to 
 what might perhaps properly be called and classed as 
 social economy. 
 
 The uncertain use of a common term, in this in- 
 stance, is of but little practical importance, for we 
 use the term as meaning the science of wealth. But 
 when the same uncertainty is intruded into the use of 
 terms necessary to argument and the ascertainment 
 of truth upon a matter of such gravity, and the very 
 names out of which a structure has to be built bear 
 dubious and contradictory meanings, the want of pre- 
 cision becomes not merely serious, but fatal. Upon 
 any subject whatever, before argument can be main- 
 tained or a true result arrived at there must be a 
 common ground of dispute. In exact science, men 
 agree as to the meanings of axioms and postulates ; 
 in law, to an issue ; in politics, to a question. The 
 premises are not subject to dispute, because, if they 
 be, argument is useless and logic unavailing. 
 
 Political economy is, of all subjects, the most un- 
 happy in this respect. Not only is the name of the 
 science itself indistinct, but the student is met at once 
 with the remarkable and discouraging fact that all the 
 principal terms used are ambiguous and contradictory 
 in the meanings attached to them by different (and 
 not seldom by the same) writers. This was forcibly 
 pointed out by the late Archbishop Whately. 
 
128 PEOM POVEETY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 "For a specimen of the ambiguity of tlie terms 
 most employed in political economy," said Dr. 
 Wiately, " and of the tendency to neglect the defin- 
 ing, or to depart in practice from the defined sense, 
 I may refer you to the late Professor's account of the 
 difi'erent definitions or employments by political 
 economists of some of the commonest and most im- 
 portant terms, namely, value, wealth, labour, capital, 
 rent, wages, profit. There is no one of these in the 
 use of which all the most eminent writers have 
 agreed with each other, and hardly one of them in 
 the use of which some one or another of these writers 
 has not occasionally disagreed with himself."* Nearly 
 all the writers on political economy, as thus pointed 
 out, disagree upon the meaning of various funda- 
 mental terms. 
 
 Perhaps the most severe criticism upon the use of 
 terms in the writings of the economists is contained in 
 a recent book published by the Professor of Political 
 Economy at Oxford. Mr. Bonamy Price (since this 
 was written, unhappily dead) speaks with authority, 
 and although he has no intention of so doing, he 
 utterly demolishes any pretensions which the modern 
 economists put forward to be expounders of a science. 
 He begins by asking two questions, '•' Is political 
 economy a science ? " and " What is political 
 economy ? " Pointing out that the ordinary answer 
 to this latter question is " the science of the produc- 
 
 * Whately on Political Economy, 4th edition, 1855, page 161 . 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 129' - 
 
 tion and distribution of wealth." Mr. Price proceeds- 
 to ask " What is wealth ? " This question stands at 
 the very threshold, and the Oxford Professor proves 
 from the writings of dififerent authors of high authority, 
 that not only do none of them agre6 as to the true 
 meaning and extent of the term ^''wealth/' but Professor 
 Perry flings away the word " wealth " and substitutes 
 "service." He might have added also Mr. Senior> 
 who, in lieu of "wealth" placed the term "utilities." 
 The great Archbishop of Dublin desired to change the 
 name of the science itself from Political Economy to 
 " Oatallactics," or the Science of Exchange. 
 
 The next term used is " value," and in relation to 
 the meaning of this, Mr. Price shows how utterly con- 
 fused and contradictory are the reasonings and defini- 
 tions of the leading economists. The best illustration 
 ever perhaps given is that of Sydney Smith. The 
 learned and witty divine having joined the Political 
 Economy Club, retired from it after a few months' 
 membership, and on being asked the reason for such 
 apparently strange conduct, replied that he had 
 joined the club to discover what " value " meant, but 
 that all he had discovered was that the rest of the 
 club knew as little about the matter as he did. Mr> 
 Thornton, in alluding to this anecdote, while criticising 
 Professor Cairns's* remarks upon " value," observes 
 that Smith's sarcasm was not unmerited nor untrue ;, 
 and Bonamy Price, in summing up these criticisms, 
 * " Cairns on Value," Cont. Review, 1876. 
 
130 FROM POVERTY TO PLENTY J OR, 
 
 concludes them by pointing out that Stanley Jevons 
 felt SO deeply the hopelessness of attempting to 
 explain " value/' that he was forced to exclaim " I will 
 discontinue the use of the word altogether."* Thus^ as 
 he says, one class of writers flings away the word 
 " wealth," and another the word " value." Mr. Price 
 does not by any means stop here. He proceeds to 
 show that Mill, Jevons, Adam Smith, Perry, Danson, 
 Shadwell, Macdonnell, Cairns, McCulloch, Bastiat, 
 Thornton, Macleod, Donisthorpe, Pawcett, Whately, 
 Lowe, Mai thus, Eicardo, Say, Chalmers, Goschen, 
 Walker, Denny, Brassey, Bagehot, Leone Levi, 
 Adams, Cobden, besides others more incidentally, are 
 all more or less often in direct opposition to each 
 other; and Mr. Price himself differs from each and 
 all at different times and on different subjects. Nor 
 are the disputes and controversies confined to the 
 two terms of wealth and value. Rent, wages, 
 profits, all emerge upon the scene as subjects of 
 dispute ; all are uncertain, unmeaning, and confused 
 in action. "It has been largely debated amongst 
 economists," says Mr. Price, "whether land and 
 labourers are capital. Mr. Donisthorpe t thus states 
 the issue : — " 
 
 " Are land and labourers rightly classed under the 
 head of capital ? To this question four answers are 
 logically conceivable, and only four : — Land, but not 
 
 * Price, p. 34. 
 
 t " Principles of Plutology," chap. i. 
 
THE LAEOUE QUESTION SOLVED. 131 
 
 labourers ; labourers, but noli land ; neitber one nor the 
 otber ; and, lastly, both. 
 
 " Is it credible that leading writers can be cited 
 who among them return all four of these answers ? 
 
 " Such is the deplorable state of anarchy reigning 
 in this department of enquiry that there is no diffi- 
 culty in doing this. Mr. Macdonnell accepts land, 
 but not labourers. Adam Smith, labourers, but not 
 land. McCulloch accepts both ; and Mill neither ! " 
 
 Mr. Price does not follow the general practice of 
 travelling over the whole ground trodden by those 
 before him, but limits himself to a few subjects which 
 he classes under the head of practical political 
 economy. Nor does he attempt the exact and 
 particular method so much affected by the ordinary 
 writers. 
 
 Mr. Price's edition of 1882 was followed in the suc- 
 ceeding year by Prof. Sidgwick in a work which has 
 deservedly attracted considerable attention, both from 
 the style of its composition and from the broad and 
 comprehensive view which the learned writer takes of 
 the subject. Mr. Sidgwick rather severely criticises 
 his brother Professor for treating the subject in a 
 loose and inconsequential manner, but on the whole 
 the Oxford Professor is more correct, and more likely 
 to be useful than he of Cambridge. For Mr. Price 
 acknowledges the confusion and want of system 
 which exists, and therefore limits his remarks to some 
 portions of the subject which he considers likely to 
 
132 FBOM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OR, 
 
 be practically useful, while the Cambridge Professor 
 traverses the same old ground and continues the vain 
 attempt, although with great erudition and luminous 
 mental power, to make a complete science out of the 
 odds and ends of orthodox political economy. The 
 only parts of Mr. Sidgwick's work likely to be useful 
 are the introduction, in which he displays considerable 
 powers in collecting and classifying both mental 
 and physical phenomena, and the last chapters of 
 his book, where he seeks to apply practically for 
 the purposes of actual life some of the laws of the 
 science, thus inclining to the same method as Mr. 
 Bonamy Price. 
 
 After all, the two Universities teach much the same 
 principles, the main difference being that the Oxford 
 Professor recognises the fact that the so-called science 
 is but a heap of unassorted theories and facts, some 
 useful and others worthless ; while the Cambridge 
 Professor attempts still to deal with the whole matter 
 as a complete if unsatisfactory system. 
 
 It is not only, however, in the use and meaning of 
 terms that confusion reigns in the camp of the econo- 
 mists. The laws which have been promulgated and 
 the theories which have been submitted by different 
 members of the orthodox school, are themselves the 
 subject of serious quarrel and great diversity of 
 opinion. No two writers agree upon the theory of 
 political economy, as no two writers agree upon the 
 meaning of the terms used. Almost the same dis- 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 133 
 
 cordance of opinions exists in relation to tLe principles 
 of the science as is found in its terms and theory. 
 
 I cannot leave the two Professors, Price and Sidg- 
 wickj — one culling some parts of the current system 
 which he desires to make practical, and the other 
 attempting within the limits of the system itself to 
 define it as a science, — without mentioning a more 
 recent work, the very nature of which shows the 
 hopeless uncertainty and confusion into which, the 
 teachers who occupy the chairs of Moral Philosophy 
 and Political Economy have drifted. I allude to "The 
 Social Problem/' by Mr. Graham, of Belfast, pub- 
 lished in 1886. 
 
 This book* contains an entirely new kind of writing 
 upon political economy, at any rate on the English 
 side of the Atlantic. Mr. Graham does not feel himself 
 in any way bound to travel within the lines of scien- 
 tific argument. Tracing the origin of the modern 
 movement as a movement of human sympathy and 
 denunciation, first definitely uttered by Rousseau, and 
 finally thundered forth by Carlyle, he does not pretend 
 to formulate the creed of the present orthodox teachers, 
 •or to criticise their doctrines. Using indifferently 
 both the inductive and deductive methods, the Belfast 
 Professor, whose sympathy for human suffering is as 
 strong as that of Henry George, regards the position 
 of society in reference to its duties and its dangers. 
 With a powerful and sometimes masterly hand, he 
 * " The Social Problem." W, Graham, 1886. 
 
134 PEOM POVEETY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 sketches the appalling contrasts produced by modern 
 progress, and in no uncertain voice calls the churches, 
 the aristocracy, the professions, and, indeed, all 
 classes and orders in the State, to consider and to act. 
 In parts of this able book, there are passages of philo- 
 sophic generalisation as to the primary sources of 
 agitation, the origin and progress of private property, 
 the Malthusian doctrine, the rise of the capitalist aris- 
 tocracy, and the reaction against Mammonism now 
 rising in England, so wide that they are not only 
 worthy of the most ample perusal, but are also likely 
 to bear good fruit. In addition to the works already 
 quoted, I would mention Mr. F. A. Walker's work, 
 1885. This author joins with the Germans in making 
 a fourth class of the division and receipt of wealth in 
 the employer, or entrepreneur, receiving profits, and 
 he finds fault with English and American economists 
 for neglecting the functions of the entrepreneur. 
 
 Mr. Walker holds that the wages of the labourer 
 include the whole remaining body of the wealth 
 annually created, after deducting rent, interest, and 
 the profits of the employer or entrepreneur. In this 
 he follows and holds with Stanley Jevons. It is 
 scarcely necessary to point out that both Jevons and 
 Walker are utterly and completely wrong. Were it 
 true that the labouring class did receive this portion 
 of the wealth created, they would speedily become the 
 owners of the greatest portion of the surplus wealth 
 of the community. The error arises from the igno- 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 135 
 
 ranee and confusion among all economists regarding 
 surplus or accumulated wealth, and its distribution. 
 Mr. Walker holds entirely the doctrine of extreme 
 competition, although he thinks that legislation may 
 sometimes intervene with advantage. 
 
 The whole work treats not of political economy as 
 a science, but as a collection of maxims and of sub- 
 ordinate laws. McOulloch attacks the law of wages 
 as laid down by Adam Smith, and adopted by Say, 
 Sismondi, Malthus, and others; and McLeod, in his 
 " Principles of Economical Philosophy " (2nd edition, 
 1882), in a very wide range of philosophic thought 
 and enquiry, fiercely and successfully attacks almost 
 every principle maintained by the orthodox political 
 economists down to John Stuart Mill. 
 
 Outside the circle of what may be called teachers of 
 the orthodox school, the leading principles of the 
 political economy which has ruled the civilised world 
 for the last century are not only criticised, denied, 
 and refuted, but are held up to contempt and abhor- 
 rence. In Germany, the Historical School, the 
 Socialists of the Chair, and those thinkers whose 
 ideas are summed up, on the one hand, by Kodbertus, 
 Lassalle and Karl Marx, who, though living and 
 writing in England, still belonged to Germany, 
 and, on the other by Held, SchmoUer, and Von 
 Ketteler, expressed in a greater or less degree their 
 dissent from the current doctrines. In France, the 
 difierent schools of the Communists and Socialists 
 
136 FROM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OK, 
 
 lead the attack on one side, wtile Louis Blanc and 
 Victor Hugo assail it, directly or indirectly, on the 
 other. In England, either particular doctrines or 
 portions of the whole system have been combated 
 with equal vigour. The Christian Socialists, headed 
 by Kingsley, Maurice, Ludlow, and Hughes, reformers 
 like Thorold Eogers and Howell, and the extreme 
 Socialists, whose present leaders are H. M. Hyndman, 
 Belfort Bax, William Morris, the well-known poet, 
 and Miss Helen Taylor, whose intimate knowledge of 
 the thoughts and intellectual method of the late John 
 Stuart Mill add weight and value to her arguments, 
 ■continually oppose many of the leading doctrines of 
 the modern system, especially that portion to which 
 has been commonly applied the epithet of the Man- 
 chester School. 
 
 An error of great importance is found in the 
 doctrine of the wage-fund. It was asserted that a 
 certain portion of the capital of a community was 
 devoted to the employment of labour, and this portion 
 of capital was designated the wage-fund. This wage- 
 fund it was said, existing within certain limits, 
 provided the only means of payment for labour, and 
 if more labourers required subsistence than the wage- 
 fund would employ, wages fell, bringing about a state of 
 destitution and suffering, as the wages of the labouring 
 class were not sufficient to provide subsistence. The 
 •doctrine of the wage-fund has been exploded. Mr. 
 Stanley Jevons gives a list of authors with whom he 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 137 
 
 agrees in disputing and denying the wage-fand 
 theory, saying : " The relations of labour and capital 
 turn mainly upon economic considerations, and the 
 theory of the subject has been misunderstood, and 
 perverted even by economists." 
 
 Other writers whose ideas are summed up by 
 Professor F. A. Walker, in his book upon the wages 
 question, show not only that the current of thought is 
 now set decidedly against this theory, but that it is 
 inconsistent with logic and with experience. 
 
 A simple argument will show the error of the 
 wage-fund theory. All labour used for the produc- 
 tion of wealth is paid by wages. These wages are 
 drawn from capital, which is that part of wealth 
 devoted to reproductive purposes. All wealth thus 
 devoted is capital. Much wealth which could be 
 converted into capital is never so used. The only 
 limit which can be placed to the possible amount of 
 wages is the total sura of wealth that can be so 
 employed, which would form a very large proportion 
 of the wealth of a country. Thus the total wealth of 
 the United Kingdom is estimated at about ten 
 thousand millions. Of this, it is quite possible that 
 one half could be employed as capital, and paid as 
 wages in one year. But who ever dreamed that five 
 thousand millions would, or, practically speaking, 
 could be so spent in the United Kingdom, in 
 any one year, in paying wages ? The amount of 
 wealth available for the purpose, which would 
 
138 FROM POVEETY TO PLENTY; OE^ 
 
 thereby become capital, is far greater than is ever 
 so used. 
 
 A more vital error than that of the wage-fand 
 theory is found in the principle that wages as the 
 purchase-money of labour form, the proper and sole 
 payment for labour. The theory of Adam Smith 
 upon this point is both more humane and more just 
 than that laid down by Mr. Ricardo. It seems the 
 merest common sense to state that he who labours 
 is entitled to the full produce of his labour. If that 
 labour require the assistance of capital to make a full 
 development of its productive powers, the owner of 
 the necessary capital should be paid for its use ; but 
 when that has been done, it is then but simple justice 
 that the labourer should receive either the produce of 
 his toil or its value in exchange. The disastrous 
 effect which the orthodox system produces upon the 
 industrial classes is not the result of any one of these 
 errors singly. It is rather the combined effect of a 
 number of subsidiary and intermediate laws, all of 
 which spring from the selfishness which is the founda- 
 tion and root of the whole theory. Capital is, as we 
 have seen, the ruling power in political economy. 
 This is held to be a natural law, and, as such, is 
 accepted as reasonable and proper. Practically, 
 indeed, this is to a great extent true in fact; but 
 that the ownership of capital should give one man 
 the right to limit the food-earning power of his fellow 
 men, to appoint their hours and modes of labour, to 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. ISO' 
 
 prescribe their dwelling-place and means of liveli- 
 hood, to absorb and to enjoy the fruits of their labours, 
 is to make the owner of capital a tyrant and his 
 workmen serfs. It exists, in fact, as do many other 
 evils and iniquities in the world. It will be the 
 crowning glory of a true system of political economy 
 to break in pieces this oppression, and to afford to 
 every man labour suitable to his capacity, the results 
 of which he will himself enjoy. 
 
 Then, again, the doctrine of unrestricted competi- 
 tion (which has been compared in its nature and 
 action to the celebrated law stated by Dr. Darwin to 
 exist among the lower orders, " the survival of the 
 fittest ") has been proclaimed, especially by the Man- 
 chester School, as the very soul and spirit of com- 
 mercial life. But competitiouj as is pointed out by 
 John Stuart Mill, is only, in its keenest forms, of 
 modern date. It has, no doubt, its good side, lending 
 spurs to energy, exciting the inventive faculty and 
 producing a very general state of bodily and mental 
 activity. But under the present state and circum- 
 stances of our social economy, it has its bad side also. 
 It has destroyed the confidence once placed in British 
 manufactures ; it has flooded every market with 
 "shoddy"; it has consigned thousands of ships to 
 wreck and scores of thousands of gallant sailors to a 
 watery grave ; it fills cartridges with powder that will 
 not explode, and causes our soldiers to depend in the 
 day of battle upon swords that will not cut and 
 
 K 2 
 
140 PROM POTBETT TO PLENTY; OB,, 
 
 bayonets that bend like lead. It grinds tlie faces of 
 the poor, and brings down the wages of the labourer, 
 whether in field or city, to starvation point. It 
 adulterates the food we eat, and poisons, by bad 
 drainage and want of ventilation, the air we breathe. 
 Springing from the same evil root, — selfishness and 
 covetousness, — it deadens the moral sensibilities, de- 
 bases the hopes and aspirations, and fills life with the 
 tormenting excitement of avarice. 
 
 It must not, however, be supposed that, in the 
 midst of this struggling and swaying to. and fro in 
 the meaning of terms and the assertion of principles, 
 there were none who perceived the evil tendencies 
 and pernicious consequences of the whole system. 
 Within the camp itself there were at least some who 
 lamented with bitter grief over the evil state into 
 which the civilised communities had drifted, and who 
 anticipated with anxiety, and even with terror, the 
 gathering of the harvest likely to result from the 
 seeds then being sown. Beyond the camp of the 
 economists there were always men who perceived and 
 denounced the injustice of the current philosophy, as 
 there have been down to the present day. / 
 
 But they were few among the economists themselves 
 who ventured to attack the acknowledged maxims and 
 the practice of the principles contained in the orthodox 
 school. In more modern times the whole public feel- 
 ing among economical writers has undergone a great 
 change in this respect. The evil tendency of selfish- 
 
THE LABOQK QUESTION SOLVED. 141 
 
 ness is openly admitted and lamented j the threatening 
 aspect of society is acknowledged and deplored. But 
 in the first half of this century results had not yet so 
 far been accomplished as to place beyond doubt the 
 fact that the tendency of the orthodox political 
 economy was evil, and pregnant with national disaster. 
 
 Sismondi, who by many writers is held to be the 
 precursor of the Socialists of the Chair, was the first 
 to permit his feelings of justice and of sympathy to 
 overcome his reverence for the great names and 
 reputations which had lent their sanction to the 
 received system. 
 
 After many years of devoted adherence to Adam 
 Smith and his successorSj Sismondi became convinced 
 that the science as taught by them had nothing life- 
 giving or wholesome in it. 
 
 In a long conversation which they had together at 
 G-eneTa a short time before Ricardo's death, Sismondi 
 said, " What ! is wealth, then, everything ? Are men 
 absolutely nothing ?" 
 
 As Quesnay and Smith are the real founders of 
 political economy, Sismondi may be called the first 
 reformer. His soul rebelled against the selfish 
 system of the current theory. He longed to see a 
 fair adjustment of the rights of labour and capital. 
 He rejoiced in the profit-sharing of agriculture ; he 
 mourned over the apparently certain doom which 
 brooded over modern society. But he had not the 
 knowledge necessary to enable him to frame or 
 
142 FBOM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 •suggest a remedy. M. Miotelefc well said of him, 
 "His glory is to have pointed out the evils; courage 
 was necessary for that ! — to have foretold new crises. 
 But the remedy ? That is not an affair of the same 
 man or the same age. Five hundred years have been 
 required to set us free from political feudalism : will 
 a few years be sufficient to set us free from industrial 
 feudalism ? " The heart of Sismondi was very large. 
 All human sufferings seemed to find a home there. 
 The degradation of the Roman people, the miseries of 
 convicts in Tasmania, the wrongs of Ireland, — in 
 short, the universal sufferings and wrongs of the poor 
 drew from him denunciations at once terrible, 
 eloquent, and true. Let one sentence, which will at 
 this time strike home to every heart, reveal the deep 
 sympathy which burned within him for the oppressed 
 of every land, — "The social order of Ireland is 
 essentially bad, it must be changed from top to 
 bottom. The question is not to give the bread of 
 charity to the famished poor ; it is to secure existence 
 property to every man whose hands are his only 
 wealth." This was written before the great agitator 
 O'Connell had commenced his arduous labours. 
 Animated by a lofty Christian faith, inspired by a 
 charity wholly unbounded, saddened by the contem- 
 plation of widespread want in the midst of plenty, he 
 spoke and wrote with almost prophetic foresight of 
 the time when all abuses should be Tectified and the 
 toilers of the earth share in the enjoyment of its 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 143 
 
 bounties. Daring his life time, Ms efforts in this 
 direction bore no fruit. " I shall leave the world,^' he 
 said in a time when he was greatly depressed. " I shall 
 leave the world without having made any impression, 
 andnothing will be done." He should have remembered 
 that work such as his is never lost. It is the seed of 
 the Kingdom of God. Rather should he have echoed 
 the words of our own great martyr at the stake, 
 " Courage, brother, we shall this day light a fire in 
 England which shall never be extinguished." Sismondi 
 first taught that association and sympathy were a 
 better and wiser foundation for political economy than 
 selfishness and individuality. He it was who asserted 
 that the true aim of this science was not merely to 
 show how the wealth of a nation might be increased, 
 but how the happiness and well-being of the whole 
 community could be enhanced by the equitable dis- 
 tribution of wealth when created. His work will not 
 die. He has accomplished good. The great principles 
 which he advanced and defended are now the heritage 
 of all. He and such as he, though not triumphant 
 during their mortal lives, have enriched mankind with 
 a wealth more enduring than the gold of California 
 or Peru. 
 
 It is remarkable that Sismondi and those who fol- 
 lowed him took a far more just and correct view of 
 the operation, not only of the current political economy 
 generally, but of the operation also of its component 
 parts, than the leaders of the Manchester School. 
 
144 FKOM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 Every one remembers the prophetic visions of un- 
 paralleled and universal prosperity in which Mr. 
 Bright and Mr. Oobden indulged at the inauguration 
 of the Free Trade movement. Have those prophecies 
 been fulfilled^ so far as the vast majority of the people 
 of England are concerned ? In contrast with those 
 golden dreamSj let me place a few plain words written 
 in 1847 by M. Miget in his translation of a collection 
 of Sismondi's tracts : — 
 
 " There can be but little doubt that we are rapidly 
 advancing to a perfect freedom from restriction on 
 trade, which, with the cheaper and more regular sup- 
 ply of food consequent on the repeal of the Corn Laws, 
 is looked to as the one great cure for our social evils. 
 But may it not be well seriously to consider that even 
 were trade as free as the winds to every corner of the 
 earth, yet if merchants and manufacturers look upon 
 markets as unlimited, or only limited by the wants of 
 the consumers, not by their income or means of pay- 
 ment, more will be produced than can be sold and 
 consumed in a sufficiently short time to produce pro- 
 fitable returns, markets will be overstocked ? . . . 
 May there not also be just reason to fear that free 
 trade will tend to foster the eager desire after wealth, 
 and that anxiety to make large profits; and yet to under- 
 sell in foreign markets, which can only he done by pro- 
 diocing at the least cost, and must therefore lead to efforts 
 to cheapen labour to the lowest degree that the amount 
 of population and the cost of subsistence render possi- 
 
THE LABOUJJ QUESTION SOLVED. 145 
 
 ble ? " I have italicised these words because they are 
 truly prophetic. Daring the year 1886 a great Commis- 
 siorij composed of the leaders of commerce^ politics, and 
 economic science, was inquiring into the causes of the 
 present long-continued depression of trade and manu- 
 facture. This Commission has, after exhaustive exami- 
 nation, made its report. What does that report say ? 
 It simply proves that after forty years of trial the dreams 
 of Messrs. Bright and Gobden have been rudely dis- 
 pelled, and the anticipations of the translator of Sis- 
 mondi absolutely realised. Production is overdone, 
 and markets are glutted. Employment is scarce, 
 multitudes are starving. Even Manchester is turning 
 upon the principles of free trade. What is the remedy 
 proposed ? Why, that the cost of production shall be 
 reduced to the lowest limit, which means, of course, 
 that labour must be cheapened to the lowest degree 
 by which subsistence can be obtained, — and perchance, 
 on the doctrine of Ricardo, lower still. 
 
 It would be at once useless and wearying to pro- 
 ceed at length to discuss the various errors, false prin- 
 ciples, and uncertain interpretations contained in the 
 writings of the numerous teachers who, directly or 
 indirectly, treat of political economy. It is difficult 
 to understand how so many clear intellects, so much, 
 learning, so vast a mass of right feeling and humanity 
 as were possessed and are still possessed by the lead- 
 ing writers upon this all-important subject, could have 
 assented to the weak and puerile arguments, the fal- 
 
146 PEOM POVERTY TO PLENTY J OB, 
 
 lacious reasoning, and the inhuman principles of the 
 so-called science. Men who, without doubt, would 
 have given all their worldly possessions, devoted all 
 the powers of their intellects, and, if necessary, have 
 sealed their devotion with their blood in the cause of 
 ^eir country and their race, have yet during four 
 generations condemned the people that they loved to 
 a servitude more terrible than that of the Neapolitan 
 galleys. It is impossible to comprehend how, with 
 the light of heaven all around them, with the mate- 
 rials scattered in profusion at their feet for the per- 
 manent well-being of all classes of their countrymen, 
 they could have failed to see the way marked out 
 for them by the hand of Providence, and failed to 
 lead the nation that looked to them for guidance to a 
 great and happy future. Without, however, entering 
 too minutely into details, I venture to sum up 
 in a few paragraphs the leading principles and laws 
 of the present system, and to pronounce their utter 
 uselessness or their completely erroneous nature. 
 
 In attempting a synopsis of the leading features 
 presented by the orthodox teaching, I do not desire to 
 impugn the self-evident propositions which, by im- 
 memorial human practice, have become a part and 
 portion of human life. What I intend is to show that 
 the principles, laws, and maxims laid down by modern 
 writers upon this subject are erroneous. In other 
 words, that the foundations upon which the supposed 
 science is erected are unsound and unsubstantial. At 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 147 
 
 the best, the principles themselves are but few and 
 meagre. They can be classed in a very shorb cate- 
 gory, and the arguments by which the majority of 
 them are disproved have already been considered. 
 
 Placing, then, these principles and laws in cate- 
 gorical position, I state them as follows : — 
 
 Laws and Principles of the present System 
 summarised. 
 
 1. The foundation of the system is selfishness, utter 
 
 and complete. 
 
 2. Labour is the source of all wealth. 
 
 3. Labour is the measure of value. 
 
 -1. The produce of labour is its proper remune- 
 ration. 
 
 This is altered by Ricardo as follows : — 
 
 There are two prices of labour. 
 
 (a.) Natural price, which will provide the 
 means of subsistence to the labouring 
 class without any increase to its num- 
 bers. 
 (&.) The market price, which varies, sometimes 
 when labonr is scarce and employment 
 plentiful, being above the natural price, 
 and at other times when employment is 
 scarce and labour plentiful, sinks be- 
 neath, and win not give the means of 
 subsistence to the labourer. 
 
 o. The wages fund,— which states that there is a 
 
148 FKOM POVERTY TO PLENTY ; OR, 
 
 certain defined portion of the available capital 
 of a community whicli forms the only source 
 from whence wages are paid. 
 
 6. The Malthusian doctrine, that population outruns 
 
 subsistence, inasmuch as population increases 
 in geometrical, and the means of subsistence 
 only in arithmetical, proportion or ratio. 
 
 7. The law of rent. — That rent is the difference or 
 
 margin in value between the laud paid for and 
 the poorest land in cultivation. 
 
 8. The law of profits. — Profits are the rewards of 
 
 abstinence. 
 
 9. The law of value, summarised by J. S. Mill, in 
 
 seventeen long propositions.* 
 
 10. Competition is the cause of progress, when 
 combined with selfishness. 
 
 11. Free Trade is the certain condition of increased 
 
 wealth and national prosperity. 
 
 12. Laisser faire, including supply and demand. 
 
 Government should not intei-fere, but leave all 
 things relating to demand and supply to their 
 natural course. 
 
 13. All produced wealth is distributed among the 
 
 owners of land, capital, and labour, the three 
 factors of prodaction in the shape of rent, 
 wages, and profits or interest ; and last, — 
 
 14. The latest development of the selfish and iso- 
 lating spirit animating the economists, the 
 
 * People's Edition, 1865, p. 290. 
 
THE JABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 149 
 
 deoolonising school recently formed^ but now 
 defeated. 
 
 To summarise the meanings of terms used, and the 
 doctrines promulgated in the standard works of the 
 leading writers upon the orthodox science, is to prove, 
 without a possibility of refutation, the ignorance of 
 the teachers and the pernicious nature and general 
 worthlessness of their teaching. 
 
 From the formation of selfishness to the final re- 
 sults, antagonism between capital and labour and 
 unfair distribution of wealth, it is without a redeem- 
 ing feature. In traversing one by one the assertions 
 of the economists, this is seen so clearly as to make 
 it wonderful that men could so long have been led 
 blindly by an aggregation of pernicious untruths. 
 
 1. The proper foundations of the science are not 
 
 selfishness and individualisation. 
 
 2. Labour is not the source of wealth. 
 
 3. Labour is not the measure of value. 
 
 4. The natural price of labour is not mere subsist- 
 
 ence. 
 
 5. The wage-fund has no existence. 
 
 6. Population does not outrun subsistence. 
 
 7. The law of rent is not only in very many instances 
 
 untrue, but is altogether superfluous and un- 
 necessary. 
 
 8. The law of profits, as stated by Senior and John 
 
 Stuart Mill, is ridiculous and incorrect. 
 
 9. The law of value is indefinite and unmeaning. 
 
150 FROM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OR, 
 
 10. Selfisli competition is not the only cause of 
 progress. 
 
 11. Free Trade is not the certain cause of increased 
 wealth, either to nations or individuals. 
 
 12. Laisser faire, as now understood to abandon the 
 weak and helpless to the tender mercies of the 
 strong and unscrupulouSj is neither right nor 
 prudent. 
 
 13. All produced wealth is not distributed in the 
 
 shape of rent^ wages, and interest or profits. 
 
 14. To cut off the colonial empire would be to 
 ruin England and inflict a serious blow upon 
 civilisation. 
 
 Political economy, as taught from Adam Smith to 
 Pawcett, is not a science. Its language and nomen- 
 clature have no fi.xed meanings. 
 
 It is as impossible to argue accurately upon the 
 propositions laid down by standard authors in the 
 so-called science as it would be to argue upon the 
 problems of the first book of Euclid if the axioms 
 and postulates possessed innumerable and contra- 
 dictory meanings. 
 
 If a square were sometimes held to be a circle 
 and at other times a triangle, as well as a rectangular 
 figure with four equal sides, it would be impossible to 
 demonstrate one solitary truth concerning it. 
 
 But if all its terms were reduced to a certain and 
 distinct meaning ; if all its pi'inciples and laws were 
 true beyond dispute ; even then it would be useless. 
 For, as Kingsley points out, there is in it nothing 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 151 
 
 synthetic, nothing constructive. The mechanical 
 engineer, knowing the laws of his science, builds the 
 vast steam engine, whose parts all appear in due pro- 
 portion and position. 
 
 The architect, studying the rules of his art, erects 
 the commodious dwelling or the stately temple. 
 The shipwright, the civil engineer, the chemist, all pro- 
 ceed upon known principles and undisputed premises 
 to construct the objects of their desire or accomplish 
 a fixed and definite purpose. But with political 
 economists it would be only and barely possible to 
 gather sufficient from the orthodox science to make 
 a tolerably successful attempt at production. 
 
 Concerning exchange many of the laws are vague 
 and indistinct, while as to distribution there are 
 none, or, if there be, they are kept secret. And in 
 addition to the evidence already given regarding the 
 utter confusion as to the meaning of terms and the 
 truth and scope of laws, it is only necessary to assert 
 that the Parliaments of all civilised countries, espe- 
 cially of the English-speaking nations, have, obeying 
 the instincts of nature and humanity, in the course 
 of legislation upon social subjects, remorselessly 
 thrown aside the fundamental principles of freedom 
 of contract, free trade, and Laisser faire. 
 
 It is humiliating to think that the intellect of the 
 nineteenth century has been so narrow and so cramped 
 upon this subject. While upon matters of far less 
 importance it has roamed throughout the universe ; 
 upon this, the one question which presses upon 
 
152 FROM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OR, 
 
 modern civilisation, it has not been able to advance 
 beyond the mere alphabet of the science, and has not 
 understood even that correctly or completely. This 
 ignorance is no doubt greatly owing to the fact that 
 so little direct enquiry has been instituted. Not one 
 even of the writers who have devoted time and 
 attention to its consideration has attempted to go 
 'to the foundations upon which it rests. All have 
 been content to believe that those foundations were 
 well laid, and this assumption, the taking for granted 
 that the premises of the economists are correct, has 
 effectually prevented any real and exhaustive exami- 
 nation. Once questioned, the whole fabric falls to 
 pieces, and it becomes evident that he who would 
 erect or interpret a true science of wealth must com- 
 mence from the beginning. It is not necessary, nor 
 would it be expedient, to disregard the history of the 
 different movements, for in them all and in each of 
 them there is an amount of truth both in theory and 
 in practice essentially useful to the inquirer ; while in 
 a comparison of the different systems and of the 
 different writings of the teachers will be found 
 guiding lines of thought which, if not infallible, 
 will be at least extremely useful in the ascertainment 
 of the truth. When considering from this point of 
 view the different bearings of thought and argument, 
 it will be expedient as well as necessary, even 
 at the cost of repetition, to place them side by 
 side, to compare them in many ways, and to 
 
THE LABODE QtJBSTION 30LTED. 153 
 
 discover with, approximate certainty their exact 
 purpose and place in a true system of political or 
 social economy. 
 
 Comparison between the different Systems. — The 
 commercial system beheld the science of wealth in 
 its infancy. Experiment preceded theory. To the 
 attentive mind it apparently presented similar results 
 as arising from similar circumstances. Gold and 
 silver being the universal media of exchange, and 
 conferring upon their owners the universal power of 
 a,ppropriation, became the absolute sign and symbol of 
 all wealth. No motives were assigned, — no principles 
 taught, — no enquiries prosecuted as to cause and 
 effect or motive and action. In the same way as the 
 husbandmen perceived that if at the proper season he 
 cast his seed into ground properly prepared, it would 
 according to fixed laws yield him his harvest ; so the 
 merchants and princes of the sixteenth and seven- 
 teenth centuries saw, or believed they saw, that the 
 commerce which brought them gold and silver brought 
 them wealth ; for gold and silver commanded generally 
 all other material objects of desire. The speculations of 
 Quesnay extended indefinitely the horizon of economic 
 thought and discovery. His hand was used by Pro- 
 vidence to open the gates of knowledge and to reveal 
 a new and hitherto unknown region, full of all things 
 beautiful to the eye and good to the taste. Even the 
 widest development of the commercial system could 
 but show the advantages derived from the exchange 
 
 L 
 
154 FROM POVEETY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 of wealth already in existence. Oftentimes the gain 
 of one was the loss of others. Commerce and banking 
 which seemed to him the ideas and teachings of the 
 earlier writers, good as they were in themselves, did 
 not contain more than a part of the laws of exchange. 
 And the laws so contained were for the most part 
 erroneous. They attempted merely to show the 
 methods and results of commercial intercourse. The 
 work of the French philosopher was of infinitely wider 
 scope. Recognising the existence of wealth already 
 produced, and the necessity which always would exist 
 for the production of fresh wealth, he sought to 
 trace out the sources whence it flowed, and the laws 
 by which it was produced. To his mind mere ex- 
 change was of secondary importance, for that would be 
 certain to happen. The great questions to him were, 
 first, Whence comes the wealth which supports and 
 blesses men ? Second, What are the natural laws and 
 conditions of its production ? It was but natural that 
 Qaesnay should attach primary importance to the 
 labours of agriculturists and others who were engaged 
 solely in producing wealth from nature. For he un- 
 hesitatingly and correctly declared that physical 
 nature, and that only, is the true source of wealth. 
 
 This foundation principle of the physiocrats is, as 
 we have seen, contradicted by Adam Smith, and his 
 statement that labour is the source of wealth has been 
 generally adopted by modern writers. The question 
 is, however, beyond dispute. No weight of authority. 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 155 
 
 no amount of assertion^ no arguments of casuistry, 
 can for a moment shate the immovable foundation 
 laid by Quesnay, — that nature is the sole original 
 source of wealth. Labour produces^ adapts, improves, 
 and changes in form and value all material substances, 
 but the mine whence they are all originally obtained 
 is nature. To him who wisely beholds this great 
 world, — full of hidden treasure, replete with appliances 
 for human comfort, surrounded and governed by ten 
 thousand harmonious natural laws, which, when 
 discovered, open new fountains of precious things, 
 new mines of gold, — the doctrine of Quesnay appeals 
 with irresistible force of conviction, and affords 
 intense delight. For it proves conclusively that the 
 Creator has been mindful of His creatures ; it con- 
 vinces the mind that God's hand in nature has richly 
 provided for the wants of all. It demonstrates, with 
 simple but unerring certainty, that hunger, want, and 
 poverty are not the proper heritage of mankind, nor of 
 any living soul upon the earth. Ignorance may hide 
 the path to the land of plenty; selfishness may close the 
 doors of nature's granary ; and philosophy, falsely so 
 called, may wreck the hopes of generations and entail 
 misery upon nations ; but the earth lies waiting to give 
 forth her treasures. In her heart are mines of gold 
 and silver, of coal and iron ; upon her broad and loving 
 breasts are yellow harvests and ruddy fruits. The 
 lowing herds and bleating flocks are her dower to her 
 children, and without limit she yields the oil which 
 
 L 2 
 
156 IKOM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 makes man's face to shines the wine whicli gladdens, 
 and the bread which strengthens his heart. To say- 
 that God has not provided for man is untrue. It is 
 our duty to find out how the bounties of nature may 
 be enjoyed by all the families of earth. Quesnay 
 opened once more the gates of the material Paradise^ 
 revealing to men the glorious heritage bestowed upon 
 their race. He did not pretend bo lead them into 
 poesession. Yet his work was great and useful. For 
 the work of the teacher of a true political economy is 
 but the application of practical Christianity to the 
 wants and sufferings of men. He who feeds the hungry 
 from God's storehouse^ — he who clothes the naked 
 with the products of nature, — he who builds dwellings 
 for the homeless on God's earth and directs labour to 
 its proper objectj — is truly the almoner of God. 
 
 As Quesnay had gone beyond the mercantilists in 
 his search for the sources of wealth and the laws of 
 its production, so Smith went beyond Qaesnay in his 
 efforts to find out the motives which animate men in 
 the acquisition of wealth, the means employed for the 
 attainment of their purpose, the natural laws which 
 governed the employment of the respective factors of 
 production, and the various and perplexing, com- 
 parative and relative positions occupied by diSerent 
 classes and individuals in the struggle for life and 
 riches. Smith was in advance of Quesnay, equally in 
 the field of his enquiries, the amplitude of his facts 
 and illustrations, — and the general design of his work. 
 His aim was both philosophic and noble. He desired 
 
THE LABOUE QUESTION SOLVED. 157 
 
 to reduce to a system, capable of application in all 
 places and at all times, the production and exchange 
 of wealth. But the best purposes of men, however 
 noble, are not always achieved. Sometimes the 
 means used are insufficient, sometimes they are im- 
 proper, and sometimes they are calculated not to 
 accomplish the end desired, but to defeat it. Fer- 
 dinand and Isabella raised Spain to the summit of 
 greatness. Under their beneficent rule justice was 
 administered, discovery encouraged, invention stimu- 
 lated, commerce fostered, and art and literature en- 
 nobled. And yet the loftiest and holiest desire of 
 that Royal pair prepared the way and provided the 
 means for the decay and ruin of their beloved country. 
 Intensely desirous for the happiness of their people, 
 and deeply impressed by religious convictions, they 
 drove the Moors out of Spain, and handed over the 
 real government of their kingdoms to the Inquisition. 
 To them this step seemed certain to be successful. 
 History proved their hopes to be utterly fallacious. 
 Beneath the awful zeal, the terrible despotism of the 
 Holy Office, the courage, the faith, the wisdom, the 
 patriotism, and the loyalty of Spain died out, and left 
 ber a wreck among the 'nations, and a mockery to 
 Europe. I do not know of any better simile than 
 this with which to compare the work of Adam Smith. 
 Of him, as of Ferdinand and Isabella, the words of 
 Shakspeare might be uttered : — 
 
 " The evil that men do lives after them ; 
 The good is oft interr'd with their bones.'' 
 
158 FEOM PCVEETY TO PLENTY; OB,, 
 
 In Ms desire to supply a motive power for progress 
 and the spring of action amongst men in the acquisi- 
 tion of material good, Smith selected selfishness as 
 the sole operating cause and the proper cause. He 
 dethroned humanity from its dominance in the world, 
 and placed wealth and capital upon the seat of 
 government. Keen, unsparing, and pitiless competition 
 usurped the place of pride which custom had so long 
 enjoyed ; a false standard of value, — that is, the labour 
 standard, — was introduced. Summing up the theory 
 of political economy, as given to the world by Adam 
 Smith, the lowest, narrowest, and meanest possible 
 principles were preached as those of nature, and 
 therefore of nature's God. These pernicious doctrines 
 were hailed with delight by the great majority of 
 thinkers. The few who objected were deemed only 
 fit for a lunatic asylum. The evil seed rapidly ger- 
 minated and bore fruit. The friends and followers of 
 Adam Smith carried out his principles in other 
 directions. Mr. Malthus clamoured for a law 
 which would have rescinded the commandment of 
 God, and condemned millions of unofi'ending 
 children to certain death. Mr. Ricardo laid down 
 his "iron law of wages," which declared the 
 reward of the labour which produced all wealth 
 to be the mere necessaries of existence. An endless 
 war was declared between the rich and the poor, 
 employers and employed, and an absolutely im- 
 passable barrier was erected between political 
 
THE LABOUE QUESTION SOLVED. ISO* 
 
 economy and pTiilantliropyj between the law o£ 
 wealth and the law of God. 
 
 The eflfects of the practice of our present system 
 during the last hundred years have been^ on the one 
 hand, to stimulate, with unparalleled influence, dis- 
 covery, invention (especially in all labour-saving 
 machinery), and the increase of accumulated wealth ; 
 on the other hand, to disorganise society, to sow dis- 
 trust, suspicion, and hatred between the different 
 sections of the community, and to debase all public 
 and private feeling to the vile standard of a money 
 value. The consideration of these effects in one 
 direction will illustrate this argument. 
 
 The latest national development of the selfish and 
 isolating policy, the effect of the orthodox science 
 upon England's future, was found in the plan, openly 
 advocated by Mr. Goldwin Smith and other leading 
 economists, of severing the ties which bound Greater 
 Britain to the old land, and casting off the whole 
 colonial empire, including India. It is diflScult to 
 believe that any sane man not utterly ignorant could 
 seriously meditate the abandonment of those mighty 
 territories, that world-wide empire, which is England's 
 present glory, and the guarantee of her future greatness 
 and safety. The next generation will scarcely credit 
 the statement that the influence of the teachers of a 
 selfish political economy was so great in the United 
 Kingdom, that they had obtained the tacit consent of 
 all political parties to the disruption and desertion of 
 
160 PEOM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 the -whole outside empire. They had no mercy. From 
 the ancient kingdom of the Moguls to New Zealand, 
 from Canada to Hong Kong, all were to be abandoned. 
 Lands won by the sword, lands ceded by treaty, lands 
 obtained by occupation, all were to share the same fate. 
 The fruits of a hundred victories, in which on land and 
 sea the blood of our best and bravest had been shed 
 like water, were to be given up and sacrificed at the 
 shrine of Mammon. The labours and sufferings of 
 centuries were to be forgotten or only remembered as 
 a dream. The graves of sainted martyrs and of gallant 
 warriors were to be deserted. Cities as great as the 
 capitals of Europe, — a commerce vaster in extent as 
 it was greater in value than that of any nation ancient 
 or modern, save of the united empire of which it formed 
 a part, — all were to be voluntarily abandoned. The 
 Red Cross of Britain was no longer to float proudly in 
 widely-sundered lands. A sentence of eternal banish- 
 ment was decreed upon the millions of colonists, who, 
 going forth in full love and allegiance to the Queen of . 
 their people and the country of their birth, had crossed 
 the sea and made their dwelling in the wilderness, 
 carrying with them to their new homes, the boon of 
 freedom, race, and country which is the heritage of 
 every Briton. The beat of the morning drum around 
 the world was to be silenced. The sun was to set 
 upon Britain's empire. No such act of national suicide 
 was ever contemplated by the leaders of any people. 
 Had they succeeded, — and it is beyond question that 
 
THE LAEOTIE QUESTION SOLVED. 161 
 
 they had arrived^ to use Mr. Gladstone's phrase, within 
 ''measurable distance'' of success, and already in 
 South Africa commenced to dismember the British 
 Empire — to what a future of misery and peril would 
 they have doomed the British Crown and the British 
 people ? It is impossible to contemplate their pur- 
 poses without indignation, or their plans without 
 contempt. "The colonies cost England money." 
 This was their cry. Cut off the colonies, let them shift 
 for themselves. Everything is to the economists and 
 the Manchester School to be measured by money. 
 Even to this day Mr. Bright ridicules the idea of a 
 federated empire. 
 
 The idea was to keep a powerful navy in the narrow 
 seas, to form a strong and elastic military force within 
 the four shores of Britain, to isolate England from all 
 outward interests and complications, and then to turn 
 the once " Merrie England" into a vast workshop, 
 from whose looms and forges the markets of the 
 world might be supplied. For this result the great- 
 ness of Britain was to be bartered, — her diadem 
 broken, her influence for good among the nations 
 of the earth for ever lost. For this ignoble end 
 the manifest destiny of the English race, so far as 
 England was concerned, was to fail of its accom- 
 plishments, and her light was to go out for ever. In 
 twenty years the dream would have been rudely dis- 
 pelled. Foreign competition would have pressed far 
 more heavily than it now does upon English manu- 
 
162 FEOM POTEETY TO PLENTY. 
 
 factures ; the colonial markets ever expanding, the 
 colonial lands ever open to the great stream of British, 
 emigrants, would have been the heritages of alien 
 nations. Discontent and want coming like an armed 
 man ; hopelessness within and contempt and insolence 
 without ; would have been the fruit of this gospel of 
 greed. No politician would now venture to propose 
 the abandonment of the colonies ; no leader of a party 
 would dare to propose the abdication by England of 
 her premier position amongst the nations. Selfish in 
 its principles, short- sighted in its views, unphilosophic 
 in its structure, its teachers and professors squabbling 
 about the meaning of the commonest and most indis- 
 pensable termSj its disciples straying to and fro " in 
 wandering mazes lost," striving to reconcile the con- 
 tradictory utterances of the prophets of the science, 
 utterly useless for all constructive purposes, hopeless 
 of good, powerless to remedy the evils which afflict 
 humanity, — assailed on the one hand by the cries of 
 suffering and the pangs of want, invited on the other 
 by illimitable means of ^usefulness, but utterly unable 
 either to defend itself from the attacks of its enemies, 
 or to avail itself of God's widely given opportunities ; 
 the orthodox political economy is a complete and 
 disastrous failure, a ghastly parody upon the true 
 and immortal interpretation of the Divine goodness to- 
 man in nature. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Eemedies proposed by economists for the condition of industrial 
 classes — Poor Law condemned — Legal minimum of wages — 
 Grants in aid of wages — The allotment system — Its advan- 
 tages and disadvantages — Education — Free trade and protec- 
 tion — Uncertainty in many minds upon these rival theories — 
 Both parts only of the laws of exchange — Tendency of each — 
 Emigration — Difiference between emigration and colonisation- 
 Necessity for providing new fields for surplus population — 
 Systematised co-operative colonisation — Its nature and ad- 
 vantages — Proportionate increase in wealth and population in 
 this century — Aggregation of wealth in few hands owing to 
 ignorance of laws of distribution. 
 
 |HB spectacle of human suffering has on 
 many occasions and in many ways called 
 forth the sympathy of men, and prompted 
 the formation of plans and systems of 
 relief. In olden times the Church took upon itself 
 the burden of providing for the poor, and amid the 
 corruptions which stained the later history of some of 
 the monastic orders in England, the benefactions and 
 hospitality of the great religious bodies formed a bril- 
 liant contrast to the selfishness and tyranny of the 
 ruling powers. When the monasteries were sup- 
 pressedj and their wide lands given to the servants 
 
164 PEOM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OB, 
 
 and flatterers of the Tudors, these sources of relief 
 were irrevocably lost to the poor and oppressed. la 
 lieu of the charitable aid afforded by the Church, the 
 Legislature gradually formed and altered the Poor 
 Laws until they grew into a colossal pauperising 
 machine, at once a burden and a disgrace to the com- 
 munity. Modern economists have not hesitated to 
 condemn the Poor Laws. Although they have not 
 been able to propose anything in their place, and, 
 therefore, have not seriously sought to abolish them, 
 yet they pass without hesitation their verdict of dis- 
 approbation upon a system which compulsorily levies 
 taxes upon property in order to provide a starving 
 multitude with scanty food and miserable dwellings. 
 They would, if possible, cast the whole burden of the 
 pauper classes upon the free-will offerings of the 
 charitable, and if those offerings were not sufficient 
 for the purpose they would leave the poor and 
 the helpless to the hand of fate. Some partial remedies 
 proposed by different economists, which I will now 
 proceed to consider. 
 
 The propositions of Mr. Malthus have been already 
 discussed, and it is needless again to refer to them. 
 Besides those propositions, it has been suggested by 
 Tvell-known and respected writers that the State 
 might so far interfere with freedom of contract be- 
 tween employers and employed as to decree by law 
 what sum should be the legal minimum of wages. 
 The legal maximum of wages in the interests of em- 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 165 
 
 ployers and landowners was long since fixed by statute 
 and found unworkable. Much less would any legal 
 minimum of wages be likely to succeed. So numerous 
 would be tbe temptations to avoid an arbitrary law of 
 this character, so dreadful would be the result if em- 
 ployers were unable through competition to give the 
 sum fixedj that it is difficult to believe in the possibi- 
 lity of any measure of this sort ever being permanently 
 successful. A modification of this system has been 
 proposed, — namely, a statutory allowance in aid of 
 wages ; and this proposition has received support 
 from many respectable thinkers whose opinions are 
 worthy of consideration. But the allowance in aid of 
 wages is even more untenable than the fixing of a 
 legal minimum of payment. It would be liable to so 
 many variations, to such abuse, and would afflict the 
 whole community with such an inordinate weight of" 
 taxation as to become practically insupportable, while 
 it would extend the operations of the pauperising 
 spirit far and wide. 
 
 Another proposal, and one of a more practical cha- 
 racter, is the allotment system, by which, through the 
 interposition of Government and of local bodies, the 
 industrial classes were to receive small allotments of 
 land for each family or each individual. This prin- 
 ciple has been somewhat travestied of late years, and 
 held up to ridicule as the "three acres and a cow" 
 system ; but there can be no reasonable doubt of the- 
 many benefits that would arise to the workers of the- 
 
166 FROM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 community if, besides the wages of their labour earned 
 from employers^ they and their families could live 
 upon and cultivate a small plot of ground. But here, 
 alsOj innumerable difiBculties surround the application 
 of a theory at once wise and expedient. 
 
 It would be impossible to provide the great majo- 
 rity of the labouring classes who live in the centres of 
 population with even half an acre of land each. The 
 allotment system might in some instances be bene- 
 ficially employed ; but it cannot be applied upon an 
 extended scale by reason of natural and physical 
 obstacles. 
 
 To enable each man in the community to obtain a 
 small piece of land, far distant it may be from his 
 present home, even accompanied by a moderate sum 
 of money, would be in many cases practically useless. 
 How many could now leave their various employ- 
 ments and at once become practical farmers and 
 gardeners. 
 
 It may be that some have been trained to that life, 
 and that some others possess such quickness and per- 
 ception as would soon fit them for agricultural pursuits. 
 Even in such cases there would be difficulties which 
 they might not be able, perhaps not willing, to en- 
 counter. 
 
 The systems of land tenure described at consider- 
 able length by Mr. J. S. Mill, the Metayer system, 
 the Cottier system, and the proposed Allotment sys- 
 tem are all subject to very grave objections. At the 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 167 
 
 best they are but a revival of the small individual 
 form of production whicli works at such terrible dis- 
 advantage when compared with the large and organised 
 system. The small tenant farmer or even small free- 
 holder bears the same relation to a great landowner 
 whose extensive estates are worked by machinery 
 upon a grand scale, and in organised and systematic 
 methods, as the owner of a hand-loom bears to the 
 manufactory of ten thousand .spindles, or as the 
 blacksmith working in competition with the vast 
 foundry employing five hundred hands. 
 
 In some instances, no doubt, such as market gar- 
 dens near a great town, the small proprietor may hold 
 his own, as a blacksmith will also do for shoeing 
 horses, and work of a similar kind, which requires 
 care and minute attention to small details, and par- 
 ticular individual requirements. But the work of 
 the future will mainly be conducted on a large scale, 
 whether it be colonisation, husbandry, manufacture, 
 or commerce. And it will be performed not only on 
 a large scale, but upon the associative principle, with 
 economy of labour and organised system. 
 
 I do not in any wise wish to disprove the arguments 
 used by Mr. A. E. Wallace as against landlordism, 
 and in favour of occupying ownership, because I 
 believe him to be in the main, correct ; but I unhesi- 
 tatingly assert that production for mutual benefit 
 upon a large scale in these days is better generally j 
 than individual production from small areas of land. 
 
168 FBOM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OU, 
 
 The well-kaown instance of the Channel Islands 
 given by Mr. Wallace in favour of peasant proprie- 
 torship is a case in point. Jersey and Guernsey are 
 composed of fruitful soil, and possessing superb 
 climates. 
 
 All the small farmers are near a market. Num- 
 bers of persons with settled incomes retire to those 
 beautiful islands to spend their lives and incomes 
 there. These are not producers, but consumers of 
 local produce. Thousands of tourists visit St. 
 Helier's and Peter's Port every season. To carry 
 these to and fro a constant commerce is kept up with 
 English towns, especially London. To London there- 
 fore they are practically as near as the market gar- 
 dens of Surrey or Middlesex. 
 
 But put a man away in the bush in Australia or New 
 Zealand, in the backwoods of Canada,, or the prairies of 
 the Western States, and give him a small capital in 
 money and stock, and a comparatively small area o£ 
 freehold land, from the fruit of which alone he must 
 support himself and family, and he will, if not 
 starve, at any rate merely eke out an existence. 
 Place, however, ten thousand such men and their fami- 
 lies, with the aggregated proportionate capital, upon 
 two or three hundred thousand acres of land, and, 
 under ordinarily good management, and an organised 
 system of labour and production, you will have a 
 prosperous, even wealthy, community. 
 
 In small holdings thei'e is so great a waste of time^ 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 169 
 
 money, and labour, that unless aided by advantages of 
 situation and of fertility, it is impossible that produc- 
 tion from such restricted areas can compete with the 
 foreign producer or afford anything more than the 
 barest means of existence to the present proprietor. 
 
 In these days a mere rude subsistence is not sufficient 
 to satisfy the educated and increasing wants of the 
 labouring class. So many are the requirements of 
 modern life that what a man's hands can grow on a 
 little plot of land will not be sufficient. 
 
 Regarding as more peculiarly befitting the majority 
 of men, the different callings and manufactures in 
 which they are engaged, and by which they live, it is 
 evident that it would be impossible for them to compete 
 individually with the great and wealthy employers of 
 labour in England, whether those employers be ordin- 
 ary firms or joint-stock companies, even if a moderate 
 amount of capital were forthcoming to assist them. 
 
 As I have before pointed out, all pursuits other 
 than those which are peculiarly personal or local are 
 rapidly passing into the hands of large individual or 
 corporate employers, and the day is rapidly approach- 
 ing when the small industries of our country, except 
 for particular or local purposes, and under particular 
 circumstances, will merge into and be absorbed by 
 the gigantic concerns everywhere arising. 
 
 Then education has been supported as an antidote 
 to poverty, ignorance, and idleness. 
 
 Education in itself is a mighty lever by which the 
 
 M 
 
170 PKOM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OB, 
 
 masses of a population may be raised in the scale of 
 social existence. It brings in its train innumerable 
 blessings, but if all the poor of England were highly- 
 educated, and economic laws and circumstances re- 
 mained in their present state, there would be but 
 little improvement in the condition of the multitudes 
 as regards their possession and enjoyment of the 
 means of subsistence. 
 
 Two great parties in the State advocate respectively 
 the claims of free trade and protection, each holding 
 the belief that their respective system is the best, and 
 that it only needs the absolute domination of their 
 favourite theory to ensure the abolition of poverty and 
 want, and the inauguration of the reign of plenty. 
 
 I do not here allude to those peculiar organisations 
 such as co-operative bodies, friendly societies, and 
 trade unions, because they are in principle opposed to 
 the foundation and the existence of the orthodox 
 economy, and they are discussed and examined in that 
 portion of this book which treats of the formation of 
 a true science of political or social economy. 
 
 Upon the questions of free trade and protection the 
 last few years have witnessed a growing change in 
 public opinion. 
 
 The necessity for some movement to alleviate the 
 present distress and provide against future dangers is 
 so plain that no further delay can be allowed in the 
 interests of public safety. It is an open secret that 
 many of the most strenuous advocates of free trade are 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 171 
 
 beginning to falter in their allegience. The absence of 
 reciprocityj the closing of foreign markets to English 
 manufactures, the competition of cheap labour sustained 
 by British capital and directed by British skill, the 
 influx of country populations into the towns, and the 
 enforced idleness of such great multitudes of people, 
 are results so wholly unexpected by the leaders of the 
 free trade movement as to cause astonishment and 
 dismay. That after forty years of free trade and of 
 national increase of wealth, such results as these 
 should be accomplished is enough to make even John 
 Bright doubtful, and to cause Eichard Oobden to 
 move uneasily in his grave. The results anticipated 
 as possible by Sismondi's translator are, in truth, 
 realised. Many political leaders are openly declaring 
 their belief that a return to the practice of protection 
 is advisable. Some of the leading colonies, notably 
 Victoria and New Zealand, are treading the same path, 
 while both in England, the States, and the colonies the 
 disputes upon the relative merits of protection and 
 free trade, once thought to be finally settled, are now 
 again roused to full activity. Like the smouldering 
 ashes of a fire which, fanned by a sudden wind, 
 bursts up afresh, seizing material half- consumed 
 as well as inflammable matter hitherto untouched, 
 these questions of free trade and protection have 
 burst out in fresh scenes and in all parts of the 
 «arth. 
 
 Protection and free trade form but a part of the laws 
 M 2 
 
172 PEOM POVERTY TO PLENTY J OK, 
 
 of exchange, and protection is merely a remnant of 
 /the mercantile system. The theory of protection 
 carried to its ultimate limit would protect not only 
 each nation from its neighbours, but each portion of a 
 kingdom against the other portions, — as, for instance, 
 formerly in the case of England and Ireland; it 
 would protect each city or sea-port as against the 
 rest; would protect each locality, each calling, each 
 profession, and, finally, each family and each indi- 
 vidual against the others. As an ultimate result it 
 would reduce man to a state of individual isolation, 
 altop,ether destructive to civilised society. I do not 
 intend to traverse the field of this conflict, to repeat 
 the numerous instances of protection and monopoly 
 which have in all ages existed, and many of which 
 still do exist among men. My purpose is simply to 
 point out the true and proper position of this question 
 in relation to the whole system of political economy, 
 and to show that protection and free trade are neither 
 of them systems in themselves, but simply portions 
 of the law of exchange, which, again, is but a part 
 of the whole science. While, on the one hand, pro- 
 tection tends to individual isolation and antagonism; 
 on the other, free trade tends in its final exemplifi- 
 cation to erect all the families of men into one 
 common society. It points in the direction and 
 would produce the result of universal interchange 
 and universal commerce. A commerce before which 
 all barriers should be broken down and all restrictions 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 173 
 
 removed, by which the products of all climates, and 
 the industries of every nation should become, as it 
 were, common property ; and all the products of nature 
 which industry could gather and appropriate should 
 becomepractically the common heritage of man. A very 
 slight consideration is suflScient to prove that in a 
 system of distribution which would enable each and all 
 to participate fairly in the surplus wealth of the world, 
 free trade, as a system of exchange, must be more ad- 
 vantageous than protection, which is the negation of 
 exchange; but it is at least doubtful, under the present 
 system of distribution, which leaves nothing to the in- 
 dutrial classes but the wages of bare subsistence, 
 whether it is not more in the interests of the labourers 
 themselves that they should be protected from cheap 
 labour in other lands. I do not, however, wish to enter 
 into the controversy. Neither the one nor the other, nor 
 a system compounded partly of both, will or can per- 
 manently benefit the workmen of Britain and their 
 families. If protection force up wages in one or more 
 industries, labour and capital will soon flock to that 
 industry and bring the wages down to the ordinary 
 level : while if free trade fill a country with the cheap 
 produce of other lands, then the inhabitants of that 
 country, being destitute of employment in their own 
 homes, will not possess the power to purchase the 
 commodities so imported, however cheap. Salvation 
 comes not from either of these principles. 
 
 The unavoidable tendency of the present system is 
 
174 FKOM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OE^ 
 
 to aggregate wealth in the hands of the few. Com- 
 petition must reduce wages, increasing knowledge and 
 the widespread adaptation of inventions must increase 
 wealth. Thus the increase of wealth and the falling 
 of wages travel together. No name was ever so sug- 
 gestive of the tendency of modern political economy 
 as that chosen by Mr. Henry George in writing upon 
 this subject, " Progress and Poverty." By parity of 
 reasoning it becomes evident, under present condi- 
 tions, that in exact proportion to the increased rate at 
 which wealth is produced will be its appropriation in 
 the hands of the capitalist and the speculator. A com- 
 parison between the production and distribution of 
 wealth at the commencement of this century and its 
 production and distribution at the present time will 
 suggest reflections upon this branch of the argument 
 of a most serious character. A century ago the 
 English-speaking populations of the world numbered 
 roughly 20,000,000 — twenty millions, possessing 
 property to the value of about two thousand millions 
 (£2,000,000,000). At the present time the English- 
 speaking races number one hundred millions, and 
 the value of their possessions amounts to, at least, 
 £24,000,000,000. Thus population has increased five 
 times, while wealth has increased twelve times. In 
 other words, while at the commencement of the cen- 
 tury the wealth of the English race amounted to £100 
 per head, the wealth of the same race now amounts to 
 £240 per head. It would not, however, be difficult to 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 175 
 
 show that out of the 100,000,000 of population, at 
 least 30,000,000 possess less than the average of £240, 
 and 60,000,000 possess practically nothing. It is 
 not possible to ascertain with anything like accuracy 
 the proportionate possession of wealth at the end of 
 the eighteenth century, but the information which is 
 obtainable demonstrates that wealth was then much 
 more equally distributed than at present. If we take 
 another comparison, we shall arrive at the same con- 
 clusion as to the inevitable tendency of distri- 
 bution as now existing. Owing to the increased 
 use of machinery and to the great knowledge and de- 
 velopment of invention and of scientific laws, the pro- 
 ductive power of a man's labour is, at least, five times 
 greater now than it was a hundred years since. The 
 amount of human power or horse powei', developed in 
 steam machinery alone is almost incalculable, and is 
 daily increasing. Supposing that the labour of the 
 20,000,000 of English people was at the former period ' 
 sufficient to provide for their own annual wants, and 
 create superabundant wealth at the rate of £1 per 
 head per annum, the labour of 100,000,000 now would 
 suffice for the maintenance of 500,000,000 of people, 
 and would leave an annual surplus of produced wealth 
 to the value of £500,000,000 sterling. As a matter 
 of fact, in spite of conflicts between labour and capital, 
 with their consequent " lock-outs " and " strikes," in 
 spite of the 5,000,000 of tramps and paupers, notwith- 
 standing the enforced idleness of millions of the working 
 
176 FEOM POVEETY TO PLENTY; OR, 
 
 classes, and tlie wasted or unproductive labour of mil- 
 lions more, the result anticipated above is practically 
 attained. The wealth of Great Britain and Ireland 
 steadily increases at an n,verage of £160,000,000 per 
 anrium. The value of the annual increased wealth 
 of the United States may be safely put down at 
 £240,000,000, and the increasing wealth of the 
 colonial empire cannot be far short of £70,000,000 
 per annum. Thus, the 100,000,000 of English- 
 speaking people are fed, clothed, and housed, many of 
 them shamefully enough, and a surplus annual value 
 is created of at least £470,000,000. Nor do I doubt 
 that, with a proper application of labour now in ex- 
 istence, to the forces of nature, food, clothing, and 
 shelter for another 400,000,000 of people could easily 
 be supplied. 
 
 Yet, amid all this vast increase of wealth and wealth- 
 producing power, the great majority of the English 
 race is poorly fed, scantily clothed, and lodged in 
 dwellings far inferior in comfort to the stables pro- 
 vided for the horses of the wealthy or the kennels 
 for their hounds. It is not the want of production. 
 It is not the want of the means of, and facilities for 
 exchange. The evil lies in the utter absence of a 
 proper system for the distribution of wealth. The 
 resources of a wide-spread education may indefinitely 
 increase that knowledge, which is powerful for the 
 purpose of opening the treasuries of nature more 
 widely, and causing the stream of material production 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 177 
 
 to flow with widening and deepeningj as well as a 
 swifter current. The national wealth may increase 
 beyond calculation, but if there be no alteration in 
 the law and system of distribution, the vast majority 
 of our people will linger out a few years of miserable 
 existence, or rise in a revolution of despair. 
 
 The second proposed panacea for the congestion of 
 the population and treasure of the United Kingdom 
 is emigration. In reference to this subject, it is 
 advisable to regard the distinction now so constantly 
 drawn between emigration and colonisation. 
 
 Emigration is the mere departure of people from 
 one land for the purpose of entering into another ; 
 colonisation is the settlement of such emigrants in a 
 colony, either upon the colonial lands or in some 
 certain position as regards the means of obtaining 
 a livelihood and joining in the work of the community. 
 Colonisation bears to emigration the same relation 
 that economic bears to chrematistio in the writings 
 of Aristotle. Or, perhaps, it would be more correct 
 to say that immigration or the mere obtaining of 
 fresh arrivals by a community stands upon the same 
 footing as the mere acquisition of wealth, — or chrema- 
 tistio ; — while colonisation, or the useful absorption of 
 immigrants into the living work of the community, is 
 equivalent to the useful application of acquired wealth, 
 — or economic. 
 
 Emigration has been, in all ages of the earth's 
 history, the sole method of peaceful relief practised by 
 
178 PEOH rOFEETY TO PLENTY; OE^ 
 
 over-crowded communities. In this limited sense^ 
 the principle which Mr. Malthus laid down as if it 
 were a new discovery has always been and will be- 
 ever true to the knowledge of mankind. Population 
 does, indeed, in any one spot, if it increase at all, out- 
 run subsistence. A field that would sufiice for the 
 support of half a dozen people would not produce food 
 sufficient for the wants of a hundred, and when that 
 field has been farmed and cultivated to its highest 
 level the average means of subsistence to be obtained 
 from it can be increased no more. But there are 
 other fields and other districts, other territories, other 
 lands and continents. Migration is the only legiti- 
 mate and natural method of disposing of a redundant 
 population. Increase of population will bring with it 
 no terrors or even anxieties to that nation whose 
 leaders are capable of understanding their responsi- 
 bilities and fulfilling their duties. It seems absurd at 
 the close of the nineteenth century to speak to Eng- 
 lish people of the necessity, the expediency, or the 
 propriety of emigration. If the nation had sent np its 
 united prayers to Heaven for a great blessing tO' 
 descend upon it ; if it had, with unabated zeal and 
 fervency, implored the Divine Providence to bestow 
 upon it the power to destroy all war and to scatter 
 plenty and contentment through the nations, Grod 
 Himself, — with all reverence be it said, — could not 
 have given a more favourable answer than that which 
 is heard and seen in the present position of the- 
 
THB LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 179 
 
 British empire. The increase in numbers, as rapid as 
 that which swelled the family of Jacob into the 
 Hebrew nation during the captivity in Egypt; the 
 possession of unoccupied territories as wide and fertile 
 as those portions of the globe now occupied by men ; 
 the dominion of the sea ; the knowledge of science ; 
 freedom unfettered and absolute for good, are the gifts 
 bountifully imparted to us as a nation by the Supreme 
 Disposer of the destinies of men. 
 
 It is strange, — it may safely be said wonderful, — 
 that these blessings so freely bestowed are the sources 
 of anxiety, of trouble, and of terror to those to whom 
 they have been given. With what dismay must the 
 superior intelligences regard the utter helplessness 
 which we exhibit, and our hopeless inability to avail 
 ourselves of the mighty opportunities presented for 
 our acceptance. The increasing numbers of our 
 people, instead of inspiring us with joy as developing 
 new forces, new power, and new industry, become a 
 source of apprehension and alarm ; boundless terri- 
 tories given to our care and for our enjoyment are 
 looked upon as sources of trouble, expense, and 
 danger ; and our commerce is valued only as it 
 ministers to the luxury and pleasures of one class of 
 the people. Unable to perceive the grandeur of the 
 destiny which God has so plainly marked out for the 
 English race ; too much absorbed in religious and 
 political conflicts to have time or thought, either for 
 the present necessities or the future welfare of the 
 
180 FROM POTEETY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 multitudes and masses of the people, tlie leaders of 
 society seem blind to the great future which is pos- 
 sible, and deaf to the voice which calls them and the 
 nation over which they rule to their final development. 
 The very circumstances which are calculated to 
 inspire with hope are viewed with fear, and the 
 sources of national power and wealth assume the shapo 
 of a spectre which fills the heart with dread. 
 We should regard these matters from such a 
 standpoint as will enable us to see them in their true 
 light and meaning; to behold the adaptation which 
 exists of means to ends ; to recognise in the great 
 armies of the industrious poor, not the materials for 
 riot, bloodshed, and revolution, but the hosts which 
 under proper guidance shall yet subdue and inhabit 
 those great lands beyond the seas which now, silent and 
 desolate, wait but the advance of these great battalions 
 to yield their spoils in a peaceful and holy war. 
 During the last half-century the question of emigration 
 has assumed and still continues to assume a great 
 power and influence over the public mind. 
 
 There have been two and only two classes of 
 persons in England who have objected to the advance- 
 ment and continuance of a wide and liberal system 
 of emigration. 
 
 One of these were the employing manufacturers, 
 who, with a selfishness too terrible to characterise 
 in appropriate terms, even in the times of the 
 cotton famine, during the American Civil War, 
 
THE LABOtJK QUESTION SOLVED. 181 
 
 objected to the starving operatives being assisted 
 to the colonies, because, — as one of their chosen 
 spokesmen, said, — capitalist employers could not 
 afford to lose so many human machines. The 
 men might starve ; they might suffer a thousand 
 deaths in seeing their wives and children pine away 
 and die ; but the class whose god was profits 
 would keep them from the lands of promise and 
 of plenty in the hope of being able yet to draw 
 from their labour the means to gratify an unholy 
 avarice. 
 
 If any one class of people could draw down upon 
 our nation and our kindred the curse of Heaven it 
 would be the worshippers of Mammon ; for in them 
 is the plague-spot of moral leprosy. It is the custom 
 nowadays to talk much about the curse of drunken- 
 ness. The curse of avarice and selfishness, and of the 
 idolatry of gold (which are all one), is a more tainted 
 sore, a more terrible curse, in and to the community. 
 
 The second and remaining class opposing emi- 
 gration is found in the leaders of the modern 
 Socialists, who, with a despairing but short-sighted 
 policy, seek to restrain all emigration beyond the 
 narrow seas of Britain. It is difficult to discover, 
 with certainty, the exact scope and aim of Socialists 
 in this course of procedure. Either they must think 
 that in the event of the capital and property of G-reat 
 Britain passing into the hands of the Government 
 there would be enough for the whole people, or they 
 
182 PEOM POVEETY TO PLENTY; OR, 
 
 must believe that the stoppage of emigration will pro- 
 duce a result favourable to their ideas, and by 
 mere weight of pressure induce a peaceful revo- 
 lution, or that the increase of population and 
 consequent increase of want and misery, will force 
 a revolution by violence. This last is too horrible 
 to be contemplated. It is, indeed, certain that many 
 of the great thinkers of modern days have believed that 
 such a storm is brewing ; but even in fancy to paint 
 London in the hands of a vast mob, mad with 
 hunger, with despair, and with hatred, is to evoke 
 a dream more awful than any picture of real history 
 or hideous phantasy of night. And yet, so blind and 
 infatuated do the rulers of the people seem to be, that 
 they act and speak as if courting an outbreak of the 
 fearful volcano of human passions and miseries 
 seething beneath their feet. 
 
 The recent refusals by the Imperial Government to 
 aid in the projects of colonisation is but another 
 instance added to many that have gone before, 
 either to prove the indifference of the Government 
 and the Legislature to the sufferings of the people, or 
 their incapacity to rule the great nation of which they 
 are the self-appointed heads. It may be, in this as in 
 many other matters, that time and the pressure of 
 public opinion will gradually force on reforms abso- 
 lutely necessary and conducive to the public welfare. 
 
 But to one observing these things from a distance it 
 seems to be tempting Providence that Parliament, while 
 
THE LABOUE QUESTION SOLYED. 183 
 
 it is attempting to rule a portion of the Irish people 
 with a rod of iron, should, at the same time, treat the 
 starving multitudes in England, Scotland, and Wales, 
 not only with neglect, but scarcely disguised contempt. 
 It is to be hoped in the interest of humanity that history 
 will not repeat itself in England. After long mis- 
 government and tyranny, France bad its Eevolution. 
 The sufferings of the slaves in the United States were 
 expiated in an ocean of blood. Let us trust in the 
 mercy of God that the wise counsels of great 
 numbers of the well-to-do classes, the miseries now 
 suffered by the poor, the hope of extended empire 
 through all parts of the earth, and the sense of 
 justice and of manliness which is popularly claimed as 
 the birth-right of Englishmen, may compel the Con- 
 servative and slowly-moving majority in Parliament to 
 take such steps as are absolutely necessary before it 
 be too late. It would, indeed, seem to be a righteous 
 retribution if the Socialists and the Manchester School 
 were left to fight it out together. It would not be 
 the first time in English history that emigration had 
 been stopped, and they who stopped it suffered. 
 
 It is needless to recapitulate the names of those 
 writers and thinkers who have urged upon the nation 
 the expediency of emigration as a means of removing 
 the surplus population of the country. In relation to 
 the colonies another train of thought suggests itself. 
 These vast landed estates, the value of which is equal 
 to the whole wealth of Great Britain, were acquired 
 
184 I'KOM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OR, 
 
 by conquest, by occupatioDj or by purchase. What- 
 ever the order of their annexation to the empire, it is 
 clear that all the property the Crown obtained in 
 them became, de facto, the property of the whole 
 British people. By what reasoning, by the exercise 
 of what constitutional right, has the British Parlia- 
 ment given away nearly the whole of these splendid 
 territories, not only to the control, but as the property, 
 of a handful of the English people who happened to 
 be first in the field ? It may seem unpatriotic in me, 
 a colonist of nearly forty years, thus to question the 
 title of the colonists to their public lands, but I dare to 
 doubt both the right and the expediency of the conduct 
 pursued by the Imperial Government in renouncing 
 entirely and for all purposes these magnificent estates, 
 upon which every subject of the realm for centuries 
 to come might have been with God's blessing placed 
 in modest affluence and honest plenty. What 
 have been the results to the empire and the colonists 
 so far ? The British people have given away a dozen 
 kingdoms, and if they wish to colonise any of them 
 they must purchase them afresh from the Colonial 
 Governments. In the colonies, — especially of Australia, 
 — a very sad and disastrous state of things has 
 gradually risen up. The wealthy classes have in 
 every colony obtained the power of legislation. The 
 land laws of each colony have almost invariably been 
 made subservient to the interest of cliques. The 
 natural results are seen. A landed aristocracy, more 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 185 
 
 powerful if possible than that of G-reat Britain, 
 has, in less than a century, — in most cases less than 
 half of that period, — sprung into existence. Banks 
 and other monetary institutions have risen of great 
 wealth and almost supreme power. Political, social, 
 and monetary influences have aided and sustained each 
 other, and areas of fertile lands surrounding most of the 
 available harbours of these great colonies, exceeding 
 many times the acreage of Great Britain, have 
 passed from the English people into the hands of 
 a new, selfish, and ignorant aristocracy. Not only 
 have they thus acquired the choice lands of these 
 nascent empires, they have, as the governing 
 class, borrowed over a hundred and fifty millions 
 of money, which has been mainly expended in 
 giving increased value to these vast estates, while 
 they have not made the interest for the loans a 
 charge upon their lands to any appreciable extent 
 whatever. No doubt, to aid our imperial system 
 of colonisation, large tracts of land in any of 
 the colonies of this group could be obtained upon 
 favourable terms. In New Zealand, ten or twelve 
 millions of acres yet remain in the hands of the 
 Maories, which could easily be procured with their 
 consent, if some portion of the increased value went 
 to them and their children. In another colony, 
 Western Australia, yet a Crown colony, there are 
 at least five hundred millions of acres of land 
 beneath the control of the Government of England. 
 
186 FROM POVEETY TO PLENTY ; OE^ 
 
 In South Africa, also, there is a wide field for 
 settlement. 
 
 There can be no doubt that the Imperial Govern- 
 ment, although it has given away, by enactment, to 
 the different colonies the Crown lands within their 
 respective boundaries, could lawfully send its surplus, 
 people to settle on the colonial lands. These lands 
 were the birthright of the whole British people, and 
 the Government and Parliament of England were but 
 the trustees of this vast heritage. As a matter of 
 fact. Parliament, indeed, passed such laws, and 
 they have been given effect to, but Parliament 
 had no such constitutional power ; and, save 
 and except individual rights, which have been 
 acquired by subjects of the Crown in portions 
 of these lands, the present or any future Imperial 
 Government can, and ought, to repeal the former 
 thoughtless and improvident legislation, and re-vest 
 the remaining colonial territories in the whole British 
 people. Whatever questions of expediency may arise, 
 whatever doubt as to the advisability of such a pro- 
 ceeding may occur, the fact remains that the Parlia- 
 ment which gave these boundless estates to handfuls 
 of colonists in different portions of the earth, committed 
 gross breaches of their duty, and were guilty of very 
 grave crimes against the nation. 
 
 The mere emigrating of the people, — that is, the 
 casting them upon the shores of the colonies tOr- 
 shift for themselves, — would, no doubt, be properly 
 
THE LA.BQCE, QUEaTIQN SOLVED. 187 
 
 resisted by colonisits as being, directly injurious to 
 the welfare of the community^. But the sending of 
 suitable people with a proper object, and certain 
 destination, accompanied by sufficient capital to 
 enable them; to settle down, in their new homeSj ajid 
 to become self-supporting and producers of wealth, 
 would be hailed by the inhabitants of every colony 
 as a boon. 
 
 Land as it exists in a state of nature, — that is, without 
 the hand of industry to till it, or the expenditure of 
 human labour to gather its products, — is useless. As 
 soon, however, as the rule of man is extended over 
 it, and it is compelled by natural laws to yield food 
 to man and beast, it becomes useful. 
 
 It is the one fixed natural agent from which, with 
 certainty and precision, the sustenance of man and 
 most of his comforts are produced year by year.. Upon 
 its, surface he builds his dwelling-place. It is in- 
 dispensable to the continued existence of mankind. 
 In proportion as this natural agent or force is obtain- 
 able and capable of occupation, the necessaries, the 
 comforts, and the luxuries of life are placed within 
 human reach. 
 
 The ancient tribal ownex-ship and possession of land 
 has, in civilised societies, as we know, passed, away, 
 and individual ownership and possession debars the 
 great mass of the people both from the possibility of 
 occupancy and the power of enjoyment of any portion 
 of the soil. In new and partially uninhabited coun- 
 
 N 2 
 
188 PEOM POVEETY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 tries, therefore, a state of great prosperity may natu- 
 rally be expected to arise, because, large estates being 
 accessible to all, the means of acquiring wealth become 
 widely distributed among the first settlers. In the 
 early days of a colony, the mere landing of emigrants 
 upon its shores means to them the entrance into a 
 garden of plenty. But when population has increased, 
 when towns have been built, and the available lands 
 within easy distances of the harbours and towns have 
 been appropriated, when the conditions of the parent 
 state have become attached to its children, then the 
 same laws which shut out the labouring class from the 
 possession of the soil in the older country operate in 
 the new. Thus, although by reason of there yet re- 
 maining waste lands to be settled, labour is, to 
 some extent, at a premium as compared with its price 
 in the mother country; yet the conditions of both 
 become so nearly similar as to render the simple de- 
 portation of those whose only means of livelihood is 
 their labour, from one country to another, a matter 
 of but little advantage to the labourers themselves, 
 and detrimental to the interests of their fellows in 
 the new country. 
 
 This gives a plain and simple reason, as simple as 
 it is unanswerable, for the objections raised by the 
 industrial classes in the colonies to the introduction 
 of further labouring power. 
 
 But the introduction of labouring power, accom- 
 panied by sufficient means to enable it to reach and 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 189 
 
 occupy land more distant from the centres of popu- 
 lation so as to open new markets for labour and new 
 sources of wealth, is not obnoxious to the feeling or 
 judgment even of the most conservative member of 
 a trade union. Here it must be observed that after 
 the accessible lands of a colony have become private 
 property, and when, by reason of distance or of ex- 
 pense, it becomes difficult and costly to bring rough, 
 or forest, or swampy land into cultivation, other diffi- 
 culties arise. And these are difficulties not inter- 
 posed by man, but by nature. To occupy and utilise 
 such lands as these last-mentioned, concerted and 
 organised labour, backed by capital, is absolutely 
 necessary. 
 
 In any plan of colonisation, therefore, which 
 may be proposed for colonies such as New Zealand, 
 New South Wales, or South Africa, — and the same 
 reasoning may, perhaps, apply generally to all, — 
 these matters must be borne in mind. To project 
 and carry into operation a successful scheme of 
 colonisation, it is necessary first not to injure, but to 
 benefit, the industrial population at present existing 
 in the proposed locality of settlement. And as the 
 opposition of men must be overcome or avoided, and 
 their aid and sympathy enlisted, so must the diffi- 
 culties presented by nature be fairly met, and all 
 necessary measures taken to ensure her aid. Nor 
 should it be forgotten in any such scheme that a 
 community reducing the wilderness to a fertile 
 
190 FBOM POVBETY TO PLENTY J OE, 
 
 settlement will yet require the possession and enjoy- 
 ment of other articles than those which they them- 
 selves can draw from nature, which articles they can 
 only obtain by an extended commerce with the outer 
 world. Their flocks and herds may increase and 
 multiply ; their ploughs may turn the soil, and the 
 golden wheat yield its rich abundance ; their fruits 
 may be plentiful; but there will yet remain a thou- 
 sand other things which they will desire, and which 
 they only can obtain bj' giving for them their surplus 
 products in exchange. 
 
 If a market can be secured by such settlements ; if 
 their beef and mutton, their wool and hides, their 
 butter, and cheese, and fruit can be exchanged for the 
 produce of the loom and of the mill j and commerce 
 provide an easy method by which their wants can be 
 supplied and paid for by the fruits of the earth won 
 by their hands, then nothing is wanting to complete 
 material success and the general comfort of the new 
 community. 
 
 In olden times individual emigration was scarcely 
 known, and modern writers unanimously express the 
 opinion, not only that emigration is beneficial, but 
 that it is most likely to be successful when carried 
 out on a large scale, and in an organised fashion. The 
 opinion of one of the leading German economists may 
 be taken as an illustration of historic belief on this 
 subject : — 
 
 " It is sufficiently evident that emigration from an 
 
THE LABOTJK QUESTION SOLVED. 191 
 
 over-populated country may be attended with good 
 consequences, especially when it takes place in organised 
 bodies." * 
 
 " Unfortunately, emigration in groups has recently 
 become very rare, whereas during the Middle A.ges it 
 took place preponderatingly, first in armies, and then 
 in communities." t 
 
 The present position of England is one which, 
 unless the intense pressure of population be relieved 
 by a sound process of emigration, seems likely to 
 result in a tremendous convulsion. The operations 
 of orthodox economy have resulted in the aggre- 
 gation of wealth in the hands of the propertied 
 classes to so vast an extent, and have left the 
 multitudes so much without resources, that even 
 a temporary interruption to the employment of the 
 people or to the supply of food materials from 
 abroad, would inevitably lead to a most serious state 
 of afiairs. No alteration, however complete, of the 
 system of political economy can produce any im- 
 mediate result in the position of the masses. New 
 wealth must be created, new avenues of employment 
 opened, new inducements to industry offered, new 
 alleviations of present suffering must be practised in 
 order to render the public position one of complete 
 safety and the future certainly secure. 
 
 The immense and unparalleled accumulation of idle 
 
 * Eoscher, vol. ii., p. 362. f Ibid., note 2. 
 
192 FROM POVEETY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 labour power in England side by side with the use- 
 less accumulation of wealth and capital is a source of 
 danger to the community as a whole. The mouths 
 of the idle must be fedj their bodies must be clothed 
 and sheltered. Thus they become a burden to the 
 community. 
 
 Nor are these all the inconveniences which arise 
 from the unnatural condition now occupied by some 
 millions of people in the British Islands. 
 
 As these idle and pauperised armies, bitterly 
 lamenting their own unhappy state, behold the splen- 
 dour and luxury by which they are surrounded, it is 
 but natural that envy, discontent, and hatred should 
 arise within their hearts. 
 
 The English people are a patient and enduring 
 people. But, however patient and enduring, it is 
 surely madness, and not wisdom, to keep thus caged 
 and starving such vast numbers of human beings, 
 tempted continually to violence and rapine by their 
 own miseries and by the open profusion and luxury 
 they can see in the lives of the propertied classes. 
 
 But these idle hosts, dangerous and burdensome 
 while within the narrow seas of Britain, would be- 
 come producers of a new and unexampled prosperity if 
 settled on the waste lands of tho colonies. Discontent 
 and sedition would give place to content and loyalty. 
 Instead of being a burden upon the taxpayer, they 
 would provide new markets for English manufactures, 
 new food for English consumers. In place of needing 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 193. 
 
 an incessant watch and guard, they would fast become 
 the sentries and outposts of the military forces of 
 the empire. And the wealth and capital now idle 
 and useless in Great Britain would be profitably 
 employed in supporting their labour in distant lands, 
 until they became self-supporting and producers of a 
 new and measureless prosperity. 
 
 Thoughts such as these, reflections of this character 
 are so simple and unanswerable that it might seem 
 needless to assert them. But facts and experience 
 both show that the English Legislature, the English 
 Government, and English public opinion have yet to 
 be impressed with the very simplest and most ele- 
 mentary truths upon this all-important subject. If a 
 federated empire be really desired, what bond of 
 federation can be so strong as the golden chain of 
 gratitude and affection, or the iron links of common 
 and united interest ? By cruel and oppressive laws 
 England, a hundred years ago, drove from her the 
 great colonies of America. By carelessness and mis- 
 government she has banished from Ireland, from 
 England, and from Scotland, during the last century, 
 millions of her people with anger against her in their 
 hearts. Till within the last eighteen years she treated 
 her colonies with contempt, and plainly intimated that 
 she considered them incumbrances. Now the Imperial 
 temper is reviving. The present greatness and wonder- 
 ful possibilities for the future of the British empire 
 assert a most powerful influence upon public opinion. 
 
194 FEOM POVEETY TO PLENTY. 
 
 Let another step be taken in the onward march of 
 the history of BnglaAd. Let the armies of labourers 
 now useless in their native land be marched to the 
 unoccupied territories awaiting them^ and let the un- 
 profitable and stored-up capital of the United Kingdotn 
 be co-invested with these great forces of labour power 
 upon the now unutilised forces of Nature so freely 
 given to us as a nation. 
 
 This will of itself form a federation^ — a federation 
 which no shock of arms can break, and no question of 
 contending interests can weaken. For millions would 
 remain in England whose savings were invested in 
 the colonies, and who would receive payment for such 
 investments by the produce of these new lands. Mil- 
 lions would be made happy and contented, trans- 
 planted to the colonies, who, if kept in enforced idle- 
 ness in England, will be robbed of their manhood 
 and their faith in God. And with this forward 
 step, if the rules of a new and complete system of 
 political economy be introduced so that the vast 
 stores of new wealth to be created may be fairly and 
 equitably distributed, it becomes impossible to place 
 limits to the individual and national benefits which 
 may be obtained, or reforms which may be accom- 
 plished. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Political economy as yet not a science — Senior's claim — Kingsley's 
 denial — Natural development of economic practice — Abnor- 
 mal modern ideas concerning it — Wakefield on colonisation — 
 Functions of nature — Necessity for labour — Necessity for 
 capital — Gladstone, Fawcett, and Cairns on unequal distribu- 
 tion — Two cardinal errors in orthodox system — First, positive, 
 selfishness as only motive power ; second, negative — Utter 
 ignorance of economists as to surplus or accumulated wealth, 
 and the laws of its distribution — Erroneous canon of distribu- 
 tion — The profits of capital — Senior and Mill examined — 
 Their errors on this point — No distribution of surplus wealth 
 to industrial class ; proportional increase of wealth and popu- 
 lation since 1800 — Labour gets no share of surplus wealth — 
 SUence of modern economists on distribution — Guyot. 
 
 HE history of human teachings in all 
 departments of knowledge has been 
 characterised by a strange development 
 of confident assumption revealed in every 
 age^ and every school, that each particular theory 
 advanced was perfect and complete. 
 
 The science of political economy can claim no 
 exception from this almost universal rale. It is 
 ludicrous to read the dissertations of men of great 
 culture upon this subject, and to find the old claim 
 once more asserted in regatjd to political economy. 
 
196 FROM POVERTY TO PLENTY J OE, 
 
 that as a science it is complete, that its axioms are 
 well known, and that its principles are invariable in 
 their action, and certain in their results. Mr. Nassau 
 Senior thus writes concerning it : — " There is a 
 science of production definite, exact, the axioms of 
 which are as universal and demonstrable as those of 
 astronomy, the practical rules of which are as simple 
 and familar as those of arithmetic." 
 
 To this very open and confident statement, it is 
 perhaps sufficient to reply that at present there is no 
 such thing known as a science of political economy. 
 That which goes by the name is but a mass of 
 undigested facts, and disjointed reasonings upon 
 questions imperfectly understood. It is aimless in its 
 purposes, and inoperative, except for evil in its 
 conduct. 
 
 " Indeed, I am inclined to deny to political 
 economy, as yet, the name of a science. It is, as 
 yet, merely in its analytic stage, explaining the causes 
 of phenomena, which already exist. To be a true 
 science it must pass on into the synthetic stage, and 
 learn how, by using the laws which it has discovered, 
 and counteracting them by others when necessary, 
 to produce new forms of society. As yet political 
 economy has produced nothing. It has merely said 
 ' Laissess faire.' .... For it is my belief that 
 not self-interest, but self-sacrifice is the only law 
 upon which human society can be grounded with any 
 hope of prosperity and permanency. That self- 
 
THE LABOUE QUESTION SOLVED. 197 
 
 interest is a law of nature I know well. That it 
 ought to be root-law of human society, I deny, unless 
 society is to sink down again to the Roman Empire 
 and a cage of wild beasts. I shall resist it as I do 
 any other snare of the devil, for if I once believe it 
 I must carry it out."* 
 
 What Kingsley thus wrote is, indeed, essentially 
 true, and although neither he nor other men of his 
 school, Maurice, Hughes, Ludlow, and Bullar, or 
 men like Mazzini, clearly saw how the evil teachings 
 of orthodox political economy were to be overcome, 
 they recognised and taught very strenuously that, 
 instead of self-interest there must be self-sacrifice, 
 instead of selfishness there must be sympathy, and 
 instead of isolation and individual strife there must 
 be association and co-operation before any workable 
 scheme of social economy could be propounded. They 
 confessed that they could not yet see how this was 
 to be accomplished, and that they themselves failed 
 in the attempts they made. And so, in the same 
 letter from which the above quotation is made, 
 Kingsley says : — 
 
 " Now, as for any schemes of Maurice's or mine, it 
 is a slight matter whether they have failed or not. 
 But this I say, because I believe that the failure of a 
 hundred schemes would not alter my convictions, that 
 they are attempts in the right directiou, and I shall 
 
 * Charles Kingsley, " Letters and Memories," page 209. 
 
198 TEOM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 die in Hope, not having received the promises, but 
 beholding them afar off, and confessing myself a 
 stranger and a pilgrim in a world of Laisser faire" 
 
 The criticisms of the great author of Hypatia are 
 just. Political economy has produced nothing. In 
 its three stages through the mercantile system, the 
 physiocratic system,, and the modern orthodox 
 system, it has explained or attempted to explain as 
 Kingsley expressed it, "phenomena which already 
 exist." But even this has been done with great 
 uncertainty, and very often erroneously. The state 
 of the cilivised world from every point of view tells 
 us unmistakably that the orthodox science has run 
 its course, and that, unless some new and more com- 
 plete system be adopted, great trouble will occur. 
 Nor is the reason for the successive failures far to 
 seek. Since the creation man had gone on in 
 simple fashion practising a rude, but more or less 
 correct, form of economy, without knowing its laws, 
 as he spoke language correctly without knowing the 
 rules of grammar. Then when the science was 
 reduced, or it was attempted to reduce it, to form 
 and shape, the purpose was only partially accom- 
 plished. Money or capital is, no doubt, one of the 
 factors of production, but it is only one. So when 
 Quesnay and Tiirgot proclaimed that physical nature 
 was the sole source of wealth, they also erred by 
 ascribing to a second factor the importance of all 
 combined. So, too, the orthodox political eco- 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 199 
 
 nomists, greatly superior as they are to their fore- 
 runners in knowledge, are still equally in error, in 
 placing the sole source of wealth in labour. Capital, 
 physical nature? and labour, are each and all 
 indespensable to production of every sort. Each by 
 itself is helpless, combined they produce all things. 
 It is strange that this simple truth has not yet been 
 admitted as the true foundation of political economy. 
 The direct statement of Adam Smith and his 
 followers that labour is the source of all wealth, 
 gives to Socialism its strongest argument and most 
 powerful reasons. It is asked, and asked with force, 
 " If all wealth proceeds from labour, why does not 
 the labouring class receive and enjoy it ? " One 
 strange fact in this aspect is that the necessity for 
 the combination of land, labour, and capital is over 
 and over again asserted in the " Wealth of Nations,^' 
 and in every follower of Adam Smith, while yet they 
 generally adhere to the principle that labour is the 
 source of all wealth. 
 
 If we consider the common practice of men, we 
 shall be able stiU further to find from it the proper 
 system of economic science. Man lives upon the 
 earth. He is doomed to toil. In the sweat of his 
 brow he shall eat bread. From the natural elements, 
 land, air, and water, directly or indirectly, he draws 
 his food, his clothing, and his shelter. The air 
 supplies the gases necessary for life ; land and water 
 yield to his labour the necessaries of existence. He 
 
200 PROM POVBETT TO PLENTY; OR, 
 
 subdues the earth and has dominion over it. Fish 
 from the sea, cattle and sheep from the pastures, 
 fruit, cereals, and roots from the earth, — these are the 
 rewards of his toil. But food is not alone suflBcient 
 for his wa,nts. His body must be clothed to protect 
 it from heat and cold. First skins of beasts and 
 the bark of trees afford rude apparel. Then he 
 manufactures garments from the products afforded 
 to his industry by nature. For shelter he first avails 
 himself of caves, but soon erects a rude form of 
 ■dwelling. At length dressed timber, stone, or brick 
 is called into requisition, and he is comfortably 
 housed. Thus in all primitive life, agricultural and 
 pastoral pursuits, aided by the rudest forms of 
 adaptation and manufacture, suffice for the support 
 and even the comparative comfort of life. Let it 
 be noticed also that the produce of this agricultural 
 and pastoral employment, and this crude and per- 
 sonal manufacture, are for the purpose of personal 
 existence and enjoyment, and not for trade and 
 commerce. It is of the last importance that this 
 should be borne in mind, because all men seem now 
 to regard the pursuit of these primary employments 
 with an eye solely to trade. The questions now are 
 not : Is the land good that we may grow food of all 
 sorts ? Is timber convenient that we may build ? Is 
 it possible that we can make and sustain comfortable 
 homes upon the land we go to occupy, and rear our 
 families in honest and contented comfort ? On the 
 
THE LABOUE QUESTION SOLVED. 201 
 
 contraryj ttey ask : Where are our markets ? What 
 are the means of transmitting our produce to those 
 markets ? How shall we be able to raise products 
 with which the markets are not overstocked ? 
 
 So completely has modern philosophy become 
 imbued with this idea that the proposals made by 
 Mr. Wakefield for colonisation, which practically 
 compelled a number of people to live in towns, in 
 order that they might provide a market for settlers 
 in the country, is thus spoken of by John Stuart 
 Mill: — " The application of this truth by Mr. Wake- 
 field to the theory of colonisation has excited much 
 attention, and is doubtless destined to excite much 
 more. It is one of those great practical discoveries 
 which, once made, appear so obvious that the merit 
 •of making them seems less than it is." The planting 
 ©f people side by side over lai'ge areas might " assure 
 to those families a rude abundance of mere neces- 
 saries," but must be " unfavourable to great pro- 
 duction or rapid growth," — that is, does not seek so 
 much to create commerce as happy homes blessed 
 with a " rude abundance." 
 
 In truth, the covetousness and selfishness of modem 
 social science sacrifices even the sacred peace and love 
 of home, with all its holy affections, to the desire for 
 wealth. 
 
 The first and normal aim in the occupation of 
 lands is to grow food, to provide shelter, and obtain 
 the materials from which clothing can be made. 
 
 
 
202 FEOM POVBETT TO PLENTY; OE^ 
 
 TJpon this natural foundation a complete and happy 
 structure may be reared. 
 
 ManufactureSj trade, and commerce will follow, 
 properly to increase the comforts of men. These 
 should not be masters compelling a miserable servi- 
 tude from humanity ; they should be servants minis- 
 tering to the wants and exchanging the products of 
 all nations. First, let there be the supply of all home 
 wants, so far as soil and cultivation will afford them ; 
 then as large and wide a production of the most 
 valuable and useful commodities as possible for com- 
 merce, so that the surplus may be changed for the 
 manufactures and productions of other lands and races 
 with equal benefit to all. 
 
 Selfishness is not only, as we have seen, the rule of 
 action as a fact, but, what is much worse, it is endorsed 
 as right and proper. In this way, the economical 
 gospel of selfishness and covetousness has been always 
 preached, and the influence has been reflected from 
 theory to practice, and from practice to theory, until 
 trade and commerce, and all pursuits having for their 
 object the production and exchange of natural wealth 
 have been demoralised and corrupted. Everything 
 has been sacrificed to acquiring wealth. All the better 
 instincts and hopes of humanity have been displaced 
 by this desire. The great end of life is to amass. 
 The World worships at the shrine of Riches. Even 
 the churches have been carried away by the flood. 
 Riches are righteousness ; poverty is sin. Production, 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 203 
 
 manufacture^ trade^ and commerce, as a means of a 
 quiet and contented life, are unthought of ; but they 
 are prized and valued as they bring riches and posi- 
 tion. To all conditions they are necessary, but we 
 err when we allow them to become our rulers. 
 
 The earth contains its treasures of minerals and 
 metals, it will yield also with returning seasons 
 perennial harvests. And not only has the Creator 
 given such great abundance of valuable things and 
 such a diversified array of productions, but he has 
 also endowed the dull, insensate soil with powers 
 of reproduction wonderful beyond comprehension, as- 
 they are unerring in operation and beneficent. He- 
 has also created the animal organisms which, by the 
 order of nature reproducing their kind, afford to men 
 almost illimitable sources of food, convenience, and 
 comfort. In addition to all these, the same mind has 
 ordained and the same hand created innumerable 
 laws in nature which, being gradually discovered and 
 conquered by man, are used to minister to his wants 
 and to increase his pleasures. No system of philo- 
 sophy, truly so called, can prove that these powers 
 and treasures of nature as such can by right be 
 monopolised by any individuals, by any classes, or by 
 any sections of the human family. 
 
 They belong to the whole race of man, for they 
 are the common heritage of all. 
 
 When Mr. Henry George therefore traces a greater 
 part of the "ills which flesh is heir to " to the pre- 
 
 o 2 
 
204 FEOM POVEKTY TO PLENTY J OE, 
 
 sent system and extent of private ownership and 
 exclusive possession of great areas of land, he is 
 simply using an argument drawn from nature. He is 
 asserting a fundamental truth in human economy. 
 But he uses this truth inexpediently, and without due 
 regard to the truths which surround it, and of which 
 it forms a part. It is, indeed, a most important part, 
 but it is still a part only. Not merely as regards land 
 for the purpose of agriculture, or as the home of 
 human communities, as in great cities, but as to land, 
 the repository of all the treasures hidden in its bosom, 
 ■the same truth holds good. It holds equally with re- 
 lation to the cattle, sheep, birds, and beasts, which 
 minister to our wants, and which increase and multiply 
 ■by the laws and powers of nature. It holds equally in 
 •the realms of natural law over all those wonderful 
 ■discoveries and inventions by which labour is 
 economised, the power of production is indefinitely 
 multiplied, and wealth increased beyond the limits of 
 -calculation. It holds equally in those common 
 bounties of nature, air, light, and water, which 
 ■encircle and encompass the earth, illimitable in 
 quantity, immeasurable in extent, perpetual in 
 existence. All these are the common property of 
 mankind. By reason of its limitation in space, and 
 difference in climate and fertility, there is, indeed, a 
 wide distinction between land, and the other elements 
 and gifts of nature. 
 
 The method of enjoyment, and the mode of usage 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 205 
 
 are different in the utilisation of land, and the enjoy- 
 ment of the air and sunlight, or the result of scientific 
 discovery and invention ; but the one universal rule 
 holds good in all, that the gifts, the powers, and the 
 capacities of nature are the common heritage of man- 
 kind. Speaking exactly, the only thing which one 
 man can claim as against the whole world are his own 
 personal share of produced wealth, which actually 
 results from his own unaided labour, or which comes 
 to him as the gift of some other being, and over 
 which that other being had the like property and 
 power of control. But how are all to share in the 
 enjoyment of nature's gifts ? That is the question ! 
 The system of political economy, which gives a rea- 
 sonable and practicable answer to this, even though 
 it be but approximately complete, will by the fact 
 prove itself true and worthy. At the present time, 
 more than in other ages, the blessings and fruits of 
 nature are monopolised by restricted numbers, while 
 the happiness arising from their enjoyment is denied 
 to those who form by far the larger proportion of 
 mankind. While nature is the real source of all 
 wealth, labour is always necessary to realise it, and to 
 reduce it into human possession. The ore would 
 remain hidden in the mine, the earth would be 
 untilled and waste, the laws by which we are sur- 
 rounded would never be invoked, nor turned into 
 forces and instruments of production were it not for 
 the active brains and busy hands of men. Thus 
 
206 FEOM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 nature is the source from whicli wealth is derived, 
 and labour is the agent by which it is produced, and 
 made available. Here we are met by another truth, 
 at once simple and important. So simple as to be 
 self-evident, so important as to contain the greatest 
 measure of earthly happiness. This is the right of 
 every man to his own labour, and to all that it will 
 produce, or its equivalent value. The old question 
 again proposed itself. How shall this natural right 
 of man be obtained ? To this query a true system of 
 political economy will find an answer, at least, practi- 
 cally correct. 
 
 Human labour, unarmed with tools and machinery, 
 and unsupported by food and raiment, would be 
 powerless to avail itself of the treasures which nature 
 so freely offers. Even the rudest savage has his 
 spear or blowpipe, fishing-hook, axe or club of wood 
 or stone, canoe, or yam-stick. These are his capital. 
 'Civilised man possesses other forms of capital, — tools, 
 implements, beasts of burden, machinery, shipping, 
 railways, stores of food and clothing, and last, but 
 most useful of all, because it is a medium of exchange 
 and commands all, — money, which now means gold 
 and silver, but which will ultimately mean public 
 credit. As at present taught, economic science retains 
 the worst features of the two former systems, and has 
 joined them with a code of evil principles. The reign 
 of capital, which formed the mercantile system, still 
 obtains. The acknowledgment and appropriation of 
 
TH?: LAI30UB QUESTION SOLVED. 207 
 
 the value of landj and other natural forces on which the 
 physiocratic philosophy-was based, yet continues, while 
 upon the doctrine of the supremacy of labour has been 
 reared, strangely and as if in mockery, the selfish indi- 
 vidual competitive principles which, joined to the evils 
 o" the other systems, places labour beneath the heel 
 of capital, and fills the earth with suffering and wrong. 
 
 The actual distribution at present obtaining gives 
 this world's goods into the possession of classes 
 already possessing property. This fact is notorious. 
 Deplored by every right-minded person and wondered 
 at by all, the power which controls the destination of 
 the accumulated wealth of the nations seems to be 
 completely hidden. While men like Mr. Gladstone 
 and the late Professor Fawcett are astonished and 
 saddened by this result of modern civilisation, they 
 are unable to explain the causes of such an evil, or to 
 offer any remedy whatever for so disastrous a state of 
 things. It is evident that the subject itself is not 
 understood. For while our greatest thinkers perceive 
 that political economy directs all the increasing wealth 
 of a country into the possession of the capitalist class, 
 they can only express their surprise and regret at this 
 unhappy result. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone, forty years ago, gave utterance to 
 the following words : — " It is one of the sad sides of 
 the present social order in our land that the steady 
 increase of wealth of the upper classes and the accu- 
 mulation of capital should be attended with a diminu- 
 
208 FROM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 tion in the people's power of consumption, and with 
 a larger amount of privation and suffering among the 
 poor." 
 
 When twenty years had passed, the same great 
 
 statesman, speaking in the same House (the House of 
 
 Commons) said: — " From the year 1842 to 1853, the 
 
 ' receipts from the income tax increased 6 per cent, in 
 
 I England ; and from 1853 to 1861, 20 per cent. It is 
 
 jan astonishing fact, but it is nevertheless true, that 
 
 this prodigious increase of wealth benefited solely tho 
 
 well-to-do classes." 
 
 Nearly ten years afterwards, in 1872, the late Henry 
 Fawcett and his wife, Millicent Garrett Fawcett, in 
 their " Essays and Lectures on Social and Political 
 Subjects," speak thus : — " Production has increased 
 beyond the most sanguine hopes, and yet the day 
 when the workman shall obtain a large share of this 
 increase seems as far distant as ever, and in his miser- 
 able abode the struggle against want and misery is as 
 hard as it ever was. The result of this is to create a 
 feeling of profound hostility to the fundamental prin- 
 ciples on which society is based."* 
 
 Professor Cairns says : — " The conclusion to which 
 I am brought is this : unequal as is the distribution 
 of wealth already in this country, the tendency of in- 
 dustrial progress, on the supposition that the present 
 separation between individual classes is maintained, 
 is towards an inequality greater still." 
 
 It is worse than useless to deny or hide from our- 
 * Page 12. 
 
THE LABOCE QUESTION SOLVED. 209 
 
 selves the fact that our prevailing system has failed 
 utterly, and without hope of recovery. 
 
 The laws which govern exchange are variable in 
 their application and force, and liable to change with 
 the changing methods and facilities of commerce. 
 
 The laws of value, currency, of demand and supply, 
 of the cost of production, and of the value of money 
 are not, as it seems to me, of as great importance as 
 those laws which govern more immediately the distri- 
 bution of wealth. The different theories and argu- 
 ments advanced are indeed of great interest, but they 
 do not affect the comfort of the industrial classes in 
 any sense so deeply as the other laws of which I have 
 spoken. 
 
 We have now to consider the two greatest errors of 
 all ; the first being an error of commission, the other 
 one of omission. The first is the placing of selfishness 
 as the sole and natural foundation of all human actions 
 in economic practice. The second is the omission of 
 the whole surplus or accumulated wealth of a com- 
 munity from the scope and contemplation of the 
 argument together with the totally erroneous canon 
 or formula of distribution propounded by all writers. 
 Regarding for a moment the first of these cardinal 
 errors, it is evident that the basis of selfishness is 
 immoral and unjust. I have already alluded to the 
 contrast presented in the writings of Adam Smith, 
 between the motive power set up in his "Theory of 
 Moral Sentiments," and that alleged in the "Wealth 
 of Nations." It is matter for surprise that so profound 
 
210 
 
 I'EOM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OEj 
 
 a thinker and so good a man, should not have per- 
 ceived the inevitable tendency of practice based upon 
 a precept so atheistic as selfishness. Unhappily the 
 practice amongst men in the acquisition and enjoy- 
 ment of wealth had ever been, generally speaking, 
 selfish. But to advance in theory as correct that which 
 had obtained in practice, simply because it had so 
 obtained, was un philosophical. By parity of reason- 
 ing, any vices, any tyranny, any superstition, or 
 criminal indulgence might not only be justified, but 
 approved and enforced as natural and proper if only 
 it could be proved to have become customary through 
 a long period of time. 
 
 The second vital error, — that of the omission of a 
 proper scheme for the distribution of wealth, — is the 
 most remarkable fact accompanying the whole in- 
 struction upon this subject. 
 
 In no one of the attacks made upon the present 
 political economy, in that economy itself, nor in all 
 combined, can there be found a plan or system con- 
 taining the laws which either do or ought to govern 
 the distribution of wealth. When the question of 
 distribution is approached, uncertainties, confusion 
 of terms, and ignorance all appear. 
 
 During the last eighty years the wealth of Great 
 Britain has increased four times more than it had 
 done during the eighteen centuries of the Christian 
 era. What the growth and aggregation of national 
 wealth will amount to during the next three-quarters 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 211 
 
 of a century it is impossible to anticipate. The 
 boundless tei-ritories of the empire lying idle^ 
 nnvexed by plough or spade ; great harbours inviting 
 a mighty commerce ; a constant influx and absorption 
 of people of other races in the Anglo-Saxon colonies, 
 added to the ever growing increase of our own people ; 
 the daily discovery and invention of labour-saving 
 implements; all tend to a wonderful condition of 
 national prosperity. One problem, that of a fair dis- 
 tribution, yet remains to be solved. 
 
 To understand clearly the position and arguments 
 advanced by different writers upon the laws which 
 govern distribution, it is necessary to examine the 
 words and terms which they employ in setting out 
 and expounding the law itself. 
 
 All wealth produced is the joint product of the 
 three co-factors, — land, labour, and capital; and 
 economists universally agree that such wealth, when 
 produced, is distributed amongst the owners of 
 these respective factors. 
 
 The process or mode of distribution they state as 
 follows : — 
 
 To the owner of land, rent ; 
 
 To the owner of labour, wages ; 
 
 To the owner of capital, interest or profits. 
 
 Two of these terms are comparatively easy and 
 simple in their meaning. The term " wages " ex- 
 plains itself in daily life as that return which is given 
 for the labour of men. The term ''rent" also 
 
212 FROM POVEETY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 conveys a plain meaning to the ordinary mind. It 
 is the reward given to the owner of land for the use 
 of that land by another person. But the term 
 " profits " is so ambiguous, and can be used in so 
 many senses, as to be altogether inadequate to 
 convey any clear or defined notion either to th& 
 orninary common sense of mankind or to the 
 scientific mind of the student. So greatly has 
 the difiiculty of the meaning and application of this 
 term pressed, even upon those who adhered most 
 religiously to its use, that they have attempted to 
 define its meaning more closely than by the mere use 
 of the name itself. By most of the great writers the 
 term " profits," used to denote the distributed reward 
 for the use of capital, is made up by the combination 
 of three elements : (1) interest ; (2) compensation 
 for, or insurance against, risk ; (3) the wages of 
 superintendence. This definition of the term "profits" 
 is plainly erroneous. One of its sub-terms or elements, 
 wages of superintendence, is clearly part of the wages 
 of labour ; for all labour, — whether it be of the mind or 
 of the hand ; whether it be the advice of the physician 
 or of the lawyer, the toil of the miner or the plough- 
 man, the work of the bank manager or errand boy, — 
 is equal in this, that it is labour, and as such receives 
 its payment in wages. The wages of superintendence, 
 therefore, are part of the wages paid to labour, and no 
 wages can be a portion of the profits paid to capital. 
 The capitalist who superintends great works may 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 213 
 
 receive it, but it is the reward of liis labour, not of 
 his capital. 
 
 Compensation for risk, also, is improperly included 
 as an element of profit accruing to the capitalist for 
 the use of his capital. "What compensation for risk 
 does the person receive who invests his money upon 
 mortgage, who purchases Three per Cent. Consols, 
 who buys a farm estimated to return four per cent. ? 
 A risky investment, as the discounting of bills or 
 money-lending, may be cited as an illustration of 
 the compensation for risk, but this is no more appli- 
 cable to capital than to labour. If a man be em- 
 ployed upon a hazardous undertaking or in a 
 dangerous calling, he expects to receive higher 
 wages. This argument, therefore, only proves that 
 compensation for risk enters into the determination 
 of the rate of wages charged by the labourer equally 
 with the rate of interest charged by the capitalist for 
 hazardous investments. So, too, rent is increased if 
 property is to be used for dangerous or offensive pur- 
 poses. If in the phrase " compensation for risk " it 
 is intended to include an insurance against the loss of 
 capital in commercial or other transactions, then it is 
 clear that wages and rent should both include such an 
 insurance against loss, for the labourer may perform 
 his work and never receive payment ; his employer 
 may fail, or be dishonest and refuse or, be unable to 
 pay ; so the landlord may be unable to obtain his 
 rent, illustrations of which position can be seen on 
 
214 FEOM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OK^ 
 
 every hand in the United Kingdom at the present 
 moment. 
 
 But who talks of compensation for risk forming an 
 element in wages or in rent ? The term " profits/' 
 as applied to the return for the use of capital, is 
 entirely erroneous and misleading. 
 
 The difficulties of its application were seen, though 
 not remarked upon, by Mr. Buckle in his " History 
 of Civilisation," where, in the first volume, chapter ii., 
 he speaks repeatedly of the distribution of wealth 
 into rent, wages, interest, and profits. This theory 
 of distribution mentioned by Buckle is nearer the 
 truth than any other classification yet made, though 
 neither he nor any other writer seems to have appre- 
 hended its importance. 
 
 It is, however, quoted by Henry George (" Progress 
 and Poverty," book iii., chapter i. — "The Laws of 
 Distribution") as an example of the inextricable 
 confusion into which [the principal economists have 
 drifted in their jumbling of the terms of profits and 
 interest. Yet Buckle is undoubtedly right, and Henry 
 George is wrong. The American writer, after clearly 
 and logically pointing out the difference between 
 profits and interest, and proving that the true and 
 actual return for the use of capital, as such, is interest, 
 and interest alone, immediately thereupon falls into a 
 worse error than that which had deceived the very 
 writers whom he so justly criticised. In avoiding 
 Scylla he falls upon Oharybdis. Having completed 
 
THE LABOUE QUESTION SOLVED, -215 
 
 the idea that profits comprising all these three 
 elements is the true return for the use of capital, 
 and having established his own proposition that the 
 true reward of that one factor of production is interest 
 only, he then states that all wealth produced is 
 distributed among the three factors of production, 
 thus : — To the owners of land, rent ; to the owners of 
 labour, wages ; to the owners of capital, interest ; his 
 theory therefore is that all wealth produced in a 
 community is distributed to the different producing 
 powers as rent, wages, and interest, and in this 
 opinion he by no means stands alone. 
 
 Reflection will show not only that Henry George is 
 wrong, but that this portion of the field of enquiry 
 has not as yet been traversed by any writers. In 
 what does wealth consist ? What does it contain and 
 embrace ? What are the sources whence it flows ' 
 From what causes does it arise ? And what are the 
 canons and laws of its distribution when once created ? 
 
 If all the wages of every class were spent without 
 the saving of a pound ; if landlords were to expend 
 every shilling of the rentals they receive, and the 
 capitalist to disburse every penny of interest coming 
 to them, still year by year the accumulated wealth of 
 a community would expand and increase. Hamlets 
 and villages would arise in solitary places ; villages 
 would grow into towns; towns into cities ; manufac- 
 tories would spring up, commerce would spread, 
 flocks and herds would increase, navies would grow, 
 
216 PROM POVEETY TO PLENTY j OH, 
 
 great expanses of virgin land would be placed under 
 tillage, — in a wordj wealth would accumulate. And 
 this wealthj the surplus accumulated wealth of the 
 community, would be produced from the sources of 
 nature by the brain and the hand of labour, aided 
 and sustained by capital. Rent, wages, and interest 
 would be the charges necessary to produce this 
 wealth; and they would be used and consumed in 
 such production. They are therefore the cost of pro- 
 duction. This is recognised by some of the German 
 writers, although they neither see the importance of 
 the truth asserted, nor its direct bearing upon 
 the law of distribution. Roscher clearly points out 
 that the cost of production includes rent, wages, 
 interest, and taxes. "An individual who pays taxes 
 to his Government, and who has rented land and 
 employed labour and capital to engage in production, 
 must indeed, besides the capital he has used in such 
 production, call all his outlay and interest, rent, wages, 
 and taxes by the name of cost of production, since, 
 unless they all come back to him in the price of the 
 commodity, the entire enterprise can only injure him.'"* 
 I The Germans also, beyond rent, wages, and interest, 
 Iplace a fourth part of distribution, namely the " Profit 
 I of the undertaker."! Not, indeed, of that gloomy 
 personage who carries us to our final earthly estate, 
 
 * Eoscher, "Political Economy," 13tl: ed., translated by Lalor, 
 vol. i., page 316. 
 t Eoscher, vol. ii.rpage 145. 
 
THE LABOUE QUESTION SOLVED. 217 
 
 measui'ing six feet by two, but the individual who 
 enters into any undertaking whatever by which profit 
 of a material nature can be gained. 
 
 But these differences, although they thow thewider 
 views and more liberal ideas of the German writers as 
 compared with our own, which indeed characterise 
 many of the French also, have in no degree illumi- 
 nated nor expounded the true law of distribution. 
 
 In a prosperous community wealth is ever growing. 
 Thus in Great Britain the national wealth increased 
 between the years 1865 and 1875 by the enormous 
 extent of £2,400,000,000 ; this surplus remained 
 after payment of the cost of production, wages, 
 rent, and interest year by year. Wages were con- 
 sumed, rent and interest were used by their owners, 
 and yet this vast addition had been made to the 
 national wealth. A few millions, no doubt, had been 
 saved by the working classes out of their wages, say 
 £50,000,000, which, according to Mulhall, is excessive. 
 Let us suppose another £150,000,000 representing the 
 savings made by the recipients of rent and the re- 
 ceivers of interest : this would make a total sum 
 remaining during the ten years from rent, wages, 
 and interest of £200,000,000. Whence, then, has 
 come the other £2,200,000,000, and to whom has 
 that gigantic mass of wealth been distributed? 
 A few short enquiries will give the answer, and 
 show how utterly untenable is the position main- 
 tained by the economists, that all the wealth produced 
 
218 FEOM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OE^ 
 
 in a community is distributed in rentj wages, and 
 interest. I Lave before seen that it is capital which 
 supports and assists labour while producing wealth, 
 and which remunerates the labourer for his toil. Mr. 
 Henry George attempts to refute this position, which, 
 on the other hand, is supported by the great mass of 
 writers, but his attempt is by no means successful. 
 
 For although labour, indeed, impresses its value 
 upon the objects upon which it is being expended 
 during the time of such expenditure, yet the capitalist 
 has to reward the labourer by imparting to him some 
 wealth already in existence, — that is, capital, — and 
 has to wait until the crop is reaped, or the house or 
 the ship is built before he can obtain from the object 
 upon which such labour is bestowed a return of his 
 investment. Even supposing that labour be paid for 
 by a portion of its own produce, that portion so used 
 becomes, de facto, capital. Eent, wages, and interest, 
 therefore, are the cost of production. Other Conti- 
 nental writers as well as Roscher expressly lay down 
 this principle, and so inferentially do many of the 
 English writers. The cost of production being de- 
 frayed, the produced wealth remains. And it is this 
 produced wealth, this surplus or accumulated wealth, 
 which forms the continually growing and expanding 
 national property. This comprises all goods, pro- 
 perties, and values not expended in the cost of pro- 
 duction, and remaining after the cost of production is 
 defrayed. 
 
The laboue question solved. 219 
 
 This wealth is not distributed as alleged by the 
 -economists, but it is distributed only among the 
 owners of capital and land, — that is, the propertied 
 classes. 
 
 This is evident from the following considerations : — 
 The owners of labour, the wage-earning class, receiv- 
 ing wages as the means of subsistence, do not, as 
 such, receive one shilling of surplus or accumulated 
 wealth. 
 
 That is to say, that of the £2,200,000,000 
 added to the national wealth of Great Britain during 
 the ten years from 1865 to 1875, the industrial classes, 
 as such, did not receive sixpence. 
 
 Contradictory and indefinite as are the meanings 
 generally attached to technical terms in this science, 
 they are as yet sufficiently positive and clear to enable 
 us to maintain for some purposes an argument upon 
 the general scope of their meaning. Thus wealth is 
 the sum of material production from nature by labour, 
 and capital is that portion of wealth which is devoted 
 to reproductive purposes and generally consumed in 
 such reproduction of wealth. Rent, wages, and inte- 
 rest are the price paid for the use of land, labour, and 
 capital, when those three factors are together used to 
 produce wealth. 
 
 Considered from any point of view, whether from 
 that of logic or that of experience, the accepted theory 
 of distribution is incorrect. 
 
 Let us take first the logical argument. A portion 
 p 2 
 
220 PEOlf POVERTY TO PLENT? j OB, 
 
 of wealtli now existing is devoted to, and used for, 
 the production of fresh wealth. This portion, there- 
 fore, becomes, according to the terms of the argument, 
 capital, because it is. devoted to reproductive pur- 
 poses. This capital is consumed in the payment of 
 rent, wages, and interest, and its result is the pro- 
 duction of fresh wealth. The wealth produced is 
 new; the crop from the seed, the fruit from the 
 tree, the increase of flocks and herds, houses which 
 are built, ships which are constructed. 
 
 That portion of the former wealth which has been 
 consumed to produce this new wealth was capital ex- 
 pended. It was, in fact, the cost of production, and 
 in no sense whatever can it be held to be that which is 
 finally produced. Even in cases where the wages of 
 labour and the payment for the use of capital are to 
 be paid out of the proceeds, the balance which remains 
 after such payment is distinct and separate from the 
 portion so used, which in itself becomes capital. The 
 wealth produced is only distributed in the shape of 
 rent, wages, and interest if it become in its turn 
 devoted to the production of new and fresh wealth. 
 The produced wealth is not, therefore, nor is any part 
 of it, distributed in the shape of rent, wages, and 
 
 linterest unless it be converted into capital and used 
 for purposes of reproduction. 
 
 Let us turn now to the argument from experience. 
 
 I The wages of the labourers, the rent of land, the inte- 
 rest of capital being paid, the resulting wealth, a new 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 221 
 
 integral part of tlie national possessions, is the 
 product. 
 
 At the end of the year, when the harvests have been 
 gathered, the construction of houses and ships finished, 
 none of the wealth then existing is distributed in the 
 shape and under the forms alleged. It belongs to its 
 owners, it is distributed amongst them as the result 
 of their expenditure, but not in any way is it distri- 
 buted in rent, wages, and interest. 
 
 Supposing a new year to commence, a portion of it 
 may, indeed, be devoted to fresh production, which por- 
 tion will become capital, and thus be distributed in pay- 
 ment of rent, wages, and interest for fresh production. 
 
 In short, the payments made are the capital neces- 
 sarily expended to produce wealth, and by the neces- 
 sity of the case never do and never can include any 
 portion of the surplus wealth which is produced by it 
 iind added to the accumulated possessions of the com- 
 munity. Portions of rent may be saved by the owners 
 of land ; portions of wages may be saved by the 
 owners of labour ; portions of interest may be saved 
 by the owners of capital ; but when first paid to them 
 for the use of their respective factors they were parts 
 of capital expended for the purpose of reproduction, 
 and not wealth or produce distributed as such. 
 
 The unearned increment of land, the warehouses 
 and manufactories of cities, the great ships which 
 carry the commerce of the world to and fro, the gold 
 and silver which are produced from the mine, the 
 
222 fEOM POVEETT TO TLENTY ; OE, 
 
 wilderness turned into fruitful fields^ golden with their 
 yellow harvests or nourishing upon their green sur- 
 face innumerable flocks and herds, the very clothes 
 we wear, the food we eat, the furniture and appli- 
 ances of our dwellings, and the books within our 
 libraries are neither rent, nor wages, nor interest, but 
 have been made, or improved, or tended by labour for 
 which wages were given, exerted upon land which 
 yielded its owner a rental, which labour was sustained 
 and assisted by capital, for which yearly interest was 
 paid. It is in the unequal distribution or non-distri- 
 bution of this surplus or accumulated wealth that the 
 evil exists. 
 
 Did the vast sum of wealth amassed during the last 
 fifty years arise from savings in rent, interest, and 
 wages ? Not at all. Wages were, no doubt, higher ; 
 interest, if anything, has been on a lower scale ; rent, 
 at any rate till a recent period, produced a greater result 
 from the same given quantity of land. But so far from 
 growing rent having given this increasing wealth to 
 England, it was the great prosperity of the United 
 Kingdom which caused all rents to ascend. What are 
 the facts ? The giant strides of manufacturing industry, 
 the wonderful expansion of commerce, the railway and 
 telegraph systems, the immense fortunes arising from 
 patents, or from gold, silver, and other mines, the 
 enormous increase in the value of town and city pro- 
 perties, both by reason of the unearned increment and 
 on account of numerous improvements, the growth and 
 
THE LABOUK QUESTION SOLVED. 223 
 
 consoliclation of the colonial empii'e, the flocks and 
 herdSj the ships and houses, trade and speculation, the 
 unexampled profusion and mass of all sorts of pro- 
 ductions, the adaptation of science and of art to the 
 wants of men; these, and other causes of a like 
 nature, but of subsidiary importance, have gathered 
 together and stored away for the enjoyment of the 
 capitalist class wealth such as no nation in the history 
 of the world ever dreamed of. Not by conquest, not 
 by the spoils of war, not by rapine or treachery, nor 
 by exaction, have these wonderful results been gained, 
 but by peaceful industry, by wisely-conducted com- 
 merce, by the subjugation of the laws and forces of 
 nature beneath the hand of man. 
 
 Accompanying this unparalleled progress, and prin- 
 cipally accounting for its wide development, has been 
 the equally unparalleled progress of the English race 
 and tongue. A century ago, when Adam Smith went 
 down to his last rest, the English-speaking peoples did 
 not number 20,000,000; to-day at least 100,000,000 of 
 people possess this language as their national tongue. 
 The trade of the Australasian colonies, which, when her 
 Majesty came to the throne, was practically nothing, 
 now exceeds in the aggregate value of its imports and 
 exports the whole sea-going commerce of the United 
 Kingdom of that day. Production and the power of 
 production have literally distanced imgination, but the 
 distribution of wealth is more unfair, more unrigh- 
 teous, and more marked in its inequality, than ever 
 
224 FEOM POVERTY TO PLENTY J OK, 
 
 before ; and this arises from that pregnant cause of 
 all evil consequences in the material and social con- 
 dition of the people, the selfish system of our ruling 
 political economy, and its ignorance of the laws of 
 distribution. 
 
 In the final process of the science no discovery has 
 ever been attempted. The distribution of wealth is a 
 terra incognita. Its geography is unknown. No 
 footfall has echoed upon its shores. No eye has 
 perceived its secrets. No tongue has revealed its 
 laws. Yet here lie concealed the treasures of happi- 
 ness, of contentment, aud of prosperity. In this 
 shadowy territory, so close to us that we are, genera- 
 tion after generation, coasting its strand, are mines 
 more precious than those of Australia or Golconda, 
 of California or New Zealand, of Kimberley or Ophir. 
 In the silent recesses of this country will be found 
 .'recorded those laws of God concerning the distribu- 
 tion of His gifts, which will produce universal happi- 
 ness, drive want from the homes and the lives of men, 
 weaken selfishness, aud diminish crime. There is the 
 Eldorado which the old sea kings sought amid storm 
 and battle upon the coast of the Spanish Main, — the 
 philosopher's stone is there. So little do political 
 economy and its teachers know about the distribution 
 of wealth, that the latest French writer, M. Yves 
 Guyot ("Principles of Social Economy." English 
 edition, London, 1884), alludes only indirectly to that 
 portion of the subject in one brief paragraph as fol- 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 225 
 
 lows : — " When seeking for the proper method of 
 ievying taxation." * Now, according to Adam Smith, 
 the sources of income are three : profits, rent, and 
 wages. How are they to be reached ? By analysing 
 every income in detail. In order to reach the general 
 income, we must ascertain from every one what his 
 private one is. 
 
 Yet that book is a mine of wealth. It contains com- 
 pendious statements of figures, elaborate diagrams, 
 longand logical arguments, and astonishingnumbers of 
 references, quotations, and contradictions from other 
 authors. M. Guyot's definitions are more minute, 
 more subtle, and in the main more correct than those 
 of any other writer. Yet his exposition of social 
 economy is dumb upon the one all-important subject, 
 the laws of distribution. The only approach as yet 
 made upon any extended scale to distribute wealth is 
 that practised by the co-operative bodies, and even 
 they are not aware that they are attempting, in a 
 rude and irregular fashion, to solve the great problem 
 of modern days, the discovery of the third branch of 
 true political economy. 
 
 To explain the difficulties which have always pre- 
 sented themselves to the minds of writers upon this 
 ■division of economic study, the teachers of the science 
 have been sorely troubled. As I have before alluded 
 to the statement made by Senior and endorsed by 
 John Stuart Mill, that "profits are the reward of 
 * Page 280. 
 
226 FROM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OR, 
 
 abstinence/' I will proceed to examine that theory 
 and the arguments by which it is explained and 
 buttressed by Mr. Mill. Writing of the distribution 
 of wealth, Mr. Mill treats fully of the wages of 
 labour and the rent of land, giving a somewhat 
 exhaustive treatise upon those two branches of the 
 subject. He then proceeds to deal with the third 
 part of distribution, namely, the profits of capital. 
 A brief examination of both the theory and arguments 
 will possibly convince any mind of ordinary intelli- 
 gence of the utter and complete fallacy of the pro- 
 positions advanced and the reasoning by which they 
 are supported. Nor have I any doubt that the 
 consideration of Mr. Mill's argument with ordinary 
 care will convince even a sceptical mind of the gross, 
 if not culpable, ignorance of economists upon the 
 subject of distribution. 
 
 Mr. Mill, in chapter ii., section 15, treats exclusively 
 of the profits of capital or stock, which he states to 
 be "the gains of the person who advances the 
 expenses of the production." He then proceeds : 
 "As the wages of the labourer are the remuneration of 
 labour, so the profits of the capitalist are properly, 
 according to Mr. Senior's well-chosen expression, the 
 remuneration of abstinence. They are what he gains 
 by forbearing to consume his capital for his own 
 uses, and allowing it to be consumed by productive 
 labourers for their uses." Now this paragraph adds 
 something, and something very material, to Mr. 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED; 227 
 
 Senior's expression, whicli in this very same para- 
 graph John Stuart Mill approves and adopts. If 
 " the profits of capital " are " the remuneration of 
 abstinence " only, then there is no necessity to allow 
 capital to be used by others in order to obtain profits. 
 If, on the other hand, it would be necessary not only 
 to abstain from the personal use of capital, but to 
 allow it to be used by others in order that profits 
 may be obtained, then Mr. Senior's expression, ap- 
 proved and adopted, is wrong. But let us take it, 
 as indeed it must be taken, that not only abstinence 
 is necessary, but the use of capital by others is also 
 necessary to the obtaining of profits, and we shall 
 only find ourselves getting still more in confusion. 
 For John Stuart Mill immediately proceeds to speak 
 thus : " Of the gains, however, which the possession 
 of capital enables a man to make, a part only is 
 properly an equivalent for the use of the capital 
 itself, namely, as much as a solvent person would be 
 willing to pay for the loan of it. This, which as 
 everybody knows is called interest, is all that a 
 person is enabled to get by merely abstaining from 
 the immediate consumption of his capital and allowing 
 it to be used for productive purposes by others. The 
 remuneration which is obtained in any country for 
 mere abstinence is measured by the current rate of 
 interest on best security ; such security as precludes 
 any appreciable chance of losing the principal. What 
 a person expects to gain who superintends the em- 
 
228 
 
 FKOM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OE^ 
 
 ployment of his own capital is always more, and 
 generally much more than this. The rate of profit 
 greatly exceeds the rate of interest. The surplus is 
 partly compensation for risks; he must likewise 
 be remunerated for the devotion of his time and 
 labour." 
 
 1 venture to suggest that in no one page in any 
 writing of authority in the whole range of literature 
 can there be found greater confusion of ideas or 
 greater contradictions than in the quotations here 
 made from one page of John Stuart Mill. We find 
 here these distinct statements : — 
 
 1 . The profits of the capitalist are " the remunera- 
 
 tion of abstinence." 
 
 2. The profits of the capitalist are gained by "ab- 
 
 stinence," and by allowing his capital to be used 
 by productive labourers for their uses. 
 
 3. A part only of profits, — that is, interest, — is the 
 
 remuneration of abstinence, and allowing 
 others, — namely, productive labourers, — to 
 consume it for their uses. 
 
 4. A person who superintends the employment of 
 
 his own capital expects to get much more than 
 interest. 
 
 5. The rate of profit greatly exceeds the rate of^ 
 
 interest. 
 S. Profits are the remuneration of abstinence, of 
 allowing others, — that is, productive labourers, 
 — to consume capital for their uses, remunera- 
 
TUB LABOUK QUESTION SOLVED. 229 
 
 tion for risk, tlie remuneration for the devotioQ 
 of time and labour. 
 But if a person spends his capital himself and superin- 
 tends its expenditure, how can he abstain from using- 
 it or lending it to others ? 
 
 Thus on this all-important subject of the distribution 
 of wealth we are gravely told, first, that the profits of 
 the capitalist are the reward of abstinence simply; 
 then that they are the reward of abstinence jointly 
 with the lending of capital to others ; then that pro- 
 fits are the reward of abstinence and the lending of 
 money to others, and remuneration of risk and the 
 devotion of time and labour of the owner himself 
 using his own money; while the statement before 
 made, that profits are the remuneration for abstinence 
 coupled with the lending of money to others, is flatly 
 contradicted, and that interest, which is greatly less 
 than profits, is the proper reward for this. 
 
 The absurdity of MilFs definition of profits is 
 pointed out by different writers, notably by Mr. 
 Dillon.* 
 
 * See "The Dismal Scieace," 1882, pp. 61,62. 
 
^^^jSa^^^ 
 
 Wu 
 
 min 
 
 
 H 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Utopian theories — Coinmunal and Socialist plans — Their weak- 
 ness and errors — Inherent causes of failure in all — Confusion 
 of morals, politics, and economics in all — American Socialism 
 — J. H. Noyes — Mormonism — Its polygamy — Its economy — • 
 NordhofF Vineland — Suggestions as to drink traffic — Contin- 
 ental Collectivist plans and writers — Henry George — Confisca- 
 tion of rent value — Illogical and vicious nature of proposals — 
 Defects and wrongs requiring redress — No salvation in politics 
 — True economic science the only source of hope — Identity in 
 principle between George and Socialists — Atheism of ordinary 
 Socialism — Christian Socialists described — General condemna- 
 tion of modern Socialism — Dr. Woolsey Grouland's co-opera- 
 tive commonwealth — Nihilism — The International — Its his- 
 tory and end — Hyndman — H. V. Mills — Pauper colonies of 
 Holland — Penal colonies of Australasia — Their wonderful 
 success — The Irish exodus — The present wealth of Irish emi- 
 grants in America and the colonies — Reflections upon these 
 three great instances of recuperative human power — The story 
 of Er — Close of Plato's Eepublic — Necessity for immediate 
 action — Time and tide wait for no man — Responsibilities of 
 national leaders and higher classes. 
 
 In many ages, and in many lands, men have 
 devised plans for the welfare and happi- 
 ness of their fellows. 
 
 Prom the days when prophets foresaw, 
 in the distaiit periods of the earth's history, the 
 millennial reign of peace, and Plato taught, in the 
 
THE LABOUE QUESTION SOLVED. 231 
 
 gardens of tlie Academy-j to our own times, men have 
 indulged in these dreams and anticipations of a state 
 of perfect justice, and perfect righteousness upon 
 earth. Utopian as were their dreams, Utopian as were 
 their hopes, rudely disturbed as they all were by the 
 din of war and the selfishness of civilised life, they 
 show that in every age there has existed a belief that 
 a better state of society could be found than now 
 exists, and a hope that such a happy result might be 
 accomplished. 
 
 The Communistic and Socialistic experiments made 
 during the last 100 years contain more important 
 lessons than philosophy has given them credit for. 
 They have been attempts to solve the social problem 
 upon one side, while the great organisations of which 
 the trades and labour unions, the friendly societies. 
 and the co-operative bodies are typical and repre- 
 sentative have been attempting the same task on the 
 other. While the schemes of the Socialist and Com- 
 munist leaders have been too wide, the aims and pur- 
 poses of the great organisations of working men are 
 too narrow. As a counterpoise to this, the plans and 
 operations of the latter have been eminently practical 
 and successful, while the theories and attempts of the 
 former have been fanciful and unsuccessful. The causes 
 of failure in aU the plans which have been suggested 
 for the social regeneration of mankind are found within 
 themselves. From the Republic of Plato to the scheme 
 of the International, all have aimed at the realisation 
 
232 
 
 TBOM POTEETY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 of a heterogeneous and complex policy. The same' 
 germs of failure and disappointment are contained in 
 all. It is not that the results in many cases aimed at 
 are unjust or impolitic. It is not that the means to 
 be adopted are generally unlikely to accomplish the 
 ends proposed; but it is because the social conditions 
 sought to be imposed are too unnatural in their 
 character, and too illogical in their description. No 
 perfect human scheme of social development has ever 
 been drawn up. It is not possible that it can be. 
 If such a scheme were made to-day, it would be 
 obsolete and useless long before it could be brought 
 into general practice. Were it possible to bring it 
 into force, like a new invention, it would need altera- 
 tion before a year, nay, perhaps before a week, had 
 passed. Who would noTF live in the Eepublic of 
 Plato, or amid the calm repose of More's Utopia, 
 obey the orders of his Philarch, or care to leave the 
 busy scenes of life for what Macaulay calls the " pro- 
 found and serene wisdom " of Solomon's house in 
 Bacon's " New Atlantis," or submit to the just bub 
 monastic discipline of Campanella's " City of the Sun" ? 
 That generation has yet representatives amongst us 
 who flourished when the generous but mistaken plans 
 of St. Simon, Fourier, and Eobert Owen were actually 
 attempted in practice. Every part of civilised society 
 is now the scene of some agitation, the aim of which 
 is to supplant our present system of social existence, 
 and give birth to other and new forms. Most of these 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 233 
 
 cannot succeed in their real hopes. They may pro- 
 duce revolution ; they cannot produce success. If, 
 however, sliort of revolution, they are able to build up, 
 piece by piece, a nobler edifice of public welfare, and 
 a more just distribution of wealth and comfort, then 
 they will be useful to mankind. 
 
 In all substantial progress the signs of the times 
 point out the step proper to be taken. Commerce is 
 impeded by the long route round the Cape, and the 
 Sandy Desert separating the Mediterranean from the 
 Red Sea is pierced. The people are determined to 
 have a fairer representation in Parliament, and the 
 Reform Bill becomes law. Distant parts of the earth 
 cry out for union, and the electric wire is stretched 
 beneath the seas. The colonies of England become 
 great and populous,, they murmur at the distant 
 government of Downing Street, and they immediately 
 possess the powers of independent nations. The hor- 
 rors of slavery are placed before England, and twenty 
 millions of money are freely given to remedy that evil 
 hated of God and man. Labourers complain that they 
 are forbidden by law to join for mutual protection, 
 and lo ! the laws which have existed for hundreds of 
 years are repealed. So, step by step, often after long 
 delays and terrible conflicts, does society pass on in 
 its course. 
 
 Dissatisfaction with the present and desire for 
 change in the future are by no means confined to 
 Anarchists. The very soundest teachers recognise the 
 
 Q 
 
234 FROM POVBETY TO PLENTY J OE, 
 
 necessity for reform and anticipate it. " The indus- 
 trial reformation," says Mr. Ingram, "for which 
 Western Europe groans and travails, and the advent 
 of which is indicated by so many symptoms (though 
 it will come only as the fruit of faithful and sustained 
 effort), will be no isolated fact, but will form one part 
 of an applied art of life .... in a word, consciously 
 directing all our resources to the conservation and 
 evolution of humanity."* The article from which this 
 is an extract is one of exceptional merit and erudition. 
 It differs in form and method from the work of Cossa, 
 but it is the only criticism in the English language at 
 all comparable to the elaborate work of the great 
 Italian scholar. 
 
 Experience is daily showing the utter failure of 
 Adam Smithes system, but it is not in any sense neces- 
 sary that the reforms proposed by the Communists 
 and Socialists, by Utopian philosophers, the jLand 
 Nationalists, and least of all by the Nihilists, are re- 
 quired or adequate to remedy the evils complained of, 
 or afford a satisfactory solution of the continually in- 
 tensifying difficulties of our social life. The errors 
 into which the various schemes have led their pro- 
 moters are many and diverse. They do not fit them- 
 selves to the characters and circumstances of mankind 
 now existing. Throughout the whole of the Utopian 
 allegories men are supposed to be actuated by the 
 highest and purest motives. Ambition, pride, selfish- 
 * EncyclopfediaBritannica," Political Economy,'' vol. xix., p. 401. 
 
THE LABOUE QUESTION SOLVED. 235 
 
 ness, and all other evil and ignoble passions are 
 ignored, and men are treated as thougli these qualities 
 had no place in the government of their lives op 
 conduct. 
 
 The communal and socialist systems, as heretofore 
 existing or attempted, invariably demand sweeping 
 and radical changes in human character as the first 
 condition, not merely of success, but of existence. 
 The earliest communistic society was that of the 
 Christians in the first Apostolic days. The change in 
 human character necessary to create and sustain that 
 wonderful society was no less than the regeneration 
 of the hearts of its members, and the utter extinction 
 in them of selfishness. The breach of this condition, 
 as in the case of Ananias and Sapphira, threatened 
 the destruction of the community, and, as the develop- 
 ment was itself superhuman, detection and punish- 
 ment were superhuman also. This is the only recorded 
 instance of a community actuated solely by unselfish- 
 ness and brotherly love. Unfortunately with decay 
 of faith it soon faded. The systems of the leading 
 modern socialistic and communistic teachers have 
 been founded upon either complete changes or serious 
 modifications both of the thoughts and customs of 
 ordinary life. The institution of the family and of 
 the marriage state, the sanctities of home, parental 
 control, and the incentive of emulation, the natural 
 difierence and inequality of physical and mental 
 power, the noble rivalry which springs from honour- 
 
 Q 2 
 
236 PROM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OEj 
 
 able competition^ the reward of active industry and 
 talent, the punishment attending upon idleness, indif- 
 ference, and criminal selfishness, amongst other things, 
 are either totally obliterated or so nearly lost as to 
 change well-nigh completely the aspects and condi- 
 tions of the immemorial life of man. 
 
 The error of the Socialists lies in this, that they 
 mingle together and confound the science of politics 
 or government and the science of political economy or 
 wealth. The production and distribution of wealth, 
 as such, do not, nor can they ever properly, form part 
 of the functions of government. The primary objects 
 of government are, as we know, the protection of life, 
 property, and liberty. To provide for the safety and 
 good govei'nment of a people is the first duty of 
 any Government. But in a highly-civilised state of 
 society it is found that many things are required by 
 the community and by the people as a whole, inde- 
 pendently of actual safety, though sometimes in 
 the interests of all and for the public welfare. The 
 administration of justice and the national defence are 
 primary objects ; the building and control of railroads 
 and the establishment of a postal service are matters 
 of public convenience. It is quite possible, under 
 existing circumstances, that the governing powers in 
 any State may have not only to make public improve- 
 ments upon which considerable sums of money are 
 expended, and many men employed beyond the ordi- 
 nary work of the public departments, but also to give 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 237 
 
 facilities for self-support to those out of work in order 
 to prevent suffering, pauperism, and crime. And in 
 doing this it seems proper to assert that the labourers 
 if employed should be made to produce wealth in some 
 shape to reimburse the State for its expenditure. If 
 possible, they should be so employed as to utilise for 
 their own support land and other forces of nature in 
 the country itself. 
 
 It was upon this principle that the pauper colonies 
 of Holland and T3elgium were founded, and it was 
 upon a still wider and deeper principle that the 
 colonies of New South Wales and Tasmania were 
 made to turn the dangerous classes and the waste 
 lands of the empire into great and flourishing com- 
 munities. The State, however, in these cases only 
 placed the three factors of production in contact, land, 
 labour, and capital, and private and associated enter- 
 prise did the rest. If, as the Socialists teach, the 
 State is to control the production of all commodities, 
 to become the employer of all labour, the distributer 
 of all wealth, why should it not, also, say what cloth- 
 ing, what food, what sports, what religion all the 
 people are to use and practise ? In such a case all 
 liberty and all individuality would be gone. But 
 human society will never consent to such a state of 
 things. Not even the most advanced Socialist would 
 tolerate so dreadful a bondage for a week. All that 
 the Socialists require and wish for, — and far more, — can 
 be obtained by a true political economy. Every sys- 
 
238 FROM POVBBTY TO PLENTY; OB, 
 
 tem or invention which will increase production, every 
 facility for transit over land and sea, every method 
 and appliance for the swift and economical exchange 
 of different commodities ; every plan of social refor- 
 mation which will provide I'or the fair and just distri- 
 bution of the necessaries and comforts of life, can be 
 worked and used with propriety and effect under 
 political economy, and under political economy alone. 
 Their aim, so far as it asserts the right of the indi- 
 viduals who create wealth to enjoy it, is proper. But 
 they will never achieve it by confounding the domains 
 of the two sciences nor by making the State one vast 
 field of Government agencies. On the other hand, 
 the political economists have ever looked upon poli- 
 tical economy as a science whereby capital might be 
 increased, and the wealth of the wealthy become more 
 and more abundant. 
 
 Nature performs its appointed duties with won- 
 derful regularity, all its parts work in sympathetic 
 accord with each other. The seasons come and go. 
 Seed time and harvest, summer and winter, storm 
 and sunshine, night and day, pass on in their courses. 
 The vegetable kingdom obeys its laws ; the animals 
 perpetuate their different species without fail; the 
 very worms which, so far as we know, blindly follow 
 their instinctive laws of existence, help to enrich the 
 earth, draining and fertilising the soil and fitting it for 
 the service of man. All nature offers to humanity 
 those objects and aspects which satisfy our desires. 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 239' 
 
 delight our consciousness, or gratify our tastes. For 
 what and for whom is this " banquet of nature " 
 spread ? Is it for the wealthy only, or the great, or 
 the wise, or the powerful ? 
 
 We are surrounded by invisible laws which, properly 
 understood and wisely applied, will give the bounties 
 of nature and of industry freely and without ceasing 
 to all. And while the fair earth and its products 
 were not granted to any small section of mankind,, 
 neither were the laws which regulate their distribution 
 framed to enrich only a favoured few. Any science 
 which teaches such a doctrine is false. Those laws of 
 production and distribution which extend the blessings 
 of nature and the rewards of toil to all, and those 
 alone, are true. All others, however specious and 
 plausible, are false. 
 
 Nor is it difficult to believe that the true system 
 under which man is to retain the fruits of his toil, and 
 which is intended to turn the curse into a blessing, 
 will be, when discovered, simple and easily understood. 
 Such a science, treating as it must of the laws which 
 produce and distribute temporal blessings cannot in 
 its nature be a " dismal science," but a glorious and 
 comprehensive plan suited to all lands, all times, all 
 people, and all circumstances. 
 
 The causes of failure of all modern attempts, such 
 as those of Fourier, St. Simon, Eobert Owen, and 
 Calet, are not only to be found in the aversion felt 
 by the majority of men to the overturning of so 
 
240 FEOM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 many beloved institutions ; they are traceable also, 
 regarded as societies existing for the production and 
 distribution of wealth, to the insecure, illogical, and 
 uncertain foundations upon which they were built. 
 Even a slight examination will be sufficient to reveal 
 many causes, all operating towards the defeat and 
 extinction of such associations. And this, although 
 founded and governed by men of enthusiastic tem- 
 perament, varied knowledge, and lofty purposes. 
 Among the more prominent of these we shall discern 
 causes of various natures. It is difficult to reduce 
 them into any order or to class them in distinct 
 categories. Many of them are of the same general 
 character. Some are absolutely distinct. Thus at- 
 tention may be directed to — 
 
 1 . The unscientific and illogical mingling of moral, 
 
 political, and economic principles contained in 
 the plans themselves. 
 
 2. The distinguishing features already alluded to 
 
 in the weakening of family ties and parental 
 authority. 
 
 3. The abolition or partial abolition of individuality, 
 
 personal property, and personal rights and 
 responsibilities. 
 
 4. The fundamental error running through them 
 
 all, of the equality of men in rights and powers, 
 in requirements, and in share of property. 
 
 5. The necessity of a complete moral change in men 
 
 as a condition precedent to permanent success. 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 241 
 
 6. The aversion to religion, or to that form of it 
 
 which is prescribed by the Christian Faith. 
 
 7. The uncertainty of reward for industry or merit, 
 
 and of punishment for idleness and wrong- 
 doing. 
 
 8. The absence of the ordinary inducements of life 
 
 to energy, foresight, and the exercise of in- 
 dividual powers. 
 All these but the first would necessarily affect the 
 individual members of every such association, and 
 sooner or later ensure disaster. These, however, 
 are not all. Others are plainly perceivable which 
 would affect the association as a whole. Amongst the 
 most prominent and most certain of these, in addition 
 to the first above mentioned, to produce discontent, 
 •disunion, and dissolution, are the following : — 
 
 1. The only common bond between the members 
 
 was that of opinion, which being necessarily 
 temporary and changeful, would sooner or 
 later be broken. 
 
 2. There existed no authority based upon the civil 
 
 laws of the country empowering the association 
 to make and enforce rules and regulations for 
 its own interior management, and no govern- 
 ing body armed with legal authority. 
 
 3. There existed no person or corporate body in 
 
 whom the common property and rights of the 
 whole society were vested in accordance with 
 law, in trust for the benefit of all interested, 
 
242 FROM POVEETy TO PLENTY; OB^ 
 
 no body or council possessed of legal powers 
 and compellable to act for the common benefit 
 by laws similar to those which regulate joint 
 stock companies. 
 It is by no means difficult to perceive that these 
 errors being contained in the plans themselves, must 
 inevitably lead to confusion and failure. The mere 
 existence of such flaws in the construction and being 
 of the associations, would necessarily tend to their 
 destruction. It is not necessary to elaborate the 
 reasons which influence judgment in this matter. 
 The principles which formed the basis of these com- 
 munities were in many cases immoral. The bonds of 
 federation were weak and brittle ; the hopes held out 
 were cloudy and indistinct ; the objects aimed at were 
 greatly inferior in power of attraction to the ordinary 
 purposes and objects of life, and the methods of 
 attainment were inconsequential and uncertain. In 
 addition to all these the sacrifices necessary were 
 great, and not only great but continuous. In the 
 face of such difficulties and so great uncertainty of 
 event, it is not surprising that every practical effort 
 failed. It would have been nothing short of a miracle 
 if any one of these attempts had permanently suc- 
 ceeded. 
 
 Many efforts which have been made to improve the 
 condition of the masses of civilised humanity, have 
 been weakened by the diff'use nature and extent of 
 the theories propounded and the experiments made. 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 243 
 
 Thisj without doubt, has arisen from the want of a 
 clear perception of the fact that the science of wealthy 
 its production, exchange, and distribution, stands 
 alone and apart from all other sciences, as complete 
 in itself as the sciences of chemistry, or geometry. 
 
 It may perhaps be safely stated that any science 
 will become known and capable of application in 
 exact proportion as its limits and laws are clearly 
 distinguished from those of other sciences, however 
 analogous or cognate in their nature and operation. 
 The science of political economy has only lately been 
 studied and understood as distinct and separate from 
 all other sciences. 
 
 In the consideration of this subject it must be 
 remembered that political economy envelopes the tem- 
 poral existence of all men. The exact sciences have 
 no aim or object. They are the laws of nature regula- 
 ting space, form, attraction, and proportions of things. 
 They exist altogether outside and independent of 
 humanity. Men cannot change or modify them in 
 the smallest degree. With all the sciences and laws 
 which touch and affect men as such, the case is 
 different. These have a purpose in the general 
 economy of existence. They can indeed be prosti- 
 tuted to other and baser ends. They are continually 
 so misused. It is the triumph of man's intellect to 
 discover not only the laws themselves, but their 
 proper object. The great difference between political 
 economy as now understood, and Socialism, Com- 
 
.244 FEOM POVEETY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 munismj and the Utopian theories is this : — The 
 first consists of proper means towards improper ends, 
 or none at all; the second of ends partly proper 
 and partly improper, without any, or, at any rate, 
 adequate means for their accomplishment. 
 
 The experiments made by Communists and Socialists 
 towards social improvement and happiness traverse 
 in every instance too wide a field. The dreams o£ 
 Utopian writers are tinged with the same colouring. 
 Sometimes they touch upon the distribution of wealth 
 as well as its production, as in Sir Thomas More's 
 " Utopia," and Morelly^s " Basiliade." Sometimes 
 they pass by this subject altogether as foreign to or 
 outside of the ideas of social organisation, as iu 
 Plato's " Republic." In the efforts of the Oomman- 
 ist and Socialist leaders, and the plans proposed by 
 them for the amelioration of human want and suf- 
 fering, the production of wealth from nature by the 
 labour of men, as well as its distribution, found indeed 
 a place, but generally a subordinate place. But in 
 no scheme, either theoretically or in practice, have 
 the limits of the laws of the production, exchange, 
 and distribution of wealth been considered apart and 
 distinct from aU other questions. Many writers have 
 seen with great clearness the errors which existed in 
 society, resulting in the startling contrasts between, 
 wealth and poverty ; nor were they blind to the 
 sources from which these disparities arose. Thus 
 Morelly ascribes all the evils which men suffer 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 245 
 
 through the unequal distribution of wealth to one 
 source, namely, the vice of avarice. " The only vice 
 in the universe is avarice. All the others, whatever 
 be their name, are only different modifications of this 
 vice." 
 
 And in concluding a book written in answer to 
 some sharp criticisms upon his " Basiliade,'' he stated 
 that selfishness or private interest is " the universal 
 pest, the slow fever, the consumptive disease of 
 society ■" ; and he preached an absolute communion in 
 property as the great panacea for the woes, which 
 afflicb humanity. 
 
 It is remarkable that in all the modern experiments 
 and in all teaching, both ancient and modern, where 
 the improvement of social organisation has been 
 attempted, no effort whatever has been made to de- 
 velop a true science of political economy, nor to sepa- 
 rate the production and distribution of wealth from 
 the general plans for social improvement. Through- 
 out, from Robert Owen's institution at New Lanark 
 and from the societies of St. Simon and Fourier, in 
 France, down to the latest experiments in the United 
 States, the same tendency is manifest. The proposals 
 of the International, and of all the Socialist bodies in 
 England, France, and Germany, are all weakened by 
 the same defect. Until a better foundation is laid 
 down in theory, practical in its nature, logical in its 
 condition, and widely beneficial in its results, the old 
 system will not only continue in existence, but it will 
 
246 FEOM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 increase in vigour. If all the plans wMcli are pro- 
 posed, from those of the loftiest Christian communism 
 to the lowest depths of the destruction advocated 
 by Nihilism were reduced into practice, and the 
 present selfish system of political economy, restricted, 
 as it is, to mere chrematistic science, were continued, 
 the conditions of the multitudes of men would not be 
 bettered, at any rate permanently. Men wonder at the 
 failure of so many noble undertakings, of so much 
 philanthropic and religious effort, of so many seemingly 
 well-conceived plans. So far as these plans are in- 
 tended to affect the religious and moral life of men, 
 they must fail unless founded upon the simplest doc- 
 trines of Christianity. So far as they are aimed at 
 the alteration of social life, they will undoubtedly fall 
 to pieces or fade away if they propose to alter mar- 
 riage relations, family and parental discipline, and 
 those ordinary forms of society which have commonly 
 existed from time immemorial. So far as they 
 attempt to rectify the abuses and sorrows under 
 which, through the unequal distribution of wealth, 
 men now suffer, they mast also be defeated unless 
 they proceed upon a pure and logical system of 
 economics consistent with justice and practicable in 
 daily life. 
 
 The United States have provided a theatre during 
 the last half-century for more experiments upon com- 
 munistic and socialistic foundations than have been 
 attempted during all previous historic times. In the 
 
THE LABO[JE QUESTION SOLVED. 247 
 
 history of these movements, there seem to have been 
 two epochs closely assimilated to the two epochs of 
 the co-operative movement in England. The first 
 dates from the introduction of the principles of Robert 
 Owen to America in 1823, and the second from the 
 Fourier movement in 1843. 
 
 In a most interesting and instructive volume, Mr. 
 J. H. Noyes, — himself no inconsiderable figure in the 
 development of this socialistic philosophy, — ^has given 
 a complete summary of the history of these com- 
 munities.* 
 
 A compendious record had been commenced many 
 years before by a Mr. A. F. Macdonald, who, how- 
 ever, died before his work was nearly completed. 
 Macdonald was one of those who toil on patiently for 
 the good of men. Sombre and grave in manner, with 
 a benevolent but withal sad air, he travelled far and 
 wide through the States gathering all possible infor- 
 mation about all societies, living or dead. His aim 
 was pure and noble. In an unpublished preface to 
 the contemplated work, found many years after his 
 death in 1854, amongst his papers, he says : — "I have 
 reason to believe, from long experience among social 
 reformers, that such a work is indeed, and will be, 
 most interesting. It will serve as a guide to all future 
 experiments, showing what has already been done ; 
 like a lighthouse pointing to the rocks on which so 
 
 * " History of American Socialism," J. H. Noyes, Philadelphia, 
 Lippincott, 1870. 
 
248 FEOM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 many had been wrecked, or to the haven in which the 
 few have found rest. It will give facts and statistics 
 to be depended upon, gathered from the most authentic 
 sources, and forming a collection of interesting narra- 
 tives. It will show the errors of enthusiasts and the 
 triumphs of the cool-thinking, the disappointments of 
 the sanguine, and the dear-bought experience of many- 
 social adventurers. It will give mankind an idea of 
 the labour of body and mind that has been expended 
 to realise a better state of society; to substitute a 
 social and co-operative state for a competitive one ; a 
 system of harmony for one of discord." And in 
 another preface, speaking as becomes a man of sombre 
 mind, and with an air of sadness, he says : — " It re- 
 mains for a future historian to continue the labour 
 which I have thus superficially commenced ; for the 
 day has not yet arrived when it can be said that 
 communism or association has ceased to exist, and it 
 is possible yet in the progress of things that man will 
 endeavour to cure his social diseases by some such 
 means ; and a future history may contain the results 
 of more important experiments than have ever yet 
 been attempted. I here return my thanks to the 
 fearless, confiding, and disinterested friends who so 
 freely shared with me what little they possessed to 
 assist in the completion of this work. I name them 
 not, but rejoice in their assistance." 
 
 This was written shortly before Macdonald's death. 
 He and his fearless and confiding friends have mostly 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 249 
 
 passed to the jadgment of Him who seeth not as 
 man seeth, for man looketh upon the outward appear- 
 ance, but the Lord looketh on the heart. The large 
 mass of material collected by Macdonald was used, 
 and is gratefully acknowledged by Mr. Noyes, who, 
 however, amplified and corrected it, and incorporated 
 its results with his own extended observations. The 
 History of American Socialism contains brief histories 
 of nearly one hundred distinct societies based upon 
 widely different principles and plans. 
 
 Besides the works of Hepworth Dixon and Noyes, 
 a very careful summary of the finances, principles, and 
 statistics of some of the leading American communi- 
 ties has been written by Mr. Nordhoff, whose work 
 is the result, for the most part, of his own examina- 
 tion. I do not include in these brief criticisms upon 
 the American communities any mention of the Mor- 
 mon history. That is a subject in itself, which, with- 
 out doubt, contains many of the features of other 
 individual societies, but extends, in its principles and 
 practice, to a wider range than any of the rest. 
 
 The destiny of Mormonism is tolerably certain. 
 Its peculiar and distinguishing feature of polygamy 
 will gradually fade. Its extinction will be brought 
 about partly, no doubt, by the positive laws which the 
 States seem determined, not only to enact, but to 
 carry into execution. A still more potent factor for 
 its destruction will be found in the continuous settle- 
 ment of Gentiles in Salt Lake City and the territory 
 
250 FEOM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OB, 
 
 of trtah, and the breaking down of those barriers 
 which isolation once placed around the location of the 
 chosen people. The tendency of all civilised com- 
 munities is to monogamy. The one man and one 
 woman theory will outlast and overcome all others. 
 It was possible for a few enthusiasts, living alone and 
 apart from the world, secluded by antipathy and 
 violence, to cling with devotion even to the errors 
 which brought persecution upon them. But when 
 the busy stream flows through and intermingles with 
 the sequestered pool, the stagnant water must unite 
 with the flowing stream, and partake of the force and 
 nature of the current with which it mingles. 
 
 The economy of Mormonism, which will with 
 advantage be retained, may still become a practical 
 precedent for the production and distribution of 
 wealth. And, indeed, the illustration given by the 
 history of the Mormons is quite sufficient to 
 prove that wise measures as well as simple may 
 unite the production and distribution of all the 
 comforts of life gathered even from the sand of 
 a desert, by the hand of labour, under every dis- 
 advantage. No community has ever carried the 
 principle of co-operation so far as they. Mr. Nord- 
 hoff's book, with greater distinctness, and with sharper 
 outline than the woi-ks of Dixon or Noyes, presents 
 the social principles on which the American communi- 
 ties are based. Prom extreme and absolute celibacy 
 to a condition of common sexual life perhaps un- 
 
THE LABOITE QUESTION SOLVED. 251 
 
 paralleled in any ancient or modern State, we see the 
 gradations in which it is possible for men to live out 
 their little span of existence. The great majority of 
 the American communities founded within the last 
 seventy-five years have already perished. Those 
 which remain will, as such communities, foUow the 
 same track. Nor will the world be any worse when 
 these strange and paradoxical experiments in human 
 life and social existence shall have passed out of the 
 region of fact, and simply live upon the page of 
 history. They also will have served their purpose 
 upon the earth; they will have warned men of the 
 rocks and shallows which abound in parts of the sea 
 of life ; they will still live to point a moral or adorn 
 a tale. It was necessary that all possible thoughts 
 and theories of life should be attempted, that men in 
 these modern times of mental activity and speculation 
 should behold the difference in the possibilities for the 
 attainment of happiness which lie respectively in the 
 old and well-trodden regions of human practice and 
 revealed law, and in those fanciful and grotesque fields 
 to which they were led by the strange vagaries of 
 speculative thought. 
 
 The most pleasing, as it is the most interesting, of 
 the communities whose history is sketched by Mr. 
 Nordhoff is that of the district of Vineland, where one 
 of the great problems of civilised life is practically 
 solved; and although this practical solution exists 
 only upon a limited area as regards locality and num- 
 
 E 2 
 
252 FROM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OR, 
 
 bers, yet in principle it is clearly capable of wide, 
 perhaps of universal application. In another portion 
 of this book, I had, many months before reading the 
 history of Vineland, hazarded the statement that the 
 liquor traffic and public drunkenness could be palpably 
 lessened, if not absolutely extinguished, were the 
 present facilities and inducements for the sale aud 
 purchase of spirituous liquors removed. The history 
 of Vineland strengthens my belief in the theory I then 
 advocated. 
 
 The figures which Mr. Nordhoff gives as to the 
 material success of many of the American communi- 
 ties are suggestive and encouraging. For they all 
 bear testimony to the same truth that by the union 
 of land, labour, and capital in one proprietary, — even 
 though the land be poor, the labour weak and in- 
 efficient, and the capital small, — the results prove 
 (conclusively that there is no need upon the earth 
 for that want and suffering with their attendant 
 crime, which spring from enforced idleness. 
 
 These communities are subject to the same laws 
 as the more ambitious efforts before alluded to. 
 The same elements of weakness and decay exist in 
 them as brought the plans of Owen, of Fourier, and 
 St. Simon to ruin. In all such efforts there must 
 be system, and system according to logic and to 
 law. There must be a foundation of legal force and 
 authority, a title to land and other property, rewards 
 for industry and talent, and punishment for vice and 
 indolence. 
 
THE TABODE QUESTION SOLVED. 253 
 
 The American socialistic experimenls are ia no 
 sense to be compared as efforts to better the condition 
 of the working classes with co-operative schemes in 
 England, or the friendly societies, or the trade and 
 labour unions. They were little more than attempts 
 in the organisation of social life. Here as elsewhere 
 we are met by the unfortunate fact that the com- 
 plete autonomy of the science of wealth has not yet 
 been recognised or understood. It stands, or ought 
 to stand, distinct and perfect in itself. It is, indeed, 
 joined with other sciences in the world of law as 
 individual men are comprised in a nation, but, like 
 each individual, it has its own separate existence. 
 It is confounded with politics, with communism, with 
 socialism, and with religion, but it is totally distinct 
 from all. It is simply the system of laws by which 
 wealth can be best produced, most easily exchanged, 
 and most equitably distributed. Politics may indeed 
 guide its development by positive law ; religion, by 
 its honesty and sympathy, promote its interests and 
 inspire its activity, but it is distinct from both. 
 The indiscriminate combinations of wealth-producing 
 and communal and socialist settlements have nearly 
 always failed. They who would succeed in the prac- 
 tice of political economy must be guided by proper 
 and just laws for that science only. Neither govern- 
 ment, theology, communism, nor socialism, however 
 perfect, can supply the want of correct principles for the 
 science of wealth. Beyond the necessaries of life there 
 lies the region in which man seeks knowledge and 
 
254 FEOM POVEETT TO PLENTY J OE, 
 
 rest and recreation. In a period such as this, when 
 under wise and righteous social laws wealth so easily 
 procured might he widely enjoyed^ there seems no 
 serious difficulty in providing for the whole community 
 a very large participation not only in the means of 
 living, but in the means of making life enjoyable. 
 
 The nearest approach to a practical theory is that 
 of Karl Max (Winkelblech), which, however, rests 
 in theory only, and it is one of the strongest testi- 
 monies to the virtue of co-operation or association 
 ever written. 
 
 Among other proposals must be mentioned one, 
 which during the last few years, has achieved great 
 publicity. I allude to the Land Nationalisation of 
 Mr. Henry George and Mr. Wallace. 
 
 The proposition made by Mr. George in his valuable 
 work, " Progress and Poverty," if carried into effect 
 would not, so far as I can see, achieve the result 
 which he, with so much enthusiasm, hopes and wishes 
 to obtain. Nor is it easy to see how the condition of 
 the labouring classes would be improved materially 
 by adopting his one principle stated by himself in 
 these words, " We must make land common pro- 
 perty.'' At the present time land is common pro- 
 perty in so far as all land belongs to the State, and 
 it is undeniable that the commonwealth has at any 
 time a right, complete in itself, to resume possession 
 of its own. 
 
 The proposals to which Mr. George invites the 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 200 
 
 assent of thinking men^ as following upon the adop- 
 tion of his one principle^ are two in number. The 
 first isj — 
 
 " We should satisfy the lawof justice ; we should 
 meet all economic requirements by^ at one stroke, 
 abolishing all private titles, declaring all land public 
 property, and letting it out to the highest bidders 
 in lots to suit under such conditions as would sacredly 
 guard the private right of improvements. 
 
 " But such a plan, though perfectly feasible, does 
 not seem to me the best. 
 
 " I do not propose either to purchase or to confis- 
 cate private property in land. 
 
 "It is not necessary to confiscate land, it is only 
 necessary to confiscate rent. 
 
 "What I therefore propose as a simple, yet 
 sovereign remedy, which will raise wages, increase 
 the earnings of capital, extirpate pauperism, abolish 
 poverty, give remunerative employment to whoever 
 wishes it, afford free scope to human powers, lessen 
 crime, elevate morals and taste and intelligence, 
 purify government, and carry civilisation to yet 
 nobler heights, is io wppropriate rent by taxation."* 
 
 Surely such reasoning as this overshoots itself, 
 and is not calculated to eSect the noble purposes 
 which its author has in view. 
 
 The appropriation of all rent by taxation without 
 compensation to the owners, would be, in spite of 
 * " Progress and Poverty,'' p. 287. 
 
256 JEOM POTIETY TO PLENTY; OE^ 
 
 any arguments on abstract justice^ a glaring wrong ; 
 nor would it effect any of the reforms contemplated 
 by Mr. Greorge. 
 
 What it would do would be simply to take the 
 burden of taxation from the shoulders of the many 
 and from wealth of all other kinds^ to the ruin of one 
 particular class of the community. 
 
 The evil effects of our present land laws and the 
 necessity for radical changCj are plain and certain, 
 but to advance the proposition that all land is to be 
 common property, and to carry that principle out in 
 its full meaning, would be to cause society to dissolve 
 and communities to relapse into barbarism. 
 
 If it be once admitted that in one particular spot, — 
 whether it be a small allotment in a crowded city on 
 which stands the shop and dwelling of a tradesman, 
 or half a dozen acres in the vicinity of some great 
 town from which the dairyman or market gardener 
 raises with unremitting toil that produce, upon the 
 sale of which he and his family subsist, or whether"it 
 be the farm where corn and cattle and fruit are grown 
 for the food of men, — one man as against all the 
 world shall have the right of occupation for any 
 specified time, however limited, then that land so far 
 is not, and cannot be, common property. 
 
 Mr. George's argument is also wrong and contra- 
 dictory considered from another point of view. He 
 states that private property in land is unjust, and 
 that it cannot be defended on the score of justice. 
 
THE LAUOUE QUESTION SOLVED. 257 
 
 The same reasoning might be applied to the owner- 
 ship of all cattle, sheep, and all living animals ; all 
 fruit and productions o£ the earth ; and all natural 
 production whatever. But to assert that no man has 
 a right to the exclusive use of and exclusive property 
 in land under any restrictions, or for a specified time, 
 is to forbid all building, all cultivation, all improve- 
 ment, and all advance of civilisation. No man would 
 build a house, or rent a house, unless the exclusive 
 possession of that house were secured to him by law ; 
 and no man would plough a field or plant an orchard 
 unless the law of the society in which he lived assured 
 to him the exclusive right to reap the crop and 
 gather the fruit in harvest. 
 
 To say, therefore, that there can be no private pro- 
 perty in, and no exclusive use of, land by individuals, 
 is irrational and absurd. The very proposition which 
 Mr. George makes to appropriate rent by taxation, 
 proves that there must be exclusive possession and 
 usage of the land by those who pay the rents. Pro- 
 perty in land, according to our law, is of various 
 kinds. For instance, there is the title in fee simple, 
 which is a perpetual title or for lives, the highest title 
 known to English law ; a title for a term of years or 
 for less than a year, and title by permission or sufi"er- 
 ance or by occupancy. All these, however, are 
 private property in land. The error into which it 
 seems to me that Mr. George has fallen is in con- 
 founding the distinctions which exist between prin- 
 
258 PROM POTEETY TO PLENTY; OEj 
 
 ciples and degrees. In his anxiety to redress the 
 great sufiferings which have been and now are being 
 inflicted upon the poorer classes by the unequal and 
 unjust distribution of wealthy and by the operation of 
 those artificial laws which enable the owners of land 
 to live in opulence on the labours and privations of 
 their fellow-men, he has rushed to conclusions which 
 reason does not warrant. He has wrongly traced the 
 miseries which men suffer in his eagerness to relieve 
 those miseries. 
 
 The aggregation of enormous estates in fee simple 
 in private hands, the great increase in value of those 
 lands by what is called the " unearned increment," 
 or, as it would be more properly termed, the growth 
 of value; the immense political and social power 
 which has been given by the laws of descent, by the 
 powers of hereditary legislation, by the comparative 
 immunity from taxation, and by the controlling in- 
 fluence of a great landed aristocracy, all arising from 
 the excessive degree to which private ownership of 
 land has been carried, — these are indeed some of the 
 sources from which the present inequality of wealth, 
 — the poverty of the great masses of the people, — 
 have arisen. Under such conditions the history and 
 the laws of England have been made by the great 
 proprietors of land for their own benefit and the 
 aggrandisement of their order. By them literature 
 has been patronised and directed ; in their interest 
 laws, like the laws of Draco, written in blood, were 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 259 
 
 enacted ; for the protection of their interests standing 
 armies were maintainedj and the poor were left un- 
 educated. They did not exist and labour for the 
 public wealj but the whole machinery of government 
 and the industrial powers of a nation were utilised 
 directly and indirectly for their advancement and the 
 continuance of their power. The same history was 
 traced in France, but that history was stopped and its 
 institutions shattered by the Revolution. "With us it 
 will also be stopped by a revolution, we may hope, 
 not of blood, but of thought, of reason, of argument, 
 and of public opinion. With us the tongue and the 
 pen will.prove mightier than the sword. 
 
 It cannot be denied, as a matter of taxation simply, 
 that land and land values are the fairest and most 
 easily-collected of all taxes. But there is other wealth 
 besides the value of land which should bear its share 
 of the burdens of society, while luxuries should un- 
 doubtedly contribute their portion. Nationalisation 
 of land will not give all that is required ; taxation of 
 land is indeed a just taxation, and the principle in 
 that direction advocated from the days of Louis XV. 
 to the year of grace 1888, seem to me undoubtedly 
 ■correct. But other species of property should be 
 taxed also. All wealth, which is not created by the 
 personal effort of the individual man, is brought into 
 existence either by the laws of nature or by the work 
 of others. For that, therefore, the possessor is in- 
 debted either to nature, — that is, to forces which are 
 
260 FROM POVERTY TO PLENTY ; OR, 
 
 primarily common property, — or to the labours of 
 others. Taxation is levied to supply the natural wants 
 of a whole community. The State is, from this point 
 of view, an individual ; its wants must be satisfied, its 
 debts paid, its safety assured, its functions properly 
 exercised, its multifarious duties duly performed. To 
 supply the annual charges necessary for all these 
 duties, it draws or ought to draw upon its own re- 
 venues. That revenue of right should be derived 
 from those portions of the aggregate estate and 
 wealth of the entire people which more especially 
 belongs to the community at large. The unearned 
 increment in land, the amassed wealth inherited or 
 obtained by gift, or will, or succession from others, 
 the personal estate of indiviuals not the result of the 
 personal toil of the owner, — these are more properly 
 the subjects of public taxation because they belong 
 more to the general body of the people than the 
 immediate proceeds of a man's own personal labour. 
 But no system of taxation can ever do away with 
 want and hunger except by pauperising the people, 
 and to do that is to smite part of the nation with 
 moral leprosy. We must not rest upon any govern- 
 ment, or any system of laws, for these are always 
 liable to abuse, to corruption, and to tyranny. We 
 must trust to the reasoning power which tells us to 
 seek an economic plan. 
 
 The only way in which land and the instruments 
 of production can ever be truly nationalised is by 
 
THE LABOTJE QUESTION SOLVED. 261 
 
 enabling the people to enjoy the benefits and share in 
 the wealth arising from their use. This is possible. 
 It is at once justj wise, expedient, and easy of accom- 
 plishment. 
 
 Turn now to the observation of another truth 
 necessary to the proper consideration of the subject. 
 All land in the British Empire is held from the Crown 
 as representing the people. The highest title is a 
 tenancy in fee simple. No person versed in English 
 Constitutional Law can doubt that under certain 
 circumstances and upon certain conditions all lands 
 granted by such a title may be resumed by the State. 
 The taking of all rent values by taxation, therefore, 
 as advocated by Henry George is perfectly legal and 
 perfectly legitimate. Two conditions, however, are 
 always attached to the taking by the State of the 
 individual property of its citizens. First, it must 
 be necessary for the public safety or the public 
 good. Second, such recompense must be made 
 to the individual by the State if possible as will 
 compensate him for the loss which he sustains. 
 The greatest sacrifice of all which the State demands 
 from its individual members, — that of life, — it is 
 impossible to repay, but all questions of material 
 property can be fairly adjusted and compensation 
 given. If this be not done, the taking by the State 
 of the property of an individual or a class as contra- 
 distinguished from that of the community, is either 
 confiscation or robbery. Familiar instances of the 
 resumption of land are to be found in the formation 
 
262 FROM POVIETT TO PLENTY ; OE, 
 
 of public workSj of municipal improvements^ and the 
 erection of military stations. Upon principle, there 
 ought to be no hesitation whatever in resuming land 
 for the purpose of settling industrious workers upon 
 it. The proposed purchase of the Irish estates is a 
 gigantic case in point. Although the plans of Mr. 
 George and the Socialists are not identical, yet they 
 are nearly enough connected to enable us to criticise 
 them almost in the same manner. What the Land 
 Nationalist would do with land the Social Democrat 
 or Federalist would do with all the means and instru- 
 ments of production. All capital, all machinery, all 
 means of productive usefulness should become the 
 property of the State. There is but one difference in 
 the ground of their arguments, and that can only be 
 partially applied. Mr. George and Mr. Wallace hold 
 that land is the source of all wealth. Land, therefore, 
 is national property, — but many of the Socialists go 
 further. They teach with the physiocrats that all 
 the forces of nature including land are the sources 
 of wealth. Why, therefore, should not all cattle, 
 sheep, and fruits of the earth and seas ; all discovered 
 laws of nature and inventions, belong to the people ? 
 
 There is a strange dissimilarity between the two 
 schools in one important respect. While the leaders 
 of the Land Nationalists number in their ranks most 
 eminent Christian men and teachers, the great body 
 of the Socialists are essentially infidel. 
 
 The unbelief which prevails among the majority of 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 263 
 
 Socialists is both strange and distressing. They look 
 upon religion and the churches, — and in the later case 
 with too much justicej — as maintaining the present 
 order of things and as persistent opponents to all 
 plans for social regeneration. They are not content to 
 look for a rectification of wrong-doing in a future 
 world. This life is certain and self-evident, and they 
 must realise their ideals here or not at all. They 
 occupy a peculiar position. They do not profess 
 atheism, but simply negative all notions of religion 
 and of God. The contemplation of the dreadful 
 sufferings under which the multitudes who create 
 wealth for others groan from the cradle to the grave 
 seems to prove that if there be a God, He is not a 
 God for the poor, the toiler, or the oppressed, but 
 only for the great, the rich, and the happy. They 
 give forth a pathetic and pitiable cry. Like the 
 children of Israel in Egypt or in later captivities, they 
 complain that God, if He exists, has forgotten them 
 and will not fulfil His promises. They are wrong and 
 foolish. But how great is the guilt of those who have 
 driven them to this practical atheism. 
 
 The result, and partly the cause, of this is the 
 antagonism of the churches generally to socialism, 
 and from this, as Schaeffle remarks, " the socialism of 
 to-day is through and through irreligious and hostile 
 to the church. But to this also there are notable 
 exceptions. In Germany the Eoman Church, led by 
 Von Ketteler, Archbishop of Mayence, who in his 
 
264 FROM POVEETT TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 book " The Labour Question and Christianity," uttered 
 a loud and eloquent appeal on behalf of the labouring 
 classes is an example. Eventually many of the 
 Protestant divines joined practically in the same cause, 
 which was unwisely checked by legislation in 1878. 
 
 And such, for example, was the position maintained 
 by the Christian Socialists of England forty years 
 ago, — a band of noble patriotic men who strove hard, 
 by word and deed, to bring all classes of the com- 
 munity to a knowledge of their duties, as well as their 
 interests, and to supersede, as far as might be, the 
 system of unlimited competition by a system of 
 universal co-operation. They inveighed against the 
 Manchester creed, then in the flush of success, with 
 an almost prophetic fury of conviction, as if it were 
 the special Antichrist of the nineteenth century. 
 Lassalle himself has not used harder words of it. 
 Maurice said he dreaded above everything " that 
 horrible catastrophe of a Manchester ascendency, 
 which I believe in my soul would be fatal to intellect, 
 morality, and freedom "; and Kingsley declared that 
 " of all narrow, conceited, hypocritical, anarchic, and 
 atheistic schemes of the universe, the Cobden and 
 Bright one was exactly the worst." They agreed 
 entirely with the Socialists in condemning the reign- 
 ing industrial system: it was founded on unrighteous- 
 ness; its principles were not only un-Christian, but 
 anti- Christian ; and in spite of its apparent commer- 
 cial victories, it would inevitably end in ruin and 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 265 
 
 disaster. Some of ttem had been in Paris and wit- 
 nessed the Revolution of 1848, and had brought back 
 with them two firm convictionSj — the one, that a 
 purely materialistic civilisation, like that of the July 
 Monarchy, must sooner or later lead to a like fate ; 
 and the other, that the Socialist idea of co-operation 
 contained the fertilising germ for developing a really 
 enduring and Christian civilisation. Mr. Ludlow 
 mentioned the matter to Maurice, and eventually a 
 society was formed, with Maurice as president, for the 
 purpose of promoting co-operation and education 
 among the working classes.* 
 
 This age is called upon to behold a revival of thai 
 sympathy which in other days the Christian Church 
 eflFectnally expressed for the poor and the oppressed. 
 Guilds and orders are rapidly rising in many Churches 
 which have for their object the amelioration of the 
 condition of the poor. Nor is it at all unusual to hear 
 the opinion openly stated that Christianity alone will 
 set right the disjointed and painful framework of the 
 body politic. 
 
 It should not, however, be forgotten that Chris- 
 tianity is a faith, and although it supplies the very 
 holiest and grandest motives, it cannot give a mode 
 of action. The whole Apostolic College could not, 
 were they on earth now, drive a steam engine with 
 safety, nor, save under miraculous power, speak a word 
 
 * John Rae, " Christain Socialism in Germany,'' Contemporary 
 Beview, January, 1882. 
 
266 FROM POVEETy TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 of English . The most pious and devoted Christian, 
 were he not a shoemakerj would make but a miserable 
 pair of boots. To accomplish any purpose in life, he 
 who essays to perform must know how to do the 
 thing proposed, and he must use means suitable and 
 sufficient for the end desired. So in this case, Chris- 
 tianity will, in truth, supply the motive power, but it 
 must work through a system of political economy 
 which will ensure, or at any rate allow, success. 
 Acting under the anti-Christian system now in vogue, 
 all the Churches of Christendom can be of little use. 
 Supposing a revival of the community of goods, what 
 would be the result ? Simply the giving up by the 
 wealthy of their property and their means of useful- 
 ness, to produce a community of paupers. The result 
 desired is different from this. It is to make the 
 poor rich through their own labours ; it is to give 
 the needy and helpless, the widow, and the orphan a 
 legal right to subsistence based upon contract, and 
 earned by the bygone common work of the com- 
 munity, including the recipients themselves, or their 
 husbands and fathers. It is to utilise the glorious 
 inheritage of desolate lands given to us, and to tap 
 the fountain of nature's golden streams. It is to suit 
 wise means to noble ends, to attain results of surpass- 
 ing value and importance to mankind by the adapta- 
 tion of natural laws and by the practice of honest 
 toil. 
 
 To accomplish this is the aim of all reformers in 
 
THE LABOUK QUESTION SOLVED. 267 
 
 this pathj but tlie means they take and the assistance 
 they invoke are different, and in many cases antagon- 
 istic. It is evident that in the opinion of men who 
 choose to think dispassionately upon this subject. 
 Socialism cannot succeed, and that if it could it 
 would be by no means the blessing which its leaders 
 hope. The revolution is too violent, and not in the 
 Tight direction. The best opinion is that of Dr. 
 Woolsey : — 
 
 " But in such a thorough change of society as Social- 
 ism contemplates there is no room for compromise. 
 The plan is to take away all the means of production, — 
 all land, machinery, manufactories, all means of trans- 
 port from private persons, — and transfer property in 
 them to the State, to abolish all private trade credit, 
 business relations, and the medium of circulation, 
 •without which these could not go on ; so that there 
 is not a work in life, not an employment or pursuit 
 that would not be put on a wholly new basis. What 
 room for compromise is there here ? There never 
 was a revolution in history since history told the story 
 ■of the world so complete as this ! Nations have 
 passed under the sway of conquerors, but an age or 
 two brought back the rights of property and free 
 management of their affairs to multitudes of the con- 
 quered. Nations have been deported to distant 
 settlements, but multitudes throve in the land of 
 exile, or their descendants were restored to their pro- 
 perty in their old home. Is it conceivable that with 
 
 s 2 
 
268 TEOM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OK, 
 
 all personal evils, wliicli stand at the very door of such 
 a change in view, multitudes would succumb and com- 
 promise rather than risk their lives for an essential 
 good and a sacred right, as they regard it, of them- 
 selves and their posterity."* 
 
 Dr. Woolsey shows the improbability, I had well- 
 nigh said impossibility, of the ultimate victory of 
 Socialism. In his book, so full of quiet and cogent 
 argument, of profound research, of moderate asser- 
 tion, of calm and deliberate enquiry, and of just 
 deductions, the author leaves scarcely anything to be 
 desired. I know of no other work upon this impor- 
 tant question which in the same brief space and 
 unpretending manner covers so wide a view, or draws 
 such clear deductions. 
 
 Contrasting the calm and philosophical manner 
 of this work with the abusive and contemptuous tone 
 adopted by some of those, for instance, who took it 
 upon themselves to criticise Mr. Henry George's 
 " Progress and Plenty," one cannot but help regret- 
 ting that the task of writing upon such questions 
 does not fall more often to the lot of men like Mr. 
 Theodore Woolsey. The aim of Socialism is summed 
 up by Schaeffle : — " The ; alpha and omega of 
 Socialism is the transmutation of private competing 
 capital into rented collective capital." 
 
 Many social reformers go one step further with 
 
 * Woolsey's " Communism and Socialism," p. 228. Scribnet 
 and Sons, 1883. 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 269 
 
 Socialists* JSTofc only do they admit mucTi of the 
 Socialist indictment against the present industrial 
 system, but they agree with the Socialists in thinking 
 that the only ultimate solution of the question will be 
 found in the union of capital and labour in the same 
 hands. It is in the method of bringing about this 
 solution, and in the form of its realisation, that social 
 reformers definitely part company with Socialists. 
 
 1. The only proper nationalisation of land is that 
 
 which takes the so-called unearned increment 
 for the service of all those who help to create 
 it, and provides that the land shall be held by 
 individuals or organisations for the benefit of 
 all thus aiding in its utilisation. 
 
 2. The organisation of industrial and agricultural 
 
 armies under State control must be limited, 
 first, to cases in which there are unemployed 
 who cannot obtain work in the labour market ; 
 and secondly, that the control of such produc- 
 tive bodies should not be restricted to the 
 State, but extended to all local bodies, and that 
 this control shall be only exercised in cases 
 where private or public associations are unable 
 to carry on the necessary undertakings. 
 
 The most elaborate work on State Socialism, but 
 which borders on true co-operation, is Gronlund : — t 
 
 " State Socialism, as to be practised in the co- 
 
 * " Socialism in England," p. 326, G. H. Orpen. 
 
 t Gronlund's " Co-operative Commonwealth," p. 105. 
 
270 PEOM POTEETY TO PLENTY j OK, 
 
 operative commonwealtlij is in no sense to be com- 
 munistic;" "all workers are to be paid by results." 
 " Communists make all property common property, 
 while our commonwealth will place only the instru- 
 ments of production, — land, machinery, raw material, 
 &c., — under collective control. They require every 
 one to do his share of labour, and allow him to 
 consume as he needs. Our commonwealth leaves- 
 everybody at perfect liberty to work as much or as 
 little as he pleases, or not at all; but makes 
 his consumption exactly commensurate with his 
 performances." 
 
 The pages which follow this quotation from Mr.. 
 Gronlund^'s able work are so clear and distinct in their 
 proofs of the advantages of co-operative production,, 
 exchange, and distribution, that I might well reprint 
 them in full. But no necessity is shown by the author 
 for the interference of the State, unless it be demon- 
 strated that voluntary associations cannot and will not 
 undertake the duties and privileges of so great a task. 
 To create and distribute wealth is no- part of the 
 duties of Government. It may, indeed, become 
 necessary for the Goverment, representing the people,, 
 to intervene between any section of the community 
 and want or enforced idleness. It may also be the 
 duty of the central or local authority to aid co-opera- 
 tive production and distribution, properly so called, 
 by giving land and advancing capital; but this is 
 proper, because the welfare of the whole is paramount 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLYED. 271 
 
 to the interest of the individual, and because the State 
 may be rightfully called on to protect its weakest 
 members. To hand over to the State, that is, the 
 Government for the time being, the whole production, 
 exchange, and distribution of wealth would be to 
 commit social and political suicide. The delays, the 
 corruptions, the tyrannies, the irresponsibility, the 
 favouritism, the bribery, the party feeling, the conser- 
 vatism, and the selfishness attaching to such a system 
 would be absolutely fatal to any hope of a favourable 
 result, and such an experiment must, while the present 
 necessities as to holding of property and as to human 
 character and conduct exist, end in fatal disaster. 
 
 It would be impossible within a moderate scope to 
 criticise or even to describe the various plans and 
 suggestions made in different countries for the pur- 
 pose of introducing a new and better state of social 
 economy. Some of the Collectivist teachers, notably 
 the Belgian, Oolins, who, up to the time of his death 
 in 1859, was a voluminous writer upon what he called 
 Rational Socialism ; Frangois Huet, who lived ten 
 years longer than his Belgian contemporary, and whose 
 principal work, " Le Regne Social du Christianisme," 
 has long been considered one of the most exalted 
 efforts to portray a complete theory of society based 
 on Christian Socialism ; and Dr. SchaefiSe, once 
 Minister of Finance at Vienna, and a very eminent 
 Grerman economist, have given the most complete 
 ideas of the Collectivist social state. The student 
 
272 
 
 FKOM POVERTY TO PLENTY J OK, 
 
 who desires to go deeply into the curious and inte- 
 resting speculations of the different writers upon these 
 various theories, will find a great mass of information 
 concerning them in M. de Laveleye's " Socialism of 
 To-day " ; Dr. Woolsey's work on Socialism and Com- 
 munism ; Kauffman's two works on Socialism and on 
 Utopias ; H. M. Hyndman, " The Historical Basis 
 of Socialism in England" ; and the articles in the 
 leading magazines during the last ten years of De 
 Laveleye, Hyndman, and John Rae. 
 
 The extreme point of revolution is reached in 
 Nihilism, which, as its name signifies, is the doctrine 
 of destruction pure and simple. 
 
 It was the hatred of government, and all its forms 
 of rule, that impelled Michael Bakunin to break with 
 Karl Marx, and to preach the simple doctrine of 
 destruction. Despair of any possibility of change in 
 existing institutions must have been deeply rooted in 
 the heart of Bakunin before he declared his war of 
 extermination against property, against government, 
 and against society. And deeply rooted must have 
 been the same conviction in many hearts, for the his- 
 tory of Nihilism during the last twenty years records 
 the life and death of a great army of martyrs. The 
 aged and the young, ignorant and learned, the 
 daughters of princes and the sons of peasants, the 
 wealthy and the penniless, have, without distinction, 
 given their efforts and their lives for the furtherance 
 of this terrible project. The progress of human free- 
 
THE LABOUE QUESTION SOLVED. 273 
 
 <dom and of human prosperity can never be aided by 
 indiscriminate destruction. The death of the Nihilists 
 ■themselves, patient, courageous, and faithful to their 
 principles to the last, has accomplished far more 
 towards the fulfilment of their hopes than they could 
 have done had they been able to emulate the burning 
 of Moscow, or to consign all the crowned heads of 
 Europe to the tomb. 
 
 Although the means by which their object is to be 
 attained differ, the ends proposed by both Com- 
 munists and Socialists are practically identical. The 
 ■Communists hold that all property should be possessed 
 in common ; the Socialists, that all property and the 
 instruments of production should belong to the 
 ■Government, as representing society at large. The 
 aim of both undoubtedly is, amongst other things, to 
 distribute wealth and its enjoyment equally amongst 
 men, in proportion to their wants and merits, and 
 destroy for ever the fatal inequalities of social life 
 now existing. The scheme of the Land Nationalists 
 is neither new nor adequate, while the minor plans as 
 io sanitary improvements, the dwellings of the poor, 
 and others of a like nature, ajthough calculated to be 
 eminently useful for particular purposes, have nothing 
 to do with the fair and proper distribution of created 
 wealth. 
 
 After the stirring times of 1848, the principles of 
 revolution had become widely spread throughout 
 Europe. These, for the most part, ultimately de- 
 
274 FROM POVEETY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 veloped in plans of social, rather than political 
 change. Up to the year 1863, the public utterances 
 and writings of German agitators, especially Fer- 
 dinand Lassalle, had impressed the popular mind of 
 Germany with socialistic ideas, which have yet to 
 bear fruit of good or evil. Other nations also had 
 their teachers, and some, especially Great Britain,, 
 were being educated by events. To the English 
 Exhibition of 1862, a large deputation of French 
 mechanics was sent from Paris. During the course 
 of their welcome and their stay in London, many 
 consultations were held between them and the Eng- 
 lish representative workmen, regarding the condition 
 and prospects of the labouring classes. In 1863 
 Lassalle died, having been mortally wounded in a 
 duel. Life is full of paradoxes. Lassalle carried 
 with him everywhere the walkiug-stick v/hich, in the 
 Reign of Terroi', had belonged to Robespierre. It 
 had been given to Lassalle as a token of esteem 
 and admiration, because he had publicly stated that 
 he would never, under any provocation, fight a duel. 
 The cause of the duel was, as usual, a woman. With- 
 in a few weeks of his death, a great public meeting 
 was held at St. Martin's Hall, Long Acre, at which 
 the International Association was publicly inaugu- 
 rated. Karl Marx, who, having fled from Germany, 
 had taken refuge in London, was elected a member 
 of the Provisional General Council. Marx at once 
 became the leading spirit in the new society. It was- 
 
THE LABOTJE QUESTION SOLVED. 275 
 
 he who drew up the inaugural address and the general 
 statement of the objects of the association. These were 
 first published in London in 1864, and afterwards con- 
 firmed by the Geneva Congress in 1866. The object of 
 this International Association was to bring together 
 men of different countries and of different races, in 
 order to form a grand fraternity of people. Its pur- 
 poses were not so much political as social and economic. 
 It sought alteration in the condition of labourers by 
 reducing the hours of toil, by increase of wages, and 
 by the prevention of the introduction of foreign 
 labour in times of strikes ; its principal object being 
 to obtain a perfect understanding with all men in 
 peaceful industrial development, in freedom, and 
 human happiness all over the world. The original 
 statement lamented the condition of the majority of 
 the people, namely, workmen, when contrasted with 
 the rapidly increasing wealth of the upper and middle 
 classes of society ; and alluded pathetically to the 
 deep distress and poverty which existed, side by side 
 with great wealth and extravagance. It, however, 
 spoke hopefully of legislation, such as the extension 
 of the Factory Acts and the development of co-opera- 
 tion. To obtain great reforms, it counted on numeri- 
 cal power and fraternal feeling. Its ground of common 
 and united action it expressed in these words, " That 
 the International Association and all societies and 
 individuals adhering to it will acknowledge truth, 
 justice, and morality as the basis of their conduct 
 
270 FEOM POVEETY TO PLENTy ; OE, 
 
 towards each other and towards all men, without 
 regard to colourj creed, or nationality." The inten- 
 tion of its founders, as expressed in the same state- 
 ment, was to strive for equal rights and duties of all 
 men, on the ground that rights carry with them 
 corresponding duties ; and they declared their con- 
 viction that the emancipation of the industrial classes 
 must be brought about by themselves ; that the 
 economic dependence of the labourer on the owners 
 of the instruments of labour is the foundation of 
 servitude, of social distress, and political subjection. 
 They closed a remarkable programme with the state- 
 ment that the economic emancipation of the labouring 
 classes is the great object to which every political 
 movement must become subservient, as a means to an 
 end. For some years these principles were adhered 
 to, but, gradually, fantastic and violent counsels pre- 
 vailed, and, finally, within ten years from its first 
 inauguration, the International was broken to pieces. 
 The last CEcumenical Congress was held at the Hague, 
 where Michael Bakunin, the Russian Nihilist, was 
 instrumental in splitting this mighty organisation 
 into two great factions. Since that period, although 
 attempts have been made to replace the society in its 
 former position of power, such attempts have not 
 succeeded. But the leading ideas of the International 
 cannot die. They may for a time slumber, but they 
 will surely wake and, under different methods of pro- 
 cedure and on a more scientific and less exclusive 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 277 
 
 systenij they will help to regenerate the social condi- 
 tion of the world. The ideas themselves are simple, 
 the first being that the interests of the labourinoj 
 classes in every country are identical ; and the second., 
 that the united strengrth and effort of the industrial 
 masses would be sufficient to redeem them from the 
 tyranny of capital. 
 
 The teachers of modern Socialism unhesitatingly 
 preach force as the ultimate and necessary means for 
 the establishment of their principles. Karl Marx, the 
 leading spirit of the International, never concealed this- 
 fact. In his address to the Hague Congress, he said : 
 " Solidarity. We shall attain the great end which we 
 strive for if we establish this life-giving principle as 
 the firm foundation for the workers of all countries.. 
 The revolution must be absolute, and we find a great 
 example in the Commune of Paris, which fell because 
 a great revolutionary movement did not break out in 
 all the capitals of Europe, in Berlin, in Madrid, at the- 
 same time, a movement which should have made 
 common cause with this powerful rising of the prole- 
 tariat of Paris." 
 
 " What," says Mr. Hyndman,* " was the idea of the- 
 International and its founder ? The simultaneous and 
 concerted action of the workers of Europe and the 
 world against the class which by international agree- 
 ment took their labour for nothing, and by means of 
 State management and international action and agree- 
 * " Historical Basis of Socialism in England," page 422, 
 
278 FROM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OEj 
 
 ment, to turn all present machinery and future 
 improvements to the advantage of mankind at large, 
 all class distinctions being done av^ay with, and all 
 •contributing their share of the slight manual labour 
 that would then be needed. Force would be used to 
 bring this about, but only in organised fashion, and 
 in order to give the workers complete command of 
 existing forms, not certainly to destroy those forms 
 on the chance that something better would grow up 
 out of Chaos come again," and in a foot-note is quoted 
 from Marx this statement : — 
 
 " Force is the midwife of progress and delivers the 
 old society pregnant with the new." 
 
 "Prior to 1870 the International reached the 
 height of its power under Marx's guidance, and it 
 seemed not impossible that his gigantic programme 
 of a general rising of the European proletariat, at any ' 
 rate in the great centres of population, might be 
 brought about in his lifetime."* 
 
 If we consider the course of history, it will be seen 
 that any hope of the redemption of the poor by the 
 revolution of force or violence, is not only not probable, 
 but scarcely possible. 
 
 The risings of the ignorant, the oppressed, and the 
 servile multitudes end usually in defeat and sufifering. 
 
 But, if when guided and assisted by the more 
 educated, as in the French Revolution of 1789-1793, 
 they are successful, there must arise some class or 
 * Hyndmai], " Historical Basis of Socialism," p. 420. 
 
THE LABODK QUESTION SOLVED. 279 
 
 individuals more fitted to govern than the rest, and 
 eventually after great extremes of violence and 
 peculiar thought, a reaction takes place and nearly all 
 the work accomplished is undone. 
 
 There is a radical difference between political and 
 social revolutions. Political changes cau be effected 
 by sword and steel, social change only by teaching, 
 by argument, and by conviction. There is, moreover, 
 in the nature and progress of purely social change a 
 safeguard against violence always existing. It is 
 found in the continual ascent of organised bodies to a 
 higher scale. As men become owners of property 
 they become defenders of order, and conservative both 
 in principle and in practice. The Frith guilds of the 
 Middle Ages, banded together for the defence of the 
 common rights of their members, became gradually 
 "wealthy, conservative, and tyrannical. The craft guilds 
 rose up and followed in the steps of their predecessors ; 
 trade unions, friendly societies, co-operative bodies, 
 all obey the same law. Howell, in his " Conflicts of 
 Capital and Labour," points this out in relation to the 
 guilds. Hyndman in his turn accuses Howell of 
 deserting the ranks of the proletariat advocates and 
 going over to the capitalists, and points out that the 
 leaders of the Chartists and trade unions have gravi- 
 tated in the same direction, while the working men who, 
 after the Chartist failure in 1848, emigrated, all lost 
 their class feeling in the n6w opportunities afforded to 
 them to accumulate wealth in the States or colonies. 
 
280 FROM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 It must be clearly understood that it is impossible 
 for social conditions to be permanently changed by 
 violence. He who aspires to lead the toilers of" man- 
 kind to the better land must conduct them by the 
 paths of peaceful argumentj the logic of sound 
 reasonings the inculcation of just principles^ and the 
 practice^ if need be, of self-sacrifice. The causes of 
 the failure of the International were many. First 
 and the greatest of all, was its departure from the 
 peaceful councils of its founders, and the adoption 
 of a menacing attitude accompanied by threats of 
 violence. Its means were utterly insignificant and its 
 finances altogether inadequate. No association can 
 exist as an efiTective factor in human affairs without 
 sufficient monetary means and considerable self- 
 devotion among its members. 
 
 The scheme of the International was after all but 
 an assertion of abstract principles. It afforded no 
 machinery by which those principles could be brought 
 into action, nor did it propose any definite line of 
 action. Any plan which proposes to alter existing 
 states of society must be at once self-supporting and 
 contain within itself a vital power. It must, like 
 the seed of a tree, contain within itself the power of 
 reproduction. It must be a living organism, able to 
 support its own existence and to propagate its own 
 species ; it must conform to the laws of nature and 
 the necessities of existence, and having powers and 
 capacities suitable to its nature, it must by their use 
 
THE LABOUK QUESTION SOLVED. 281 
 
 k'eep itself in being and grow in size and strengtli. No 
 summary of the social enconomies and efforts of 
 modern days would be complete without mention 
 being made of the International. It stands by itself. 
 In the somewhat severe and satirical words used of it 
 by one of the English working-class writers, " it was 
 begun in a dream and terminated in a fiasco." This is a 
 mistake, for the principles of the International are not 
 dead nor will they die. They will be revived under 
 wiser guidance, and in peaceful form will assert their 
 power. The wonderful rapidity with which for a 
 time it conquered Europe is sufficient of itself to 
 show that, if a feasible plan of peaceful social change, 
 having for its object the amelioration of the condi- 
 tion of the masses were once promulgated, it would 
 soon number its adherents not by thousands, but by 
 millions. 
 
 Mr. Mills proposes a series of co-operative farms 
 for the support of the pauper population of Great 
 Britain. In the consideration of his subject Mr. Mills 
 gives some highly interesting and instructive tables 
 of expenditure for the poor, extending over a period 
 of forty years. The figures are sufficiently striking, 
 and give cause for grave considei-ation. In 1846 the 
 expenditure upon the poor in the United Kingdom 
 amounted to £7,414,626, while in 1884 the expendi- 
 ture had risen to £17,572,390, or, roughly speaking, 
 an increase of £10,150,000 a year. 
 
 In 1849 England and Wales expended for paupers 
 
282 FEOM POVEETT TO PLENTY; OR, 
 
 £5,792,963, while in 1885 there was expended 
 £8,414,892. The amount of increase in the expendi- 
 ture upon paupers by no means equals the amount of 
 increase expended upon the poor generally. The 
 total amount of poor-rates in 1846 was £7,573,074, 
 while in 1884 the amount of poor-rates was 
 £17,683,591, or again an increase of £10,110,000. 
 These figures show with unmistakable force the 
 terrible increase in the burdens which England is 
 called upon to bear by reason of its impoverished 
 population. The ratio of increase in the poor-rates- 
 levied, and expenditure upon the poor is far greater 
 than the proportionate increase of population in the- 
 country ; for, while in England and Wales the popu- 
 lation in 1846 was in round numbers 17,000,000, in 
 1884 it was 27,000,000. Thus, while the expenditure- 
 upon the poor and the poor-rates had increased nearly 
 150 per cent., the population had increased less than 
 60 per cent. In viewing these figures we must not 
 forget that the aggregate wealth of these countries- 
 had increased owing to the wonderful spread of 
 colonisation, and the increase of manufactures and of 
 commerce to an extent altogether beyond parallel 
 with any past time, and that the same causes had 
 tended to repress pauperism. 
 
 Thus considered, the figures above given afford 
 serious ground for apprehension. In his desire to^ 
 ascertain how far a pauper population can be made 
 self-supporting, Mr. Mills, in August, 1886, went toi 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 283- 
 
 Holland, that he might personally inspect the 
 colonies which have been there founded for a beggar 
 and pauper population. The writer gives a most 
 interesting account of the whole of these institutions^ 
 which date their commencement from the efforts 
 made in 1818 at Prederiksoord by General Vanden 
 Bosch. This institution was founded by voluntary 
 effort, supported by private philanthropy, for the 
 relief of the poor, and, after many and various 
 changes, not only does the institution at Frede- 
 ricksoord still exist, but others have been established 
 at Veen Huizen and Ommerschaus. At Frede- 
 riksoord, on the 1st of January, 1886, there were 
 1,754 colonists, and at Yeen Huizen and Ommer- 
 schaus there were 3,000. 
 
 Mr. Mills describes with evident delight the effect 
 produced by the labour of mendicants and paupers,, 
 among whom were included also offenders against the 
 laws whose offences were not serious. He describes 
 the effect produced upon his own mind by the 
 appearance of the green fields, of trim hedges and 
 gorgeous flowers and ripening fruits, rendering these 
 spots oases in the desert, all of which had been pro- 
 duced by the labours of these colonists. He bears 
 testimony to the affection which these people display 
 to their governors and their homes, and expresses his 
 surprise at their evident disinclination to leave the 
 colonies and go back to the outer world. 
 
 At Frederiksoord drunkenness, according to the 
 T 2 
 
284 FROM POVBETT TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 regulations, was to be punished with expulsion upon 
 the third offence, and from this great assemblage of 
 nearly 2,000 beggars and paupers not one had been 
 expelled for drunkenness during ten years, while 
 during the same period only four had been dis- 
 charged for immorality. Yet the rewards for good 
 conduct held out to these people are of a most trifling 
 character. They receive no wages ; they participate 
 in no profits ; they become owners of no property. 
 Beyond food, clothing, and shelter, what they obtain 
 is practically nothing, — an allowance not even sufli- 
 cient to afford any species of enjoyment. They are 
 set to work upon a sterile, sandy desert, without even 
 the prospect of transmuting this waste into a fruitful 
 territory for themselves. Had these colonists the 
 spur to labour and integrity which the hope of reward 
 and success supplies ; had they the anticipation that 
 the labour bestowed by them upon the barren sand 
 would produce for themselves fair gardens and fruit- 
 ful fields, how much greater might the results be than 
 those which are now attained ! 
 
 Mr. Mills was in no way deterred from the promul- 
 gation of his ideas by personal inspection of the 
 pauper colonies of Holland. His proposal is that 
 each workhouse shall have attached to it a compara- 
 tively large farm upon which the inmates shall expend 
 their labour and so help to provide for their own 
 support. In this way the writer hopes to achieve two 
 great results : 1st, to lessen the burden now lying 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 285 
 
 upon the owners of land in every parish in the United 
 Kingdom j 2ndj to raise in the minds of the people 
 themselves a desire to support themselves and a 
 feeling of independence and self-respect. 
 
 No doubt something might be done in the direction 
 indicated by Mr. Mills, although not, perhaps, in the 
 way suggested by him. The principal and fatal 
 objection, however, to any such plan as this, is the 
 fact that it would always preserve a semi-pauperised 
 class, and affix the stigma of inferiority and disgrace 
 to those comprised within it. It would perpetuate 
 workhouses, which ought to be abolished. 
 
 All persons able and willing to labour should have, 
 not pauper estates to work upon, but the property 
 of free men ; and those who by reason of sickness or 
 extreme age, or youth, were unable to labour, should 
 receive as right a sufficiency from funds provided for 
 the purpose, arising from Communal land and property, 
 to maintain them in health and comfort. Those who, 
 being able to work, will not work, but ask the public 
 to support them, should be compelled so to do. 
 
 The book now under consideration is, in com- 
 mon with other portions of recent literature, 
 valuable as an indication of the growing spirit of 
 enquiry and of hopefulness in our public men. It is 
 a sign of the times, and the constant stream of 
 literature having the same tendency which has issued 
 from the press during the last few years is an indi- 
 cation of public feeling full of hope and promise. 
 
■286 J?ROM POVERTY TO PLENTY ; OB, 
 
 Of the same nature are books such as " Co-opera- 
 tion in Farming/' " Co-operation in Land Tillage/' 
 " Labour, Land, and Law," and other similar works 
 still better known ; articles and treatises by Sedley 
 Taylor, John Eae, Pare, and De Laveleye, which are 
 too widely read to need quotation. 
 
 The Australasian colonies were founded by the 
 establishment of a penal settlement at Port Jackson. 
 This plan arose from a suggestion of Lord Viscount 
 Sydney, then principal Secretary of State for the 
 Colonies. The objects proposed by the British 
 Government, expressed by the members of both 
 Houses of Legislature, and by the leading public 
 men, and the press of that day, were three : 1 st, to 
 rid the United Kingdom of the crowds of criminals 
 accumulating in her jails; 2nd, to find a place suitable 
 at once for the safe custody and punishment of these 
 criminals, and to afford them a place for repentance 
 and reformation ; and 3rd, to form a British colony, 
 peopled both by reforming criminals and by those 
 families of free emigrants who, induced by the 
 evident certainty of future wealth, might choose to 
 settle in the newly discovered Austral- Asia. 
 
 " These the reader will doubtless acknowledge were 
 objects altogether worthy of the enlightened legisla- 
 ture of a great nation ; in fact, it was the most 
 interesting and noblest experiment that had ever been 
 made on the moral capabilities of man ; and if there is 
 joy in heaven among the angels of God over every 
 
THE LABOTJE QUESTION SOLVED. 287 
 
 ■sinner that repenteth, we may well concDive tlie deep 
 interest whicli superior intelligences would naturally 
 ieel at the establishment of a penal colony on the 
 coast of New Holland, — all insignificant and con- 
 temptible as it might appear to the majority of 
 mankind, — and the loud burst of joy with which they 
 would have hailed the tidings of its ultimate success. 
 I am well aware that, now that the colony of New 
 South Wales has not only ceased to be a penal settle- 
 ment, but is likely, at no distant period, to take a 
 high place among nations of the earth as the head of 
 «. great political confederation of sovereign and inde- 
 pendent States, there are not a few of its inhabitants 
 •who earnestly and patriotically desire that its original 
 penal character should henceforth be for ever for- 
 gotten. 
 
 " I cannot, however, participate in these views and 
 feelings. The original penal character of that colony 
 is a great fact which can never be ignored by the 
 historian, and as, during the first fifty years of its 
 ■existence in that capacity, not fewer than 50,000 
 British criminals were landed on its shores, it is evi- 
 ■dent and undeniable that the progressive landing of 
 these crininals on the Australian coast were parts of 
 a series of events that were destined in the counsels 
 of infinite wisdom to issue in the occupation and 
 settlement, the civilisation and Ohristianisation of a 
 large portion of the Southern hemisphere. 
 
 " In one word, the case which this remarkable fact 
 
288 FKOM POVEETY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 undoubtedly exhibits is one of the most striking 
 illustrations which the history of mankind affords of 
 this profound Scriptural truth, that Grod's thoughts 
 are not as our thoughts, neither His ways as our ways ; 
 for as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are 
 His thoughts higher than our thoughts, and His ways 
 higher than our ways."* 
 
 A fleet of eleven sail, under the command of Cap- 
 tain Arthur Phillip, E-.N., set forth from Portsmouth 
 on the 13th May, 1787, and arrived at Botany Bay, 
 January, 1788, after a voyage of eight months and a 
 week. See, now, in a hundred years, what has arisen 
 from that small penal settlement in the island continent. 
 Nearly 4,000,000 of people, free, intelligent, wealthy, 
 self-governing; an immense commerce, universities 
 for learning; religion, athletic sports, poets, states- 
 men, soldiers; all other features and evidences of 
 civilisation, but no poor-houses and comparatively no 
 want. 
 
 A hundred years ago the first ships landed their 
 human outcast freight upon the shores of Port Jackson. 
 The seed was sown in hope by wise statesmen. Already 
 has an abundant harvest been reaped. A trade and 
 commerce, which far exceed that of the whole empire 
 at the close of the last century, has helped to enrich 
 England and to give employment to her people. More 
 precious still, the golden chain of love encircles those 
 
 * J. D. Lang, D.D., " History of New South Wales," 3rd 
 edition, 1852, vol. i., p. 11. 
 
THE LABOUE QUESTION SOLVED. 289* 
 
 far-ofE lands and binds tliem to the little storm-beaten 
 islands in tlie Western Seas. When will history for- 
 get that day when Europe and the world saw the 
 young cubs of the British lion crossing ten thousand 
 miles of sea to take their place upon the sands of 
 Egypt beneath the shadows of the Pyramids^ beside 
 the Guards to do battle for the old flag. Truly, a pre- 
 cious harvest this ! So the deeds of great statesmen 
 prosper. The colony, whose contingent electrified' 
 Europe by revealing a new power in future wars 
 hitherto unthought of ; the colony which, with un- 
 selfish patriotism and dauntless courage, sent its sons 
 unasked to bear their part in England's wars, was 
 the one colony in the history of nations founded in 
 order to give a chance to criminals of repentance and 
 reformation. 
 
 If, now, the Government would aid, not in deport- 
 ing criminals for punishment, but in emigrating 
 honest but idle labourers to the great colonies; if 
 they would place them there, not in bondage to work 
 out in years of toil the punishment of sin, but as free 
 men upon portions of God's earth secured to them as 
 their own ; if they would lend to associated bodies that 
 capital which, wisely administered, would enable them, 
 upon the land provided for their use, readily to become 
 not only self-supporting but producers of wealth, then 
 would such Governments prove themselves to be equal 
 to those who, a century ago, earned for themselves 
 the lofty praises of the historian of New South Wales. 
 
290 FEOM POVEETY TO PLENTY ; OE, 
 
 The money advanced both, for passage-money and 
 for necessary capital to be expended upon the land 
 could be secured upon the property so improved. 
 
 The revenues at home could be relieved of an ever- 
 enormous and increasing burden. The revenues of 
 the colonies to which the emigrants were sent would 
 be increased by the taxation levied from every in- 
 coming colonist while the wealth not only of the 
 colony but of the empire would increase in a manner 
 hitherto unknown. 
 
 Irish Emigration. — Side by side with the two great 
 experiments of modern days, the establishment of 
 the penal colonies of Australasia and the foundation 
 of the pauper colonies of Holland, another movement 
 has taken place, equal in interest and in its surprising 
 results, which has hitherto been unnoticed. The only 
 paragraph that I remember concerning this certainly 
 striking illustration of the inherent powers of improve- 
 ment possessed by the most helpless and impoverished 
 is found in Mr. Mulhall's recent pamphlet, " Fifty 
 Years of National Progress." In speaking of the 
 Irish statistics between 1837 and 1887, the years of 
 Jubilee, the figures given by the statistician are, pro- 
 perly speaking, wonderful. All persons have heard 
 of the famine which devastated Ireland after the 
 failure of the potato crop in 1846, and the subsequent 
 years when the black shadow of the cholera lent its 
 assistance to famine, and killed or drove out from 
 
THE LABOUE QUESTION SOLVED. 291 
 
 Ireland so many millions of her people. It is a matter 
 of daily history also that the people of Ireland have, 
 to a considerable extent, been evicted from their 
 homes. The figures given by Mr. Mulball are as 
 follows : — 
 
 Deaths from famine in Ireland ... ... 1,225,000 
 
 Persons evicted 3,668,000 
 
 Number of emigrants 4,186,000 
 
 In a short note Mr. Mulhall states that the number 
 •of persons evicted equals 75 per cent, of the popula- 
 tion of that unhappy country ; and he adds, " No 
 country either in Europe or elsewhere has suffered 
 such wholesale extermination." It is difficult for the 
 mind to grasp the full dimensions of the suffering 
 here indicated. A million and a quarter of people 
 •dying of famine; nearly four millions of people 
 thrust out upon the roadside or upon the shore, 
 perhaps to die ; more than four millions driven out 
 from the country of their birth. Men wonder and 
 •express astonishment at the agrarian outrages in 
 Ireland. At whose door lies the dreadful death of 
 this million and a quarter of God's creatures ? Whose 
 forces, military and civil, have driven out these mil- 
 lions of people from the land of their birth ? Of the 
 4,186,000 of people who emigrated from Ireland, 
 nearly all were penniless and ignorant. Well may 
 Mr. Mulhall say that no country in Europe has ever 
 witnessed such wholesale extermination. All through 
 
292 FEOM POTEETY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 the south and west of Ireland there was but one- 
 scene, and that was of desolation. 
 
 " The air was full of farewells to the dying, 
 And mournings for the dead ; 
 The heart of Rachel, for her children crying, 
 Would not be comforted." 
 
 The path of these great armies, as they fled from 
 Ireland to find new homes, was marked, like the path 
 of a defeated host, by innumerable graves. Hundreds 
 of thousands of these flying millions, weakened by 
 hunger and the plague, fell on the march. The waves 
 of the Atlantic cover some, the graveyards of Canada 
 and the States hold multitudes. What became of the 
 survivors of this great exodus ? They are found 
 scattered throughout the United States and the British 
 colonies. So wonderful are the resources of the human 
 mind and frame, so rich the bounties that nature will' 
 bestow when asked, that this famished multitude is 
 to-day represented by a host of well-to-do and pros- 
 1 perous people. Since 1851, Mr. Mulhall tells us, they 
 ! have sent back £32,000,000 to their friends in Ireland, 
 i and their possessions in the United States and British 
 colonies are estimated in value at £655,000,000. 
 
 In the face of these three great experiments, two 
 of them made advisedly and one the unforeseen 
 result of terrible suffering, can it be urged that there 
 is no way to deal with the unemployed now in the- 
 United Kingdom ? Can it be thought, if we will bu' 
 bring our minds to bear upon the subject, that so- 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 293 
 
 long as there are lands to occupy and capital to employ, 
 tliere need be an idle man or woman in the wide 
 limits of the British Empire ? I allude elsewhere to 
 the Mormons in Utah. 
 
 Reformers who interest themselves in the condition 
 ■of the labouring classes have been found in all ranks 
 and in all callings. Not only has poetry lent its 
 ■entrancing voice, and the writings of philosophy given 
 their weighty arguments, the pen of iiction has also 
 been enlisted in this sacred cause. Amid all the vast 
 array of writers, thinkers, and reformers, not one 
 seems to be without some good points either in theory 
 ■or argument; but not one has yet been able to 
 propound a perfect system, nor have all, taken 
 togethei', been successful. 
 
 Errors of omission and commission are found in all. 
 By the experience of all time, from the history of all 
 experiments, from the fruits of all teachings, we are 
 able to draw nearer and nearer to the truth, to avail 
 ourselves of the useful, the true, the just, and the wise 
 principles which are scattered so widely among the 
 writings and experiments of all ages. The advan- 
 tages we possess have never been enjoyed by others. 
 To us belongs the great privilege of being able to go 
 back upon the old paths and foundation principles, of 
 using for our own instruction the hard-won experience 
 of many ages and peoples. Thus we may cull from 
 •every school and every theory those parts which in 
 themselves possess the rudiments of truth, and which 
 
294 
 
 FEOM POVEETY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 have proved in practice to be correct ; while we can 
 discard those erroneous ideas which^ in different times 
 and localities^ have retarded or defeated the progress 
 of human happiness. We do not hold with the great 
 masters of Greek philosophy that trade and labour are 
 degrading ; nor need we believe with the exponents 
 of the mercantile system that all wealth is comprised 
 in the precious metals ; nor like Law, carry to ruinous 
 extremes by disastrous speculations the system of 
 public credit. It is not necessary for us to hold 
 that, as all wealth proceeds from one single source, — 
 that is, nature, — agriculturists alone are producers, 
 and that all other workers are unprofitable ; nor are 
 we obliged to affirm the terrible doctrine upon which 
 the orthodox political economy is built, namely, that 
 selfishness is the only true and proper foundation of 
 that science. I trust that we shall never think with 
 Malthus that it is criminal and against the laws of 
 God and nature to increase and multiply ; nor with 
 the Communists, aim to dissolve the family relations 
 or abolish private properly; nor with the Land 
 Nationalists, to destroy all personal and exclusive 
 ownership in land ; nor with the Nihilists, advocate 
 destruction. Yet even Malthus is wise in his admoni- 
 tions as to imprudent marriage and in his denuncia- 
 tions of the Poor Law ; while Michael Bakunin lived 
 and died an ardent disciple of freedom. 
 
 The hopes which were felt by the framers of these 
 theories, the founders of these institutions, were. 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 295 
 
 indeedj from the first doomed to disappointment. Not 
 one, nor all together, could avail to remedy the 
 grievous wrongs and sufferings which afBlicted the 
 great majority in numbers of every civilised nation. 
 Yet we must not, even in appearance, condemn the 
 efforts so honestly made in the interests of justice and 
 of mankind. 
 
 The men who made these efforts were inspired by 
 no selfish ambition. They beheld with sorrow the 
 miseries of their fellow-men. They saw that the sel- 
 fishness of human nature sacrificed continuously the 
 welfare of others to its own sense of greed. They 
 believed that the earth contained room for all, and 
 that she would give her harvests freely to all who 
 would till the soil and tend the flocks and herds. 
 With TuUy, they believed "that tillage and pasturage 
 were the breasts of the State." The butts and targets- 
 for every shaft of ridicule and calumny, the theme 
 of sarcasm and abuse, the objects of derisive pity, or 
 the victims of malignant and unsparing persecution ; 
 crushed by misfortune, overtaken by penury and ruin,, 
 their very failures are more glorious .than the successes 
 and triumphs of meaner and more selfish men. Their 
 virtues are unsung, their name almost forgotten, yet 
 many of them will claim a place in the ranks of the- 
 immortal army, "the spirits of just men made 
 perfect," when multitudes of the great, the successful, 
 and the opulent will reap the due rewards of the 
 " deeds done in the flesh." Of such did the great 
 
296 FROM FOVEKTT TO PLENTY ; OK, 
 
 Athenian speak wlien finisHng his plans for his ideal 
 " republic," he told to Glaucon the story of Er. 
 
 " And thus, Glaucon, the tale has been saved and 
 has not perished, and will save us if we are obedient 
 "to the word spoken ; and we shall pass safely over the 
 river of forgetfulness, and our soul will not be defiled. 
 Wherefore my counsel is that we hold fast to the 
 heavenly way and follow after justice and virtue 
 always, considering that the soul is immortal and able 
 to endure every sort of good and every sort of evil. 
 Thus shall we live dear to one another and to the gods, 
 both while remaining here and when, like conquerors 
 in the games who go round to gather gifts, we receive 
 our rewards. And it shall be well with us both in this 
 life and in the pilgrimage of a thousand j'ears which 
 • we have been reciting." 
 
 Of some of their number may be spoken those 
 glorious words taken from the Book of Revelation, 
 and used in the grand but solemn burial service of 
 the English Church. 
 
 " Write, Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord, 
 yea saith the Spirit from henceforth, for they cease 
 from their labours, and their works do follow them." 
 
 They were discoverers launching out upon an un- 
 known sea. They discovered not the land they 
 searched for. But their records of trial, of danger, 
 and of failure are of inestimable value to those who 
 follow in the same attempt. They teach us where our 
 , haven is not, they warn us of the tides and currents 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 297 
 
 of life's ocearij and the wants and necessaries for tlie 
 voyage. To them mankind will yet cheerfully acknow- 
 ledge a debt of gratitude never to be forgotten. 
 
 In closing the examination which we have now 
 made of the past history of political economy, and of 
 the proposals and efforts which economists and their 
 opponents have, from time to time, placed before the 
 world, it is necessary to remember the truth con- 
 tained in the old adage, " Time and tide wait for no 
 man." Human society and human history are on the 
 march. Nothing but the archangel's trump will stop 
 the onward tread of the nations. We cannot attain 
 any final position. That spot which is the outpost 
 of civilisation to-day will in a few years become the 
 busy mart of commerce and the home of a great 
 ■community. Those principles and practices which 
 to-day are in advance of any past human thought or 
 action, will to-morrow be left behind. History is not 
 always in flood ; the ebb also comes. It is not in a 
 perpetual state of advancement, but in a perpetual 
 ■state of change, in which advancement and improve- 
 ment gradually occur. Modern days have seen this 
 truth exemplified in a thousand different ways, and 
 we must be prepared for this progress of humanity. 
 Even were things in England and America to remain 
 •as they now are, the dangers which menace civilisa- 
 tion are great and pressing. But it is certain that 
 population will rapidly increase. In England, spite of 
 ■death and emigration, the population increases nearly 
 
 u 
 
298 TEOM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OR, 
 
 half a million a year. What is to become of this in- 
 vading army ? 400,000 souls a year invade the British 
 shores and territory, with mouths to be fed, with bodies 
 to be clothed and sheltered. Nearly the whole of this 
 host, well nigh as numerous as that which Napoleon led 
 to Eussia, are born into the world heirs to nothing but 
 poverty and the power to labour. Mr. Malthus did,, 
 indeed, propose a law, which, like the law issued by the 
 Pharaoh who knew not Joseph against the Hebrews,, 
 would have stopped the incoming multitudes. But 
 that law is not upon the statute-book, and it is as 
 certain that the English Government will have to face- 
 the difficulty of increasing millions of the poor and 
 labouring classes as it is that the sun will rise to- 
 morrow. In addition to this difficulty of increasing 
 population, will shortly arise the difficulty of decreasing 
 employment. 
 
 Political economy, with its dreadful competition, 
 will lead capitalists to other countries in search of 
 labour, and while the population of England increases, 
 the employment of its industrial classes will diminish. 
 To intensify these two sources of anxiety there will 
 be the increase of intelligence and education among- 
 the poor, the growth of socialistic and revolutionary 
 thought, and still more widely the inextingnishable- 
 and intolerable sense of injustice which must arise- 
 in the hearts of the masses when they behold the- 
 glaring inequalities of wealth and poverty. It needs 
 no socialistic teaching, no red cap of Liberty,, to- 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 29& 
 
 convince free men that they are wronged when they 
 know that they possess not a foot of soil in their 
 native land^ and that no portion of the wealth which 
 they wring from nature becomes their property. 
 Patient and law-abiding as are Bnglishmenj to such 
 dreadful suffering and a deep sense of injustice there 
 must come a period. Conscious of power and of the 
 justice of their claims, is it not likely that they will 
 ultimately exercise that power, and is it not certain 
 that when driven by the extremity of suffering to 
 rise, their rising will be accompanied by a stern de- 
 termination to punish those whom they consider to 
 be their oppressors ? The signs of the times are sig- 
 nificant. The state of Ireland, the state of Scotland, 
 and of Wales; the terrible condition of the un- 
 employed in London and other great cities ; the 
 tumultuous confusion in all schools of politicians, 
 confusion both of reason and of action ; the appalling^ 
 fact that in the face of the great increase of national 
 wealth the mass of the English people have no share 
 in it, and great numbers are upon the verge of star- 
 vation ; all tend to prove that England is drifting to 
 a position equally shameful and perilous. All these 
 signs and evidences of coming danger arise from the 
 one source, the prevalence of the fatal political or 
 social economy under which the production and dis- 
 tribution of wealth at present take place. 
 
 Things cannot go on much longer as they now go. 
 How long the period may be before some great dis- 
 
 u 2 
 
300 FROM POVERTY TO PLENTY. 
 
 aster overtakes the commonwealth, before the ship 
 of State drifts on to the rocks of revolution no man 
 can pretend to say. But the assertion may safely be 
 made that England is surely and swiftly passing, 
 again to quote Mr. Hyndman, "through the dawn of 
 a revolutionary epoch." And if disaster do occur, if 
 the millions of Englishmen rise and claim England as 
 their own, if the millions of toilers assert their right 
 to the wealth they have helped to produce from 
 nature, the fault will surely be theirs upon whom the 
 punishment will fall. It is the duty of the educated, 
 of the teachers, of the powerful, of the high-born 
 and of the wealthy, to take those steps and enact those 
 laws, both in politics and in political or social economy, 
 which will pacify and appease the people in a manner 
 consistent at once with justice and with mercy. 
 Should the leaders of the nation prove either un- 
 faithful to their trust, or incompetent to deal with 
 the great events which are imminent, then upon them 
 and upon their class will a storm burst as fierce and 
 terrible as any recorded in history. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Necessity for a constructive science of economy, with definite 
 objects — Purposes of suoh a science — The liquor traffic — Its 
 evils and remedy — Relief for poverty and employment of in- 
 dustry must be permanent — Present antagonism between 
 individualistic and socialistic systems — Antagonism between 
 labour and capital — Necessity for combination — Association 
 or co-operation the only solvent — Disraeli's "Sybil" — Necessity 
 for economic changes. 
 
 lEPORB entering upon the consideration of 
 a new system of social economy, — a system 
 which shall be at once constructive and 
 practicable, — let us for a moment look back 
 upon the course that we have travelled, and mark the 
 lessons which that course teaches. Having commenced 
 with the consideration of the present state of civilised 
 communities, and of the social economy which obtains 
 by common consent and practice, we recognised from 
 the very first stage the absolute necessity existing for 
 some complete change. 
 
 Tracing the science of wealth so far as the practice 
 of that science is recorded, we beheld the formation 
 of the three progressive stages of thought comprised 
 
302 FROM POVEETY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 in the mercantile^ the physiocratiCj and orthodox or 
 modern sj'stems, and glanced briefly at the principles 
 and characteristics of each. Summarising the con- 
 tradictions, the errors, and the vices of the existing 
 system, we saw how surely universal disasters must 
 occur if the civilised world travelled much farther 
 uJ)on its present economic course. 
 
 The efforts which have been made and the plans 
 projected for the improvement of the condition of 
 men, in this direction, proved that the loftiest inten- 
 tions and most beneficent hopes were doomed to 
 failure, unless founded upon and regulated by a true 
 and natural science, not of social organisation, but of 
 wealth. 
 
 The inadequacy of all plans hitherto proposed to 
 accomplish the noble purpose which was the end 
 desired, — the material comfort and happiness of men, 
 — was apparent. Having thus cleared away the ruins 
 and debris, which all writers and thinkers have 
 hitherto permitted to obstruct their view, and en- 
 cumber the ground on which they desired to build, 
 we may attempt to construct from the materials 
 provided by the labours, the speculation, and the 
 sufferings of others, a science whose laws shall be 
 plain and easily understood, and whose operations 
 may bless mankind with good unspeakable. 
 
 Unfettered by any system, unpledged to any 
 theory, let us attempt to frame a science of wealth 
 which, having regard to first principles, shall render 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 303 
 
 the earth and the laws of nature subservient to the 
 wants of humanitjj and so order that subservience 
 as to minister with unfailing certainty and plentiful 
 abundance to the necessities of all. 
 
 What, then, are the first principles from which in 
 this attempt we must start ? 
 
 All humanitarian sciences have a definite purpose. 
 The object, and the sole worthy object, of such a 
 science is to provide adequately for the supply of all 
 things necessary to each man's material happiness, 
 by labour from the exhaustless field of nature. Ex- 
 ceptions must always exist; accident, shipwreck, 
 blighted crops, unfruitful seasons, and other inter- 
 vening calamities will, no doubt from time to time, 
 break the general rule. But the rule must be that 
 there shall be proper employment for all, and that 
 they who aid in producing wealth, shall share that 
 wealth in an approximately just proportion to the 
 value which their labour or their assistance has given 
 in producing or realising it. 
 
 Here, therefore, I shall attempt to set out a system 
 of social economy equal to the demands made upon 
 it. I shall define the meanings of some of the terms, 
 ^s used by me. I shall set forth the principles of the 
 proposed system and the machinery by which they 
 are to be brought into use in daily life, and contrast 
 and compare them with that which now exists. 
 
 The necessity for a constructive science is undoubted. 
 Taking our own people as presenting a type of the 
 
304 FEOM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OR, 
 
 common wants of humanity, we cannot but see that 
 it is indispensable for the present and for the future. 
 To open an avenue for escape from suffering and 
 penury, to give hope to the despairing, and afford to all 
 the possibility of independence and an honest life, 
 the promulgation of such a science and such a system 
 is the only hope. This, and this only, will enable us — 
 
 " To scatter plenty o'er a smiling land." 
 
 It may be that an enquiry into the causes which 
 have retarded the growth of knowledge upon this sub- 
 ject, will show that this must naturally be the last of 
 all human laws or sciences to be fully discovered. 
 We may suppose a community, every member of 
 which is actuated by a truly Christian and philan- 
 thropic spirit, but can-ying on the economic business 
 of its life upon the principles laid down by the 
 orthodox system, and by no possibility of reasoning 
 can we see a way to avoid the unfair distribution 
 which now obtains. The sui'plus and accumulated 
 wealth of that community must, by the operation of 
 those laws, gravitate to the hand of the capitalist and 
 the employer, the middleman and the speculator, 
 with ever-increasing speed. Charity might fill the 
 land with noble edifices, as homes for the poor and 
 needy. Christian beneficence might search out the 
 dwellings of the afflicted, the unemployed, and the 
 sick, and solace their inmates with the alms of mercy. 
 Thus actual want would be avoided and distress 
 
THE LABOUK QUESTION SOLVED. 305 
 
 relieved, but at what a cost ? A great portion of this 
 community would be degraded, the independence of 
 manhood would be gone, the dependence of pauperism 
 would remain. We need not imagine such a state of 
 society, for within modified limits we behold it in the 
 history of England during the last three centuries. 
 A contented population, dwelling in peace upon its 
 wide-spread lands, growing its own food, rearing its 
 own flocks and herds, engaged in modest manufac- 
 tures for its own wants and consumption, its families 
 and communities trained in their own homes in simple 
 Christian faith and obedience to parents, reared to 
 manhood and womanhood in the sun and shade, 
 fields and orchards of their own country, would be 
 happier^ wiser, and more prosperous than the great 
 multitudes which, gathered within the factories and 
 streets and slums of crowded cities, are dependent 
 upon the fluctuations of trade, upon the speculations 
 of adventurers, and upon the shifting tides and cur- 
 rents of an unstable commerce for its daily bread. 
 
 No State, no city, dependent upon commerce only 
 for its prosperity, can ever hope to be permanently 
 great. From the days of Tyre and Sidon to the days 
 of the free cities, of Venice and of Genoa, illustrations 
 abound. But a country with broad and fertile terri- 
 tories, great numbers of whose people dwell upon the 
 soil and from it draw forth the means of their own 
 subsistence, — where work can be found for all, to 
 ensure a comfortable livelihood during youth and 
 
306 FROM POVEETY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 mature age, and afterwards a peaceful competence 
 for the solace of declining years, — such a country must 
 perforce be great; such a people without doubt be 
 happy. 
 
 In this, as in all other matters, specific objects must 
 be aimed at, and a certain procedure adopted. Fore- 
 most amongst these objects will be the two following: 
 
 1 . To give the right and opportunity to every living 
 being capable of and willing to work, of earning for 
 himself or herself that food, shelter, and clothing 
 which is the right of every such person, and necessary 
 to his or her existence. 
 
 2. To ensure to each labourer, of whatever rank 
 or condition, beyond wages sufiicient to supply the 
 requisites of life in that condition, that proportion of 
 the annual profit and increased value which have 
 arisen in or accrued to the property, whether land, 
 manufacture, or other description belonging to the 
 community by virtue of his labour during any period 
 of time. 
 
 We must, therefore, investigate and proclaim the 
 laws which govern the production of all commodities 
 necessary for human existence and comfort, and dis- 
 cover laws by which these productions may be dis- 
 tributed fairly and justly in accordance with merit, 
 talent, and industry among all who aid in producing 
 them. 
 
 Not the chrematistic, but the economic science is 
 the true and proper subject of teaching. Manufacture 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 307 
 
 and trade must not be depreciated, but modern 
 economy places them so prominently in tbe van as 
 practically to hide and blot out agriculture and per- 
 sonal settlement of the lands of a country from view. 
 This is absolutely erroneous. For even when great 
 wealth is made by commerce and manufacture, the 
 principal subjects which yet remain to be discussed 
 with a view to accomplish a beneficial change in the 
 social condition of men are : — 
 
 1. The monopoly of large areas or portions of land 
 and other forces of nature. 
 
 2. The employment and remuneration of labour. 
 
 3. The distribution of surplus and accumulated 
 wealth. 
 
 I do not here include one great and important ques- 
 tion, upon the treatment of which undoubtedly depends 
 the happiness of vast numbers of our population. I 
 mean the liquor traffic. In my opinion the whole 
 present system is wrong. The sale of intoxicating 
 liquors should not be made a method of raising 
 revenue, nor should it be used as a means of making 
 a profit. No bars for the sale of liquor should be 
 allowed; all houses of accommodation should be 
 owned and managed by the municipal, as in Gothen- 
 burg, or the associated bodies, and no liquor should 
 be sold to be drunk upon the premises, save to 
 boarders in the house or to guests at and with their 
 meals. The managers should be responsible to the 
 municipal or associated body. I believe that these 
 
308 PKOM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 changes, insignificant as they may at first appear, 
 would do away with three-quarters of that drunken- 
 ness which fills our homes with poverty and our 
 courts with crime. I do not dilate more upon this 
 subject, important as it is, because it hardly falls- 
 within the scope or object of my present task. 
 
 It will, however, be at once seen that if inns and 
 hotels were made in reality houses of accommodation 
 and not dram-shops ; if the number were lessened, 
 and if the managers were not driven by the demand 
 of the tax-gatherer and by the hope of gain to sell 
 liquor in as great quantities and to as many cus- 
 tomers as possible, — but on the contrary were liable to 
 dismissal for any case or cases of drunkenness or dis- 
 order permitted by them, — while the many and varied 
 temptations of the public-house bar were removed, a 
 great and beneficial change would soon occur. 
 
 In any settlement made under the principles in this- 
 volume advocated, this among other social reforms 
 could easily be tried, for all such houses could belong 
 to the association. 
 
 In the consideration of these important questions,, 
 it is necessary to go back to the primary principles of 
 life. The love of home, with all its holy affections and 
 the necessities for existence, come naturally before the- 
 desire for wealth. The first and normal purpose in 
 the occupation and cultivation of land is to grow food,. 
 to provide shelter, and obtain the materials from which 
 clothing can be made. 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 309 
 
 Upon this natural foundation a complete and happy 
 structure maybe reared. First let there be the supply 
 of all home wants, so far as soil cultivation and 
 manufacture will supply them ; then as large and wide 
 a production of the most valuable and useful commo- 
 dities as possible for commerce, so that the surplus 
 may be exchanged for the manufactures and produc- 
 tions of other lands and races, with equal benefit to all. 
 
 All theories, except perhaps those upon purely 
 abstract or metaphysical truth, are comparatively use- 
 less unless reduced to practice. And practice under 
 ordinarily favourable circumstances is the only proper 
 and substantial test of the ti'uth of the theory. The 
 theories, and their name is legion, which have been 
 advanced as the solution of the vexed question so often 
 referred to, have in most instances been so inadequate 
 upon the face of them, or so inapplicable, that they 
 have fallen still-born. 
 
 Some have apparently demanded so much violence 
 that moderate men have recoiled from their adoption, 
 fearing that the remedy might be worse than the dis- 
 ease. The part taken during the short and tumultuous 
 reign of the Commune in Paris, by some of the sup- 
 porters of the International, effectively alienated from 
 that body the sympathy and support of the great bulk 
 of the English working classes. 
 
 Some have been only directed to partial alleviation 
 of the sufferings of the labourers, and when faithfully 
 persevered in have done much in various localities and 
 
310 PEOM POVEETY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 many ways to accomplish the ends proposed; but 
 even these, taken altogether, have utterly failed to 
 remove the stupendous mass of misery and of degra- 
 dation created and continued by the operation of our 
 economic laws. Others again have been of but tempo- 
 rary force and eifect. The Parliamentary grant for 
 the employment of the poor in Ireland was of such a 
 character, and these often involve subsequent unfore- 
 seen disasters. Even that vast stream of wealth which 
 year by year is levied from the tax-payers, or given 
 as the spontaneous contributions of the people for 
 charitable relief, amounting to over £20,000,000 per 
 year, is after all but a temporary expedient, and an 
 expedient which, in spite of all the generosity that 
 provides it, only serves to perpetuate the sufferings of 
 the masses. Nothing which is temporary can be 
 useful, save to provide for the exigence of the occasion, 
 and these temporary expedients, seeing that they leave 
 the condition of the working classes as bad and helpless 
 as they found them, only tend to crush out all feeling of 
 independence from the spirits of the recipients, and all 
 feeling of hope from their hearts. To deal successfully 
 with this question, to abolish the want and wretched- 
 ness which, like a hideous nightmare, haunt the lives of 
 such great multitudes, we must give not temporary relief, 
 but certain and continuous employment. They must 
 be enabled to become self-helpful, not to be the 
 recipients of charity, but to be their own supporters,^ 
 and the bread-winners for their wives and children. 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 311 
 
 In lieu of enforced idleness and shamcj they must be 
 given employment and self-respect. Instead of know- 
 ing themselves to be but a burden, a very millstone 
 round the neck of their countrymen and fellow- 
 labourerSj they must be helped themselves to become 
 producerSj winning from the earth those treasures 
 which have in times past made their country wealthy 
 and powerful. Above all, they must be shoyvn that 
 they, and their children after them, shall in the days 
 to come, under better auspices and juster scientific 
 laws, be entitled to receive a fair distribution of that 
 wealth which they are helping to produce.' 
 ..^ And while they are thus learning, the way must be 
 opened and prepared. If with the poor materials 
 provided, and under such terrible disadvantages, so 
 wonderful a success was achieved in Utah and Austral- 
 asia, and by the Irish emigrants, what may we not 
 expect from the formation of free and industrious 
 communities, wisely organised and properly supported, 
 settled upon fertile lands, with all the appliances of 
 science, with the advantages of co-operation and com- 
 bination of labour, and with that wide diffusion of 
 prosperity which must arise from the partnership of 
 Land, Labour, and Capital, of the producer, the 
 capitalist, and the consumer. 
 
 Thus, the one indispensable requisite to final success 
 is that the vast bodies of people who are to be relieved 
 must be relieved permanently. 
 
 We see the materials for a great building lying 
 
312 FEOM POVEETT TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 around us in profusion. It is for us to fit those 
 materials in the places proper to them in the complete 
 structure, and to raise an edifice in which the hungry 
 may find food, the naked clothing, the destitute com- 
 fort, the despairing hope, and from which there shall 
 be banished a portion at any rate of the suffering and 
 the sorrow which now afflict humanity. To those 
 who with impartial judgment have examined the 
 selfish theory and its effects, the results have seemed 
 altogether evil. Not only to economists like Sis- 
 mondi, bursting from the trammels of prejudice and 
 education, not only from the Socialistic and Radical 
 reformers like Lassalle, Karl Marx, and Hyndman, 
 but to the clear minds and brave hearts of philosophers 
 such as Ruskin and Carlyle, and to the noble spirits of 
 such men as Girdlestone and Kingsley, Maurice and 
 Hughes and Farrar ; and to statesmen like Disraeli 
 and Gladstone has this gospel of greed and selfish- 
 ness become abhorrent. Scarcely more terrible 
 •denunciations are found in the prophetic pages of 
 Scripture against covetousness than are found in the 
 recorded utterances of the men whose names I have 
 mentioned. It is difficult to find words too strong or 
 ■denunciations too deep for this system, which is 
 founded professedly upon the principle that robs the 
 widow and the orphan, which exalts wickedness and 
 unrighteousness, and frames iniquity in a law. 
 
 The poisonous effects of the virus injected into the 
 life-blood of our social existence are unhappily visible 
 
THE LABOUK QUESTION SOLVED. 313 
 
 in all directions. Many and brave have been the con- 
 flicts waged against it by individuals and by associa- 
 tions, and upon some points by the conscience of the 
 nation. Although in some instances its victorious 
 career has been checked, so complete has become its 
 general ascendency, that it has well-nigh paralysed 
 the right feelings and generous impulses of our people, 
 and has brought England and the English Constitu- 
 tion to the verge of ruin. 
 
 Before attempting to lay down categorically the lines 
 of a new economic system, one or two subjects for 
 consideration force themselves upon the mind. Two 
 economic systems have in modern life become possible : 
 One as contained in the socialistic theories which 
 regard the community as a complete social body, and 
 which seek to introduce a new organisation of society, 
 a nationalisation of property, and a combined co- 
 operation of labour for the common good and for the 
 common benefit; the other, the "Individual" or 
 ''selfish system," which holds that all powers and 
 industries should be left to take their own course, 
 and that competition will produce the greatest amount 
 of success and happiness. Although the prevailing 
 theory is the individual and selfish, yet many of the 
 great teachers of modern days, such as John Stuart 
 Mill, Professor Fawcett, Professor Hearn, de Laveleye, 
 Professor Cairns, and others, have shown decided 
 sympathies with and leanings towards some of those 
 
 X 
 
31-i JEOM POVEBTT TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 principles which, if not absolutely socialistic, tend 
 strongly in that direction. 
 
 Socialism has, through the actions of many of its 
 leaders and supporters, been and still is looked upon 
 ■with apprehension. It has been feared as leading to 
 anarchy, bloodshed, and revolution ; and it is only of 
 late years that its plans are beginning to be-weighed 
 with comparative impartiality and discussed with 
 calmness. These two principles are now considered 
 by thinkers and writers as absolutely and entirely 
 antagonistic. But in truth this is not altogether the 
 case. Bach individual forms part of a social organisa- 
 tion, every social organisation is made up of indi- 
 viduals. It is as impossible to separate the one from 
 the other without injury or destruction, as it would be 
 to separate a member from the human frame, or a 
 building from the individual stones or bricks which 
 compose it. The objections made against each theory 
 standing separately are plain and sensible. It is urged 
 against Socialism, not as defined by Professor Held, 
 but as generally understood, that it destroys all 
 desire of advancement, that it abolishes social re- 
 wards and punishments, that it gives no hope to the 
 industrious, excites no fear in the lawless and lazy; 
 that it destroys that keen sense of emulation and com- 
 petition which urges men towards success, and that 
 the sense of individuality becomes merged in the 
 general existence of the society. Against the indi- 
 vidual or selfish theory it is contended, on the other 
 
THE LABO0K QUESTION SOLVED. 315 
 
 handj that in the greed of power and of wealth all 
 feelings of justice, humanity, and mercy become 
 sacrificed. That free exchange, the survival of the 
 fittest, a fair field and no favour, each for himself and 
 God for us all, or rather the Devil take the hind- 
 most, are the only maxims which regulate the conduct 
 of its disciples, and that these maxims are dangerous 
 and bad, because they invariably lead to a state of war 
 between labour and capital, the weak and the strong, 
 in which the battle goes always in favour of the rich 
 and powerful. And the universal operation of this 
 rule is pointed oat ; namely, that however vast may be 
 the wealth created by any community, such wealth 
 goes to the owners of land and capital, or middlemen 
 and speculators, while labour receives only the means 
 of mere subsistence. Both arguments, both parties, 
 are right ; one sees the obverse of the shield, the other 
 the reverse. The true philosophy, the only true and 
 complete logic, by which the great social problem can 
 be solved, is by the union and welding of these two 
 principles into one. In practice, this is continually 
 accomplished, so far as the production of wealth is 
 concerned. All the factors of production, all portions 
 of society, the mind that plans, the pen that writes, 
 the tongue that commands, the hands that execute, all 
 combine to create wealth. The fault lies in this, that 
 when the wealth has so been produced by all, it is 
 monopolised by a small minority. And yet by a 
 proper union of the factors of production, under simple 
 
 X 2 
 
316 FROM POVERTY TO PLENTY] OE, 
 
 laws and conditions easily framed and understoody. 
 the process might be made completely justj and wealth 
 produced by all might be fairly distributed to all. If 
 we examine critically the conditions under which 
 wealth is amassed, we shall see that there are no true 
 foundations for the statement that either of these 
 rival theories can 'exist successfully independently of, 
 or in antagonism to, the other. 
 
 How are the majority of fortunes acquired ? Is it 
 by the personal labour, mental or bodily, of the mer- 
 chants, the land speculators, the manufacturers, the 
 master-tradesmen, the contractors, the ship-owners, 
 or any other employers of labour or investors of 
 money in any way or sphere ? Not at all. The investor 
 does nothing but entrust his money to the custody of 
 others ; the employer has but one brain and one pair 
 of hands. For the applied science which gives him 
 machinery he is indebted to others. For the daily 
 working of his business, the fulfilling of his contracts, 
 the performance of duties which he has undertaken to 
 perform, he is altogether dependent upon the human 
 labour which assists him. 
 
 The individual can in no case possible for us to 
 imagine be supposed to create wealth, as we under- 
 stand it, by himself. Nor in practice are the numerous 
 competencies and immense fortunes enjoyed under this 
 false theory ever really so produced. All that an 
 individual can win from nature by the unaided effort 
 of his own brain and hands is but the rude subsistence 
 
THE LABO0K QUESTION SOLVED. 317 
 
 of the savage. The great landowners, the merchant 
 princes, the wealthy manufacturers, the railway and 
 Bonanza kings, the mighty squatters, and indeed all the 
 opulent classes, have obtained their wealth by co- 
 operation and combination of labour to an extent not 
 possible to define. It is idle, therefore, for any men 
 to assert that they individually have built up their own 
 fortunes. Some of these fortunes have been handed 
 down from ancestors ; some of them have been ob- 
 tained by fraud ; some by lucky speculations ; some 
 by untiring toil of many servants ; some by the silent 
 operations of nature, the increase of flocks and herds 
 and natural productions ; some by the wonderful in- 
 crease in land values. It is safe to say that no living 
 man among the aristocracy of wealth has personally 
 earned or procured from nature for himself during 
 his lifetime more than the amount of wealth which 
 would form a just reward or wage for the amount of 
 toil and skill, mental and bodily, which he has 
 bestowed upon the business of life. All the remainder, 
 whether given to him from past ages, or obtained by 
 him during his own life, is the result of co-operation 
 and combination of labour ; is the result of social 
 organisation, of social wants and social production, or 
 of natural bounty. 
 
 Socialism and Individualism, the Society and the 
 Man, must be made one in interest. Instead of re- 
 garding each other as deadly enemies, they must join 
 their forces together. The society must be strength- 
 
318 
 
 I'EOM POTEKTY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 ened and expanded, while the identity of the indi- 
 vidual is preserved. The work of the society must be 
 one workj performed by the brains and hands of its 
 many individual members. All civilised life is fall of 
 this union. Every club, association, ship's crew,, 
 incorporated company, or town, church, and nation 
 exemplifies this principle. Solitary and accursed, 
 the selfish science of Economy stands apart from^ 
 all other practices of life. In the pursuit of wealth 
 it makes each individual an Ishmael. His hand i» 
 against every man, and every man's hand is against 
 him. A system must be found, therefore, to reconcile 
 these two contending interests. These pages will 
 reveal how easily and completely the associative 
 principle will amalgamate them. The same principle 
 will utterly destroy that antagonism between Labour 
 and Capital which is at present causing misery ta 
 millions, and sowing the seeds of civil war. 
 
 Many years since Hugh Miller, in his Political and 
 Social Essays, thus wrote : — " Capital and labour, 
 then, are joint investments, but they are in the present 
 constitution of society antagonistic to each other. 
 Whether a plan might be devised by which this an- 
 tagonism should be obviated as a superfluous and 
 unnecessary encumbrance, we cannot as yet say. 
 Such a plan, if such be possible, is the great deside- 
 ratum of the commercial world." 
 
 Indeed, so fixed and steadfast has this antagonism 
 between labour and capibal become, that writers upon 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 319 
 
 this subject had grown famous by laying down and 
 defining the laws which govern it. 
 
 Summarising the opinions and hopes of the writers 
 of all nations and of all schools of thought, we 
 find:— 
 
 First. — That socialistic and individualistic economy, 
 as well as labour and capital, are antagonistic to 
 each other. 
 
 Second. — That it is desirable and necessary for 
 public safety and for the advance of civilisation, that 
 these antagonisms should be removed. 
 
 Third. — That many plans have been propounded to 
 accomplish this desired object, upon the efiicacy of 
 which plans no two sections of political or economic 
 thinkers are agreed; and 
 
 Fourth. — That some plan will yet be found which 
 will practically achieve the object proposed. 
 
 The important questions asked in modern days, and 
 now waiting for an answer, sounding in our ears from 
 socialistic schools, and from the hearts and homes of 
 all the toilers among men, are, — " How shall these be 
 attained : — 
 
 1. A fair and just distribution of wealth ? 
 
 2. To every one according to his work ? 
 
 3. The full fruit of his labour to each labourer ? " * 
 On the solution of these questions, humanity would 
 
 be released from half the curses and misery which 
 
 * E. de Laveleye, Cont. Review, Nov. 1882, p. 506. Ibid., 
 April 1883, p. 580. 
 
320 FKOM POVEETY TO PLENTY J OU, 
 
 now afflict it. Need we wonder at men with strong 
 convictions of right, and strong sympathies for their 
 sufEering fellowSj, attacking a system so plainly inimi- 
 cal to the happiness and well-being of humanity as 
 that which now exists ? 
 
 Even in the colonies, sparse as is the population 
 and wide as are the areas of unoccupied land, there is 
 from time to time, and in different places, a large mass 
 of unemployed labour. 
 
 In countries such as these, although the present 
 conditions were continued, there ought to be ample em- 
 ployment for all who are willing to work. Here, if the 
 argument of Mr. Henry George be coiTect, there 
 should be no poverty at all, for large areas of land in 
 all these territories are common and national property. 
 The question frequently arises in the colonies, " How 
 can unemployed labour be utilised so as to draw 
 from unused land that wealth which will make it 
 self-supporting ? " 
 
 The usual methods of settlement are not available 
 in such cases. 
 
 To settle upon waste lands demands generally the 
 payment of the price of the land itself. Expenses of 
 travelling to the spot selected as a home have then 
 to be borne. Some species of shelter, however rude, 
 must be built at cost of both time and money. Fences 
 have to be put up ; cattle or sheep purchased ; farm 
 implements obtained j and seed for cropping. In 
 addition to all this, the capital of the settler must be 
 
THE lABOUE QUESTION SOLVED. 321 
 
 ■s/uEBcient for his temporary wants. How many of the 
 unemployed, or indeed of the whole labouring classes 
 in England or the colonies, would be able to find the 
 means necessary to enable them to become settlers ! 
 In the early days, when land was plentiful immediately 
 contiguous to the growing centres of population and 
 easily obtained, it was indeed possible for workmen to 
 settle down upon their own freeholds. 
 
 From henceforth it will, if things continue as they 
 are, be practically impossible. Nor must we forget 
 that the populations of the colonies are rapidly in- 
 creasing, and that by far the greater portion of the 
 increase, both of colonial birth or foreign immigra- 
 tion, belongs to that class which depends upon its 
 labour for its daily bread. In this view, seeing that 
 all the available land round or near to the centres of 
 population are now taken up, it is manifest that hence- 
 forth the poorer sections of the labouring classes have 
 no chance or opportunity of obtaining for themselves 
 and for their children, land sufficient for a home as 
 their own property. 
 
 In addition to the difficulties already alluded to as 
 likely to debar labourers from becoming proprietors 
 •of land, others will also present themselves to the 
 .most superficial enquiry. 
 
 Thus, distance from markets and from the means 
 and appliances of civilised life, education, the services 
 of religion, medical attendance, and the multifarious 
 .accessories of comfort, the want of which by habit 
 
322 PEOM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OK, 
 
 has become a second nature, present themselves- 
 Then we know how much time is wasted by individual 
 labour, how prodigal of efforts and expenses a man is 
 forced to be who has to depend solely upon his own 
 isolated exertions. 
 
 In addition to all this, the reward for individual 
 labour upon land is generally of the poorest kind and 
 scantiest quantity. 
 
 What are we taught by numerous examples of 
 small settlements ? Instances might easily be quoted 
 to prove that under circumstances of individual settle- 
 ment upon small farms men, however industrious,, 
 however economical, wearied out in the conflict, worn 
 and suffering from toil, have thrown up their holdings 
 in despair, and sought to obtain a livelihood by the 
 wages of daily labour. 
 
 The fact that the labouring classes have achieved 
 nearly all that they can hope for from political sources 
 is widely acknowledged. Mr. Frederic Harrison, — 
 perhaps the most determined advocate of trade- 
 unionism in England, who is as logical as he is deter- 
 mined, writing upon the " Progress of Labour " in 
 the Contemporary Review of October, 1883, — speaking 
 upon this subject, says: "It is matter for congratulation 
 how completely the old Parliamentary programme 
 has been cleared off, and how small are the measures 
 still to be won which directly affect the working 
 class alone. Parliamentary questions of immediate 
 and special concern to him are happily growing fewer 
 
THE LABOUE QUESTION SOLVED. 323 
 
 by virtue of the very success of his own efiforts. And 
 even if Parliament is slow to put the finishing touch 
 on all the measures of protection which the trades 
 have askedj we have all confidence in the power that 
 made TJnionism a great force in the country to effect 
 the end even without an Act. Many of the recent 
 Acts have been but the Parliamentary sanction given 
 to customs already enforced by the moral strength of 
 the Unions. That strength was self-help, or rather, 
 mutual help. Mutual help, — a nobler thing than self- 
 help, — made the Unions. It has enabled them to win 
 results that no Act of Parliament could effect. And 
 by mutual help in the end these great issues between 
 capital and labour will be all solved at last." 
 
 I have omitted from the above paragraph the 
 advice tendered by Mr. Harrison to the unions, to enter 
 more into the administration of local self-government, 
 in order to effect improvements in their own con- 
 dition. This also is of importance, but the concluding 
 words above quoted are vital to the existence and 
 prosperity, not only of the trade organisations, but 
 of the individual members. To the incessant labours 
 of Mr. Harrison and his sound advice on many sub- 
 jects the trades unions of the United .Kingdom owe 
 much. Few people would think, that amongst those 
 who have cherished the most earnest feelings upon 
 the condition of the labouring classes was to be found 
 the late Earl of Beaconsfield, Benjamin Disraeli. By 
 the extreme Tory party his memory is venerated as 
 
324 TEOM POTEKTY TO PLENTY J OE, 
 
 that of a man who vindicated tte rights of the 
 patrician order^ and bent his greatest energies to the 
 extension of the powers of the Crown. By his oppo- 
 nents he is recollected as a meretricious and showy 
 politician; to them the memory of Disraeli is inseparably 
 connected with the dandified carl upon his forehead, 
 his affected finery in dress, his showy and superficial 
 arguments. To many of both classes it may be a 
 surprise to hear that the late Lord Beaconsfield held 
 strong and deep-rooted opinions upon the wrongs 
 which the multitudes of England suffered in the 
 distribution of the national wealth. Disraeli did not, 
 indeed, ascribe the evils to their proper source. 
 Strongly alive to and deeply sympathising with the 
 terrible condition of the labouring classes, he laid 
 that condition to tho account of the introduction of 
 Dutch, finance at the advent of William of Orange, 
 and believed it to be intensified by the passing of 
 the Reform Act in 1832. 
 
 It is, however, but of little moment that he failed 
 to see that the source and spring of these sufferings 
 was to be found in the selfishness and unsparing 
 competition which formed tlie basis of Adam Smith's 
 jteaching. The pictures of human suffering drawn by 
 JDisraeli in the pages of "Sybil; or, the Two Nations " 
 lare as dreadful as anything to be found in the writings 
 of Carlyle or Victor Hugo. The aversion expressed 
 by him to the iron rule of the new aristocracy of 
 wealth is as deep and bitter as that cf Lassalle or 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 325 
 
 Kingsley. It is strange that, possessing such strong 
 convictions upon this subject, Disraeli did not attempt 
 more for the vindication of the rights of the labourers 
 of lis country. But though his latter years did not 
 seem to be devoted to the cause of the poorer orders 
 of the people, no thinking man can read the tale above 
 mentioned without being convinced of the depth of 
 his sympathy, and his convictions of the injustice 
 practised upon the working classes. 
 
 " Sybil," as a novel or romance, is com monplace ; its 
 literary merits are not great ; the language of its 
 characters and their conversations are stilted and 
 unnatural ; but the fire of sympathy burns upon 
 every page, and the spirit of a leader of the English 
 people breathes through it from the beginning to the 
 end. 
 
 As I before said Disraeli blames the Dutch finance 
 and the Reform Act for the condition of the people, 
 but, with unerring sagacity he looks forward to a 
 great reformation, and entrusts the destinies of his 
 people to the care of the English youth. 
 
 " But if it have not furnished us with abler ad- 
 ministrators or a more illustrious senate, the Reform 
 Act may have exercised on the country at large a 
 beneficial influence. Has it ? Has it elevated the 
 tone of the public mind ? Has it cultured the popular 
 sensibilities to noble and ennobling ends ? Has it 
 proposed to the people of England a higher test of 
 national respect and confidence than the debasing 
 
326 FKOM POVERTY TO PLlNTr J OB^ 
 
 qualification prevalent in this country since the fatal 
 introduction of Dutch finance ? Who will pretend it ? 
 If a spirit of rapacious covetousness, desecrating all 
 the humanities of life, has been the besetting sin of 
 England for the last century and a half, since the 
 passing of the Reform Act the altar of Mammon has 
 blazed with triple worship. To acquire, to accumu- 
 late, to plunder each other by virtue of philosophic 
 phrases, to propose a Utopia to consist only of 
 Wealth and Toil, this has been the breathless business 
 of enfranchised England for the last twelve years,* 
 until we are startled from our voracious strife by the 
 wail of intolerable serfage/'f 
 
 " But time, that brings all things, has brought to 
 the mind of England some suspicion that the idols 
 they have so long worshipped and the oracles that 
 have so long deluded them are not the true ones. 
 There is a whisper rising in this country that 
 loyalty is not a phrase, truth not a delusion, and 
 popular liberty something more diffusive and sub- 
 stantial than the profane exercise of the sacred rights 
 of sovereignty by political classes. 
 
 " That we may live to see England once more pos- 
 sess a free monarchy, and a privileged and prosperous 
 people, is my prayer : that these great consequences 
 can only be brought about by the energy and de- 
 votion of our youth is my persuasion. 
 
 # Written in 1845. t B. Disraeli, « Sybil." 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 327 
 
 " We live in an age when to be young and to be 
 indifferent can be no longer synonymous. We must 
 prepare for tbe coming hour. The claims of the 
 future are represented by suffering millions, and the 
 youth of a nation are the trustees of posterity."* 
 The necessity for changes more or less complete 
 is seen and admitted by all. Poets of all classes 
 from the Laureate downwards; statesmen of all 
 parties and shades of opinion ; ministers of every 
 Church ; teachers and professors of every chair ; 
 indeed, from the throne to the hut of the peasant, the 
 present evils are deplored and a hope of a better day 
 indulged in. And although as yet no plan has been 
 formulated for the purpose, it is certain that we as a 
 people and a race must take some new departure. To 
 run in the old grooves, to travel onward in the same 
 road is to hasten to ruin and decay. We Stand at 
 the cross-roads of fate. To go straight on means re- 
 volution and despair. Happily we can enter upon the 
 widening paths which will lead to plenty and content- 
 ment through all the world-wide empire of Britain. 
 Whither shall we steer our course ? There can be 
 but one answer. The long historical development of 
 our liberties, civil and religious ; the deep and wide 
 foundations of our constitutional government; the 
 enterprise of our people, nurtured amid wars and 
 athletic sports for a thousand years; their restless 
 
 * " SybU," p. 489, et seq. 
 
328 FEOM POVEETT TO PLENTY. 
 
 energies yet holding true allegiance to law and 
 justice ; the traditions of heroism ; the accumulations 
 of art and wealth ; the long record of philanthropic 
 deeds; the steady adherence to the worship of God; 
 all that has helped to make the English race what it 
 is to-day guarantees with absolute certainty that the 
 present crisis will open to us a new epoch and era of 
 our existence. In this new era injustice being 
 remedied, and oppression beaten down, our people, 
 freed from the prejudices and the circumstances which 
 trammel other European nations, will develop in 
 numbers, in wealth, and in power, and will leave 
 the rest of the nations of Western Europe behind 
 them in the race for universal supremacy as 
 easily as the nations of Western Europe have during 
 the last 500 years distanced the dormant races of 
 China and the East. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 Concurrent growth of individualistic and associative spirit and 
 practice — Antagonism between political economy and phil- 
 anthropy — Mr. Goschen's statement — History and nature of 
 trades and labour unions — Friendly societies and co-opera- 
 tive associations — Howell's conflicts of capital and labour — 
 Thorold Eogers— Strikes— Their nature and results— Posi- 
 tion of the labourer and capitalist contrasted — Trades unions 
 should become producers of wealth in lieu of striking— Possi- 
 ble disasters both to employers and employed of strikes and 
 lock-outs — Co-operative anxiety to become producers— Failure 
 of efforts — Proper organisation will effect the desired result — 
 History of co-operation — Its imperfect character and scope — 
 Mr. Holyoake— Kochdale pioneers— Profit sharing— Differ- 
 ence in co-operation in England, France, and Germany — 
 Schultze de Litsch— De Laveleye— First co-operative festival 
 — The Times on failure of co-operative production— Hopeful 
 anticipations— Kalahine — Co-operative failures discussed and 
 •compared — All traceable to one cause — This cause easily 
 avoided — Toynbee and Rogers — Necessity of union between 
 trades unions and co-operators and, perhaps, friendly societies 
 — Vast results possible. 
 
 HE last hundred years has seen growing 
 up side by side with the selfish and in- 
 dividualistic system a spirit of association 
 of such great magnitude, and operating 
 over such wide areas as to be altogether unparalleled 
 in past history. The present age is fitly called the 
 
330 FEOM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 age of associations. No branch of life exists which: 
 does not bear witness to this fact. 
 
 " The spirit of association is asserting a beneficial 
 influence in every calling, in every pursuit. It is a 
 force rooted in the nature of man, implanted there as 
 part of its constitution, and, like all others of this 
 character, given him for a purpose, and having its own 
 legitimate field of operation. Nor is that field a 
 narrow one. The spirit of association is the fountain 
 of much that is noblest in human character, and or 
 much which is most heroic in human conduct."* 
 
 Association begets and encourages sympathy, while 
 isolation and individualism are the parents of selfish- 
 ness. -- 
 
 Nor is it to the spirit of association only that the 
 selfish natiire of commerce is opposed. Its precepts,, 
 its practices, ^ts aims are diametrically opposed to the 
 principles of Christianity. No man who acts upon 
 the teachings and deals upon the lines of political 
 economy, as now understood, can so far practise and 
 obey the teachings of Christ. 
 
 Philanthropy and political economy are in every 
 point at variance, t These facts alone go far to 
 
 * Duke of Argyll, "E,eign of Law." 
 
 + Mr. Goschen, House of Commons, on the assimilation of 
 county and borough franchise, June 29th, 1877 : " It appears 
 to me that political economy has been dethroned in this House, 
 and that philanthropy has been allowed to take its place. Political 
 economy is the bugbear of the working classes, and philanthropy" 
 is its idol." 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLTED. 33T 
 
 prove tliat the science itself is incorrectly understood 
 and erroneously taught. Without considering the 
 numerous manifestations of the spread of the associa- 
 tive principle^ in religion^ in literature, in sports of all 
 kinds, in art and science, in war and philanthropy, and 
 in politics, let us for a moment consider its develop- 
 ment in one branch only of those subjects which fall 
 beneath the rules and laws of political economy. 
 
 The associations alluded to will bear no insignificant 
 part in the revolution which is about to take place in 
 the teachings of economical science, for they are them- 
 selves silently preparing the way for the introduction 
 of a new and happier existence. How often, in 
 history and experience, is it found not only "that 
 great events from little causes spring,^' but that 
 whilst men are looking and searching earnestly for 
 the solution of some great problem or the discovery 
 of some great truth in certain directions, the answer 
 is given from some unexpected quarter whence no 
 one dreamed that it would be heard. There are at 
 present in all English communities, mainly originated 
 and maintained by that portion of the industrial 
 classes commonly known as working men, three 
 extensive and increasing organisations, each having 
 its own system, its own government, and its own pur- 
 poses. These are, trades unions, friendly societies, and 
 co-operative associations. So numerous are the mem- 
 bers of these different bodies, so widely spread are their 
 branches, so deeply rooted are they in the afiections 
 
 t2 
 
332 FROM POVEETY TO PLENTY; OR, 
 
 and estimations of every Englisli community, so 
 rapidly are they increasing in numbers and influence, 
 ttat they are now a very great power in the British 
 Empire and the United States. All these organisa- 
 tions are self-supporting and self-governed. 
 
 It is a fact, at once remarkable and peculiar, that 
 in the study of the true science of political economy 
 so little is seen to be due to the teachings of learned 
 men. The necessity for combination and division of 
 labour became apparent by constant practice and in 
 no instance from theoretic teaching. The usefulness 
 of exchange, or, in other words, of commerce, was 
 known in early days, when no men were aware that 
 such laws as we perceive had an existence. None of 
 the organisations alluded to are in any instance due 
 to the speculations of philosophic thought or the 
 results of scientific experiment. Yet they contain the 
 germs of future prosperity for the multitude, and 
 by virtue of their existence, extension, improvement, 
 and union, the industrial class will become a solid 
 power, and wealth will be fairly distributed. 
 
 The friendly societies, the trades and labour unions, 
 and co-operative bodies are the offspring of the 
 hereditary practice of association amongst the people. 
 The instinct by which through their strong common 
 sense, — in many instances amounting to the highest 
 philosophy, — our working men are taught that union 
 is strength, has under the favourable political con- 
 ditions of modern times produced these vast organisa- 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 333 
 
 tions which, united and wisely directed, would rule the 
 social economy as well as the political destinies of the 
 empire and the States. 
 
 These bodies are bound together with no ropes of 
 sand. No evanescent whim, no sudden impulse 
 controls the armies which march under their banners. 
 Every one of these societies is a school in which the 
 members learn useful lessons. Prudence, sobriety, 
 forethought, thrift, obedience, and sympathy are each 
 and all inculcated. The value of combination and 
 the necessity for mutual help are the foundations on 
 which they stand. To their ranks, all are welcomed 
 who are willing to join in their common objects and 
 conform to their simple laws. As the admonition 
 given upon entrance to the Manchester Unity elo- 
 quently impresses upon its members, — they unite 
 those who hold the most discordant views, and join 
 together those most widely distant. No disgrace or 
 degradation attaches to their fellowship. No ignoble 
 object inspires their hopes. Their leaders, elected 
 from among themselves, marshal their hosts for noble 
 purposes. Prom insignificant beginnings, through 
 persecution, slander, and poverty, they have struggled 
 onward against odds so tremendous, and diflSculties 
 so great as to appear insurmountable; and they 
 have conquered. In one direction only, and that not 
 theoretical, but practical, have economics become 
 indebted to the native talent or acquired knowledge 
 of individuals. In those varied inventions and dis- 
 
334 FROM POVEETY TO PLENTY; OEj 
 
 coveries by which machinery has economised human 
 labour, and increased so marvellously the powers of 
 man, scientific thought and experiment have worked 
 wonders, such as, to our fathers, would have appeared 
 miraculous. 
 
 The changes in all matters relating to the posses- 
 sion by the poor of the necessaries and comforts of 
 life, since the times of the Plantagenets or Tudors, is 
 wonderful. The industrial classes have necessarily to 
 guard their own interests and the interests of the 
 poor. 
 
 "All objects of common interest for which, in 
 these days, special societies and associations are esta- 
 blished such as benefit societies and insurance com- 
 panies, were provided for by the guilds of the Middle 
 Ages, the motive and principle of such union being 
 Ghristian charity instead of, as now, profit."* 
 
 Before the destruction of the monasteries the needy 
 had, in certain places unfailing sources of food in 
 the worst times, and of counsel and assistance always. 
 After that time came poor laws for the pauper, and 
 formation of associations by the employed. 
 
 " Trades unions were formed for the purpose of resis- 
 ting the aggressions of the rising manufacturers, and 
 to prevent the spread of the gross abuses which 
 naturally resulted from the disintegration of labour 
 caused by a new system under new conditions, and 
 governed by a new class. The primary object of the 
 
 * Howell, " Conflicts of Capital and Labour," p. 13. 
 
THE LABODK QUESTIOK SOLVED. 335 
 
 unions was the maintenance of the independence of 
 the workmen and the consolidation of their order, 
 just as the Frith Guilds formed a kind of barrier 
 against the tyranny of Mediaeval magnates, and as 
 the craft guilds opposed the oppressions of the old 
 burghers. The journeymen only resorted to combina- 
 tions as a means of self-help when legal aid was 
 ■denied to them, and then there was no other power 
 between them and industrial slavery."* 
 
 All such combinations were illegal, and punishable 
 by heavy fines. It was illegal to take wages above a 
 limit fixed by law, but as in times of harvest, and after 
 any remarkable occurrence which tended to raise the 
 demand for human labour, employers always offered 
 more, the- practice of taking higher wages became 
 comparatively common. In the Middle Ages the 
 Church was a true friend to the labourer, and led to 
 many reforms. Mr. Thorold Eogers, whose two 
 works, " The British Citizen " and " Six Centuries of 
 Work and Wages," are full of information upon these 
 matters, says : — 
 
 " The earliest religious and social reformer in 
 England, Wickliffe, who first translated the Bible into 
 English, established himself in the hearts of the people 
 as strongly as did the great political reformer, Simon 
 •de Montfort, though by different means. While De 
 Montfort gave form and existence to popular govern- 
 ment, the great religious leader determined to create a 
 
 * Howell, p. 17. 
 
336 PEOM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 new order of poor priests, who should surpass them in 
 diligence, and should reach the hearts of the people. 
 Now, at a time when the labourers' wages were rising, 
 and the landowners in and out of Parliament were 
 seeking to keep them down by all the means in their 
 power, it was natural that the religious order which 
 Wickliffe had created and named poor priests, — pro- 
 bably because he wished it to be understood that they 
 were not a monastic order, — should be in strong 
 sympathy with the wishes and objects of the working 
 classes. One does not see how they could reach them 
 and influence them unless they strove to assist them 
 in bettering their temporal condition." * 
 
 The workmen were often called upon to suffer both 
 for combination and for taking higher wages. Yet it 
 is reasonable to suppose that the law was often 
 violated with impunity. The statute laws of the 
 country were like the laws of Draco, written in blood. 
 It is said that in the reign of Henry YII. over seventy 
 thousand persons were hanged only for being vaga- 
 bonds and having no work. It was not the interest of 
 the landowner to shelter vagabonds, but it was to 
 shield his hard-working labourers, although sometimes 
 he had to give him more than the statutory wage. 
 But when fined, the labourer was not friendless. 
 
 " . . . . the working classes united together 
 to pay the fines which the law levied on them for 
 taking higher wages than the law allowed, and these 
 
 * Thorold Kogers, "The British Citizen," pp. 80, 81. 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 337 
 
 unions were, as we are expressly told by contemporary 
 
 writers, as universal as they were powerful 
 
 It is plain that the poor priests supplied the organisa- 
 tion which the work-people could not have created 
 themselves, and were the treasurers of the fund sub- 
 scribed for common purposes. They are distinctly 
 said to have preached about the natural equality of 
 men, and to have called in question the claims of 
 superiority which the noble and wealthy classes made, 
 and had for so long a time given effect to.'' * 
 
 Thus there always existed the germs of great 
 organisations, and the principle of association was 
 never forgotten nor forsaken. Indeed, the various 
 guilds, and other forms of associated industry, were 
 visible tokens of the existence of organisation, and 
 that, too, of a high type. Gradually, during the earlier 
 part of the machine industry period, severe laws were 
 passed to repress all combinations of labour. Through 
 good and evil, however, — against all odds and power, — 
 the workmen would, and did, unite, till at length, in 
 1825, the combination laws were repealed, and the 
 sanction of law was gradually given to all associations 
 of labourers for lawful purposes. The friendly 
 societies, arising as they did out of the guilds, have 
 retained the insurance and charitable principles of 
 their progenitors. 
 
 The trades and labour councils, the friendly 
 societies, and the co-operative bodies, are especially 
 
 * Thorold Eogers, " The British Citizen," pp. 32, 33. 
 
338 
 
 PEOH POVERTY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 capable of taking the effective part in the movement 
 which this volume is written to support. 
 
 These bodies, if they do but recognise the " coign 
 of vantage " they possess, and enter into the path 
 henceforth open, may take no inconsiderable part in 
 the impending social reformation. All their traditions 
 of the past, all their hopes for the future, all their 
 anticipations of the happy change in the labourers' 
 condition, are bound up in the system now proposed. 
 In it every aspiration is satisfied, every purpose of 
 their existence performed. The trades and labour 
 unions have through the incredible exertions and 
 terrible sufferings of generations of the sons and 
 daughters of toil, at length won a right to live, a 
 voice to speak, and ground to stand upon. They are 
 extending their influence very widely, under different 
 names and forms. Their discipline is seen throughout 
 the English-speaking world. Numerically they are a 
 mighty host. Their great divisions, brigaded in cal- 
 lings and localities, if marshalled together, would 
 number tens of millions. They have suffered greatly. 
 They have accomplished much. Not only have they 
 won many great and signal victories in contests more 
 dreadful than those of actual war, they have gained 
 the respect, the sympathy, and the assistance of many 
 in different ranks of life, and holding positions of 
 influence in different countries. They have also 
 obtained equal, or partially equal, political rights with 
 their employers, and other orders in the State. All 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 389 
 
 this having been done, they are now halting in their 
 march. Whither are they tending ? To what land 
 of promise do they journey ? All that they can with 
 reason hope to gain politically is substantially in their 
 possession. If they possessed a majority in Parlia- 
 ment, what could they then attain ? All other pro- 
 posed acts of legislation are, and will be, of little 
 comparative value if the present unfair distribution of 
 accumulated wealth continue. Will Acts of Parlia- 
 ment keep open factories or support the rate of wages ? 
 Can legislation place clothes upon the backs of the 
 labourer and his children, or give them food when 
 times are hard ? Can Parliament by a vote restrain 
 the present predominating influence of capital, prevent 
 its buying in the cheapest and selling in the dearest 
 markets, placing its manufactories where people will 
 work at starvation rates, and where the profits of its 
 ventures will be doubled ? 
 
 If the labouring classes suffer wrongs or groan 
 under tyrannies arising from laws enacted by Parlia- 
 ment, or customs which Parliament can control, then 
 the eloquent words of Pitt are true in every syllable : 
 "Parliament is omnipotent to protect." But the 
 wisest and mightiest Senate that ever sat in Rome or 
 London, in Paris or Washington, never contemplated 
 3, law, or series of laws, by which the wealth arising 
 from the labours of the nation, or any community 
 within it, should be equitably apportioned. The form 
 of such a Bill is unknown ; the provisions of such an 
 
340 
 
 I'ROM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 Act undrafted. No preamble for such a statute has- 
 been ever written, and no debate upon the principles 
 of such a measure ever roused the echoes of the Forum 
 or pealed through the arches of St. Stephen's. In all 
 the theories promulgated by the Socialists^ not one 
 sentence is to be found which indicates the laws pro- 
 posed to carry such schemes of Social federation into 
 legal practice. 
 
 Since 1825, trades unions have not only become 
 widespread and numerous, but they have arrived at a 
 pitch of organisation and discipline which render them 
 both formidable and powerful. Eegarding their 
 internal order and management, I do not intend to 
 offer any suggestions. The members of these exten- 
 sive associations possess sufficient wisdom and suffi- 
 cient experience to enable them to adapt their interior 
 government to the circumstances which surround 
 them. One or two exterior modes of action, however^ 
 which materially affect their success and prosperity, 
 call for attention. 
 
 Although the " union which is strength " by which 
 they are bound together is cemented by no unwise 
 purposes and for no evil design, yet it may be safely 
 predicated that under their existing methods labour 
 can never be made the master of the position nor 
 work out for itself its own salvation. 
 
 The method of relief adopted is but an imitation 
 of the very worst and most clumsy expedient of 
 ignorant and selfish politicians. It is merely an- 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 341 
 
 -attenuated poor law, and pauperises and degrades 
 its recipients under the most benevolent impulses. 
 The only weapon which is used in the unequal 
 struggle with wealth, and one which distresses the 
 industrial classes, is that cessation of toil, — 
 " the strike." No doubt on many occasions, and 
 considered from many points, strikes have been 
 eminently useful to the labouring class. To secure 
 the successes so achieved much suffering has been 
 endured by the workers themselves and by their 
 wives and children, although this in itself has not 
 been altogether barren of good results. No gi-eat 
 cause, especially where it had to contend with selfish- 
 ness or with prejudice, has ever advanced far upon 
 the path to victory unaccompanied by the sufferings 
 of those who maintained it. " The blood of the 
 martyrs was the seed of the Church," and in every 
 land and age reformers have invariably found that 
 suffering and self-sacrifice were the inevitable price of 
 victory. The principal error lies in the continued 
 practice of the strike. During the past two 
 generations, by a train of circumstances no longer 
 existing, it was possible for the labourers to compel 
 employers to increase wages, to shorten the hours of 
 labour, to limit the extent of employment, and to 
 make other concessions for the benefit of the un- 
 employed. A very slight glance at the history of the 
 last half-century will reveal the source of the power 
 exercised by the workmen as against the masters. 
 
342 FROM FOVEETY TO PLENTY; OK, 
 
 England was, until lately, the workshop of the world. 
 The capital of her merchants, manufacturers, mine- 
 owners, and other employers of labour was practi- 
 cally without limit, because all the new wealth created 
 by the vast manufactures and other industries, and 
 by the boundless commerce of Great Britain could be, 
 and to a considerable extent was turned into 
 fresh capital to be used in the payment of wages 
 and the erection of macbinery for the purpose of 
 creating new wealth. The powers and forces of 
 nature on land and sea, the inventions of science, the 
 fresh mines of wealth opened in all directions offered 
 unexampled facilities for the rapid accumulation of 
 great fortunes by the employment of labour. That 
 labour was practically limited to the British race, and 
 therefore when a conflict arose in any one branch of 
 industry between the employers and their workmen, 
 the workmen might indeed be called upon to suffer 
 during the continuance of this civil war, but the 
 employer not only lost the profit arising from the sur- 
 plus labour value of his workmen, but he lost also the 
 interest upon his capital invested and profits in trade, 
 and sometimes suffered such damage from broken 
 contracts and confusion of business arrangements as 
 brought him to ruin. The state of affairs is now 
 altogether altered. When Pitt uttered his celebrated 
 statement in the House of Commons respecting the 
 duties of Parliament between manufacturing em- 
 ployers and employed, his horizon extended only 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 343 
 
 to the consequences resulting on a limited scale from 
 a conflict between capital and labour. 
 
 " The time will come," said Pitt, when speaking on 
 the Arbitration Act, " when manufactures will have 
 been so long established, the operatives not having 
 any other business to flee to, that it will be in the 
 power of any one man in a town to reduce the wages, 
 and all the other manufacturers must follow. If ever 
 it does arrive at this pitch. Parliament, if it be not 
 then sitting, ought to be called together, and if it can- 
 not redress your grievances its power is at an end. 
 Tell me not that Parliament cannot. Its poiver is 
 omnipotent to protect."* 
 
 These noble and prophetic words, full of the 
 sympathy of a great heart and the wisdom of 
 a great statesman, worthy of him who gave 
 them utterance and of the people over whom he 
 ruled, contain a principle of national greatness 
 which English statesmen of the present day will 
 be wise to adopt. But the majority of the leaders of 
 to-day are but pigmies compared with the men who 
 steered England through the troubled seas of 
 American and European wars and revolutions, and 
 placed her in the zenith of her glory as the leader of 
 the nations. Contrast with this noble utterance of 
 the great Commoner the words already quoted uttered 
 by the Rt. Hon. Gr. J. Goschen in 1877 to the same 
 august assembly as Pitt addressed: "It appears to 
 
 * Quoted by Howell " Conflicts of Capital and Labour," p. 114. 
 
344 FEOM POVEETY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 me tliat political economy has been dethroned in this 
 House and that philanthropy has been allowed to 
 take its place. Political economy is the bugbear of 
 the working class and philanthropy is its idol/' Mr. 
 Goschen went on to say upon the question then being 
 debated, viz., the assimilation of the county fran- 
 chise to the borough franchise, that " the reign of 
 numbers, if it endangers nothing else, endangers 
 political economy." 
 
 These are the utterances of the present Chancellor 
 of the Exchequer in this nation which Pitt and his 
 coadjutors made great. Times are altered. That 
 which Pitt foresaw as likely to happen in any one 
 manufacturing town in England, and worse than that, 
 ^s now possible and yearly becomes more likely to 
 happen in any part of the world through the actions 
 of some syndicate, which by cheapening production in 
 •different classes of merchandise could compete success- 
 fully,not only against the English workman but against 
 the English employer also. And it is certain that the 
 -ever-increasing flood of mechanical inventions will 
 gradually place human labour power at a terrible dis- 
 advantage, in contending against which strikes will 
 simply mean starvation. The labourer is the owner 
 of one factor of production. When a strike occurs 
 the labourer refuses to contribute the use of his factor 
 to produce wealth. Let us for a moment apply the 
 same rule under similar circumstances to the owners 
 -of land and the owners of capital. First to the 
 
THK LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 345 
 
 owners of land. As labourers when employed by 
 others give tbe use of their labour to their employers 
 for wageSj so the land-owner gives the use of his land 
 to others for rent. 
 
 Supposing then a dispute to arise between the 
 landlord and his tenants^ so that they cannot agree 
 upon the rent which shall be paid for the use of the 
 land, or the terms and conditions upon which it shall 
 be enjoyed : the tenant departs. The landlord then 
 uses his land himself, — at the worst he will lay it 
 down in pasture, and from the cattle and sheep that 
 graze upon it derive a profit. Some use can always 
 be made of land and some return always derived from 
 its use. The case of capital is similar. The term 
 "interest" stands simply in lieu of the term "wages" 
 for labour, or " rent " for land, and interest can 
 always be obtained, although as a final resort the 
 National Debt has to be used for the purpose of 
 obtaining a small annual per-centage. Compare now 
 the position of the labourer in this matter with that 
 of the land-owner and the capitalist. When the 
 labourer is on strike, his estate, that is his labour, 
 yields him nothing, he cannot use it or allow it to lie 
 in pasture or at small interest. And he is in this 
 further and terrible position that the great govern- 
 ment of nature in exchange for the life which she 
 permits him to enjoy levies upon him a continuous 
 daily taxation, — a taxation inexorable, and from 
 which there is no escape, from the cradle to the 
 
 z 
 
346 TEOM POVEETY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 grave. Nature with her despotic voice demands 
 from him the food necessary to support her existence 
 within himj the clothing which is to protect him from 
 heat and cold, the shelter which is to defend him from 
 the elements. All these he must pay or pass out of 
 mortal existence. The land-owner is in no such con- 
 dition ; nor is the capitalist. Should taxation be 
 levied by the G-overnment of the country as Henry 
 George proposes^ the land-owner would, indeed, find 
 his position approaching to that of the labourer, and 
 if he allowed his property to remain idle he would 
 forfeit it to the State. 
 
 No such plan has been proposed as regards the 
 ■capitalist save by the extreme Socialists. Nor is it 
 ■ever likely that it will be carried into effect in regard 
 to the owners of land. Wages being the means of 
 •subsistence, and the means of subsistence being 
 nature's taxation, all that the labourer earns, as a rule, 
 when in full work is levied from him by nature. If, 
 therefore, he cease to labour and to earn wages, he 
 must either cease to pay his taxation or become 
 a pauper, and obtain from charity the means 
 to defray the incessant demands of nature. In the 
 one case his life is taken from him ; in the other, 
 his manhood. But the changing times which have 
 thus destroyed the lever that labour could once use 
 to wring concessions from capital p,nd have made 
 -strikes the suicide of labour, have also opened entirely 
 new and unthought of avenues to better results for 
 
THE LABOUE QUESTION SOLVED. 347 
 
 combinations of labourers than tliey could hope to 
 gain by striking. It is now possible for the trades 
 and labour unions to avail themselves of great terri- 
 tories of land and of all the forces of nature, and to 
 obtain the assistance and service of sufiBcient capital 
 to maintain their armies of industry while creating 
 new wealth ; wealth more vast and varied than that 
 which the past fifty years has seen realised, and which 
 shall belong to, and be enjoyed by, them and their 
 wives and children. To the attainment of this end 
 their sufferings in the past will have been instru- 
 mental ; and those vast unions, the bonds of whose 
 •companionship have been forged by common sym- 
 pathies and cemented by common sufferings, will be 
 able to use fheir order, their discipline, and their 
 organisation, not for the suicide of labour, but for the 
 creation of wealth, of all sorts and in every land, for 
 themselves. 
 
 It is not difficult to imagine a state of things in 
 which, after heavy and continuous strikes, most of the 
 shipyards and mines and factories of great Britain 
 would be closed, and the millions of operatives left to 
 starve. Free trade and competition could easily supply 
 the requisite circumstances. If the present tendencies 
 continue, and the present conditions as to the employ- 
 ment and reward of labour remain unaltered, it needs 
 no prophetic eye to see that a future full of evil is 
 before the trades and labours, which all their organi- 
 sations and reserve funds will fail to avert or remedy, 
 
 z 2 
 
348 TKOM POYEETY TO PLENTY ; OE, 
 
 The friendly societies are ia a better position than 
 the trades unions, but they also are neglecting the 
 opportunities now afforded, and are but using very 
 old-fashioned and imperfect instruments to accom- 
 plish their ends. Their funds accumulate slowly, and 
 are in no case invested in reproductive undertakings. 
 The savings of hard and incessant toil are gradually 
 expended in ameliorating the lot of the sick or unfor- 
 tunate instead of being employed in sustaining labour 
 upon reproductive investments for the common bene- 
 fit of their members. The co-operative bodies are 
 better off in this respect than the friendly societies. 
 Their capital is invested, and their .stores and under- 
 takings are carried on partially upon a profit-making 
 foundation. But these are the societies that feel so 
 keenly the necessity existing for a system of co-opera- 
 tive production. Having got near enough to the true 
 solution of the modern difficulty to see that co-opera- 
 tive production will carry them a long way towards 
 its final decision, they are year after year attempting 
 to find out some practical system for this purpose. 
 
 It is at once ludicrous and pathetic to read in 
 the proceedings of congress after congress of the 
 co-operative societies how successive committees ar& 
 formed for the object of framing a plan of productive 
 co-operation, and how persistently they fail in their 
 endeavours, finding ever new excuses for their failures. 
 The most expressive excuse is that the time is not 
 ripe. The time is ripe. The one requisite is a plan 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 349 
 
 easily understoodj simple in macliinery and working, 
 sound in principle, wide in aim, comprehensive in 
 scope and mode, possibly universal in application and 
 beneficent in results. Let the moneys subscribed by 
 the trades unions and friendly societies now lyitig 
 idle or at low interest be invested in such an associa- 
 tion, arrangements being made by which at any time 
 certain amounts calculated beforehand can be with- 
 drawn at a moment's notice ; let the surplus funds of 
 the co-operative societies be thus invested ; let the 
 co-operative warehouses, yards, and stores be filled 
 with meat of all sorts, flour, vegetables, fruit, and 
 jams, butter and cheese, from their own farms and 
 stations ; with tea, sugar, cotton, cofiee, and spices 
 from their own plantations ; with coal and iron, copper 
 and oil, gold and silver from their own mines; 
 timber from their own forests, all manufactured wares 
 from their own factories, clothing from their own 
 mills and shops ; all carried to and fro in their own 
 shipping, employing and supplying their own partners 
 and themselves, and increasing the value of their 
 estates, their villages, and their towns in many lands. 
 Thus they would create new wealth which they 
 would themselves enjoy, open new employments; 
 draft away to new countries the surplus labour of the 
 unions ; create new markets ; increase their savings 
 and capital at a compound ratio. They could defy 
 the present dominion of capital, and be their own 
 employers. They could lay a new foiindation both 
 
350 FROM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OBj 
 
 for the production and distribution of wealth in ar 
 rational and humane political economy, and upon it 
 rear a palace of industry, calculated not merely to- 
 astonish but to delight and bless humanity. To this 
 end they are admirably adapted. To this, if they 
 desire a destiny of usefulness, they will attain. Their 
 organisations, their teachings, their discipline, their 
 esprit de corps, their patriotism, bheir patience, their 
 courage, their industry, and their faith in God and 
 man will all aid them in achieving so good a result. 
 These great associations, comprising as they do so 
 large a portion of the bone and sinew of the English 
 race, will, if properly advised and directed, furnish 
 a great army for this rational and holy war. 
 
 Let it be granted that the capital of the Stock 
 Exchange, of the speculator and of the usurer will 
 not readily flow into these channels; let it be assumed 
 that those who like to follow precedent and tread in 
 the old paths, guided by old associations, and blinded 
 by prejudice, will refuse to'behold anything but virtue 
 and wisdom in the orthodox system, and cast their 
 opposition and the weight of their influence into the 
 scales against the new plans ; and let the mind be 
 prepared for the most bitter attacks and determined 
 hostility from the Manchester School ; yet, in the 
 face of all these difSculties and dangers, these 
 great societies leagued together, calling to their aid 
 all that is good and great in our people, will over- 
 come every opposition and be victorious over every foe. 
 
THE LABOUE QUESTION SOLVED. 351 
 
 Tke nature, extent, and capabilities of the principles 
 of co-operation have as yet never been thoroughly- 
 discussed and understood. It is not a subject upon 
 which philosophic disquisitions have been expended 
 nor arguments of schools continued. The writers 
 who have attempted to sketch the principles of co- 
 operation may be almost numbered upon the fingers 
 of a man's hands. It is doubtful if any compre- 
 hensive and logical attempt has ever yet been made 
 to reduce co-operation to a science. Different part& 
 of what will no doubt hereafter form one of the most 
 extensive and important branches of human learning^ 
 have been but lightly glanced at, and incidentally con- 
 sidered. The late John Stuart Mill and Robert Owen, 
 and among living writers, Sedley Taylor, John Rae,, 
 Pare, Bmile de Laveleye, Thomas Hughes, and 
 notably Gr. J. Holyoake, are the leaders in this field 
 of literature, at any rate so far as England and 
 English people are concerned. I am not here 
 speaking of the French and Grermau schools, where, as 
 in France, other branches of this subject have been 
 discussed in the workshops of Paris, and in Germany 
 the people's banks inaugurated by Schultze de Litsch, 
 have practically exemplified the benefits of even im- 
 perfect co-operation in finance. The practice as well 
 as the theory of co-operation up to the present time 
 has been always of a partial nature, and whether it 
 has taken the shape of industrial partnership, dis- 
 tributive co-operation, profit-sharing in agricultural or 
 
352 ^ FEOM POVERTY TO PLENTY ; OE, 
 
 otter pursuitSj or any other foririj it has been always 
 and everywhere of an imperfect and partial character. 
 The practice has almost always preceded the theory. 
 The first efforts at co-operation in the United Kingdom 
 did not include that part of the principle which gave 
 to the purchasers a proportionate share of the profits 
 of the enterprise equal to their contributions. It 
 was the introduction of this part of the principle by the 
 Rochdale pioneers, which laid the foundation for the 
 present prosperous condition of the co-operative 
 associations in Great Britain. No plan has, so far as 
 I am aware, ever been sketched for the application 
 of it to all the purposes of life, the production, the 
 exchange, the distribution, and the enjoyment of all 
 material wealth. Yet such is the scope and adapta- 
 bility of this principle of association and mutual help, 
 that it will without doubt ultimately be 'found capable 
 of bestowing all the blessings which flow from the 
 enjoyment of the necessaries and comforts of life 
 upon every class and every family in the empire. 
 One of the most recent writers upon Socialism, Emile 
 de Laveleye, asks whether it is not possible to find a 
 plan by which co-operators shall be enabled to avail 
 themselves of the great benefits of the Joint Stock 
 Limited Liability System. The great bulk of the 
 co-operative associations exist and conduct their opera- 
 I tions under the provisions of Acts which of necessity 
 J fetter their energies, limit their extension, and im- 
 I pair their usefulness. The only form in which free 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 353 
 
 play can be given and powers commensurate with 
 human wants can be conferred is through the opera- 
 tion of au enlarged and liberal joint stock and limited 
 liability system. It is only necessary that such 
 associations should enjoy certain legal rights and be 
 ■erected upon a sure foundation, to enable their 
 managers and members to achieve the greatest 
 possible success, and the widest possible distribution 
 of advantages. 
 
 The various plans for improvement hitherto pro- 
 posed demand great changes in the moral nature or 
 the social conduct of man. But we must remember 
 that we have to deal with human nature as it is, and 
 not as it should be. The only influence which ever in 
 this world will constrain men to practical communism 
 in material wealth of pure and unselfish character 
 is the influence of the Spirit of Christ upon the heart. 
 The day will come, I doubt not, when, in accordance 
 with promise and prophecy, the Holy Spirit will so 
 influence men. But that day is not yet. It is our 
 •duty to make such use of the materials at our com- 
 mand as to ensure to the multitudes of our race that 
 justice which both natural and revealed religion 
 enjoin, and to scatter as widely as possible and as 
 fairly as may be the rewards of labour to the toilers 
 of the earth. 
 
 On the other hand, all existing and practical 
 schemes of co-operation are hemmed in, — " Cribbed, 
 cabined, and confined," — by a want of comprehensive^ 
 
354 FEOM PCTEETY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 nesSj — a narrowness of yiew, aided sometimes by a 
 practical selfislinesSj wLich limit their scope and use- 
 fulness to the smallest and pettiest results. Where 
 there should be a flowing river^ upon whose bosom 
 the commerce of nations might floaty there is but 
 a tiny rill sufficient to carry small boats and to 
 satisfy the wants of those who dwell upon its 
 banks. And this incompleteness is common both 
 to theory and practice. Thus^ in the majority of 
 co-operative associations in the United Kingdom 
 the benefits are exclusively conferred upon pur- 
 chasers. The members and depositors of money 
 receive a certain rate of interest upon their capita), 
 while the profits are divided among the customers. 
 The industrial class, such as labourers, clerks, and 
 managers, receive their wages, but no share of the 
 accrued wealth or profits. This seems to be the rule 
 in distributive associations. The societies which are 
 formed for production in some few cases make their 
 servants participate in the profits in the shape of 
 bonuses, but there is no fixed rule. Mr. Holyoake 
 lays it down as an absolute principle that the capi- 
 talist has no right whatever to any share in results 
 beyond interest for the use of his money. In every 
 direction the energies, the influence, and the capacity 
 of true and complete co-operation are fenced in by 
 unwise and unnecessary limitations. Perhaps the 
 most remarkable condition attached either openly or 
 tacitly to the successful working of this principle is 
 
THE LABOCIK QUJESTION SOLVED. 355- 
 
 that co-operative societies must be ruled and directed 
 by men of the labouring class. This is the opinion 
 of John Stuart Mill^ who in writing on the probable 
 future of the working classes, gives a long and 
 elaborate statement of his views, together with the 
 facts upon which those views are founded. 
 
 It is at least strange that the economists who have 
 given their adhesion to the doctrine of co-operation, — 
 and, with a few exceptions, the list includes all modern 
 writers, — do not see that by so doing they condemn 
 the selfish, individualistic, and competitive foundation! 
 upon which the whole system of Adam Smith is built. 
 And Mazzini, though not strictly a political economist, 
 who believed with Kingsley that self-sacrifice and not 
 self-interest was the true foundation of a correct 
 system, also held that the only remedy was to be found 
 in the union of labour and capital in the same hands. 
 
 The history of the co-operative movement is both 
 interesting and instructive : — 
 
 The first series of efibrts at co-operation after many 
 vicissitudes and varying fortunes, which are des- 
 cribed with picturesque and witty vividness, in the 
 " History of Co-operation," by Mr. G. J. Holyoake, 
 ended with more or less disastrous failure from 1837 
 to 1845. 
 
 The resuscitation of the movement at Rochdale 
 marked a fresh and more perfect era in the develop- 
 ment of the principle. Up to that time co-operation 
 had been of a comparatively rude and undeveloped 
 
■356 PROM POVEETY TO PLENTY; OR, 
 
 nature. The movement commenced by the twenty- 
 eight Rochdale pioneers advanced it one step from 
 the rudimentary stage towards perfect development. 
 
 A new and hitherto untried principle was at Roch- 
 dale brought into operation, namely, the sharing, of 
 profits among purchasers. It soon became known 
 that on this principle a valuable lode of wealth had 
 been discovered, and within the last forty years 
 ■thousands of societies, aggregating several millions 
 of members, have worked profitably upon the reef 
 which was struck and opened at Rochdale in 1845. 
 
 The Rochdale people took the name of Equitable 
 Pioneers because they desired to establish equity in 
 industry, and that they who helped to make wealth 
 should share it. It is said that sharing profits with 
 purchasers had before this time been suggested, and, 
 in a few isolated instances, carried into practice. But 
 ■they who established it as a principle, and placed it 
 as a corner-stone of the great co-operative building 
 of distributive industry which now rears its colossal 
 form in the United Kingdom, were undoubtedly the 
 little band of Rochdale pioneers with their petty 
 capital of £28. 
 
 The time is now ripe for a further advance in social 
 science. The final principles of the co-operative produc- 
 tion and distribution of wealth are now discernible. 
 
 Spasmodic efforts have from time to time been 
 made, with more or less success, to introduce the 
 practice of this system to productive as well as dis- 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 357 
 
 tributive industry-j but in some cases the effort has 
 been unsuccessfulj while in none has it achieved those 
 results which may reasonably be expected. Its com- 
 parative failure has arisen partly from selfishness, 
 partly from ignorance, and partly from timidity. In 
 some cases, as in the Mitchell Hey Mill, the very men 
 who in distributive industry had attained such a won- 
 derful success, furnished some of those who drew 
 back from the same principle as applied to productive 
 industry. In no society, as far as I am aware, nor in 
 any treatise upon co-operative science, is the elastic- 
 nature of the principle itself fully set out. We know 
 exactly the factors which produce all wealth, and we 
 can learn with ease and approximate certainty the- 
 values of the respective contributions given by each 
 individual to the achievement of the desired result. 
 Co-operation, or association, properly understood, 
 should give to each individual who aids in creating- 
 wealth a portion of it proportionate to the value of 
 his aid, and properly practised this may be done. As 
 co-operation, or association, is capable of dealing- 
 justice in the appointment of reward, it is also able 
 to open new fields of employment without limit. 
 Until the vast areas of land in the British colonies,, 
 capable of habitation by man, shall have been fully 
 peopled, co-operative farming and agriculture will' 
 afford an outlet for unemployed labour and super- 
 abundant capital. So long as ships have to be built 
 and mines worked, cotton and wool woven and spun,. 
 
358 PBOM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OB, 
 
 manufactures produced, and commerce of all sorts 
 extended ; as long as labour can be organised to 
 provide the means of subsistence and the luxuries 
 and comforts of life,: so long indeed as man exists 
 under present conditions and the world lasts, co- 
 operative industry in production and distribution and 
 the management of all human business will be avail- 
 able to bestow unlimited blessings upon men. 
 
 Several impediments to the spread of association 
 are raised needlessly by the warmest supporters of 
 the principle itself. Mr. John Stuart Mill, Mr. Gr. J. 
 Holyoake, M. de Laveleye, and the leading Socialist 
 writers who support co-operation, as we have seen, 
 adopt the common idea that co-operative bodies and 
 associations must of necessity consist of labourers. 
 No doubt it is possible for labourers themselves ex- 
 clusively to form associations whether for productive 
 or distributive purposes, but it is not necessary, and, 
 in the vast majority of instances, would not be ex- 
 pedient. As well might it be urged that the armies 
 of the future were to be composed of private soldiers 
 only, the navies manned alone by sailors before the 
 mast, and the intricate affairs of commercial and 
 political life altogether transacted by the labouring 
 class. This is neither true nor logical. Associative 
 economy will avail itself of the best instruments, 
 the widest intellects, and the most cultured minds. 
 It will call to its support the resources of wealth, the 
 powers of legislation, the sympathies of beneficence. 
 
THE LA.BO0B QUESTION SOLVED. 350 
 
 courage, endurance^ business capacity, and all other 
 human powers and virtues. Hitherto its progress, 
 though rapid, has been confined to certain channels ; 
 its business has been localised, its efforts disjointed, 
 its solidarity dispersed and broken. As one of its 
 principal leaders said at the Crystal Palace, " It is 
 only a shopkeeping concern." What might have 
 been and still may be a great host, complete in all 
 arms, fully equipped for the conquest of the indus- 
 trial world, has hitherto been but a great cloud of 
 skirmishers or, at best, a multitude of guerilla troops, 
 «ach fighting under its own flag. The hopes cherished 
 nearly forty years ago by the Christian Socialists 
 have never yet been fulfilled, because there has been 
 no union, no organisation, no proper understanding 
 of the method and value of association as the founda- 
 tion of political economy, and because half-truths and 
 erroneous ideas crept in, preventing the real organi- 
 sation and true development of society on associative 
 principles. 
 
 It |is worthy of remark that the practice of co- 
 operation has assumed quite diiferent shapes in 
 •different countries. In England, co-operation is 
 almost confined to distribution ; in Prance, to labour ; 
 in Germany, to banking ; in America and Australia, 
 it lies principally in labour and insurance, although in 
 America it is rapidly extending to other matters. 
 Each of these instances illustrates a different field in 
 which the main principle acts. In England, as a rule. 
 
o60 FROM POVEETY TO PLENTY; OE^ 
 
 the customer or consumer gets all the profits ; in 
 France, the labourer absorbs them ; in Germany, the- 
 capitalist. In none is the true principle practised, 
 which shares the profits by contract, after paying rent, 
 wages, and interest between the capitalist, the con- 
 sumer, and the producer. Nor has it ever, to my 
 knowledge, been suggested that true co-operation 
 should embrace a partnership, not only of all classes 
 in the production and distribution of wealth, but 
 should extend to every calling and work in life. 
 
 It is not surprising that Socialists and others who 
 complain of the present unfair distribution quote the 
 statement of Adam Smith that " Labour is the source 
 of all wealth," and claim that labour should receive 
 that which it produces. When the great charter of 
 human freedom was uttered in the celebrated Declara- 
 tion of Independence, no statement was more widely 
 approved and applauded than that which declared, 
 " That all men are created equal, that they are en- 
 dowed by their Creator with certain inalienable 
 rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the 
 pursuit of happiness." This grand principle was, 
 however, completely ignored so far as regarded those 
 coloured people who were then and for nearly a 
 hundred years afterwards continued to be held in 
 bondage in the United States. 
 
 Far-seeing statesmen appealed to the framers of 
 the American constitution to carry freedom thoroughly 
 on to its ultimate consequence; but the power of the 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 361 
 
 slave-holding States was too great and the effort was 
 vain. When the great contest came, in 1860, and 
 that fratricidal war began, which cost a million of lives 
 and more than a thousand millions of treasure, men 
 remembered that some of the noblest minds of 
 America had in 1778 predicted the terrible conse- 
 quences which would ensue upon the determination 
 not to emancipate all slaves while uttering the 
 glorious claim of universal freedom. The simile may- 
 be extended to the past and present position of white 
 labour and uncoloured slaves. Modern political 
 economy has already declared that labour is the 
 source of all wealth, yet it gives only the slave's 
 portion, mere subsistence, to the labourer. And the 
 grounds of its argument are the same as those 
 of the slave - holding States of the American 
 Union. The same actuating principle animated 
 each. The lust of wealth, the selfishness which 
 sacrifices all else for its own gratification kept 
 the negro in bondage in America, and keeps the 
 white slaves in bondage now the wide world over. 
 The immortal Declaration stated that all men were 
 born free and equal while its framers kept multitudes 
 in servitude ; the modern economy declares labour 
 to be the source of wealth, while it cheats the 
 labourer of his birthright and gives his earnings to 
 others. Will not the results be the same ? Unless 
 the change comes swiftly which will make practice 
 consistent with theory, it is quite possible that the 
 
362 
 
 PEOM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OB, 
 
 industrial class will avenge itself. Perhaps there is 
 in the world no such difficult task as at once to con- 
 vince men of their selfishness and to cause them tO' 
 forsake it. 
 
 The virtue of co-operation is often exemplified in 
 the prosecution of individual undertakings. In an 
 able article, " Why have the Yeomanry perished ? "■ 
 in the Goniemporarij Review, October, 1883, Mr. Rae- 
 thus writes : — 
 
 " When a peasant proprietary is spoken of, it is 
 usual to consider it a final and conclusive objection,, 
 that they could never undertake drainage or other 
 permanent improvements on the great scale now- 
 essential to agricultural success. The Axholm& 
 tenants have surmounted this difficulty; they have 
 efiected permanent improvements on the great scale, 
 in the only way small farmers can do them, by co- 
 operation. For this fact we are indebted, not to 
 Mr. Druce, but to the Times. 
 
 " ' It might be thought,^ says the writer in that 
 journal already alluded to, "^that drainage by steam 
 power must be limited to districts of considerable 
 estates or large farms, but in one case at least, where 
 the open field land lies at a low level, the small hus- 
 bandmen considered, at a public meeting, a proposal 
 for improved drainage, consented to a plan, erected a 
 steam-engine for turning wheel and sluice, cut and 
 deepened many drains at considerable annual ex- 
 pense, paying their drainage tax of 2s. to 5s. per- 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 36S 
 
 acre. In another case, a large body of these owners 
 have just agreed to lay down an eight-inch pipe drain 
 crossing a long series of stripe lands, in order that 
 the owner of each stripe may lead into it a subsoil 
 drain down the line parting his plot from the next.' 
 
 " Arthur Young noticed their remarkable spirit of 
 ready co-operation and mutual assistance in his days, 
 and Mr. Druce mentions still that they seldom em- 
 ploy labourers, and need not because they help one 
 another in busy seasons. A good deal of their suc- 
 cess must be attributed to their habit of co-opera- 
 tion." 
 
 It must not, however, be supposed, although the 
 principle of co-operation or of association has been 
 widely proved and adopted, that it was likely at once 
 to accomplish all that its supporters believed it able 
 to effect. As a matter of fact, it did not. In Ger- 
 many its progress was arrested by the disputes be- 
 tween Lassalle, Von Ketteler, and Schultze de Litsch. 
 In Prance many of the associations which received 
 subventions from the Government decayed ; while, as 
 we have seen in England, the enthusiastic hopes of 
 Kingsley and Hughes, and the whole body of Chris- 
 tian Socialists, were doomed to be, at any rate for a 
 time, disappointed. M. de Laveleye, after speaking 
 of many of the failures, still utters his belief in the 
 future success of co-operation, and gives his 
 reasons.* 
 
 * "The Socialism of To-day," p. 74. 
 
 2 A 2 
 
364 EEOM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 In a note to this page (75) the Belgian economist 
 starts the question as' to whether it is not possible 
 to obtain for the co-operative associations the 
 advantages of the limited liability joint - stock 
 company. 
 
 " It is stated in the report of an English societyj 
 The North of England Industrial and Coal Com- 
 pany^ Limitedj that several co-operative societies are 
 large shareholders in the concernj which possesses 
 blast-furnaces and rotatory puddling ovens at Carlton^ 
 coal mines in Durham, and smelting works at Cleve- 
 land. Here is the stepping-stone between the joint- 
 stock company and the co-operative society." 
 
 Not only is it possible and advisable so to do, but this 
 step in advance could be with ease accomplished, and 
 would obviate difficulties as to the holding of pro- 
 perties and distribution of profits which, even to 
 profound thinkers like De Laveleye, have always 
 presented most serious obstacles. 
 
 Each- of these three great organisations, sub- 
 divided respectively into hundreds and thousands of 
 minor bodies, holds its annual congress, attended by 
 delegates from all parts of the three kingdoms, and 
 oftentimes from abroad. In these conventions or 
 trade-parliaments information is afforded, questions 
 of internal government discussed, statistics of pro- 
 gress and of finance made public, and the history of 
 the respective bodies recorded. These congresses, 
 which, during the last twenty years have taken their 
 
THE LABOUE QUESTION SOLVED. 365 
 
 place among the institutions of Britain^ are full of 
 interesting studies, and testify to a 'wonderful expan- 
 sion of the principle of association for the purpose of 
 mutual help in all material interests. The figures and 
 financial statements especially show that these three 
 great groups of societies may he properly called 
 national. And if it were possible to hold one general 
 congress of all three organisations, the deliberations 
 and resolutions of that body would, in weight of influ- 
 ence and importance to the great mass of English 
 people, be greatly superior to the deliberations of 
 Parliament, at any rate during recent years. 
 
 The proceedings of the co-operative bodies are, 
 perhaps, more directly in point in a discussion upon 
 political economy than those of either of the other 
 two bodies. For though the trades and labour unions 
 are superior as a social organisation to the co-opera- 
 tive societies, and the friendly societies must take a 
 higher rank as regards the mutual benefits conferred 
 upon their members, yet considered purely from the 
 standpoint of the science of wealth, the actions and 
 proceedings of the co-operative associations stand 
 first in order. The reports of the annual co-operative 
 congresses are full of matter calculated to arrest 
 attention, to excite admiration, and to arouse hope. 
 
 The speeches made are, in truth, but the expression 
 of an earnest desire for the teaching of the true sys- 
 tem of political economy. For, in all the laws and 
 customs, the theories and practice of the production. 
 
PEOM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 exchange, and distribution of wealth, the teaching 
 of this co-operative thought and practice is but 
 the promulgation of the new system of associative 
 science in opposition to the selfish and individualistic 
 
 system. 
 
 General Summary of Co-operative Bodies at end 0/ 1884. 
 
 Number of societies 1,284 
 
 Numbers of members 764,028 
 
 Share capital £8,328,720 
 
 Loan capital 1,691,520 
 
 Reserve Fund 363,089 
 
 Value of saleable stock 3,475,1 76 
 
 Land, buildings, &c 4,188,794 
 
 Investments 2,160,489 
 
 Total £20,207,788 
 
 Received for goods sold, 1884 £31,053,628 
 
 Total net profit, 1884 2,736,170 
 
 Spent for education purposes, 1884 19,637 
 
 Spent for charitable purposes, 1884 6,331 
 
 Profits distributed in some of the co-operative and. 
 profit-sharing associations : — 
 
 Oo-operative stores, &c.. Great Britain, 1882 : — 
 Societies, 1,200 ; Members, 640,000 ; share and loan 
 capital, £8,000,000 ; annual sale, £25,500,000 ; profits, 
 £2,100,000. 
 
THE LABOUR QtJiSSTION SOLVED. 367 
 
 S. and Loan Annual 
 
 1^0. 8. Members. Capital. Sale.s. Profit. 
 
 1862. 
 450 90,000 £450,000 £2,550,000 £166,000 
 
 1872. 
 920 340,000 3,840,000 13,000,000 935,500 
 
 Total profits divided among members, £24,544,818. 
 
 Thus we see in twenty- three years £24,544,818 
 ■divided as profits among 356,666 people of tte work- 
 ing classes, or an average per head for the full time 
 ■of about £69, and annually per head £3. 
 
 A return given at the Crystal Palace shows the fol- 
 lowing larger figures : — The total sales between 1862 
 and 1885 amount to £367,245,670, and the total 
 profits during the same period to £29,959,561. 
 
 Borde Pianoforte, 1865 to 1882, £203,536, in some 
 years as much as 25 to 30 per cent, on salary. 
 
 Paris and Orleans Eailway, ] 844, 1882, £2,583,378 ; 
 Godin-Guise, 1880-1885, £250,000 ; Whitwood 
 Colliery, 1865-1876, £35,000. 
 
 The first national co-operative festival was held at 
 the Crystal Palace on August 18th, 1888. The 
 success of the festival was complete. 
 
 On Monday, August 20th, the Times, in a long and 
 ■able article, commented upon the whole co-operative 
 movement, and quoted figures given by Mr. Greening, 
 the chairman of the meeting, which figures were as 
 follow : — 
 
 There are 1,281 co-operative societies established 
 Tvith 833,811 members, representing a population of 
 
368 EEOM POVEKTY TO PLENTY; OE^ 
 
 4000,000 or 5,000,000 ; that the business transacted 
 last year amounted to over £31,200,000, and the net 
 profits to nearly £3,000,000 ; that the share capital 
 stood at £9,247,435, and the average profits upon 
 the capital at 30 per cent. But the speaker went on 
 to admit that it was at present " only a shopkeeping 
 movement." 
 
 The Times then remarked strongly upon the fact 
 that co-operative production was, as yet, a compara- 
 tive failure. After discussing the reason for this 
 partial failure, the Times asserted its helief that a 
 change in this respect was inevitable. The article 
 concluded thus : — 
 
 " But we refuse to believe that co-operation has yet 
 disclosed all its resources. As yet it is but in its infancy. 
 Some day it will be found possible, either by hiring 
 skilful and energetic managers, or by other means, 
 for workmen to co-operate with success, and so to 
 acquire that larger share of profit which they claim. 
 As an instance" of the many developments which may 
 be expected of co-operation, that of profit-sharing 
 in private undertakings is noteworthy. Many em- 
 ployers of labour in France and America have found 
 their best interests served by paying their workmen 
 either entirely in profits, or partly by wages and partly 
 by profits. This system is extending ; and its exten- 
 sion seems to prove that co-operation between em- 
 ployer and workman is profitable when the employer 
 is a private individual. Why should it not be profit- 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 360 
 
 able when the workman is his own employer ? Co- 
 operative congresses and co-operative festivals are 
 extremely valuable in keeping the movement before 
 the eyes of the public ; but they will do the greatest 
 good in proportion as they induce men to devote 
 themselves to the solution of this vital problem. 
 
 One of the most remarkable experiments ever made 
 in co-operation was that of Ealahine in the county 
 Clare in 1830 by Mr. Vandaleur, mention of which is 
 hereafter made. In that case^ after all difficulties had 
 been overcomej and the prejudices of the labourers 
 completely removed^ and while all matters were flow- 
 ing on in a stream of success^ the landlord and his 
 labourers entered upon a correspondence which is un- 
 equalled in history by any similar or analogous 
 writings. For it must be remembered that it took 
 place more than half a century ago, and that the work- 
 men to whom it was addressed formed a portion of a 
 community renowned throughout Ireland, at a period 
 when agrarian outrages were as common as they are 
 now, as being among the most lawless and violent.. 
 Mr. Vandaleur's former steward upon this very estate 
 had been shot only two years before. But two years 
 of patient co-operative work and government had 
 effected a complete and marvellous change, — a change- 
 so complete and marvellous that had it been predicted 
 at the time of the murder of the former steward would 
 have earned for him who predicted it the title of a 
 madman. 
 
"370 FBOM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 Mr. A'andaleur's address to his labourers on the 
 ■employment of machinery in agriculture : — 
 
 " Tell the owners of land that if they wish to use 
 machinery beneficially they should form you into 
 societies where it cannot injare you, but where you 
 would have an interest in using and protecting it. 
 And should they be induced to unite with you in these 
 arrangements so advantageous to all parties they 
 would soon see a great, wonderful, and rapid improve- 
 ment in the state of the country ; there would be no 
 more starvation in the midst of abundance, nor any 
 necessity for industrious workmen to leave their 
 homes, friends, and country for foreign woods and 
 ■wilds, whilst their native land remains but partially 
 cultivated."* 
 
 Labourers^ statement, Ralahine : — 
 
 " We, the undersigned, have experienced for the 
 last two years contentment, peace, and happiness 
 under the arrangements introduced by Mr. Vandalenr 
 and Mr. E. F. Craig. At the commencement we were 
 opposed to the plans proposed by them, but on their 
 introduction we found our condition improved, our 
 wants more regularly attended to, and our feelings 
 towards each other at once entirely changed from 
 jealousy, hatred, and revenge to confidence, friend- 
 ship, and forbearance. "t 
 
 "The eminently encouraging results attained at 
 Ralahine under eminently discouraging circumstances 
 * Pare, pp. 69, 70. + Ibid, pp. 137, 138. 
 
THE LABOUE QUESTION SOLVED. 371 
 
 seem to constitute a strong argument in favour of re- 
 newed experiments of the same or a kindred descrip- 
 tion. The requisites are landj capital, and labour. We 
 hear of farms unlet, of capital pent up in banks for 
 lack of safe investments, and in parts of Ireland, at 
 any rate, of a redundant agricultural population. 
 On the other hand, the evil to which Mr. Vandaleur 
 pointed, 'starvation in the midst of abundance,' is 
 still uneradicated, and emigration far from being a 
 satisfactory cure. Can there, then, be a doubt that 
 with needs so urgent and conditions so favourable the 
 remedy for agricultural weakness which participation 
 seems to oiFer ought with no further delay to be sub- 
 mitted to conclusive trials made upon an adequate 
 scale ? "* 
 
 In view of the encouraging results obtained at 
 Ealahine, I am not at all surprised at the remarks 
 upon this subject made by Sedley Taylor, himself an 
 -ardent believer in co-operation. Since the publica- 
 tion of his able little work on " Profit - sharing " 
 (1884), the condition of unhappy Ireland has become 
 almost desperate. Yet herein, if looked at and con- 
 sidered wisely, lies the remedy for all the sufferings of 
 that unhappy country, and the atonement for many 
 of the wrongs of Irishmen. Considered in what light 
 soever we may choose, all the agitations in Ireland 
 resolve themselves into a question of food and shelter, 
 
 * Sedley Taylor, "Profit-sharing." Kegan Paul, Trench, & 
 ■€o. 1884. 
 
372 
 
 FROM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OE^ 
 
 a question of social economy, of the production and 
 distribution of wealth. Home Rule is not an end ; it 
 is but the means to an end. The end desired is a 
 certainty of food derived from the soil of Ireland, and 
 of home and shelter upon its lands. Nor must it be 
 forgotten that the experiment here made was an ex- 
 periment in productive co-operation. So that Pro- 
 fessor Sedley Taylor's remarks should be considered 
 equally by the Government and by the Oo-operative 
 Congress. 
 
 There exists no reason why there should not be — 
 
 Co-operation in production, 
 in manufacture, 
 in agriculture, 
 in mining, 
 in exchange, 
 in labour, 
 in insurance, 
 in finance, 
 in colonisation, 
 in distribution ; 
 
 nor why all these should not be joined in one and 
 worked together. 
 
 If we examine the causes which have resulted in the 
 cessation or failure of instances of the profit-sharing 
 system, we shall find that they are simple in them- 
 selves and in future cases easily guarded against by 
 the adoption of the plainest principles. In the early 
 
THB LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 373 
 
 days many societies failed by reason of the state of 
 the law regarding partnerships, which has long since 
 been remedied. Since 1860 the principal stoppages 
 or failures may be easily named. No doubt a great 
 number of business failures took place in so-called 
 productive co-operation between 1870 and 1880; "as 
 many as 224 co-operative productive societies regis- 
 tered under the Industrial and Provident Act have 
 altogether been dissolved. Of these 224, it has been 
 stated by another leading co-operator, 156 societies 
 were small joint-stock companies, with no co-opera- 
 tive element in them ; 44 proposed to divide profit 
 between capital and customers, and 24 between 
 capita], customers, and workers. Bad management 
 and disagreement among members, want of capital, of 
 business experience, of taste in design and execution, 
 — these have too often been the causes of failure."* 
 
 Eegarding these comparatively unknown instances 
 of failure, the few really co-operative associations 
 seem to have broken down because the necessary con- 
 ditions of every commercial undertaking were ne- 
 glected. Under the same defective arrangements all 
 schemes, whether individual, co-operative, or com- 
 munistic, may equally be expected to fail. Some 
 instances, however, very widely known, may be 
 appealed to as illustrating important principles. The 
 first in order of time is that of Mr. Vandaleur^s experi- 
 
 * Acland and Jones, " Working Men and Co-operation." Cassell 
 & Co., p. 104. 
 
374 FROM POVERTY TO PLENIT j OE, 
 
 ment of profit-sharing in agriculture at Ralahinej in 
 the county of Clare^ Ireland. The success in this case 
 was in truth wonderful. The county was in a state of 
 agi'arian rebellion; the former steward upon this very 
 property had been just previously shot : no man's life 
 was safe; yet the system of profit-sharing produced 
 peace, order, industry, and prosperity. But in less 
 than three years, while in a state of unparalleled pros- 
 perity, it came to a sudden and untimely end. Mr. 
 Vandaleur, it is said^ one evening threw or played 
 away his property ; the Ealahine estate was sold, and 
 the experiment stopped. 
 
 The next in order, and undoubtedly the greatest of 
 all in importance, is the case of Messrs. Briggs and 
 the Whitwood Colliery, which, after ten years of 
 successful working upon the profit-sharing system, 
 was finally ended as a co-operative undertaking in 
 1875. I do not intend to enter into the merits or 
 
 I demerits of the lamentable disputes between Messrs. 
 
 j Briggs and their workmen and the miners' trades 
 unions, which ended in the termination of such fruitful 
 
 1 partnership between capital and labour, from which so 
 much was expected. 
 
 It is sufficient to say that this failure caused a very 
 widespread feeling of dismay and disappointment 
 among the friends of co-operation everywhere. I only 
 cite it as I cite others, to prove general principles, 
 and to point out the error which permitted its 
 possibility. 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 375- 
 
 This instance is justly and ably discussed in Pro- 
 fessor Sedley Taylor^s work on profit-sharing. The 
 third case is that of the Bredon Farm, near Berlin, the 
 property of Horr H. Johnke, upon which profit- 
 sharing existed for five years, from 1872 to 1877, 
 when Herr H. Johnke sold the property, and the new 
 proprietor declined to continue the plan. Herr 
 Johnke was influenced in this course by the opposi- 
 tion and enmity of the neighbouring nobles and pro- 
 prietors to the system. 
 
 The last case that I shall quote is the Mitchell Hey 
 Cotton Mill at Eochdale, started in 1854, but the 
 directors and shareholders of which, in 1862, aban- 
 doned the principle of distributing a portion of profits 
 to the workmen. This result, which is to the present 
 day regarded as the worst and most disastrous episode 
 in the whole history of co-operative production, arose 
 from the selfishness of some of the shareholders, who 
 fell away from their principles for the sake of gain. 
 To them might have been addressed that noble rebuke 
 of the Apostle to the Galatians, "Ye did run well : who 
 did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth ? " 
 
 In all these cases, and they are fairly typical and 
 representative, the cause of failure is one and the 
 same. In every instance the principle of profit-sharing 
 was successful. In both the agricultural experiments, 
 after great success had been achieved, the estates 
 passed to new owners, who declined to carry on the 
 work. In the case of the Messrs. Briggs, the trade 
 
576 FEOM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OB,, 
 
 disputes raised so strong a feeling between employers 
 and employed as to destroy the harmony which had 
 •existed for many years, and during which £35,000 
 had been distributed in profits. In the last case, no 
 other motive can be assigned for the abandonment of 
 the profit-sharing system, but mere greed on the part of 
 the shareholders, most of whom were not really co- 
 operators. The sole cause of cessation in all was 
 this, — that the working men had no vested rights in 
 the property itself, nor in the business carried on, nor 
 in the profits derived from it. Having no rights, 
 their position depended upon the goodwill of the 
 ■employers, and the alteration of that position was at 
 any moment optional with the employers. In many 
 of these cases, had the labourers or workmen pos- 
 sessed an interest or right in either the property or 
 the business, or even in the profits arising from it, 
 they could not thus have been suddenly thrust out at 
 the whim of a stranger, or the uncontrolled will of an 
 employer. If the business had existed upon the basis 
 ■of a partnership, then the position of the labourers 
 would have been still stronger. No system will be 
 permanent, no position can be secure, unless the rights 
 of all be protected by law ; unless those rights are 
 absolutely defined, nor until the mere fact of working 
 for wages in such a concern gives of itself an inde- 
 feasible right to the workman both in the profits and 
 improved value of the property of the undertaking. 
 There should be no dependence whatever upon 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 377 
 
 mere goodwill, nor upon any sentiment of honour, 
 nor of any loose arrangement terminable at will for 
 the sharing of profits. It is simply a matter of busi- 
 ness and of business rights. Considered upon the 
 ground of principle, as put by Stanley Jevons, the 
 wages of labour should be the mere payment on 
 account for subsistence, and the share of profits and 
 of increased value arising to the labourer beyond such 
 wages, should be his by indefeasible right, secured to 
 him by an ordinary legal contract. Had this been 
 the case in regard to Ealahine, to the Whitwood 
 Colliery, to the Bredon Farm, and the Mitchell Hey 
 Mills, all these undertakings would yet have been 
 most probably going co-operative concerns of a suc- 
 cessful character. 
 
 The last public utterances of the late Arnold 
 Toynbee, delivered in London, were devoted to a 
 criticism of Henry George's work. The style and 
 argument of the two lectures are clear and forcible. 
 Throughout them both there burns the intense fire of 
 that " enthusiasm of humanity " which is the great 
 source of hope for the future. Mr. Toynbee discusses 
 with calmness the doctrines of the economists, and 
 in common with nearly all other modern thinkers, 
 expresses great hopes from the growth and spread oi 
 those great associations, the trades unions, the 
 friendly societies, and the co-operative bodies. 
 When speaking of the necessity for Government pro- 
 tection to the people in the straggle for wealth, he 
 
 2 B 
 
,378 PI40M POVEKTy TO PLENTY ; OE, 
 
 uajs-^" Here, however, arises a great problem. We 
 shall have to carry out these measures without under- 
 mining that old independence, that habit of voluntary 
 association of which we are justly proud ; for if we 
 undermine that,— that pride which has made the 
 English workman sacrifice everything to keep himself 
 out of the workhouse, which has made workmen bind 
 themselves in friendly societies and trades unions, 
 and in co-operative societies, — if we undermine that, 
 then it would be better to leave our work undone." 
 Several other allusions are made to the subject of 
 the three organisations, notably at the close of his 
 remarks upon the necessity of aiding in all such move- 
 ments, and the certainty of good results from associa- 
 tions of this nature. It is to be deplored that Arnold 
 Toynbee was cut off at his very entrance upon a life 
 of usefulness. A kind heart, a noble spirit, moderate 
 in criticism, ready to appreciate whatever was good 
 and true, even in an opponent's position and argu- 
 ment, devoted to the task of leaving the world better 
 than he found it, he had not even strength or time to 
 correct these fragmentary criticisms upon the prin- 
 ciples enunciated by Henry Greorge. Another writer, 
 who has had opportunity to prosecute a most 
 interesting series of enquiries into the condition of 
 the labouring classes in England during the last six 
 centuries, and who has unearthed most curious and 
 instructive records, has also borne a very high 
 testimony to the great value of these voluntary 
 
THE LABOOE QUESTION SOLVED. 379 
 
 organisations. It would be out of place here to 
 criticise Mr. Thorold Rogers's book, although a high 
 meed of praise may properly be bestowed upon it. 
 Mr. Rogers thus speaks of the associations alluded 
 to by Mr. Toynbee : — " Three processes have been 
 adopted by the working classes, each of which has 
 had a vast and should have an increasing influence 
 in bettering the condition of labour, and making the 
 [problem of dealing with individual distress, however 
 caused, easier and readier. They should be viewed by 
 statesmen with unqualified favour, and be treated by 
 working men as the instruments by which they can 
 regain and consolidate the best interests of labour. 
 They are trade unionism, or, as I prefer to call it, 
 labour partnership ; co-operation or the combination 
 in the same hand, or organisation of the func- 
 tions of labour and capital ; and benefit associations, 
 ■or the machinery of a mutual insurance society. So 
 important do I conceive these aids to the material, 
 intellectual, and moral elevation of the working 
 •classes to be, that I would even at the risk of being 
 thought reactionary, limit the privilege of citizenship, 
 the franchise. Parliamentary and local, to those and 
 those only who entered into these three guilds, — the 
 guild of labour, the guild of production and trade, and 
 the guild of mutual help. Nor do I think it extrava- 
 gant to believe that were those associations rendered 
 general and finally universal, the social problems 
 which distress all and alarm many would ultimately 
 
 2 B 2 
 
380 FBOM POVEETY TO PLENTY; OR, 
 
 arrive at a happy solutioa. The first and third are 
 only revivals of ancestral practice, the second is not 
 very unlike the habit which prevailed in ages which 
 I hope I have made in some degree familiar. I must, 
 however, advert to them in another chapter, for this 
 is already unduly long."* 
 
 Unfortunately, Mr. Rogers does not afterwards 
 revert to this most important subject. Save in one or 
 two allusions to the organisation of labour, he fails to 
 bring his readers face to face with his three guilds, or 
 either of them. It is peculiar that in the very inter- 
 esting introduction to his book, Mr. Rogers should 
 also allude indirectly to these organisations, and yet 
 fail in the volume itself to speculate upon the prin- 
 ciples of true political economy in them developed. 
 It is at least disappointing, otherwise the book is 
 most useful and instructive. It clearly shows that 
 competition is of modern growth, that lord and tenant 
 and serf in olden times all shared in the produce of 
 the soil, and that until the modern period, say, since 
 the commencement of the eighteenth century, labour 
 did receive some portion of the wealth which it drew 
 from nature. 
 
 Efforts are continually being made to bring these 
 bodies into contact. This is more especially the 
 case as regards co-operation and the trade unions. 
 It is felt that the object of both are practically' 
 
 * Thorold Rogers, "Six Centuries of Work and Wages,'" 
 vol. ii. p. 440. 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 381 
 
 similar, that the end desired is the same, and the 
 leaders of both societies have for a long time per- 
 ceived the advantages likely to arise from a union 
 between them. The difficulty of a coalition arises 
 from the want of a common platform and a common 
 constitution. Could all three be joined upon a wisely 
 drawn system, a miraculous change would soon result 
 for labour. 
 
 In regard to the union of the two first, De Laveleye 
 ■writes thus : — '^ Indeed, in more ways than one there 
 is much to be hoped from an understanding between 
 co-operators and trades unionists. The two bodies 
 are to a large extent composed of the same individuals, 
 and they have fundamentally the same end in view, 
 namely, the material and moral elevation of the work- 
 ing men who join them, though the means which they 
 employ are very different. If trade unions would 
 combine with the co-operative organisation, and 
 devote some of their capital to promoting co-opera- 
 tive production and making it successful, they would 
 be doing much towards the emancipation of the wage- 
 earner in the only complete manner, — namely, by 
 making him his own employer."* 
 
 In common with all other writers who look to 
 co-operation as a solution of the present difficulties, 
 Cairnes does not seem at all alive to the fact that it 
 belongs to a new and antagonistic system of political 
 economy. This writer is adverse to trade unions 
 * De Laveleye, " Socialism of To-day,'' p. 330. 
 
382 FROM POVEETY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 as likely to be practically useless. But speaking of 
 co-operatiouj he says : — " It was the opinion of Mr. 
 Comtej as it is that of his disciples, that the true 
 ideal of industrial society, the goal to which all 
 reforming efforts should be directed, is a more and 
 more complete and definitive separation of the labour- 
 ing and capitalist classes. The proper model for our 
 industrial organisation, according to them, is an army 
 in which the capitalist are as the captains and the- 
 labourers are as the rank and file. The conclusion to 
 which I have been led .by the line of argument 
 developed above is precisely the opposite of that 
 which the Positivists maintain. It appears to me 
 that the condition of any substantial improvement of 
 a permanent kind in the labourers' lot is that the 
 separation of industrial classes into labourers and 
 capitalists which now prevails shall not be maintained, 
 that the labourer shall cease to be a mere labourer ; 
 in a word, that profits shall be brought to reinforce 
 the wage fund." 
 
 It is a somewhat remarkable fact that the difficulties 
 raised to the complete ascendency of co-operation by 
 the belief that labourers themselves must be the 
 leaders and directors of associations founded upon it 
 are so great that Carlyle and Ruskin are driven into 
 the same camp as Auguste Comte and many of the 
 economists, holding that a just, wise, and firm master- 
 hood is the real solution of the labour difficulty. 
 Many economists like Cairnes openly express their 
 
THE LABOUJJ QUESTION SOLVED. 383 
 
 disbelief in and aversion to the principles and practice 
 of trades unionism. Professor Newcomb^ in a very 
 able article on the " Organisation of Labour," pub- 
 lished in the Princeton Review, in September, 1880, 
 while reviewing the organisations which had been 
 attempted or were possible for labour, writes : — " The 
 general conclusion which we must accept is that 
 labour unions are the greatest foe to the elevation 
 of the labourer himself. . . . We believe that the 
 more carefully the problem is studied the more clearly 
 it will be seen that the present state of feeling 
 among the labouring classes is abnormal, and that 
 the normal state of things at which we should aim is 
 one in which the community of feeling shall corre- 
 spond to the community of interest among members 
 of each industrial organism."* 
 
 Professor Fawcett also takes the same view. But 
 Fawcett unreservedly supports co-operation. No 
 wages which employers can afford to pay will ever 
 avail to give the labourer the proper reward of his 
 industry. Wealth is created in so many forms that 
 if the workmen received all the direct proceeds of his 
 industry, he would still be creating a vast mass of 
 wealth for others. The unearned increment in land 
 and in the value of business, — the goodwill of every 
 calling, — the increasing developments of wealth 
 which arise in civilised communities on every hand, 
 do not directly arise from labour, so as to be traced 
 " Organisation of Labour," pp. 245, 246. 
 
384 FROM POVERTY TO PLENTY. 
 
 to their source. It is a gradual inci'ease from tlie 
 aggregate labour^ and cannot be attributed in any- 
 distinct shares to individual effort. Besides which 
 there must always be that portion of natural wealth 
 which is by virtue of his manhood the property of the 
 labourerj although not arising from his labour. 
 
CHAPTEE XI. 
 
 Civilisation bringing necessity for mutual assistance — Definitions 
 of some ordinary terms — Political economy — Its nature and 
 objects — Wealth — The factors of production — Production — 
 Exchange and distribution or appropriation — Value — Present 
 and proposed systems compared and contrasted — Summary 
 of the three systems, mercantile, physiooratic, and orthodox — 
 The three classes who aid in producing and exchanging 
 wealth, capitalist, producer, consumer — All life full of 
 organisation — Money — Specie — Paper currency — Public 
 credit, proportion in which labour, capital, and consump- 
 tion should share. 
 
 3^^W|HE higher the degree reached by any 
 R ^391 community in the grades of civilisation 
 i ^^i ^^^ refinement, the more is each member 
 of the community dependent upon the 
 thoughts and the toils of others for the means of life 
 and enjoyment. The sun-dial, the water-glass, and 
 the burning taper measured time roughly, but the 
 same comparison and contrast which exist between 
 those means of the measurement of time and a 
 Benson's chronograph scarcely parallel the difference 
 existing between the normal condition of the savage 
 tribes and that of the civilised nations of to-day. 
 This portion of the subject is treated by severa 
 
386 FEOM POVERTY TO PLENTY: OE, 
 
 writers with remarkable skill aad intelligence. Un- 
 connected with any moral aspect of the science^ and 
 simply considering men as intelligent machines 
 adapted to and endowed with innumerable methods 
 of labour and productionj the economists have been 
 able to display the varied powers of combined labour- 
 in a liberal and comprehensive spirit. Thus John 
 Stuart Mill devotes ten pages of close reasoning and 
 apt illustration to this subject, which he classes under 
 the head of " Co-operation; or, the Combination of 
 Labour.^' He speaks of simple and complex co-opera- 
 tion, of the division of labour and separation of 
 employments, and proves conclusively that the labour 
 of man is increased in efficiency and in productiveness 
 by this co-operation. Mill repeats the three causes 
 stated by Adam Smith as follow : — 
 
 " First, the increase of dexterity in every particular- 
 workman ; secondly, the saving of the time which 
 is commonly lost in passing from one species of work 
 to another; and lastly, the invention of a great 
 number of machines which facilitate and abridge 
 labour, and enable one man to do the work of 
 many." 
 
 Mr. Mill correctly observes that of these the 
 increase of dexterity of the individual workman is the 
 most obvious and universal. The reasoning both of 
 Adam Smith and Mill is clear and conclusive. 
 
 It is not flattering to our self-complacency to find 
 that the Continental writers, French, German, Italian, 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 387 
 
 and SwisSj invariably take a wider and more elevated 
 view of political economy and its component parts 
 than our own writers. Contrast the meaning of the 
 term, "Labour/' as used by Wolowski and J. S. 
 Mill. 
 
 Wolowski says, " Labour is nothing but the 
 action of spirit on itself and on matter. Hence its 
 dignity and grandeur. Hence also the diSSculties in 
 the way of economic studies, since to consider them 
 only as conceived with questions of material pro- 
 ductions is to forget that the productions of industry 
 are made for men, not men for industrial products. 
 To ignore the close relationship between their fruitful 
 investigation and the whole circle of the moral 
 sciences, is to debase them and to mutilate them. . . 
 
 Prom the moment that we see it is the 
 
 mind which produces and which governs the world,, 
 intellectual and moral perfection becomes the cause 
 and effect of material progress. 'But seek ye first 
 the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all 
 these things shall be added unto you.' The increase 
 of production becomes the instrument of elevation in 
 the moral order. It is energy of soul and manly 
 virtue which constitute the chief source of the wealth 
 of nations, which create it, develop e it, and preserve^ 
 it. Wealth increases, declines, and disappears with 
 the increase, decline, and disappearance of these 
 noble attributes of the so.ul. Labour is the child of 
 thought. Nothing happens in the external world 
 
-388 PEOM rOVEETY TO PLENTY; OR, 
 
 wliicli was not first conceived in the mind. The hand 
 is the servant of the intellect, and its work is success- 
 ful, beautiful, or useful in proportion to the activity 
 and development of the intellect, and in proportion 
 as the just, the beautiful, and the good exert their 
 power over it." How different is this definition of 
 "" Labour " from that of Mill, who says, " Labour 
 consists in putting things into fit places, or moving 
 -one thing from or to another." Truly there is but a 
 step from the sublime to the ridiculous. 
 
 The attempt made to define the meanings of terms 
 used in political economy have led to ludicrous con- 
 fusion, and have produced only this result, that their 
 meanings are unknown. I do not attempt to state 
 the definitions of any terms as used by others. The 
 use and value of a dictionary is to give a standard of 
 the meaning attached to any given word by the best 
 writers and speakers gathered from their books and 
 speeches. Were any person to attempt thus to 
 reduce into order the meaning of the terms used in 
 this science, he would undertake a task in itself im- 
 possible. The meanings attached to each scientific or 
 technical term by different writers vary so widely, 
 and so frequently contradict each other, that no 
 ■common interpretation is possible. No science can 
 be demonstrated unless its terms and nomenclature 
 are clearly and commonly understood and agreed 
 upon. I do not, therefore, intend to say what 
 "the terms mean according to common custom, but 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 389' 
 
 simply what I intend by their use so that when 
 they are employed^ the reader will generally under- 
 stand what is meant. The object being to make the 
 terms practically intelligible and consistent with the- 
 construction that the m.ind of an ordinary student 
 would naturally place upon them. 
 Political or social economy treats : — 
 
 1. Of the production. 
 
 2. Of the exchange ; and 
 
 3. The distribution or appropriation of wealth.. 
 
 Such being its nature, its objects are : — 
 
 1. To develop e the resources of nature to the 
 
 fullest extent by human industry, aided 
 and sustained by capital. 
 
 2. To produce, adapt, and exchange the 
 
 greatest amount of wealth at the least 
 expenditure of time, labour, and capital. 
 
 3. To enable all who aid in the production) 
 
 and exchange of wealth to share in the- 
 appropriation and enjoyment of that 
 wealth in a fair and equitable degree. 
 
 Wealth consists of and includes all material objects- 
 which are or can be produced or appropriated by 
 human industry, — mediately or immediately, — from 
 nature, and which are or may be made available for- 
 the sustenance or comfort of man, and also all things 
 or matters the subject of exchange or sale, or having 
 a money value. 
 
390 FROM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 Wealtli may be divided into classes : — 
 
 1. "Latent" wealthy or wealth, now in existence 
 but not yet realised or produced for buman use and 
 necessities, such as coal, gold, and iron in the mine ; 
 fish in the sea. 
 
 2. Surplus or accumulated wealth, which consists in 
 all existing wealth already produced and appropriated, 
 of every sort and class, excluding capital which is 
 deducted from surplus wealth, and used in the pro- 
 duction of fresh wealth. All surplus wealth may be 
 turned into capital. 
 
 The three factors of production are : — 
 
 1. Nature and its forces. 
 
 2. The mental and manual labour of man. 
 
 3. Capital in all its varieties. 
 
 Labour includes all possible human powers and 
 capacities. Production includes not merely direct 
 production, but all processes by which the forms of 
 wealth are altered and its value increased. Exchange 
 includes all commercial enterprise in the way of 
 purchase and sale, barter, currency, &c., by which 
 realised wealth is interchanged amongst nations, com- 
 munities, and individuals. 
 
 Distribution or appropriation of wealth is its des- 
 tination, as the property of individuals by whom it 
 may be consumed for pleasure, or used as capital for 
 fresh productions, or sold for mouey, or exchanged 
 or held or used in any way desired by its proprietor. 
 
THE LABOCK QUESTION SOLVED. 391 
 
 The formula of the economists that all produced 
 wealth is distributed in the shape of rent, wages, and 
 interest or profit, is absolutely incompatible with the 
 simple statement of the facts. Wages paid to the 
 labourer, for instance, are not the distribution to him 
 •of his share of the surplus wealth, but the expenditure 
 of capital as part of the cost of production. The pay- 
 ment of wages as the price of labour, and the payment 
 of interest as the price of capital, are indispensable 
 items in the cost of production. The payment of rent 
 is not so. Rent need not be paid as such, for capital 
 may be invested in land, and the interest only of the 
 ■capital be regarded. Such portion of the wealth of 
 an individual or organisation as is invested in the 
 purchase of land for reproductive purposes becomes 
 capital, and the interest upon that is no longer rent, 
 but really interest upon capital. 
 
 Distribution is the final appropriation of surplus 
 and accumulated wealth among families and indivi- 
 duals, not necessarily for their own consumption, but 
 as their own property. They may exchange it for 
 other wealth, or turn it into capital for the repro- 
 duction of fresh wealth, or use it or consume it for 
 their own sustenance or enjoyment. 
 
 Natural wealth or benefits are claimable by each 
 individual in virtue of his existence. Bach is entitled 
 to a just share of the bounties of nature. This share 
 depends not upon industry, nor upon fitness, nor 
 talent, but solely upon the wants and requirements 
 
392 FEOM POVERTY TO PLENTr ; OEj 
 
 of each respective physical organisation, and should! 
 be as freely enjoyed as light, air, and water. It is- 
 measurable only by the natural wants of each indi- 
 vidual. The foundation principle of a proper system 
 of political or social economy is the second great 
 commandment. The maxims and principles of the 
 present and proposed system may be easily con- 
 trasted. The construction and results of the two 
 may be compared. Such a contrast and comparison 
 T7ill perhaps give a clearer idea of what is and what 
 ought to be the science of wealth than any arguments 
 or reasonings. 
 
 Value is of three kiuds, — value in use, value in 
 exchange, and value in estimation, — instances of 
 which may be met with in every man's daily life. The 
 value in use is necessarily that value which a thing 
 possesses through its utility to the possessor, and this 
 will vary immeasurably as the circumstances of life 
 vary. Thus a rope may be at one moment practically 
 useless, and the next may be of inestimable value in 
 the saving of a life. So of many other articles. The 
 value in use therefore is a continually shifting value, 
 and cannot be regulated by any fixed rules. 
 
 Value in exchange is not so variable, although in 
 this class also the variations are incessant, and the 
 fluctuations extreme. Prices rise and fall, and for- 
 tunes are lost or made often by the slightest increase 
 or decrease of market value. Here again no fixed 
 rule can dominate. To speak of a fixed labour value 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 393 
 
 as of sometliing which exists, and the existence of 
 which enables us to fix an ascertainable price or 
 value in exchange is visionary and delusive. There 
 is no fixed standard or value in exchange, not even 
 for gold and silver, much less for other commodities 
 which are not, as these, the media of exchange, but 
 the things exchanged. 
 
 Value in estimation is still more capricious than 
 either of the others. An article utterly useless in 
 itself may be of inestimable value to its owner. Thus 
 a book, a horse, a chair, some cottage in which the 
 days of childhood have been spent, may possess, to 
 the mind of the proprietor, a priceless worth. To 
 some minds no material wealth would outweigh the 
 value attached thus by sentiment to articles or pro- 
 perty in themselves practically valueless for use or for 
 exchange. 
 
 In neither class does there exist any law which can 
 possibly be formulated. It can only be said that they 
 are of value, but their value to different individuals is 
 unequal, under altering circumstances their value 
 varies, and, as a matter of sentiment, their value is 
 altogether changed. 
 
 Not one of these classes of value can be reduced 
 into figures permanently. Nor is there any propor- 
 tion between them. Bach value is perpetually fluctu- 
 ating. Value in exchange, although subject inci- 
 dentally, to wonderful, but spasmodic, fluctuations 
 in certain classes of property, is more regular in 
 
 2 c 
 
394 
 
 lEOM POVERTY TO PLENTY J OE, 
 
 regard to the necessaries of life than either value in 
 use or in estimation. In any class it is impossible to 
 reduce value to a rule, for the value of a thing daily 
 and hourly alters, and the alterations are altogether 
 beyond human foresight or human control. A per- 
 petually varying supply and demand, and innumerable 
 contingencies, affect value. That there is a value in 
 all three classes is certain, but it is evanescent, per- 
 sonal, and full of change. 
 
 Comparison of the present orthodox ivith the proposed 
 just and proper system of 
 
 POLITICAL ECONOMY. 
 
 Present System. 
 
 Founded upon selfishness. 
 Ascribes the ruling power in 
 employment, in commerce, and 
 in all production of wealth to 
 capital as its proper [function. 
 Declares unrestricted competi- 
 tion to be the mainspring of 
 all progress ; that laissex faire 
 is the only true road to indivi- 
 dual and national prosperity ; 
 that the proper position of the 
 great masses is found in the 
 service of capital ; that the 
 proper payment of the labourers, 
 the immense majority of man- 
 kind, is a wage paid for the 
 whole life's work, sufficient to 
 keep life existing while the 
 energies and powers of life are 
 spent in producing wealth for 
 others ; that the increase of 
 mankind should be restricted to 
 
 Proposed System. 
 
 Founded upon the second 
 great law of Christ,— " Thou 
 shalt love thy neighbour as 
 thyseU." Teaches that the pri- 
 mary object to be attained, so 
 far as regards the temporal state 
 of men, is universal prosperity, 
 to be achieved by the greatest 
 possible production of wealth 
 and all objects of comfort, and 
 a just and equitable distribution 
 amongst the individual portions 
 of every community helping to 
 produce and exchange it ; that 
 the proper function of capital 
 is to support and assist human 
 labour in the production of all 
 kinds and necessary quantities 
 of those objects which conduce 
 to the happiness and provide 
 for the subsistence of men ; 
 that it is proper to provide 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 
 
 395 
 
 the numbers which capital can 
 employ, and that all those who 
 are unable to support them- 
 selves by their own labour, or 
 from the inability or refusal of 
 capitalists to employ them, are 
 trespassers on this earth, and 
 must be removed ; that the 
 making and increasing of wealth 
 is the main object of human 
 exertion and spring of human 
 progress ; and that all these and 
 numerous other principles neces- 
 sarily drawn or proceeding from 
 them are the laws of nature, 
 and must not be disturbed. 
 
 systems of interchange for the 
 productions of all countries, and 
 such easy and speedy methods 
 of transit as will afford the 
 freest commerce possible, to 
 promote and encourage the co- 
 operation of labour and capital 
 in every department of produc- 
 tion and distribution, and to 
 provide for the joinder in in- 
 terest of the producer, capitalist, 
 and consumer ; that the benefits 
 arising from the ownership and 
 possessionbolh of natural wealth, 
 such as land and other forces of 
 nature, and of productions and 
 manufactures, shall be justly 
 and equitably enjoyed by each 
 and all, in proportion to the 
 amount and value contributed 
 by each respectively to the com- 
 mon result ; that population 
 should be restricted only by the 
 powers of nature properly di- 
 rected to support it ; that the 
 proper position of men is that 
 in which they work for their 
 own benefit, and that the due 
 payment for their labour, or for 
 the use of their capital, is that 
 share of the created or produced 
 wealth which is reasonably pro- 
 portioned to the value of the 
 labour or capital so used ; that 
 to ensure this, whUe wages 
 should be the immediate pay- 
 ment for labour, and interest the 
 immediate payment for capital, 
 the labourer and the capitalist 
 should be entitled to share in 
 the profits, — otherwise, surplus 
 or accumulated wealth ; that 
 the true system by which the 
 greatest amount of wealth and 
 means of comfort can be pro- 
 
 2 c 2 
 
396 FEOM POVEKTY TO PLENTY; OH, 
 
 duoed and most fairly distributed 
 is to be found, not in the selfish 
 and individualistic system, nor 
 in the Communal or Socialist 
 systems, but in co-operative 
 organisations in which the 
 claims, the rights, the duties, 
 the rewards, and the property 
 of the society on the one hand, 
 and its individual component 
 parts upon the other, shall be 
 fairly balanced and adjusted, and 
 the results of labour and the 
 bounties of nature fairly distri- . 
 buted. 
 
 Summarised, the three systems stand thus : — 
 
 I. Mercantile or commercial system, teaches of 
 
 exchange, is based on capital. 
 II. Physiocratic system, teaches of production, 
 is based on land or physical nature. 
 III. Orthodox school, teaches of distribution, is 
 based on labour. 
 
 Had Adam Smith, or any of his followers, down to 
 the present time, in any of the English, American, or 
 Continental chairs, perceived the true nature of surplus 
 wealth and sketched fair laws for its distribution, a 
 complete science of political economy might have 
 been in existence, although the laws of that science 
 and its operations would have needed amendment. 
 Wealth when produced must be consumed by those 
 who produce it, or given in lieu of other wealth. That 
 is exchange. But no production nor exchange, nor 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 397 
 
 both together, complete the final destination and 
 enjoyment of wealth. That is performed hy distribu- 
 tion. After the consumption of capital used in fresh 
 production, there remains an immense surplus margin, 
 or accumulation. This surplus is the subject of final 
 distribution or appropriation. No plan can pretend 
 to be a science of economics which does not clearly 
 show the existence of surplus wealth, and which does 
 not provide for its distribution or appropriation. The 
 first object to be attained is the union of the three 
 factors of production. The second is a method of 
 exchange which shall at the least possible cost of time, 
 labour, and money, and with the greatest certainty, 
 enable the surplus products of different localities, of 
 diflferent countries, and of different climates to be 
 exchanged. The third, and perhaps the most im- 
 portant of all, is the necessity for distribution for 
 appropriation and enjoyment. These desired objects 
 being attained, the owners of capital and labour who 
 produce and exchange, and those who provide a 
 market for consumption of surplus products, — con- 
 sumers, — will all share in the wealth produced j not 
 merely in that portion of it which is consumed in the 
 shape of wages to labour, of interest to capital, of rent^ 
 or interest for land, and goods purchased and paid' 
 for ; but of the business profits of all such tran^actions- 
 and the general increase of communal properties and 
 values. 
 
 There are thus three classes whose aid and assist— 
 
398 PEOM POVERTY TO PLENTY J OE, 
 
 ance must necessarily be given for production and 
 realisation, — the producer, tlie capitalist, and the con- 
 sumer. For without labour nothing can be produced; 
 without capital no land, nor instruments, nor means of 
 production can be procured, nor labour supported; 
 without a market and the means and opportunity of 
 exchange, no produce save that which could be used 
 by the producer himself would be of any value. 
 
 The producer, the consumer, and the capitalist, 
 therefore, to ensure complete success, must be joined 
 by unity of interest and advantage. 
 
 To achieve this we must place these three classes 
 in partnership. 
 
 Another condition requisite to success is that the 
 factors of production shall be united as the joint pro- 
 perty of one proprietor, and that that proprietor shall 
 be at once producer, capitalist, and consumer. Then 
 there should exist the wisest organisation for the 
 employment of labour and capital so as to produce 
 the greatest amount of wealth, whether in annual 
 production or in permanent improvements, at the 
 least cost. Nor should we forget that production 
 should be directed so as first to satisfy the require- 
 ments of all who are interested or assisting in the 
 production itself, and then to provide for the general 
 purposes of an advantageous commerce. 
 
 It is necessary also that all produce and mer- 
 chandise should be brought to and distributed 
 .amongst consumers without unnecessary delay, at 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 399 
 
 tlie lowest cost and price consistent with a moderate 
 profit for production. And it is absolutely necessary 
 that no monopoly should ever be permitted of the 
 benefits to be enjoyed from such conditions of social 
 life. WhilOj on the one hand, there should be no 
 compulsion, on the other there should be no restric- 
 tion to the participation of these advantages. All 
 who desire to contribute labour or capital, or to pur- 
 chase, and thus, by consumption, co-operate, should 
 be able to do so. 
 
 These conditions can only be accomplished and ful- 
 filled by the application of the joint-stock principle. 
 
 The necessity of organisation is daily becoming 
 more apparent. The age in which we live, as we are 
 so often told, is an age of progress. 
 
 So vast are most of the great undertakings of this 
 age that single men seldom attempt them, and these 
 are men of colossal wealth and daring courage ; for 
 all know that in such cases one slight mistake may 
 turn a millionaire into a bankrupt. A very large and 
 growing part of the business of life is now carried on 
 by societies organised in various ways, generally as 
 joint-stock companies. The ships of companies 
 carry armies of passengers across the seas. Along 
 our coasts, companies' steamers carry them from 
 place to place. They land, and a company's cars 
 carry them to and fro. They go to any bank, — ^nearly 
 all are companies, — to cash their letters of credit. 
 They buy land of a land company, order materials 
 
400 FROM POTEETT TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 for a house of a timber company^ buy coal of a coal 
 company, clothes of a clothing company, meat of a 
 meat company, horses of a stud company, insure both 
 house, and life, and safety in insurance companies ; 
 get their ironmongery, their soap, and oil, and candles, 
 their fruit, their lime, from companies; borrow 
 money from a company; sell their goods through a 
 company; do their washing, both personal and 
 relative, by a company ; leave a company as trustees 
 of their wills ; then die, are buried by a company, 
 and a newspaper company publishes the obituary 
 notice. It is now a common and perhaps a prudent 
 course to take when any business becomes too large 
 for individual responsibility to form it into a company. 
 When any exceptionally costly or vast undertaking is 
 to be accomplished, it is done by means of a company. 
 Thus commerce grows, and wealth increases. Pro- 
 ductions are multiplied at a tenth of the olden cost, 
 and in a tenth of the olden time. The work once done 
 laboriously by multitudes of men, is now performed 
 by costly machinery with marvellous accuracy and 
 perfect ease. By a company the Suez Canal was 
 cut ; the continents are traversed by railways built 
 by companies ; upon the surface of every ocean the 
 fleets of companies carry the commerce of the world ; 
 while far below along the still and silent wires the 
 ends of the earth are, by permission of a company, 
 whispering to each other the stories of joy and sor- 
 row, of loss and gain, of victory and defeat, of 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 401 
 
 famine and plenty; now telling of an earthquake 
 destroying cities ; then that nations are thrilled at 
 a hero's death. It is impossible for individual work- 
 ing men to compete in the game of life. The end 
 would be certain ruin. There are also other signs of 
 the times which compel the mind to the conclusion 
 that organisation and co-operation are necessary in 
 every department of life. Benefit societies, clubs of 
 all sorts and for all purposes, associations of all de- 
 scriptions, religious associations, churches, Bible and 
 tract societies, missionary, political, athletic, literary, 
 artistic, scientific, philanthropic. In short, all civi- 
 lised life is organised. Grovernment and society 
 themselves are but the widest and most comprehen- 
 sive forms of organisation and co-operation amongst 
 men. 
 
 The common enemies of the industrial classes ar© 
 anxiety, and want, and unfairly requited toil. These 
 have to be conquered and destroyed. It is mon- 
 strous, it is a scandal upon our civilisation and 
 Christianity, while millions of acres of fertile land 
 and available soil, enriched with genial climates and 
 opened by noble harbours, lie untouched and waiting 
 to give forth their treasures of food and raiment to 
 the hand of industry, that there should be idleness 
 and want of employment. 
 
 And it is a bitter satire upon our boasted intel- 
 ligence and capacity for business that half the labour 
 in the country should be wasted ; that farming, as a 
 
402 FROM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 rule, should rather impoverish than enrich the farmer; 
 that in some branches of industry there should be so 
 much production as to leave no available market, 
 while in others there should be so little as to compel 
 us to send large sums annually to other countries for 
 articles which we ourselves could produce in greater 
 abundance and at less cost than they can do from 
 whom we buy. 
 
 The sole exception, so far as I know, to the rule 
 that political and social thinkers believe in this move- 
 ment as a potent means of public and social improve- 
 ment is Mr. Henry George. But it will be seen on 
 examination that he rejects it solely through miscon- 
 ception of its scope and powers. 
 
 Mr. George^s argument is that all wealth comes 
 from land and the use of land ; that the co-operation 
 of labour and capital, however likely to assist in 
 elevating the moral position of workmen, and to pro- 
 duce wealth more plentifully and at less expense, 
 would in the end only act in the same way as im- 
 proved machinery and means of transmission, and so 
 make greater wealth for the owners of land. It is 
 surprising that so shrewd a thinker did not see that 
 one step more would place the proposed scheme in 
 safety. If, as he says, co-operation only ends in 
 giving wealth to the land-owner, then let the co- 
 operative associations become owners of the land 
 necessary for the purposes of production, and the 
 benefits and increased value will remain to them. 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 403 
 
 lu no proposal yet published has the full power and 
 capacity of this principle been at all realised. In 
 its simple but complete capabilities it can, like the 
 Nasmyth hammer, mould the head of a pin or beat into 
 form an iron beam. The engines of the Thunderer 
 or Devastation might be used to work a simple wheel 
 for unloading cargo, while powerful enough to drive 
 through the ocean the great frame of the giant ship. 
 
 Like all natural laws and natural forces, co-opera- 
 tion or association can be used for purposes of utility 
 in most minute particulars, while possessing power 
 beyond calculation. "Why should it be restricted to 
 one branch of trade, to one group of callings, to one 
 sort of industry ? Why should it be confined to 
 labour only, or to exchange only, or to production, or 
 to capital, or even to exchange and production, or 
 labour and capital joined ? Why not at once, as 
 here proposed, extend the operations of this principle 
 to the production, exchange, and distribution of all 
 things necessary for human use and enjoyment, and 
 to the utilisation of land, labour, and capital com- 
 bined ? There is now, and always has been, 
 co-operation in the production of wealth, though 
 neither properly organised nor wisely directed. 
 Every member of every community joins in creating 
 wealth ; the tiniest child provides a market for some 
 producer in the food and clothing necessary to sus- 
 tain life; the pauper, the invalid, the wealthy idler 
 and the spendthrift, all make a market which sus- 
 
404 
 
 PEOM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 tains commerce^ encourages industry in many lands, 
 gives value to the place where it exists, and they all 
 unconsciously and without knowledge aid in creating 
 national wealth. But beyond doubt the busy throngs 
 of working men, guided by the mental power of the 
 scientific and the thoughtful, create the wealth of 
 nations. 
 
 Let co-operation be carried one step further and 
 all then will be well ; let those who co-operate to 
 produce this great wealth, co-operate also in its 
 ownership and its enjoyment, and the problem of 
 social life is solved. 
 
 The facilities now existing, which continually 
 increase for the exchange and transmission of com- 
 modities over all parts of the earth, may be used for 
 the general public welfare. In this direction a 
 very great and beneficial result may be effected by 
 utilising public credit for the purpose of creating a 
 paper currency which shall be, as a legal tender, 
 equal to gold. The retention of one metal (gold), or 
 two metals (gold and silver), as the only legal tender 
 for the discharge of liabilities, is a most foolish and 
 dangerous error. It is well known that there is not 
 one-tenth, perhaps not one-hundredth, part in quan- 
 tity of the precious metals available for the payment 
 of debts which would be required if all creditors were 
 to demand payment in specie. It is not the mere 
 fact that gold and silver form the substance of 
 coinage, which makes it an absolute payment. That 
 
THE LA.BO0B QUESTION SOLVED. 405 
 
 privilege arises from the coinage itself. An ounce of 
 gold may be wortli four poundsj but an ounce of gold, 
 unstamped^ would be no more a legal payment than 
 an ounce of copper. That which gives it its value as a 
 medium of commercCj which enables a merchant or a 
 banker to maintain or redeem his credit by its use, is 
 the fact that it is coined and certified to by the State. 
 The State mark could be equally well put upon 
 paper. Indeed, if great commercial difficulties and 
 troubles are to be avoided in the increasingly com- 
 plex and extended aflfairs of business life, it is 
 absolutely necessary that a system of State or other 
 paper currency be adopted and used. It is scarcely 
 necessary to point out the immense advantages which 
 such a plan, wisely projected and carried out with 
 prudence, would confer upon the whole community. 
 
 Mr. F. A. Walker's "Political Economy/' pub- 
 lished in London in 1885, is a work more particularly 
 valuable when dealing with the question of currency, 
 Mr. Walker instances the currency of American 
 green-backs from 1862 to 1879, and shows that they 
 were a complete circulating medium of exchange, 
 readily taken for all purposes, although in effect it 
 was inconvertible because gold was not provided to 
 meet it. 
 
 He gives his opinion and the arguments upon 
 which his opinion is based, to show that such incon- 
 vertible paper is good money, and he quotes the 
 remarkable instances of the issue of the notes of the 
 
406 FROM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 Bank of France from 1871 to 1877, including the 
 period of the Franco-Prussian War. But Mr. Walker 
 quotes the opinion of Bagehot, that "any deprecia- 
 tion, however small, — indeed, even the liahiHty to 
 depreciation without its reality, — is enough to disorder 
 exchange transactions." 
 
 Government could at any time prevent a panic, or 
 the continuance of a state of depression. Sometimes 
 the mercantile community is unable to realise, al- 
 though perfectly solvent, and wide-spread ruin and 
 suffering result. Occasionally agriculturists and 
 manufacturers would gladly extend their operations 
 in sound and useful directions, but are unable from 
 want of means to do so. From time to time there 
 are many persons unemployed who, were there but 
 some system, especially in the colonies, by which 
 they would be enabled to grow their own food, would, 
 at any rate, cease to be a burden upon the public at 
 large. And under the system of co-operative asso- 
 ciations it would not be difficult for Government, 
 by means of a paper currency, or guarantee, to provide 
 the necessary capital to make even the poorest and 
 most destitute self-supporting, while it increased its 
 own wealth and safety. 
 
 The question of paper currency, of a metallic basis 
 of value, of the expediency or necessity of State 
 banks, whether of deposit or of issue, with the great 
 and important questions of mono-metallism and bi- 
 metallism, although strictly forming part of the 
 
THE liABOUE QUESTION SOLVED. 407 
 
 science of exchange, are a study in themselves, — and a 
 study of no mean importance. I have not been able 
 to devote sufficient time to this part of the subject, 
 which comprises such varied complications, such vast 
 arrays of figures, and such an indefinitely wide field of 
 facta and phenomena, to enable me to make any very 
 lengthy dissertation, much less an exhaustive treatise 
 upon it, and readers will pardon me for restricting to 
 the very smallest space my remarks or ideas upon 
 this question. 
 
 A fair consideration of the statements already made 
 in this chapter will show how widely the influence of 
 the plan which I propose would extend over society. 
 For when it is recollected that every member of the 
 industrial classes is at once a producer and a con- 
 sumer, and that great numbers, including all those 
 who manage from their earnings to lay by and save 
 sums of money or acquire property, are capitalists as 
 well, it will be perceived that it is possible to make 
 every worker a producer, a consumer, and a capitalist. 
 The truth of these assertions will be recognised from 
 their mere statement, but the important bearing 
 which these have under a proper system of social 
 economy, is not so quickly discernible ; and yet this 
 is the answer to the vexed question, it is the solution 
 of the great problem of modern social life. For the 
 workman, while receiving his wages upon which he 
 lives, can also retain a proportionate share of the 
 wealth created by his labour j thus receiving,in addition 
 
408 FEOM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 to his wages, a share of the accumulated wealth 
 proportioned to the amount of his earnings, his 
 position would be infinitely different from that which 
 he now holds. The labourer's cash profits would 
 form part of his income, to be saved or expended as 
 he chose j but his share of the growing value and 
 accumulated wealth could be made inalienable, at least 
 for a term of years, so that while enjoying its yearly 
 return in dividends he would be unable to part with 
 or lose, or be deprived of it in any way whatever. 
 In this manner an insurance of the healthiest and 
 most righteous kind would be continually growing 
 for every industrious family in the land. Add to 
 this the fact that labourers would live as labourers 
 never lived in England yet, that employment would 
 be constant, and prices of all necessaries lessened, 
 and it will be seen that a perfect and complete change 
 would be effected in the condition of the labouring 
 classes. For in this manner as the toil by which his 
 daily bread is earned would bring him not only the 
 means of living, but wealth besides ; so the purchase 
 of the necessaries of existence would entitle him to a 
 further share in the surplus wealth of the community, 
 and the profits on his savings, besides interest, would 
 make him richer still. The ordinary circumstances of 
 every-day life would to each and all become channels 
 for perpetual streams of material comfort, — perennial 
 harvests of material good. 
 
 The terms upon which the three factors of pro- 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 409 
 
 duction should be admitted to participation so as to 
 ensure an equitable distribution is a question which 
 has never been argued. To assess fairly the contend- 
 ing claims of these three factors must be at first 
 somewhat experimental, although we may be able to 
 lay down principles which will approximately give a 
 fair and just distribution in general cases. By the 
 union in one corporate body through the joint-stock 
 principle of the ownership of all these factors it will 
 be possible to distribute to all and to each a just 
 proportion of realised wealth. 
 
 To owners of land assigned to the association 
 beyond a sum equal to a fair rent upon its unimproved 
 value ; to owners of capital beyond the current rate 
 of interest upon money; and to owners of labour 
 beyond the payment of current wages, there should 
 be given that proportion of the surplus created 
 wealth which is justly due to each respective class. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Necessity for voluntary action — Organisation and combination 
 develope the powers of the human race — Application of this 
 truth to the science of wealth — The joint-stock system — 
 Adam Smith on joint-stock companies —Such associations 
 monopolists — Expanded nature and powers of proposed 
 association — Basis proposed — Partnership between capitalist, 
 producer, and consumer — Possibility under such organisations 
 of universal employment and destruction of pauperism — 
 Memorandum of association — Possible prosperity for the 
 multitudes under new system — Objections to State aid dis- 
 cussed — Dilemma of Government — The great opportunity now 
 offered— Commerce between Great Britain and the colonies. 
 
 |T is impossible to achieve by any positive 
 law a change in social economy ■which will 
 remedy the evils now suffered by the 
 industrial poor. The remedy must be 
 effected by the consent of those concernedj and by 
 their voluntary adoption of such principles as will, 
 when put into operation, work a complete and bene- 
 ficial change. The efforts of State Socialists will still 
 be unavailing, because any improvement in the or- 
 ganisation of labour for the production of wealth and 
 in the method of its distribution must be voluntary if 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 411 
 
 it be intended to be permanent. Inducements to iur 
 dividual labour and individual excellence must always 
 offer themselves in order to produce the greatest de- 
 velopment of skill, courage, and endurance. But 
 competition should be kept within those fair and 
 honest limits which now control it in all public 
 games, examinations, and contests of a like nature. 
 
 In these matters the chicanery and frauds, the 
 tricks and deceptions of every-day business, as now 
 conducted, are unknown. Even in gambling or 
 duelling fraud is sternly forbidden. Upon the fron- 
 tier lines of civilisation cheating at cards or with dice 
 means death, and the same crime in a London club 
 would ostracise the guilty person from society. Even 
 in the contests of the prize-ring an unfair blow brings 
 instant defeat upon its giver. In competitive exa- 
 minations, or in contests of skill or athletics, the 
 rules of fairness and justice are strictly enforced. 
 
 But in business, in trade, and in the amassing of 
 wealth, injustice, fraud, falsehood, and deception are 
 common. And if the perpetrator of such practices 
 grows rich, he is admired, honoured, and caressed by 
 the world at large. 
 
 To achieve complete success in a better line, ox-ga- 
 nisations must arise possessing new and peculiar 
 characteristics. In these days we are eminently 
 practical. 
 
 Unless a theory can be reduced to practice, it is 
 like silver in the days of Solomon, "nothing ac- 
 2 D 2 
 
412 
 
 FROM POVEETT TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 counted of." Every project which cannot at once be 
 tested and gauged by experience is lightly put aside 
 as a mere dream. 
 
 The tendency of modern days is towards utilitarian- 
 ismj although there have been times in history when 
 philosophic and contemplative minds controlled the 
 destinies of nations. It is, doubtless, both wise and 
 proper to demand experimental proof of the correct- 
 ness of any theory of which, in the nature of things, 
 the truth can be demonstrated. Yet the greatest of 
 all Teachers, upon whose character and words the 
 welfare of the world depends, taught the simplest of 
 abstract principles ; for the philosophy by which man 
 is to be guided and to be blessed rests upon two 
 simple propositions, — Love to God and love to man. 
 la all those matters, however, which affect the daily 
 life of men, their comfort, and their wants, it is rea- 
 sonable, when a certain course of conduct is advised, 
 that the nature and consequences of such conduct, its 
 reasons, its methods, and results, should be explained. 
 Especially in a matter of such grave importance as 
 the introduction of a new system of social economy, 
 which, so far as it may be adopted, will change the 
 conduct of men towards each other and revolutionise 
 the distribution of wealth, is the demand for a prac- 
 tical application of theory proper. The theory here 
 set forth is easily reducible to every-day practice. It 
 needs no intricate machinery, no change in codes of 
 morality, no new principles of family or communal life. 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 413 
 
 no great learning, no peculiar fitness either of mental 
 or physical constitution. It does, indeed, require those 
 peculiar advantages, of which human society has 
 within the last half-century obtained the knowledge 
 and possession. Heretofore the methods for the 
 attainment of wealth and its enjoyment have been, 
 from one point of view, of the simplest possible cha- 
 racter. Each man for himself, and for himself alone, 
 has entered into the world's battlefield, and fought 
 thereon with more or less success; generally with 
 "less.'" To win the means of subsistence and to 
 attain wealth there has been, in all ages of the world, 
 a striking similarity between the conduct of human 
 beings and that of the wild beasts. Men have lite- 
 rally preyed upon each other. The strong, the cun- 
 ning, the fortunate, and the unscrupulous have trodden 
 down and torn to pieces their weaker and more un- 
 fortunate fellow-creatures. It is not surprising that 
 many persons should be able to trace a resemblance 
 between the ordinary history of men and the principle 
 of life among the lower animals, which Dr. Darwin 
 has called " the survival of the fittest." The " fittest," 
 if applied to humanity, not being in any sense the 
 best, the noblest, or most beautiful in mind or form, 
 but those who by any means manage to exalt them- 
 selves even through the sufferings and the degradations 
 of their fellows. The attempt, therefore, to bring into 
 the every-day life of all ranks and classes a principle 
 of action diametrically opposed to that which has 
 
414 PROM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 hitlierto held its sway amongst men, both in precept 
 and practice, may well lay upon him who makes the 
 attempt the burden of demonstrating the feasibility 
 and practicability of his doctrine. 
 
 Throughout human existence, and, indeed, through- 
 out all existence, so far as we can perceive it, there 
 seems to be one great principle by which all the mul- 
 titudinous diversities are gradually resolvable into 
 distinct individualities or entities. Consider for a 
 moment the diverse yet wonderfully harmonious amal- 
 gamations or groups existing in the human world. 
 
 Passing by the mass of incongruities and contra- 
 dictions composing every individual, we see each unit 
 in the human family in itself solitary and complete. 
 In existence, in hopes and fears, in thoughts and 
 deeds, in suffering and delight, it is different and 
 apart from all the world besides. 
 
 The simplest form of human society is the family. 
 Here, again, is another entity, composed often-times 
 of many members, but in itself an organisation, dis- 
 tinct and separate, an individual family amid the 
 families of the earth. Thenceforward through the 
 whole round of human existence, the unit, the indi- 
 vidual, becomes a portion of other organisms, the 
 club, the profession or trade, the borough, the com- 
 munity, the Church, the nation, the race, and, finally, 
 all the individual atoms are part of the great organi- 
 sation, — humanity itself. 
 
 The groundwork or foundation of all is the indi- 
 
THE LABOUR QtTESTION SOLVEB. 415 
 
 vidual man. Bach person is an atom in the general 
 existence. It is only as the atom coalesces with 
 other atomSj as the individual mingles with the sur- 
 rounding multitude in a thousand different relations^ 
 that the higher forms of being are brought into exist- 
 ence. In the perceptible universe, although we know 
 not the laws which govern the combinations and 
 changes of the elements, yet we perceive and enjoy 
 the results. The colours of the flowers, of the sky 
 and the ocean, the perfumes, the tastes, the melodies, 
 and the beauties of form which surround us on every 
 hand, are due in every instance to the laws of com- 
 bination prevailing throughout the world of nature. 
 
 In the human world, and even as Auguste Oomte 
 taught, in the whole circle of the sciences, laws of a 
 cognate nature prevail. The individual is the unit and 
 atom of existence. It is by combination and associa- 
 tion that all effects are produced. This is strikingly 
 exemplified in the production and exchange of 
 nature's gifts amongst men. 
 
 It ought not to be more difficult to apply the prin- 
 ciple of combination and association to the distribu- 
 tion and appropriation of material good than to its 
 production and exchange. This is the end proposed. 
 How shall this end be attained ? 
 
 It is to be accomplished by a simple form of asso- 
 ciation. I need not enter into a description or history 
 of that form of combination known as joint stock. 
 It is enough to say that only during the last thirty 
 
416 FKOM POVEKTY TO PLENTY ; OE, 
 
 years has it reached its present stage of development. 
 Before 1 855 a joint-stock company with limited lia- 
 bility was unknown to the law of England. Since 
 that year many improvements and amendments in the 
 constitution of these associations have been made 
 legal in different countries. Alterations of a bene- 
 ficial character are still possible. Owing to recent 
 legislation, the lines within which societies of this 
 nature can now be brought into existence are so 
 elastic as to include almost every purpose possible to 
 be conceived, and the construction of machinery 
 necessary and suitable for carrying such purposes 
 into effect. Here is an organism of the very highest 
 character which may contain multitudes of human 
 beings in its structure and composition, who thus 
 combined may form one mighty individual, able at 
 one and the same time to gather the fruits of every 
 ■clime and soil, to carry their products upon every sea, 
 and to distribute them in every land to every people : 
 an individual who, so far as this world is concerned, 
 shall annihilate time and space, aud who, guided by 
 one mind, living and working for one purpose, shall 
 gather the harvests of the earth, and distribute those 
 harvests justly and beneficently among the vast 
 numbers of its individual component atoms, as the 
 whole body is nourished by the life-stream from the 
 heart. 
 
 So little was known by our fathers as to the capa- 
 bilities of the joint-stock system, that Adam Smith 
 
THE LABOUK QUESTION SOLVED. 417 
 
 writes o£ it thus : — " The only trades which it seems 
 possible for a joint-stock company m carry on success- 
 fully without an exclusive privilege are those of which 
 all the operations are capable of being reduced to 
 what is called a routine, or to such a uniformity of 
 method as admits of little or no variation. Of this 
 kind is first the banking trade; and, secondly, the 
 trade of insurance from fire, and from sea risk and 
 capture in time of war ; thirdly, the trade of making 
 and maintaining a navigable cut or canal; and, 
 fourthly, the similar trade of bringing water for the 
 supply of a great city." 
 
 What would Adam Smith have thought if he could 
 have looked forward for a hundred years and seen the 
 rude combination which the joint-stock principle of 
 his day presented to the mind, elaborated into the 
 powerful as well- as delicate machinery which cha- 
 racterises this great human organism in the present 
 age. The joint-stock company of to-day bears the 
 same relation to the joint-stock company of our great- 
 grandfathers, as our steamships and railway cars 
 bear to the coaches in which they rode to London and 
 the cockleshells in which Cook and Anson sailed 
 round the world. 
 
 The joint-stock companies which are to form the 
 machinery for increased production and distribution 
 of wealth must contain features new in themselves 
 and different from those of any such associations now 
 existing. They must combine the qualities and 
 
418 FEOM POVEETT TO PLENTY; OB, 
 
 advantages of different classes of institutions. The 
 ordinary joint-stock company is at best but a mono- 
 poly. Its advantages and profits are restricted to a 
 definite number of shares and share-holders. No 
 association which is in itself a monopoly can claim 
 with justice to distribute fairly its benefits to all. 
 There must, therefore, under the new system, in every 
 such society exist, as one of the principles upon 
 which it is founded, a right, open to all and sundry, 
 to enter at any time under fixed rules, into participa- 
 tion of its advantages. 
 
 Such a society also must possess such full powers 
 in all the active duties and capacities of life as are 
 enjoyed by any subject of the Crown. Usually a 
 joint-stock company is limited to a very minute part 
 of the business engagements of ordinary life. 
 
 The memorandum of association which contains 
 the objects of its existence, and the mutual contract 
 of its members, gives the exact scope and limit of its 
 powers. In no instance as yet has the full scope of 
 the joint-stock system been ever attempted. 
 
 Men who have entered into partnership in this form 
 of association have always thus availed themselves of 
 a safe and convenient form for some specific object. 
 They have limited the powers of their co-partnery to 
 the performance of this object only, A joint-stock 
 company is, after all, only a voluntary system of 
 social and business government for certain definite 
 purposes and with certain well-defined and circum- 
 
THE LABOUE QUESTION SOLVED. 419 
 
 scribed legislative and administrative functions. The 
 local and supreme governments of every English 
 community are only compulsory joint-stock associa- 
 tionSj existing not like trading companies for gain 
 but for the common welfare and protection. Corpo- 
 rate bodies must now be created which shall possess 
 all powers of trading and business, while they are 
 endowed with great capabilities in other ways. The 
 one great end of their existence will be to produce 
 and distribute wealth of all descriptions among all 
 its producers, and they will thus hold vast powers ia 
 the way of philanthropic services. Generally, the 
 widest circuit of choice as to action will be left to 
 those who manage, subject to the control of the 
 members of the association. A thousand such corpo- 
 rate bodies might exist at the same time, each of 
 which, while it numbered among its shareholders tens 
 of thousands of individuals, might also be in partner- 
 ship with many other associations. In this way a 
 species of universal insurance would be promoted, 
 providing for a general distribution of the results of 
 labour and the gifts of nature among the industrial 
 population. 
 
 The associations must compass the partnership of 
 the producer, the consumer, and the capitalist. They 
 must also provide for the payment of due rewards to 
 each of their members or shareholders. 
 
 (a) By giving wages to the producer for 
 
420 FEOM POVEBTY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 labour of every description performed in 
 the service of the association. 
 
 (b) By giving interest to the capitalist share- 
 holder upon the amount of his money 
 invested in the concern. 
 
 (c) By giving goods or commodities or per- 
 mitting the use of property to those who 
 pay money to the corporate body for the 
 purchase or rental of the same. 
 
 These may be called the immediate recompense for 
 the aid afforded by the various contributions of 
 ■different classes and individuals in production and 
 exchange. Other benefits and values will arise, form- 
 ing the surplus and accumulated wealth of the whole 
 body. These fall, as we have seen, into two classes. 
 First, the money profits in any given period. Secondly, 
 and most largely, the increased value of land and 
 other property, both from improvements and by reason 
 of the unearned increment ; the accumulated mass of 
 ■commercial and manufacturing wealth other than 
 money ; and the increase of live stock and other food, 
 and wealth-producing natural products. This wealth, 
 both of money and increased value, should be dis- 
 tributed fairly among the industrial class, the capitalist 
 class, and the consuming class, and to each individual 
 of the respective classes in exact proportion to the 
 ■amount in value of his respective contribution. Such 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 421 
 
 value being fixed, in the case of the capitalistj by the 
 amount of his share-money ; the consumer, by the 
 amount of money paid for his purchases or rent ; and 
 the industrial classes, — labourer, manager, 'or whatever 
 other capacity they may respectively occupy, — on the 
 amount of wages, salary, or fees earned from the 
 association within the given period. The money or 
 cash profits could be distributable in cash or shares 
 of the association, at the receivers' option. The 
 increased value and amount of the corporate property 
 could be distributed only in shares representing such 
 increased value or valuations made at stated periods. 
 Two other principles are, however, absolutely neces- 
 sary to enable such an organisation to continue in 
 existence, and to prevent its becoming sooner or later 
 a monopoly. The first of these is, that the share 
 capital shall be increased from time to time, as 
 occasion may require, and that it shall be open at all 
 times for the admission to its ranks of shareholders 
 and of all those desirous to participate in its benefits. 
 The second, that every labourer, be he manager or 
 plough-boy, and every consumer who affords a market 
 for the company's products, shall by this become 
 legally interested in the company's transactions as a 
 sharer in its profits and in the increased value of its 
 properties. Thus such an association would be uni- 
 versal in its objects and powers, free and open to all 
 people at all times to enter into its membership, and 
 always affording to those who supplied its capital. 
 
422 I'EOM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OR, 
 
 performed its work, or purchased its commodities^ a 
 fair and just proportion of the wealth produced, 
 adapted, and realised by it. 
 
 Beyond the ordinary transactions of business, every 
 such association should provide an adequate machinery 
 for the administration of charitable and philanthropic 
 bequests and endowments. Charitable aid, as far as 
 it possibly can, should be devoted to the employment 
 of labour and appropriation of natural forces for 
 production, and so be made reproductive. Putting 
 aside, for a moment, those cases of human suffering, 
 misfortune, and helplessness in which the recipients of 
 charity are in themselves dependent upon others, we 
 see a huge mass of pauperised labour, young and old, 
 supported by rates or alms in idleness. In addition, 
 a vast mass of unemployed always exists. The amount 
 of labour thus wasted is incalculable. This idle and 
 pauper labour power, at present useless and super- 
 fluous in Great Britain, numbering, as is stated, three 
 millions, if directed, properly led and guided, and upon 
 the economic principles in this work laid down, ac- 
 companied and assisted by the commuted value of the 
 twenty millions a year spent in charity and poor relief, 
 or one-quarter of that sum, in one or more of the great 
 colonies, would make, in twenty years, the wealthiest, 
 the most independent, and the most prosperous colony 
 of the empire. And were I entrusted with the manage- 
 ment of so great an army, I should esteem myself a 
 leader of a mightier host than ever Alexander, Osesar, or 
 
THE LABOUE QUESTION SOLVED. 423 
 
 Napoleon led to victory, for they would be marshalled 
 in an infinitely nobler cause and destined to achieve a 
 mightier triumph and a more enduring glory. 
 
 Not only in the colonies would such a scheme be 
 successful, but; nearer home, in Ireland, this plan would 
 bring to that unhappy land peace, quietness, and 
 prosperity. No Home Eule, no Land Act, no Aboli- 
 tion of Churches, will finally pacify Ireland and the 
 Irish. That will be accomplished only by a proper and 
 wise system of practical political economy. 
 
 The memorandum of association of a company 
 registered under the Limited Liabilities Act contains 
 the common agreement of all the parties who join in 
 the undertaking. It must express, therefore, the 
 powers which are to be exercised, the duties which 
 are to be performed, and the purposes or objects for 
 which it is to exist and act. No directors of any 
 company, nor even the shareholders in general 
 meeting assembled, can legally perform any act not 
 properly included in the memorandum of association. 
 Nor can the memorandum itself be altered save by the 
 universal concurrence of its members, and at a great 
 cost of time, trouble, and money. This foundation of 
 the existence of the new being or organisation should 
 therefore be laid as deep and as broad as human wants 
 can demand, and as human labour exerted upon the 
 forces of nature can supply. And it should contain 
 as its corner-stone the fundamental axiom that all 
 who through it produced and exchanged wealth should 
 
424 FROM POVERTY TO PLENTY J OB^ 
 
 share, in definite and just proportions^ in the enjoy- 
 ment of the wealth produced. A memorandum such 
 as the following might be found sufficient. 
 
 Memorandum of Association. 
 
 1. The name of the Association is "The Co-Opera- 
 tive Colonising Association (Limited)." 
 
 2. The objects for which the Association is estab- 
 lished are — 
 
 (o) To give employment to labour of all 
 descriptions. 
 
 (6) To provide investment for capital, espe- 
 cially for the savings of the labouring and 
 industrial classes ; for the purchase, im- 
 provement, and utilisation of land and all 
 the various products of nature, and for all 
 purposes of production, manufacture, and 
 exchange, and in all ways and manners to 
 provide just co-operation in the produc- 
 tion and distribution of wealth. 
 
 (c) To carry on production, farming, manu- 
 facturing, and trading in all branches, and 
 for all purposes, including the breeding 
 and rearing of all kinds of stock, and 
 trading in all merchandise and property. 
 
 {d) To build and work mills and manufac- 
 tories of all kinds and for all commodities. 
 
THE LABOUE QUESTION SOLVED. 425 
 
 (e) To act as agents or trustees for all persons 
 and for all purposes, and to receive and 
 administer charitable funds or properties 
 in accordance witli the principles of the 
 Association and the desires of the donors 
 of such funds or properties. 
 
 (/) To borrow and lend money. 
 
 (g) To buy and sell land and all other pro- 
 perty or commodities. 
 
 (A.) To promote immigration into the Asso- 
 ciation's estates, and for that purpose to 
 grant or lend sums of money, and to enter 
 into all necessary contracts with Govern- 
 ments, corporate bodies, and individualsj 
 for that and other similar purposes. 
 
 (^) To erect and conduct schools and other 
 educational institutions or charitable 
 establishments. 
 
 (j) To make or contribute towards the cost of 
 making or constructing public works, such 
 as roads, bridges, wharves, and the like, 
 which may be necessary or useful in open- 
 ing up and developing the Company's 
 properties. 
 
 (k) To carry on all other sorts and species of 
 business and undertakings not herein- 
 before specified, which any individual can 
 
 2 B 
 
42 6 PKOM POVEETY TO PLENTY ; OE, 
 
 legally carry orij in as full and free a 
 manner as any subject of her Majesty the 
 Queen is at present able to do. 
 
 (I) To perform all and sundry the above 
 powers and purposes, both in the United 
 Kingdom and elsewhere, for the purpose 
 of cheapening all commodities to the 
 consumer, and of making the producer, 
 the capitalist, and the consumer partners 
 in the wealth created. 
 
 3. The liability of the Members is limited. 
 
 4. The capital of the Association is divided into 
 500,000 shares of one pound each. 
 
 Such being the memorandum of association, which 
 is practically similar to the law of the Medes and 
 Persians, as it cannot be altered ; we must next pro- 
 ceed to the framing of articles of association. The 
 Limited Liability Acts provide schedules for these 
 articles of association, which are, in fact, the by- 
 laws and rules of procedure under which the work of 
 the association is carried on. These schedules are 
 very comprehensive, but they do not provide for the 
 peculiar working of those portions of the machinery 
 of the proposed association, which are in themselves 
 singular and unknown to the ordinary joint-stock 
 company. Full power is given to alter or amend any 
 of the provisions of the statutory schedules, where- 
 
THE LABOUE QUIISTION SOLTED. 427 
 
 such provisions do not adequately provide for the 
 working of the necessary machinery. The ordinary 
 business arrangements and management of an asso- 
 ciation would be amply provided for in the form 
 attached to the Act^ but provision must be made for 
 any new or extraordinary developments incidental to 
 the particular association. It is also advisable to 
 amend some of the ordinary provisions, such as the 
 voting power of members, so as to render the govern- 
 ment of the association more popular. 
 
 One powerful argument generally used against the- 
 joint-stock principle in co-operative societies is this : 
 tbaty the number of shareholders being limited by 
 the amount of the share capital, such incorporated 
 associations finally become close corporations and 
 monopolists, as in the case of the Mitchell Hey Mills. 
 But in the proposed form of association this will be 
 impossible, as the share capital will be indefinitely 
 increased, any person at any time having a right t» 
 invest money, labour, and land, or other property, 
 and receive shares in the capital stock of the associa- 
 tion therefor, as well as for his share of the increased 
 value of its property. It may be fairly urged that, to 
 achieve such beneficial results as may be expected 
 from the workings of these plans, the Legislature and 
 the Government, which are, in truth, but the guardians 
 of the public safety and the public welfare, should, in 
 the interests of the people, assist any co-operative 
 colonising scheme by supplying, land and money 
 
 2 E 2 
 
428 I'EOM POVEETY TO PLENTY J ORj 
 
 to enable labour to achieve its greatest possible 
 results. 
 
 By so doing the Government would receive a per- 
 petual and increasing revenue from its lands and 
 taxes, and profits from its funds, while it would 
 provide self-supporting work for all the unemployed, 
 would turn its waste lands into prosperous settle- 
 ments, would invite population and wealth to the 
 various colonies, and would help to initiate a system 
 of colonisation that would make the colonies still 
 more populous and wealthy than at present. 
 
 Take New Zealand as an instance. At this time, 
 when the Government and the Legislature are unde- 
 cided as to the laws which shall regulate the disposal 
 of the waste lands belonging to the Maories, extend- 
 ing over 10,000,000 of acres of fertile land, it is a 
 duty incumbent upon the Imperial Authorities, as 
 well as upon the colonists, to aid, if possible, in the 
 profitable settlement of these great territories, so as 
 to provide homes for men, to increase the public 
 wealth, and to reduce the public burdens. I speak 
 with knowledge when saying that the native owners 
 would heartily join in carrying out the plan proposed, 
 and would, under proper regulations and safeguards, 
 allow the great bulk of their lands to pass to co- 
 operative colonising associations. The Government 
 of England might fairly be invited to join in and 
 support a movement which in its aim and character is 
 national. 
 
THE LABOUE QUESTION SOLVED. 429 
 
 The greatest difficulty to be encountered in com- 
 mencing and sustaining associations built upon these 
 lines will be found, at the beginning, in the want of 
 capital. This difficulty could be overcome by the 
 capital being secured upon the land and other pro- 
 perty of the association, for which, and in the improve- 
 ment of which, the capital has been and will be spent. 
 And another and still further security could be given 
 to the capitalist which would also confer permanent 
 benefit upon the labourer, by paying a portion of the 
 wages of labour in shares of the association, and only 
 giving moderate wages to labour as well as moderate 
 interest to capital. 
 
 Thus, taking a settlement in New Zealand by way 
 of example, if the labourers were to receive £30 a-year 
 and board and lodging, £20 a-year could be paid in 
 cash and £10 in fully paid-up shares of the associa- 
 tion, so that the labourer would become a capitalist 
 shareholder to the extent of £10 per annum, for at 
 any rate a certain period. A larger reserve fund 
 might also be made, especially during the commence- 
 ment of operations, than that proposed, so as to make 
 an adequate insurance against loss. But there are so 
 many sources other than that which is generally 
 resorted to, — i.e., the Stock Exchange, — which ought 
 to be available for the supply of the necessary capital, 
 that it is reasonable to suppose this difficulty will not 
 interfere greatly with the success of the proposed 
 system. The great organisations- so frequently 
 
430 FROM POVEE'iy TO PLENTY; OEj 
 
 alluded to herein could, with justice to their members 
 jind certainty of advantage, invest in such an under- 
 taking. The philanthropic classes, the colonising 
 associations, the temperance societies, the Churches, 
 the county and parochial authorities (especially now 
 that the Local Government Act is law), the corporate 
 bodies of the great towns, and the Parliament of 
 Crreat Britain, should all assist in such a movement. 
 Is there any reason why the boundless potential 
 wealth of the world should not be widely distributed 
 among the people of Great Britaiu? Why should 
 not those great multitudes be joint owners in the 
 mighty territories beyond the seas which the Ruler of 
 Nations has given to us as a national heritage ? Why 
 should not the mill hands, the coal and iron miners, 
 the agricultural labourers, ihe artisans and mechanics, 
 and the innumerable classes of the industrial orders 
 share in the ownership of far-off lands, where sheep 
 and cattle should increase and multiply, where fruit 
 of all sorts should grow, where cities and towns 
 should rise, and still greater wealth be created for 
 them and for their children ? Why should they not 
 receive from every region of the earth the products of 
 their own fields, gardens, and pastures, — tea from 
 China, from Assam, and from India; rice from the 
 sunny islands of the Pacific ; cofiee from the Brazils 
 and Indies; beef and mutton from New Zealand, 
 Australia, and South America ; corn from India, from 
 America, and Australasia; wool from the boundless 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 431 
 
 plains of the colonial empire^ — all these carried to 
 them across the seas by mighty fleets owned by 
 themselves ? Why should they not possess and enjoy 
 their own mines, their own manufactures, their own 
 warehouses, their own estates ? Why should not the 
 abundance of the earth flow forth to bless the multi- 
 tudes of toilers, so that the children of men should in 
 truth and reality enjoy the fruits of that earth which 
 Ood has given to them ? The answer to this question 
 at present is simple ; it is found in the individualistic 
 basis of our political economy. I say, without hesita- 
 tion and without fear, that under a true system of 
 political economy all these results can be accom- 
 plished. 
 
 Sublime and righteous as such a consummation 
 would be, it needs only the alteration of the funda- 
 mental economic principles to produce the necessary 
 change. Thus in the material and social condition of 
 the vast majority of the nation would be experienced 
 an alteration as marvellous and beneficial as the 
 last century has produced in the wealth, the numbers, 
 and the powers of the English race. 
 
 By this plan land and wealth would truly become 
 common property. For all would be owners in the 
 accumulated wealth in distinct shares, while the 
 corporate body held it in trust for all. The profits 
 remaining each year after paying interest and wages 
 could be divided as at present in joint-stock com- 
 panies, while the increased value and accumulated 
 
432 TEOM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 wealth, other than moneyj would be distributed in 
 shares of the association, the share capital being 
 increased to the amount of the increased value of the 
 property and stock. 
 
 In a well-known paragraph John Stuart Mill, when 
 criticising the wonderful improvement of labour- 
 saving machinery, says that it may be questioned 
 whether all the improvements in machinery have 
 ever lightened a single day's labour of the working 
 man. 
 
 It may with equal justice be questioned whether all 
 the writings of political economists have as yet 
 availed to show how any portion of the accumulated 
 wealth produced by the industrial classes can be 
 enjoyed by them. Yet this is the very highest effort, 
 and should be the ultimate hope of every man in 
 whom humanity still breathes. 
 
 But while this science is erected upon its present 
 foundation, — while the cardinal law which governs it 
 is a narrow, mean, and godless selfishness, — how is it 
 possible that the result can be other than unjust and 
 sorrowful ? 
 
 The great increase in wealth, attaching itself to a 
 growing population and commerce, becomes partly 
 fixed and consolidated in the values of land. The un- 
 earned increment is simply the consolidation of a large 
 portion of the wealth of a prosperous and growing 
 community. All new and waste lands upon which 
 the tide of immigration flows, where the operations 
 
THE LABOUE QUESTION SOLVED. 433'- 
 
 of commerce become gradually developed, where 
 communities arise, are necessarily enriched by this- 
 unearned increment. Thus in the different colonies 
 of Britain, where great cities like Melbourne and 
 Sidney have grown up, land, which fifty years ago 
 was purchased for £5 or £10, is now worth half 
 a million. Even in smaller centres of civilisation the 
 same rule holds good. If such great general 
 increases of value could be preserved for, and shared 
 in by, the whole community through whose presence 
 and toil it is produced, all fear of want, all poverty and 
 the many evils which flow from want and poverty, 
 would vanish. Communities founded in new lands or 
 colonies upon these principles would not only till the- 
 soil, but would carry on all trades, would commence 
 and maintain manufactures, would increase commerce, 
 and would develope all those component parts of 
 civilised communities which, working together, create 
 property and value, not only by the labour of each, 
 but by the labour and existence of all. One of the 
 advantages plainly apparent in the trial of a scheme 
 upon new and waste lands is, that no vested interest 
 would be touched, no revolutionary measure passed.. 
 The wilderness would be reclaimed, and new and 
 prosperous communities would be formed. 
 
 Many writers, and perhaps the majority of thinking 
 men in England, are averse to the assistance of 
 Government in the establishment of co-operative 
 undertakings. They point to the failure which 
 
434 FROM POVEETY TO PLENTY J OE, 
 
 gradually overtook nearly all the Paris associations 
 receiving assistance from the subventions granted by 
 the French Government. If, however, we examine 
 the nature and operation of the associations so aided, 
 we shall at once see the reason of their failure, and 
 distinguish such assistance from the aid which may 
 well be given by Parliament in undertakings of a 
 wider range and different nature. One of the great 
 •differences between the English co-operators and the 
 •ordinary Socialists is found in this question of Govern- 
 ment aid and Government control. The Christian 
 Socialists were essentially co-operators. " They did 
 not seek in any way whatever to interfere with 
 private property, or to invoke the assistance of the 
 State. They believed self-help to be a sounder prin- 
 •ciple, both morally and politically, and they believed it 
 to be sufficient. They held it even to be sufficient, not 
 merely in course of time, but immediately, to effect a 
 •change in the face of society. For they loved and 
 believed in their cause with a generous and touching 
 •enthusiasm, and were so sincerely and absolutely per- 
 suaded of its truth themselves, that they hardly 
 entertained the idea of other minds resisting it. ' I 
 certainly thought,^ says Mr. Hughes, ' (and for that 
 matter have never altered my opinion to this day) 
 that here we had found the solution of the great 
 labour question ; but I was also convinced that we 
 had nothing to do but just to announce it, and found 
 an association or two, in order to convert all England, 
 
THE LABODE QUESTION SOLVED. 435 
 
 and usher in the millennium at once, so plain did the 
 whole thing seem to me. I will not undertake 
 to answer for the rest of the council, but I doubt 
 whether I was at all more sanguine than the majority.' 
 Seventeen co-operative associations in London, and 
 twenty-four in the provinces (which were all they had 
 ■established when they ceased to publish their Journal), 
 may seem a poor result, but their work is not to be 
 •estimated by that alone. The Christian Socialists 
 undoubtedly gave a very important impetus to the 
 whole movement of oo-operation, and to the general 
 ■cause of the amelioration of the labouring classes. 
 
 Nor does Kefcteler approve of LassaUe's scheme of 
 establishing productive associations of working men 
 upon capital supplied by the State. Not that he 
 objects to productive associations; on the contrary, 
 he declares them to be a glorious idea, and thinks 
 them the true solution of the problem. But he 
 objects to supplying their capital by the State, as 
 involving a direct violation of the law of property." * 
 
 Of the same opinion is the Bishop of Durham, who 
 ■declares that co-operation of a voluntary nature 
 makes self-reliant men, while State Socialism tends 
 to create spoon-fed children. 
 
 But all these condemnations of Government assist- 
 .ance are limited to the existence and support of 
 .associations of working men who are to enter into 
 
 * John Eae, Contemporary Bevieiv, January, 1882. 
 
436 TEOM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OK^ 
 
 competition with, other working men having no such 
 advantages or assistance. 
 
 Nor can it be denied that the manner in which 
 Government aid was given tended somewhat to- 
 ' pauperise the bodies who received it. But the argu- 
 ments against State aid lose their force when the 
 assistance given by Government is such as, while it 
 benefits the individuals who directly receive it by 
 stimulating industry and promoting hope, also in- 
 directly confers great advantages upon the public at 
 large without creating any competition with other 
 labourers. The country levies ten millions a year to 
 support the pauper population in idleness, to which 
 charity adds another ten. Surely it would be wiser and 
 better to spend twice that sum if needful in enabling 
 the pauper population to become an independent, self- 
 supporting, wealth-creating, and industrious portion 
 of the nation. 
 
 At this time it is futile to attempt to lay down, 
 with anything like certainty, limits within which the 
 Government of the nation shall exercise its authority 
 and action. To dogmatise as Mr. Herbert Spencer 
 and some others do upon the functions of Govern- 
 ment, and to give out prognostications of evil because- 
 Parliament proposes to make some feeble effort to 
 advance the welfare of the people, is worse than 
 nonsense. Such pessimist maunderings are a scandal 
 to philosophy. 
 
 The conflict between Lassalle and Schultze de Litsck 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 437 
 
 was fought out on this field, and from a cursory 
 reading of that important controversy I am convinced 
 that both were partly right. It is certain that Prince 
 Bismarck not only partially sided with Lassalle, but 
 has on many occasions expressed his strong sympathy 
 with State aid to co-operative bodies, especially when 
 directed to colonisation. Of Bismarck's tendency 
 in this direction, the strange conduct of Germany 
 towards Samoa and its unhappy king is a striking 
 example. I go further than Lassalle himself, and I 
 aver my belief that it is the duty of the Government 
 to offer every assistance to all plans which promise 
 to make the poor self-supporting and self-reliant. 
 ■The Government of this great empire has now &n 
 opportunity, never yet given to any power, of con- 
 ferring an eternal boon upon its subjects, of 
 strengthening and enriching the colonies beyond 
 calculation ; of opening practically a new and bound- 
 less commerce; of establishing a federation of the 
 empire which will last as long as time itself, and of 
 permanently benefiting humanity at large. 
 
 If we submit to examination the reasoning of 
 writers and the facts of experience upon the question 
 of Government assistance, we shall find that two prin- 
 ciples only have been the subjects of argument and of 
 action. The aid of Government is deprecated by 
 those who, like the Bishop of Durham, think that 
 such assistance tends to destroy self-reliance, and to 
 encourage dependence upon exterior help. Another 
 
438 JPEOM POVEETT TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 class of thinkers is averse to Government interference 
 on the ground that one section of the community has 
 no right to assistance from the State in its competi- 
 tion for success in life with other classes or individuals. 
 These arguments are reasonable in themselves^ but 
 when applied to the circumstances which now exist 
 are neither logical nor weighty. The argument of 
 the Bishop of Durham would do away with all out- 
 ward assistance whatever save in very exceptional 
 cases, and, indeed, is but a collateral use of the prin- 
 ciple of laissee faire. The other argument, which is 
 the one used by Free-traders against Protectionists, 
 is a logical argument when kept within certain limits. 
 To assist individual associations in trade or manufac- 
 ture as against their fellow-citizens is evidently un- 
 just, and tends to a monopoly. On the other hand,, 
 to leave the unemployed and the destitute to starve, 
 would be a disgrace to a civilised Grovemment, and 
 dangerous to the body politic. There certainly is no 
 reason why, instead of merely supporting paupers in 
 comparative idleness. Government should not, if pos- 
 sible, enable them to become self-supporting and 
 independent. The instances or illustrations generally 
 quoted against Government interfei-ence are those of 
 the trade associations of Paris, which applied for and 
 received Government subventions in, and subsequent 
 to, 1848. These cases illustrate both sides of the 
 argument. The societies in question existed only by 
 virtue of their superior power and the excellence of 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 489- 
 
 their work compared with that of other associations 
 or workmen in the same calling. Naturally the assist- 
 ance which they received enervated them, and in the 
 keen contest the skill and industry of others won the 
 custom of the trade. It may, perhaps, be considered 
 certain that in all cases of a similar character the 
 result would be the same. The question here is not 
 how to enable tradesmen or mechanics to obtain the 
 greatest portion of a limited amount of custom for 
 which a keen competition already exists. It is rather 
 how to enable the multitudes, who are left behind in 
 this race for life, to win from the cultivation of the 
 waste places of the earth the means of subsistence, 
 which thus winning, they will not only be able to 
 provide for all their own wants, but at the same time 
 relieve their fellow-workers from their competition, 
 from the burden of their support, and provide fresh 
 markets for their labour. 
 
 At the present juncture the mere ideas of specula- 
 tive thinkers or the theories of doctrinaires must give 
 way to the imperative necessity for action. In the 
 presence of idle hosts, of want and hunger, and in- 
 cipient revolution arising from famine, it is idle to- 
 argue about the province of Government, or to limit 
 the authority of the Legislature. The Governmenfc 
 must find a remedy, for the evil has grown far beyond 
 the ordinary powers of political economy, and far 
 beyond the efforts of ordinary philanthropic move- 
 ments. The Legislature of England has presented to 
 
440 T?ROM POVEETY TO TLENTT J OR, 
 
 it, at the present time, a problem more difficult than 
 that of Ireland, more dangerous than that of Socialism. 
 Clamouring at its gates are the great masses cf the 
 unemployed, while the effects of extreme competition, 
 free trade, and selfishness are bringing Parliament 
 face to face with reform or revolution. It is the last 
 and greatest question presented to civilisation, which, 
 if once satisfactorily answered, leaves nothing to 
 hinder the onward march of the English people to 
 universal dominion and universal plenty. This sub- 
 ject offers a field for the display of patriotism never 
 excelled in the history of England. It affords scope 
 for the exercise of the greatest talents and of un- 
 bounded enthusiasm. It offers prizes more precious 
 than the wreath of the victors in the Olympic games, 
 more lasting than the renown which the Latin poet 
 avowed himself to have achieved when he exclaimed, 
 ■" Exegi monumentum cere perennius." 
 
 Towards the solution of this infinitely important 
 problem the efforts of all our greatest and best may 
 well be directed, for they who aid in accomplishing 
 the desired end will lay up for themselves, not only 
 fame in the records of time, but treasures in heaven. 
 It is wonderful that Parliament has not yet begun 
 seriously to consider the position and prospects of the 
 great majority of the English people. That member 
 •of either House who first proposes seriously to con- 
 sider this question will confer an eternal boon upon 
 his countrymen. 
 
THK LABOUE QUESTION SOLVED. 441 
 
 To show the opinions of moderate thinkers upon 
 the brilliant possibilities for English commerce which 
 the colonial empire even now affords, I quote from a 
 remarkably able article by Mr. Baden Powell, in the 
 Nineteenth Century, of July, 1881. In considering 
 these figures, it must be remembered that Mr. Powell 
 is only dealing with the increase of colonial pur- 
 chasing power under the present system. To what 
 a vastly wider range of figures might he not extend 
 his vision under the system of co-operative coloni- 
 sation ? 
 
 " Probably few of our manufacturers are aware of 
 the following recorded results : — 
 
 Table I. — Value of English Manufactures exported to — 
 
 Europe, Other Foreign Countries. Our Colonies. 
 
 1870 ... £54.600,000 £34,600,000 £44,200,000 
 
 1880 ... 52,400,000 32,900,000 58,500,000 
 
 Decrease £2,200,000 Decrease £1,700,000 Increase £14,300,000 
 Table IT. — Value of total Trade of United Kingdom with— 
 
 European Neighbours.* Other Foreign Countries. Our Coloniep. 
 
 1873 ... £157,000,000 £373,000,000 £152,000,000 
 
 1877 ... 150,000,000 332,000,000 165,000,000 
 
 Decrease £7,000,000 Decrease £41,000,000 Increase £13,000,000 
 "From these two tables we learu two lessons., 
 The first is that our own colonies are growing 
 into markets rot only already equalling in magni- 
 tude the older established markets of other 
 
 * France, Belgium, Holland, and Sweden and Norway. 
 2 F 
 
442 PROM POTEETY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 landsj but possessed of the further admirable attri- 
 bute of unlimited future growth. Our trade with 
 France dwindles and dwindles; our trade with our 
 Australian colonies by itself already equals our trade 
 with France. With France we have no reasonable 
 prospect of a larger trade^ because France is fully 
 peopled and fully developed. With Australia our 
 prospects of increased trade are commensurate with 
 the fact that in Australia we have a continent capable 
 by its own inherent fertility of supporting in pros- 
 perity a population of 300,000^000 human beings, and 
 at present yielding wealth to a bare three millions of 
 human workers. We make every eftbrt to secure 
 access to the dwindling French market ; we make no 
 public or appreciable effort to secure access to this 
 real ' market of the future ■" that invites us in Aus- 
 tralia."* 
 
 " It needs to iijisist upon the strange fact, that while 
 England is maintaining at great effort a precarious 
 and utterly untrustworthy commercial connexion with 
 foreign States, the average public seems doggedly to 
 shut its eyes to the opportunities afforded by Eng- 
 land's extensive empire The Australias, 
 
 by themselves, are equal in area, and in natural capa- 
 city, to the whole of Europe. In the Canadas and the 
 districts of South Africa the English race possesses 
 yet another potential Europe. And in India and the 
 
 . * Nineteenth CenUiry, July, p. 44. Baden Powell, " New 
 Markets for British Produce." 
 
THE L.VBOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 443 
 
 various outlying colonies the nation possesses surface 
 and wealth of resurces equalling those of Europe. 
 The nation ownSj then^ an extent of surface and a 
 variety of natural resources equal to three Europes 
 conjoined. Here, then, we have a field not alto- 
 gether insufficient for employing the best energies 
 of a nation of 50,000,000 people, and for providing 
 unlimited scope for an unlimited increase of this 
 nation.'''* 
 
 Gauged by the same scale, argued upon the same 
 reasoning, what glorious prospects of prosperity 
 ■would be afforded to the millions of British labourers 
 who should cross the ocean to find homes in this 
 ■Greater Britain under the system of colonisation here 
 proposed. All means of wealth creation being avail- 
 able, it is difficult to place limits to what is possible. 
 Calculations based upon the proposed data would 
 seem visionary and extravagant. To the most sober 
 mind a great and enduring prosperity may reasonably 
 be suggested. 
 
 Thus briefly have I attempted to sketch an affirma- 
 tive and constructive system of social economy. I 
 have introduced no new or untried principle. The 
 basis and foundation is that ancient and well-known 
 maxim "^^ union is strength." The life principle by 
 which I have striven to animate the whole framework 
 ■of the proposed system is of equal age and of in- 
 
 * Nineteenth Century, July, p. 46. Baden Powell, "New 
 Markets for British Produce." 
 
 2p2 
 
444 FEOM POVEKTY TO PLENTY; OR, 
 
 finitely greater worth than that selfishness which 
 I propose to supplant. For sympathy is of nobler 
 origin than selfishness, and mutual help is a surer 
 path to success and happiness than isolation. 
 
 No new, no startling change is necessary for the 
 successful accomplishment of the ends which I propose. 
 To final success and to the full development of the 
 possible results of this system the ordinary quali- 
 fications for success in life will be also requisite. 
 Honesty, sobriety, industry, a genial and kindly heart, 
 a clear judgment and practical business talent will in 
 this plan also be needed to achieve complete success. 
 But when it is remembered that complete success 
 means the extirpation of that want and suffering 
 which now afflict such multitudes of our people, and 
 that it will render permanently available the labour 
 of men for the production of wealth which the 
 labourers and their wives and children shall enjoy; 
 when it is remembered that in lieu of selfishness 
 there shall be found sympathy ; that the homes of 
 want and penury shall be filled with the fruits of the 
 earth and the products of man's industry ; that every 
 child in the empire shall be properly fed and clothed, 
 and taught ; that opportunities and times for 
 healthy recreation, athletic sports, intellectual pro- 
 gress and Divine worship shall be the heritage of all ; 
 and that to accomplish this no violence is proposed, 
 no interference with the vested rights of property, 
 no insidious attack upon religion, morality or 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 445 
 
 the family relations which we now enjoy^ it will be 
 admitted that industry and self-devotion will be 
 amply repaid, and that no effort will be too strenuous, 
 no sacrifice too great to achieve so great a triumph. 
 For this is godliness. It is profitable unto all things 
 having promise of the life that now is and of that 
 which is to come. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Statistics of occupations of English people — Same causes of de- 
 pression operating in England, the States and the colonies — 
 The English colonies compared with the great European 
 States — Mulhall's " Fifty Years of national Progress " — 
 Suicides — Emigration — Distribution of wealth— Australasian 
 wool and gold compared — Possible organisation of all unem- 
 ployed labour in Great Britain for colonisation— Condition of 
 the English people contrasted with that of Continental nations 
 — Probability of war and devastation in Continental Europe 
 — No possibility of escape or field for expansion for Conti- 
 nental Powers — Antagonism between commerce and philan- 
 thropy existing through selfish economy — Associative economy 
 harmonises phOanthropy and commerce, religion and business 
 — Application of same principle which abolished slavery to 
 relief of unemployed industry — Necessity for precaution in 
 first experiment— Requisites for final solution of social 
 problems now exist possessed by the English race — Thfr 
 present time the final crisis in the history of civilisation — 
 Necessity for universal action. 
 
 HE occupations of the inhabitants of 
 Great Britain in 1884, were as fol- 
 lows : — 
 
 Occupations of the English People in 1884. 
 
 1 . 650jO000 persons employed in professions. 
 
 2. Ij800,000 persons employed in domestic ser- 
 
 vice. 
 
THE LABOUE QUESTION SOLVED. 447 
 
 3. 1,000,000 persons employed in commerce. 
 
 4. Ij400j000 persons employed in agriculture. 
 
 5. 6j400j000 persons employed in other industrial 
 
 occupations. 
 
 6. 15,000,000 persons non- producers, including- 
 
 women and cliildren — 
 
 1. About 350,000 in municipal employment. 
 
 Government, &c. 
 
 2. 33,000 merchants, dealers. 
 
 3. 670,000 carriers (this class is getting 
 
 organised), joint-stock companies, &c. 
 
 Of Class 5, by far the largest of the industrial 
 part of the population in which the occupations of 
 the people are described, the divisions are nume- 
 rous and important. It gathers together the 
 general body of workers as distinguished from the 
 more specific enumeration contained under other 
 heads. 
 
 The following is a table of the distribution of 
 Class 5 : — 
 
 1,300,000 workers or dealers in minerals. 
 270,000 workers or dealers in machines 
 and implements. 
 1,100,000 dealers in textile fabrics. 
 1,000,000 various kinds of dress, hats, 
 boots, &c. 
 800,000 building, furniture, decoration. 
 100,000 printing and publishing. 
 
448 PEOM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 90,000 carriages and horses. 
 50,000 boat and shipbuilding, &c. 
 600,000 food, drinks, board, and lodging. 
 
 Of the fifteen millions of non-producers in Class 6, 
 and, indeed, numbering a few from each of the other 
 classes, the pauper population, and those who are only 
 partially employed, are found. It would be quite 
 impossible to arrive with any certainty at the numbers 
 of the industrial population who are only partially 
 employed. So many and diverse are the causes by 
 which idleness is produced or enforced that we can. 
 but state in general terms the great but disastrous 
 truth that, beyond the pauper or semi-pauper portion 
 of society, a considerable proportion of the entire 
 labour power of the community is lost by non-usage. 
 Strikes, lock-outs, declining prices, glutted markets, 
 severity of weather, and a hundred other controllable 
 or uncontrollable circumstances operate towards this 
 result. Nor can we hope, under our present system, 
 for any improvement in the stability of the labour 
 market. On the contrary, all the probabilities tend 
 in the opposite direction. It is, no doubt, satisfying 
 to some that statisticians like Mr. Gififen and Mr. 
 Leone Levi prove by figui-es that the English working 
 classes are better off, and should be more contented 
 than their fathers were, in the face of the startling 
 facts presented by contemporaneous history. But such 
 statements are dangerous as well as substantially 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 449 
 
 (untrue. Parliaments and G-overnments will be equally 
 ■unwise if they hide themselves behind these fliftisy 
 •defences against the ever - increasing volume of 
 popular anxiety. Why should we not recognise the 
 ■ditSculties and face them boldly ? To do this may 
 indeed tax the skill, the courage, and the patriotism 
 of the leaders of all parties. But to do it success- 
 fully, — and that is possible, — means imperishable 
 .renown and permanent usefulness. Not to do it, but to 
 ■close the eye against the danger which is coming, is to 
 abandon the ship of State to the full force of the driving 
 tempest without preparation or any effort at safety. 
 
 The position of matters in the States is rapidly 
 tending to that in England, but by reason of the 
 great territories yet remaining open for settlement, 
 the pressure is not so severe, except perhaps in some of 
 the older States and in the great centres of population. 
 
 The colonies are still more favourably situated, but 
 even in the colonies as well as in the United States 
 the tendency is in the same direction, and the same 
 results are merely a matter of time. 
 
 Having regard to the uncertain amount of partial 
 idleness in the United Kingdom, it is difiBcult to fix 
 the amount of available unemployed labour now 
 existing in Great Britain. Counting the able-bodied 
 paupers amongst the available labour, ifc would not, 
 .perhaps, be too great an estimate if we were to consider 
 thab there are three millions of the English people in 
 .the home countries able and willing to maintain them- 
 
450 FROM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 selves, who are not only nnable to find work them- 
 selves, but are a burden upon the labour of others. 
 When considering the expediency of settling these 
 people in the new lands we may well glance at the 
 relative position which the colonies hold. 
 
 Leaving out of calculation the United States, which 
 are but colonies with an independent government, — 
 colonies founded by some of the best and bravest 
 of the English people, — let us contrast the evidences 
 of wealth and power displayed by the colonial world 
 with those of the great nations of the present day. 
 The three greatest nations of Continental Europe are 
 France, Germany, and Eussia. In extent of habitable 
 territory any one of the great groups of colonies 
 would well-nigh double them combined. United 
 Germany possesses next to England the greatest 
 commerce with the outside world. The imports and 
 exports of the Zollverein, the United German Customs, 
 are something over three hundred millions, but the 
 imports and exports of the colonial empire are also- 
 over three hundred millions. 
 
 The revenue and expenditure of France is the 
 greatest in the world, but next to it and greater than 
 the revenue of Great Britain itself is that of the- 
 colonial empire. 
 
 The Pacific Ocean is rapidly becoming an English 
 Jake. Our commerce touches every continent and 
 encircles every group of islands. Our Churches send 
 missionaries to every savage tribe. Our travellers^ 
 
THE LABOUE QUESTION SOLVED. 451 
 
 irreverently termed by their fellow countrymen 
 " globe trotters " search every corner of that peace- 
 ful ocean for new scenes and new sensations. Our 
 men-of-war are seen lazily cruising over that sunny 
 sea or anchored within the coral reefs beneath the 
 shade of palms. Not only does business call its sons, 
 and science draw its devotees from England, the 
 States, and the colonies to the glorious shores and 
 boundless seas of the New World ; not only do the 
 stars and stripes and union-jack float over the seas, 
 the emblem of order and government, but our race 
 have traversed this ocean also for fresh fields of 
 sport and pastime. The yachtsman spreads his canvas 
 upon its rolling waves, and the cricketer wields his 
 bat upon its shores. To test the skill, endurance,, 
 courage, speed, and strength of its different branches 
 the athletes of our race, like those of ancient Hellas, 
 join in many games on sea and land, for here, as else- 
 where, the ocean is its race-course, the continents 
 its fields of sport. 
 
 The year of "Jubilee has produced a great number of 
 works tending to illustrate and to trace the progress 
 of Great Britain and the empire during the reign of 
 Victoria. Tigures, which may seem the most prosaic 
 of studies, will, nevertheless, if we examine their 
 meaning and extent, sometimes cast an entirely new 
 light upon even the commonest subjects. In Mr. 
 Mulhall's " Fifty Years of National Progress," pub- 
 lished during the present year, there are many 
 
462 PEOM POVERTY TO PLENTY ; OR, 
 
 tables of figures and statements of facts which dis- 
 ■close a state of affairs at once wonderful and appalling. 
 
 The greatesb causes of suicide among English 
 people are absolute poverty and hopelessness. During 
 the years from 1837 to 1887 Mr. Mulhall states that 
 the deaths of the English people in war have been 
 -52,000, while the deaths of the English people by 
 suicide during the same period have been 77,000. 
 
 Thus the deaths by suicide exceed those in war by 
 ■50 per cent., an aggregate of 25,000. In each year 
 •during the long and prosperous reign of Victoria we 
 have lost 500 English people more than we lost in 
 battle in India, in Abyssinia, in Egypt, in new Zea- 
 land, in South Africa, in America, the trenches before 
 Sebastopol, or the storming of Delhi. 
 
 All the loss for which we mourned, when with teaffe 
 and lamentations we sorrowed for the brave men who 
 fell fighting the battles of England, was far surpassed 
 in magnitude by the silent procession, which, driven 
 by want and wretchedness, opened for itself the gates 
 of the eternal world and passed into the presence of 
 the Great Judge. In addition to the famine-stricken 
 million and a quarter of Irish people these 77,000 
 fled from this world to the world beyond. Who can 
 tell the total amount of anguish, of suffering, and of 
 •despair which that wretched host endured before its 
 brigades and regiments fled from the battle-field of 
 life ? How much longer is such a state of things to 
 continue ? How much longer can such a state of 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 453- 
 
 things continue without punishment descending upon 
 the nation ? 
 
 The emigration from Great Britain and Ireland 
 during the same period amounted to 9,101,000 and 
 yet the population of the United Kingdom increased 
 from 26 millions in 1837 to 37 millions in 1887. The 
 public wealth increased in a far greater ratio. In 
 1837 the wealth of Great Britain and Ireland was 
 computed at the sum of £4,100,000,000, while in 1887 
 it stood at the almost fabulous sum of £9,210,000,000. 
 The assessments to the income tax in 1837 show 
 clearly that the wealth of the nation is confined to a 
 comparatively small number of persons. 250,000' 
 people were assessed by the income tax as having 
 incomes of over £200 a year, and another 188,000 
 were assessed as having incomes under £200 per 
 annum. Thus 458,000 people alone were assessed to 
 the income tax out of 37,000,000. The total amount 
 assessed was about £750,000,000. Let us suppose- 
 that the 188,000 assessed for less than £200 were 
 assessed at £1 75 each, which would be a high average, 
 that would give as the income of the 188,000 the 
 sum of £32,400,000. This would leave the incomes 
 of the remaining 250,000 people at the sum of 
 £717,600,000, or nearly £3,000 per annum on an 
 average for all. Bat as the greater number of the 
 250,000, say 200,000, would most likely possess 
 incomes of between £200 and £1,000 per annum, say 
 £700 on an average, that would represent £140,000,000 
 
454 fEOM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OE^ 
 
 per annunij leaving the retnaining 50,000 people in 
 receipt of an annual aggregate income of £582,000,000, 
 or nearly £12,000 each. 
 
 There can be no doubt, in whatever way these 
 figures are considered, that the vast wealth of the 
 British nation is enjoyed by an insignificant numerical 
 proportion of the British people. 
 
 The whole savings of the operative classes between 
 the years 1837 and 1887 amounted to £137,500,000. 
 Ten millions of the English people, up to and inclu- 
 sive of 1886, have saved and deposited in savings- 
 banks and friendly societies, £160,000,000. This 
 represents the total savings of the bulk of the English 
 people. But the national wealth is increasing at the 
 Tate of £160,000,000 a year. The savings, therefore, 
 of these ten millions of workers, representing at least 
 thirty-two millions of the people of the United King- 
 dom during the whole of the present reign, amounts 
 exactly to the increase of the national wealth for one 
 year. The total increase for the other forty -nine years 
 belongs not to the industrial classes, who have pro- 
 duced the wealth from nature, but to the propertied 
 classes, who, through the operation of the present 
 political economy, have managed mostly without toil 
 of any sort to secure it for themselves. During these 
 fifty years the toilers have lived from hand to mouth, 
 and the propertied classes have, like Dives in the 
 parable, been clothed in purple and fine linen, and 
 fared sumptuously every day. 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 455 
 
 On page 82, Mr. Mulhall, without perhaps being 
 ■uware of it, effectually disposes of the Malthusian 
 theory, for he distinctly shows that the food supply 
 -of the nation has grown much more rapidly than the 
 population. A fact in itself calculated to inspire 
 deligljt, but which in its results so far has entailed 
 incalculable misery upon thousands, is revealed in the 
 statement that by the increase of steam-power every 
 labouring man can now do as much work as three 
 men could do in 1840. What an additional proof is 
 here afforded to the truth that the labour of men can 
 more than supply all men's wants ! Many writers, 
 such as Mr. Gififen and Mr. Baden-Powell, have 
 attempted to arouse an interest in the public mind of 
 England by showing the increasing commerce betwixt 
 the mother country and her colonies. 
 
 The statistics given by Mr. Mulhall prove that the 
 Australasian trade now exceeds the whole trade of 
 ■Great Britain at the time of the Queen's Accession, 
 and that the public revenues of the Australasian 
 colonies are three times the amount of those of 
 George III. at the time of the American War of 
 Independence. We are accustomed to regard with 
 astonishment the vast quantities of gold which 
 Australia has yielded since 1851 ; but the silent, 
 peaceful sheep, grazing upon Australian pastures have ^ 
 yielded far more wealth in their wool alone, than j 
 all the Australian gold ; for, while the value of 
 gold has amounted in the thirty-six years to 
 
456 FROM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OR, 
 
 £285j000j000j the value of wool for the same period 
 totals the vast sum of £436,000^000, a surplus of 
 the value of wool over gold of £151,000,000. If the 
 English working classes, thereforOj had possessed the 
 few millions of sheep which there were in Australia in 
 1851, they would have received from the wool of those 
 sheep and their progeny three times as much wealth 
 as they have been able to save from their hard-earned 
 wages by constant penury and sacrifice during the last 
 fifty years. Nature is indeed bountiful, and if the 
 English industrial classes will but unite to ask for and 
 receive from nature in the great colonies of the 
 empire, the great treasures of wealth which she 
 bestows so lavishly, they too will share to some 
 appreciable extent the increasing wealth of the nation. 
 For Nature in her gifts is like her Master. He that 
 asks receives. He that seeks finds. Unto him that 
 knocks the door shall be opened. With such facts as 
 these patent and indisputable, poverty is at once a 
 sin and a mistake. No doubt, if the multitudes of 
 the unemployed were sent by themselves to these 
 distant lands without aid, without organisation, and 
 without guidance, a dreadful catastrophe would result. 
 But if this great host, this mighty army, be 
 marshalled and organised and sent forth equipped 
 with the munitions of its peaceful war, its commis- 
 sariat and its treasure-chest j led, guided, and controlled 
 by men fitted for the task, then would be achieved a 
 result such as the world has never seen. A mightier 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 457 
 
 host than that of Xerxes, a greater exodus than that 
 of Israel, not with sword and spear to spread desola- 
 tion over many lands ; but with spears beaten into 
 ploughshares, and swords into pruning-hooks, to con- 
 quer the desert and the wilderness, and to fill the 
 mighty solitudes of Asia, Africa, America, and Aus- 
 tralasia with the homes of happy and contented nations: 
 In this great conquest, while all would share in the 
 toil, all would share in the harvest. The production 
 of necessaries, of wealth, and of values would be the 
 work of the commonwealth. Not one of all the 
 myriads thus sent out to create new nations but would 
 be able by right to claim in hf e as well as in death some 
 spot of earth he should call his own. And the wealth 
 and capital necessary to organise, to transplant, and 
 to support these myriads, till they became pro- 
 ducers, whether advanced by the Government, or 
 subscribed by various associations of co-operators, or 
 by the labour and friendly societies, or by the opulence 
 of that great class in the old country who are willing 
 to devote a portion of their wealth to any reasonable 
 plan proposed for the public good, or as an invest- 
 ment by private citizens, or by all combined, would 
 be amply secured and easily repaid by the great com- 
 munities which, being thus established, would grow 
 in numbers and increase in wealth. 
 
 The amount of English money sunk in Turkish, 
 Russian, Egyptian, South American, and other foreign 
 bonds, is very great, and we can but guess at the 
 
 2 G 
 
458 FEOM POVIETT TO PLENTY; OE^ 
 
 dimensions of the golden stream wliicli has flowed 
 from England to enrich schemers, adventurers, and 
 swindlers in all parts of the earth. 
 
 There still remains in the British Islands accumu- 
 lated wealth, unproductive or only partially productive, 
 more than sufficient to settle the millions who are 
 now languishing in distress, and crushed by despair, 
 upon the fertile lands of the colonies, where they 
 would produce not only independence for themselves, 
 but a large and increasing return for the capital so 
 invested. 
 
 The condition of the English races of to-day might, 
 at first sight, when contrasted with the positions of 
 Continental nations, be deemed disadvantageous and 
 perilous. The state of Ireland presents undoubtedly 
 a more serious problem than any analogous event in 
 connexion with the other European nations. But 
 the question, grave and serious as it is, is by no 
 means the most difficult with which the English 
 Government will, in a very short time, find itself 
 compelled to grapple. The condition of the working 
 classes in Great Britain — that is, of the vast majority 
 of the people, — is rapidly assuming a dangerous aspect. 
 Dangerous, because of the power which the mass 
 possesses, which may at any moment, under the in- 
 stigation of hunger, lead to a sudden outburst in 
 which the social order would be broken up, and the 
 rights of property destroyed. Nor does the wisdom 
 of the rulers of the people, in view of the anomalous 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 45& 
 
 position now occupied by the multitude, inspire the 
 mind of the enquirer with confidence, nor his heart 
 with hope. But gloomy and overcast as the skies 
 are at the present time, reflection will show that 
 things are not as full of danger as they seem. For 
 the means of escape from our present perilous posi- 
 tion, and the remedy for the evils which afflict us as a 
 nation, are near at hand and easy of appropriation. 
 Great numbers of the working classes are, indeed, 
 idle, and it is difficult to say when, in the present 
 state of things, they would again meet with that 
 employment by which their daily bread could be 
 secured. On the Continent there are, comparatively 
 speaking, no such idle multitudes at the present time. 
 For this two reasons may be given. The first is, that 
 the great bulk of the people have not been divorced 
 from the land and thrown into towns and cities to 
 earn their bread by manufactures, which at any time 
 may fail to afibrd the employment necessary for their 
 existence. The second is found in the vast standing 
 armies, ever inci'easing upon the Continent of Europe, 
 which, although they entail immense cost upon their 
 respective countries, yet provide a certain employ- 
 ment and afford food, clothing, and shelter, besides a 
 small margin for enjoyment, to many millions of the 
 people. The martial hosts, if disbanded and cast 
 upon the labour markets of their respective countries, 
 would throw those markets into irretrievable con- 
 fusion, and cause scenes of suffering, more widely 
 
 2 G 2 
 
460 FEOM POVEETY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 extended than those now visible in England, — suffer- 
 ings which the more impetuous Continental proletariat 
 would not patiently endure. At the time of the 
 Chartist rising in 1848, Continentals taunted the Eng- 
 lish people with the fact that upwards of a hundred 
 thousand men had assembled for the purpose of 
 vindicating their rights, and had separated without 
 striking a blow or firing a shot in anger, and they 
 expressed, without hesitation, their belief that the 
 English were deficient in courage, because no Con- 
 tinental multitude would assemble in that fashion and 
 to that number without attempting to avenge their 
 wrongs. But this very patience, as Carlyle points 
 out in his " Past and Present," is the evidence and 
 proof of a courage and an endurance far deeper and 
 more wise than that shown by the outburst of violent 
 passions. For such an outburst would be quelled in 
 blood, and leave all injuries unredressed. The peril 
 of the Continental nations, though not so imminent as 
 that of England, is much more terrible and certain. 
 Their dangers are three-fold, and in each form it 
 seems difficult to perceive a way of escape. War, and 
 war upon a scale and accompanied by horrors such 
 as the world has never seen, is certain to involve the 
 Continental nations in a terrible and destructive 
 struggle. With the continued increase of military 
 forces, the continued improvement of arms and 
 weapons, the continued attention paid to one subject, 
 and one subject only, the coming war must inevitably 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 461 
 
 result, according to all human experience and reason- 
 ing, in a conflict to whicli all those of the past will 
 be, by comparison, insignificant. Let the people of 
 England be thankful that the strip of silver sea saves 
 them from the doom of many Continental nations, 
 and makes their coasts, their cities, their altars, and 
 their homes inviolate from the foot and hand of the 
 invader. 
 
 Besides war, and in addition to it, there will come 
 the disbandment of these mighty forces, which will 
 then be cast loose upon countries devastated and 
 torn to pieces, in which agriculture and manufactures 
 will have ceased, food and all other necessaries 
 having been consumed. The horrors attendant upon 
 such a state of things will be unexampled in the 
 history of mankind. Then, lastly, the outburst of 
 revolutions and the frantic struggles of contending 
 multitudes and factions in civil war. For to the Con- 
 tinental there is no escape. Hemmed in by the 
 narrow boundaries of national limits, without colonies 
 or new lands' beyond the sea whither the super- 
 abundant millions may fly for refuge, with populations 
 rapidly mounting to the margin of subsistence within 
 their respective localities, and which, when under the 
 pressure of war, agriculture, manufactures, and com- 
 merce have been hindered or destroyed, must lack 
 the means of sustaining life, — under such circum- 
 stances, it is impossible to put limits to the scenes 
 of terror and of anguish which^will ensue. Even the 
 
462 FEOM POVERTY TO PLENTY J OE, 
 
 victors in such a conflict will be in a position of most 
 extreme suffering and want. The lot of the van- 
 quished will be indescribably sad. 
 
 To the English people, on tho other hand, the 
 greatest danger is always nearly present. No stu- 
 pendous war in which the armies of an enemy could 
 march from London to Edinburgh will threaten her 
 with desolation. No disbanded hosts of trained 
 soldiers, used to ideas of violence and instinct with 
 revolutionary and anarchical hopes, can ever be cast 
 loose. No contending political factions are ever likely 
 to iill the streets of her towns with blood. The two 
 evils which now afflict her can, with a little modera- 
 tion and a very small modicum of common sense and 
 justice, be soon and for ever removed. The Irish 
 question, which, as I have said, is not an end in itself, 
 but merely a means to an end, presents no great 
 difficulty in its solution. And the whole of the unem- 
 ployed labour in Great Britain can, by the exercise 
 of a proper system of colonisation, not only become 
 itself absorbed and employed, but open avenues for the 
 employment of all the possible increase of the British 
 people for the next three centuries to come. 
 
 Where are the boasted triumphs of philosophy 
 and learning ? What is the great Church militant 
 of the merciful Christ doing in the presence of this 
 mass of human misery and degradation ? What 
 efforts are leaders of the people making to remedy 
 this desperate condition of these two great nations ? 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 463 
 
 Is not the sum of human sufferings sufficient to arouse 
 the enthusiasm of love which once burned in the 
 Christian communities ? Are not the possibilities 
 presented great enough to fire the ambition of patrio- 
 tism and philanthropy ? Have wealth and influence 
 no consciousness of the duties they owe to society 
 while they enjoy such great advantages ? 
 
 Alas ! every other object and purpose seems to be 
 subordinate to the question of monetary result. 
 The predominating influence of this " cursed hunger 
 for gold'' has dulled the perception of brighter and 
 iDetter things in the national intellect. To this, 
 beyond all other reasons, the low standard of our 
 national and public feeling is due. Not to the details 
 of prize fights, not to the loathsome annals of the 
 Police and Divorce Courts, not to the dreadful pre- 
 valence of drunkenness and immorality, not to openly 
 avowed atheism or slightly veneered unbelief, — not to 
 -one of these, nor to all combined, is the depressed 
 state of public opinion and righteousness to be attri- 
 buted so much as to the dreadful tyranny of covetous- 
 ness in our midst. This despotism stands alone, and 
 without a peer. 
 
 As a natural consequence, to join, or to attempt 
 to join, commercial transactions with the exercise of 
 xeligious or philanthropic purposes nearly always 
 excites a feeling of the want of harmony. The 
 •commercial principle, as now understood and prac- 
 tised, is, love of self. The religious and philanthropic 
 
464 FfiOM POVERTY TO PLENTY J OE, 
 
 intention is to benefit others^ even at the expense 
 of self. Commerce and philanthropy are contrary 
 to each other and antagonistic. How can they be 
 reconciled ? Under existing conditions reconciliation 
 is impossible. If a man conduct commercial trans- 
 actions according to the present social economyj he 
 cannot avoid contravening the commandment of 
 Christ. When once association and mutual help are 
 laid as the foundations of economicSj all discord and 
 variance between religion and commerce will vanish, 
 and it will not be only possible to conduct all 
 business upon Christian principles, but, from the 
 nature of the case, absolutely necessary. With all 
 other pursuits, the precepts of religion, of fairness, 
 of justice, of moderation, of kindness, and of mercy, 
 easily harmonise. Religion can lend its sanction and 
 approval to politics, to literature, to science and to 
 art, to discovery and to speculation, to recreation on 
 the one hand, and, under certain conditions, to war 
 upon the other. To the unjust distribution of pro- 
 perty alone, to that human law of economy which 
 deals unjustly with the poor and weak, religion must 
 be for ever opposed. Nor has even the Christian 
 a right to look for any special alteration or miracu- 
 lous agency for the filleviation of the suffering forced 
 upon humanity by our oppressive social laws. 
 
 The remedy is in our own hands. It is simple, 
 peaceful, and easy of attainment. The mere replac- 
 ing of the selfish individual competitive system by 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 465 
 
 the mutual help and inherent justice of associative 
 industry will heal nine-tenths of the sufferings of men. 
 Even in the channels through which the alms of the 
 charitable flow the distinction is almost invariably 
 preserved between philanthropy and business. How 
 few of the great bequests for the benefit of the poor^ 
 the suffering, or the bereaved, are devoted to repro- 
 ductive purposes. How vast are the sums yearly 
 spent in a mere temporary alleviation of the passing 
 wants of poverty. The twenty millions annually 
 expended in the United Kingdom in relieving the 
 poor might if properly directed give employment to 
 aU able to toil in growing food, building houses and 
 manufactories, providing clothing, in improving the 
 value of land, and creating wealth of all descrip- 
 tions. 
 
 So, too, the funds of those vast organisations, friendly 
 and benefit societies, working men's clubs and trade 
 unions, savings-banks, mutual insurance associations 
 and co-operative bodies are in no way employed as 
 they should be and as ere long they will be. Some 
 of these funds, and they are both large and numerous, 
 are idle, while some carry a small fixed interest ; but 
 the cases are few and far between in which the 
 moneys of such bodies are employed as capital is 
 usually employed in producing for the owners in- 
 creased wealth. Then if we consider the trust funds 
 of the nation, those great accumulations which lie 
 practically unused, it becomes evident that, combined, 
 
466 FEOM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 these sources of capital would support the present 
 idle labour upon land and nature now unappropriated. 
 Poor-houses would be deserted and jails well-nigh 
 empty. 
 
 Nor would the investment of such funds in any 
 way interfere with the power to call upon them in 
 case of need. Provisions could be adopted which 
 would easily satisfy any possible requirement ; whil& 
 the capital thus used would afford employment, 
 create business^ increase at a rate hitherto unknown, 
 and provide an ever-growing amount of wealth and 
 property for the enjoyment of the multitudes whose 
 small savings had contributed to its commencement, 
 equally with those whose labours more immediately 
 tended to produce it. 
 
 Half a century ago the Parliament of Great Britain, 
 after thirty years of the agitation commenced and 
 continued by the Clapham sect^ solemnly decreed 
 that in no part of the British empire should slavery 
 existj and voted £20^000^000 of British money as- 
 payment for the manumitted slaves. Twenty millions 
 at that time was equal to at least fifty millions to-day 
 — regarded as a burden upon the State. For double 
 the amount — say^ £100,000,000 — the present pauper 
 and idle population of Great Britain and the colonies 
 would be turned into independent, wealth-creating 
 communities ever open to receive constant accessions 
 to their numbers from the surplus population of the 
 mother country. The abolition of slavery, the pro- 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 467 
 
 posal for which brought down upon Wilberforce, 
 Olarkson, Stephen^ Zachary Macaulay, Sharp, and 
 the other members of that illustrious band, so much 
 odium and party hatred, forms, and will ever form, 
 one of the brightest pages of English history. But a 
 measure which would for ever abolish pauperism and 
 enforced idleness from amongst her own people in 
 every portion of her empire, though purchased at the 
 cost of £100,000,000 or £200,000,000 of money would 
 furnish a still loftier theme for the pen of the 
 historian, the tongue of the orator, and the poet's 
 immortal verse. 
 
 Great care should be exercised in the first efforts 
 made to reduce such a system into practice. The 
 settlement of unemployed labourers upon land partially 
 or totally uninhabited, the formation of new communi- 
 ties, presenting aspects hitherto unseen and under 
 conditions hitherto untried, must necessitate extreme 
 care, and the possession of those happy and favour- 
 able circumstances which in all human probability 
 will induce success. In all new undertakings and 
 projects of a character not before tested, so many 
 possible contingencies may arise, such new and un- 
 anticipated difficulties may occur, that a large reserve 
 of power and every possible combination of favour- 
 able conditions should be made available. It is after 
 the first experiments with new machinery that the 
 component parts of the engine are easily constructed 
 and work smoothly. It is after the first intrepid 
 
468 FROM POVEETY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 explorers have opened up the recesses of unknown 
 lands that the merchant^ the traveller, and the 
 colonist follow with safety in the tracks of the dis- 
 coverer. So in first essaying to realise such a theory 
 as is herein propounded the most suitable human 
 material should be selected both of body and mind ; 
 ample means and capital should be provided ; the 
 most advantageous locality; easy of access from the 
 sea, the great highway of the nations ; and containing 
 the best possible soil and climate, should be chosen. 
 The land selected should be not only good, but cheap; 
 there should be certain and permanent markets 
 secured, a definite plan should be adopted, nor should 
 skilled or hearty management be forgotten : in a 
 word, all that could with ordinarily wise management 
 conduce to a successful issue should in the first 
 instance be carefully provided. 
 
 No precautions could be too extreme in such a case ; 
 so many contingencies are possible, so many accidents 
 and unforeseen difficulties may happen, against which 
 no human foresight or providence could guard ; while 
 the end to be gained by success is so greatly to be 
 desired that it were worse than folly to neglect any 
 possible advantage. 
 
 It would in the past have been impossible to have 
 attained the height of our ideal, and equally impossible 
 to have maintained such a position even for a single 
 generation had it been gained. 
 
 For many qualities, much knowledge and most 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 469' 
 
 peculiar conditions are requisite before any human 
 society can hope to succeed in this quest^ even if all 
 its members be animated by a common desire 
 to reach the very loftiest heights of human per- 
 fection. 
 
 A community or group of communities to reach 
 this result must exist free from the fear or danger of 
 military subjugation. There must be also such a 
 liberal and extensive historical view of human thouarht 
 and effort, of success and failure, and all other elements 
 of historical knowledge as will enable the leaders of a 
 nation to lay down those laws and rules for the guid- 
 ance of social life as will conduce as nearly perfectly 
 as possible to the virtue, the happiness, and the 
 comfort of all. 
 
 Again, it is indispensable that there shall be a great 
 suflBciency of territory from which to produce food 
 and the necessaries of life, while room is given for 
 expansion and for attention to those sanitary laws and 
 laws of recreation which give health and vigour both 
 to body and mind. 
 
 Nor can such a condition be arrived at without art 
 and science having been so far developed as to enable 
 man to control, to a greater extent than in preceding 
 ages he has yet done, the elements and laws of nature, 
 so that by the aid of the motive-powers of nature, of 
 increased knowledge of her processes of adaptability 
 of soil and climate, the labour of each individual man 
 shall produce, manifold more wealth than heretofore. 
 
470 I-ROM POVEETr TO PLENTY ; OE, 
 
 and tlie means of carriage for its exchange and dis- 
 tribution be greatly cheapened and facilitated. 
 
 For we should never forget that the same amount 
 of food and clothing which satisfied men ten centuries 
 ago will satisfy them now. If^ therefore, by the aid 
 of science, of machinery, of capital, and labour pro- 
 perly applied, ten men can now produce and manu- 
 facture as much food and clothing as a hundred in the 
 days of the Norman conquest, the community at 
 large will gain the whole time and energy and intel- 
 lect of the remaining ninety. 
 
 It is necessary, in addition to these requisites, that 
 such a community shall be built upon a foundation of 
 civil and religious liberty. There should be free 
 interchange of thought and free discussion of all sub- 
 jects. And such discussion and such interchange 
 should be presented continually for the public examina- 
 tion and for the judgment of public opinion. 
 
 And this pubhc presentation should be made in all 
 places and to all communities at the same time. There 
 must also be existing among such a people a system 
 of organised mutual help and action, differing not in 
 degree, but in principle, from the current selfish poli- 
 tical economy. 
 
 But, lastly, though greatest of all, a community 
 desiring to climb to the summit of true greatness 
 must have for its religious faith the precepts of the 
 gospel of Christ, and must believe and practise the 
 two great laws which He laid down. 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 471 
 
 During the past ages of human existence these 
 conditions have never been, and until now never could 
 have been, fulfilled. Henceforth it is possible. 
 
 Discovery has revealed to us all the earth; we 
 know the languages, the habits, and the manners of 
 all its peoples. 
 
 The histories of nations and races have been col- 
 lated for our instruction. Even the buried cities of 
 the past, and the dwellings of those whose exploits 
 formed the lofty theme of Homer and the loftier 
 records of Biblical history, are now unearthed. Prom 
 the sand drifts of Egypt, from the silent mounds on 
 the banks of the Euphrates, from the tombs of ancient 
 Greece, from the ruins of old Troy, and from the 
 regions where prophets spoke and where the Saviour 
 lived and taught and died, are the voices of the dead 
 now telling us across the centuries of the lives and 
 hopes of those who passed away and were forgotten 
 thousands of years ago. 
 
 Science also and invention have in modern days, 
 notably in the last century, opened up a new world 
 of treasure for human enjoyment and comfort. 
 
 Wherever we take our stand, we see around us 
 those signs of the times which not only indicate the 
 great advantages which this generation possesses over 
 all that have preceded it, but which enable us to re- 
 cognise the truth that the growing light by which we 
 are surrounded is but the dawn of a glorious day now 
 swiftly approaching. 
 
472 FEOM POVERTY TO PLENTY; OE, 
 
 Behind ns is the night of ignorancej of error, of 
 superstition, of tyranny, of want, and crime ; around 
 us in the valleys deep shadows yet linger, mists and 
 the grey dawning cling stubbornly upon the plains 
 and the mountain slopes; but upon the summits of the 
 mighty hills, piercing the pale blue of the morning 
 sky, there can be seen, not yet, perhaps, the golden 
 beams of the rising sun, but that steel-grey light 
 which tells that the night has passed and silently 
 heralds the approaching day. 
 
 Yes, it is possible. More than possible, but possible 
 only at first for one among the races of the earth, 
 — the English race. To that race belong those great 
 territories of habitable land in every part of the earth 
 Tvhich form the silent and desolate heritages of the 
 heathen. To that race belongs the dominion of the 
 sea. That race alone has no apparent reason to appre- 
 hend any possibility of subjugation or even serious 
 aggression from its enemies. To that race alone be- 
 longs truly and in any sense completely the priceless 
 boon of civil and religious liberty. The English- 
 speaking peoples alone have the means and the power 
 of indefinite extension. To them the dominion of the 
 world is given. And in the varied communities in all 
 quarters of the earth, whether governed from London, 
 Washington, Montreal, Melbourne, Sydney, or any 
 other centre and seat of government which has sprung 
 from the loins of England, there is, in spite of 
 selfishness, of ignorance, of hereditary prejudice in 
 
THE LABOUR QUESTION SOLVED. 473 
 
 legislation, and manners, one desire paramount above 
 all others, and that is the onward progress and fuller 
 development of their race and of humanity. Nor is 
 there one single community of this race, however 
 small, but it is rich in the possession of men who from 
 the very noblest of all passions desire to see their 
 fellows the wide world over increasing in knowledge, 
 in wealth, and in comfort. 
 
 No such important period as the present has oc- 
 curred since the life of Christ. At that time a great 
 moral and religious revolution took place. The old 
 faiths of the heathen world had lost their power, the 
 gods of the Pantheon were discarded, the idols were 
 no longer reverenced, all humanity cried out for a 
 pure religion. 
 
 The world was ripe for a final change. At no time 
 before or since, up till now, were there so great facili- 
 ties for the propagation of knowledge. Then came 
 Christ. 
 
 Again a crisis has come upon us. Let us listen 
 again to the voice of our great Guide. This time the 
 second great principle of His teaching is to become 
 fixed in men^s minds, and hearts, and conduct. The 
 laws regarding man's temporal situation are now in 
 the same state of confusion as the religions of the 
 nations were when Ceesar Augustus ruled and Jesus 
 of Nazareth was crucified. 
 
 The time is ripe for a mighty change. The earth, 
 so far as we are concerned, is wrapped in peace. The 
 
474 FROM P0TEET7 TO PLENTY. 
 
 oceans are bridged by our commerce. The lands wa 
 own are practically boundless. The laws that govern 
 us are wise and good. The freedom we enjoy is 
 almost perfect. The means existing for the trans- 
 mission of knowledge are wonderful; land, labour, 
 capital, the three factors of production are ours in 
 boundless profusion, — every incentive to action spurs 
 us on. The relief of suffering, the hope of universal 
 contentment, the glory of our race, the extension of 
 our empire, the healing of the nation's wounds, 
 above all, the command of God, call with trumpet 
 tones to every heart in that empire " upon which 
 the sun never sets " to aid in this new crusade. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 wrMAir AND SONS, lEINims, 6KBAI QnSBN SIBEBt, lOHDOlT, W.O. 
 

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