Go ogle
This is a digitaJ copy of a book that was preserved for generatioDS on library shelves before it was carefully scanned by Google as part of a project
to make the world's books discoverable online.
ll has survived long enough for the copyright to expire and the book to enler Ihe public domain. A public domain book is one that was never subject
to copyright or whose legal copyright term has expired. Whether a book is in the public domain may vmy country to country. Public domain books
are our gateways lo the past, representing a wealth of history, culture and knowledge that's often difficult to discover.
Marks, notations and other niaiginalia present in the original volume will appeal' in this file - a reminder of this book's long journey from Ihe
publisher to a library and finally lo you.
Usage guidelines
Google is proud to partner with librai'ies to digitize public domain materials and make them widely accessible. Public domain books belong to the
public and we Lue merely Iheir custodians. Nevertheless, this work is expensive, so in order lo keep providing this resource, we have takeD steps to
prevent abuse by commercial parties, including placing technical restrictions on automated querying.
We also ask that you:
+ Make non-commercial use of the files We designed Google Book Search for use by individuals, and we request that you use these files for
personal, non-commercial purposes.
+ Refrain fivm aiftomated querying Do not send automated queries of any sort to Google's system; If you are conducting research on machine
translation, optical character recognition or other areas where access to a laige amount of text is helpful, please contact us. We encourage Ihe
use of public domain materials for these purposes and maybe able to help.
+ Maintain attribution The Google "watermaik" you see on each file is essential for informing people about ihis project and helping them find
additional materials through Google Book Search. Please do nol remove it.
+ Keep it legal Whatever your use, remember that you are responsible for ensuring thai what you are doing is legal. Do not assume Ihat just
because we believe a book is in the public domain for users in the United States. Ihat the work is also in the public domain for users in other
countries. Whelher a book is still in copyright varies from counlry lo counlry. and we can'I offer guidance on whelher any specific use of
any specific book is allowed. Please do not assume Ihat a book's appearance in Google Book Search means it can be used in any manner
anywhere in the world. Copyright infringement liability can be quite severe.
About Google Book Search
Google's mission is to organize Ihe world's informalion and lo make it universally accessible and useful. Google Book Search helps readers
discover Ihe world's books while helping authors and publishers reach new audiences. You can search tlirough the full text of Ihis book on the web
at http: //books . google .com/
^
c
CO
V^
AN INTRODUCTION
TO THE
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY
OF ENGLAND
BY
ABBOTT PAYSON USHER. Ph.D.
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS
CORNELL UNIVERSITY
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY
BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO
comuan, tuta, n Aranr mnm irun
292759
■winji • HinucHvtrm
TOTEBHElfORT
or
ItT BBOTHEB
ALHEBT HORSE USHER, 107tb V& tSFASTBY
•WOUHDSD, OCTOBER IT, 1B18
IN TBI BATTIU WOR TBS BINDENBnBO UKB
rtf«n ^-r f;*MT»i>i^ OCIOBSBM, UU
PREFACE
Tbb present volume has been planned and written with a
view to the needs of college classes beginning work in eco-
nomic history. For tliis reason matters have been included
that do not lie strictly within the tield of industrial history,
notably the chapters dealing with agrarian quL'Stions. These
problems could hardly be deemed essential to the under-
etanding (if tlie development of industry in the literal senae,
but such material is ordinarily included in the introductory
oouisee in economic history even if the course is described as
"industrial history." This sUght iuconid^tency in nomen-
clature tends to create some confusion between the scope of
the term "industrial history" and "economic history" in
general. It is not, of course, serious, but it is perhaps better
that these terms should be used with some care in the titles
of books. Strictly speaking, industrial hiKtory is of no more
than cofirdinate importance with agrarian history and com-
mercial history, though the problems of these phases of
economic history are relatively more difficult and ill-suited
to the capacities of an elementary class. The emphasis
currently laid upon industrial history is thus thoroughly
justified upon pedagogical grounds, but it would be un-
fortunate to allow the expediency of this course to obscure
the just proportions between the different phases of the
general field.
The space devoted to the first three chapters may seon
disproportionate to some, but it is believed that the text of
the chapters will sutHciently explain their place in the book.
If it should be desired to confine attention more exclusively
to Sta^and, it would not be neceesar>' for a class to read the
first two chapters, though the characterization of the forms
of indosttial organuation (pp. 4-17) should in that ra.'^ be
presented by the teacher. It is beheved that the^ chapters
will prove particularly useful in courses fpven with especial
reference to work in sociology and economics as distinct
vi PREFACE
from purely dcecriptive history. The slight departure from
the narrowly nationalistic point of view that usually dom-
inates the writing of coonomic history makes the present
volume a oomprdiensive survey of the general problems of
industrial history.
The references for reading in oonncctjon with the text
represent pereonal experience with classes, and it is believed
that no boolcs are recommended for iisc with classes that are
not within the compass of ordinary studenta. An attempt
baa been made to suggest reading along the lino of all the
varied iut^^rc-^tfi proseotcd by the subject, bo that each stu-
dent may have opportunity to give expression to his per-
sonal tastes. It is hoped that the critical references will be
especially useful to graduate students; pains have boon
taken to make the lists sufficiently inclusive to bring the
student in touch with all the critical studies of primary im-
pwtanco, and, as moat of the works contain bibliographjee,
it would not be difficult to get in touch with the literature on
each subject.
In addition to the obligations to writers which are ac-
knowledged in the text or in the notes, the author is greatly
indebted to his colleagues at Cornell University, most eepe>
cially to Professor A. A. Young, n-ithout whose encourage-
ment and adxice this book would not have been written.
Professor W. F. Wiilcox, Professor C. H. Hull, and Mr. R. A.
Campbell have given me the benefit of their advice on many
pointa which involved some departure from conventional
views. I wish also to express my obligations to IVofessor
E. F. Gay, whose teaching was instrumental in the formula-
tion of the problems that have since then claimed my best
attention. While it is not my intention to imply that he is
Lin any way responsible for views expressed In the present
volume, my work has been a direct outcome of the stim-
ulus of his teaching. I am alm> indebted to MLsh Louise L.
Lamphicr for stenographic assistance in the preparation of
the manuscript of several chapters.
Abbott Fatbon Usheb
. CemtU VMrnnOv
i Stflmitr M919
«
I
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
FORMS or DJDUSmUAL ORGANIZATION
L SooBtwU ukI iadntriBl liMbvy: ConoentntioB of KHentioo eo the
lonai of tndiirtriti or(uuutuD — The sixuliatie cfaancUnuttos
ef iTpinl (omn: bouMbold iodtutry, enft btioBtey, the fMtary
■ylim — CMUewa of tbs iatacpntotioo o( Um hktoir cf >Btiqiif^
bjrhktoriuu ..•.< 1
IL Typtel ftviM of iadurtrid orguuutioD; UsdmniBMl bouKboId
fatdnstir dfatfawuUwd br tb« sbMooe o( ipMbUBed akin ~ Prob-
My ft atom primrtiTO fonn thiu) ii usuuDy o^mined — Aiti&tiaiit^
tt ths dttniSntioo <d xoAxKUy in U>c [wtriu^tuJ houMlidd with
■hTnM"houMJiold" industry— Craft industry distugiairiwd by
qyr'''—^ ildU, Um pnaeooe fudicnted most clearly by th» tadut-
•Dce of datJuguMiAblo ttmfw in » ipv«o looUity — Wnge-vrork
kad cnft-woffk nM cUitliiot stages in erohitlon — Diaint«fpatian
id iha [MUKM of nMBufactore by the derelopmeiit of crafts — The
"pBtliiic-ovl ayftMu " « mMot of tutcgrktMB — Varioui ttnm uaad
todeae^M tUsfannof orpuiintioii — Tlie«neae«c( the tiritSBi
liQ' in tfas owncsihip of nutcfiols by «ipit«li«ta: in ewly forroa, ntw
n>l«ull only; in iatm tonus, sD Um iiutr^itoents of production —
Wo^ <na doM in the home subject lo tm aupaTisiaa — Tlio ho-
tory disttngiarfied by ditcipJinixl ooOnUnatioo -~ CoDcsntntMCi of
opwftlii'M ns a mmns to liils end rather th&n an eod in itvelf —
The Cactar>-, as a form, antedates the Industrial ItevoJution — Ad-
niaisbstive definitions of "factoriea" have bono artiScial — Diffi-
e)]ttyofelawfyiiwtbe"BWBat-«bop" 3
m. Commene and industry; Tbe dcKreo of industrttt] qioeialitstloii is
dstanBinad by tbc «xt*nt of tbe market — Tbe market is subject to
ooekl aa well as lo territorial linutations ; eodal limilatioas e^Mcially
impartant in tbe early period — Industrial spsrialaation oooosraKl
to tares neanre with tbe wanta of the wealthy — The Industrial
RerolutioB RBuIled in the bitaking-dovn of tbe social UmitatMOS of
the market and tbe ftandardiiBtioa of both production and oon-
•onptkiD — The ezpaadoo of the market in tbe earlier periods was
primarily temtorial; best indicated by the growth of geographical
loMnrUdge 18
CHAPTER n
THE RISE OF THE CRAFTS IN ANTIQUmT
L The dawn of Uitory not to ba identified with tbe hfinninpi of social
orsaaisatfein: early life dorainaled by tbe city — The tioginnin^ ^
Tiii ^^^ CONTENTS
industrial history not coincident with tho firet tHagmof any BcIieniBtia
or logiraJ nrrangemunt fit forma of iiidualriftl orBUiiiiation — Th« city
life of anti(|uit>'r il« sociiJ clcmcnta; thn mnux of urbnn populntion —
Disliuctivc [euturoi of city life in ttic middle ag?8 and in modom
times — SimilBritica in induatrial argnnitntign is antiqiiity and Lbe
middle ages M
n. Egypt: Ambiguity of pictnrinl eridence — A list of cratls from the -
Twelfth Dynasty — (Hhw ladicatioDC of tho number of cnf ta —
Status of tutisaas 80
HL McsopotARiia: Economic conditioiw in the oarly period — Rcferenoea
to urtiiuuiii ill thu Code of Unmuiurubi — Tlie temples as busineas
hoiuua — Difficulty of cliusifying their indiutrial operations — Ap.
prsDtioeship and craft orgaoitation — DistiDctioos ueoesniy b^
tmea forma »f oripuuiatiDa and tfau scale of iudufftrial life .. 84
IV. Qraooe: Various Interpretations of the ooooomic devvlopmeat of the
Qreeka in the aemi- historic period — Commerce usually the basis
of highly specialised industry -~ Leaf's oonocptioo of liie Trojan
War — CorrelatioQ of the view with the Industiial history of Grace
— Eoonomie mechanism nut a measure of artistic accomplishment
— CompnriaoD of economic conditioiw in antiquity »-ith cigbtoeath-
oentury IMusIa — The decree of tndutlrial epecialitation in the
sixth century ii.c> — Ifapid growth in the Hftb and fourth Qtuiluries
— Tho "factoiy system" — Socialistic interpretations — Slavery io
aotlquitj SB
V. Home and Corwtantinoplc: Roman collrgitt — Tho tiet of craft* —
CrafU at Coustaulinople — CviJoac<« of craft gilds .... 47
CHAPTER in
CRAFTS AND CRAFT GILD3 IN MEDIEVAL FRANCE
L "Baama bflBenoea In Qaul — Probable dei;ree of survirak h the
orgtBiaatton of industry — Bnsic crnfta persisted — Conditions on
the great estates, the" pynciceum" — Listecf tho cmflsmeD Ratherod
around monn-itio catAlilislinienta : Saint Itiquier, in the ninth oentuty;
8alnt Vincent nt f» Mans, in the eleventh century — Uifficultiea of
daNufying industrial afKrtications of partially unfrce artisans . .
IL The i^ef the "Third Eitaf*": its importance in aocinl andeoo.
nomic bislory — The prosperity of France indicated by the growth of
population : tatimntcs for Paria, 1292 and I32S ; tYance in i:)2S — Na-
ture of the evidence of industrial epeoialisation — Three group* of
crafts: loerchaaditing crafts; crafts occupied with purely local con-
eems; crafts mncemed with export industry — List of crufla at Paris
late la the eleventh oentury — Numbers in the different occupational
ffOUft at Paris In 1392 and 1300 — Closailicatiou of crafts aooordinK
to the Dumben of craftsmeD n^^slered on the tax-rolls — The dis-
sa
CONTENTS b
hrtig»tioQ of BtdnttT — BOtJaotm bat««ea prodiHMi M>d oob-
■nniaB: not im^fHj deovibnd u diMot oooUot — NuuMilj of no-
jyiJMug the >cn)]b1 BtntiGoktioa of Um markBt — nminiiiim of
fl^HtaUitia eontnl of tlw iitdartrw] pn>an> — Wase-flarnon, but no
«SB»«aniiiis d«« — Oafts whose nMmbwa wm ncabrij no-
pl07«d by odwr vafta S7
m. Uambm of tfas specialised indwlrial botnebold — Appnntioa and
■H^Butioealup — 'Joumeyioan and masten — ConditkiDa of bwoiiH
inga DBBter in tha eari7 poiod — The &«e oaft: a purdy q»ntft-
naooiipowth — Tba nram oaft or giM, a prrrilee>d bodrcnalad
bj antlwnt)' — Tlie tnaaition bom the £rae oraft to the gild at Parii
— The waidana of the ^Id — Eaaantialljr adminwtialwa fimrtiooi
of the giUa at Puis — fi^ieeial oonditiona affecting the powth of
cnfts eloady aModatedinth tha Royal Houaehold— History of the
eaipentva — Craft itatatea as eridnuis — 'nM oHre uwalngQl*-
ttooa — Eariy Pariaiaa regulations of ^ipnntioeahip — - Position of
the joannyman — Base of beooming a msatar — Hie masterpieoe
not required in the eariy period — Inqieotian of goods and prooeaHS
ofimduetioD 73
CHAPTER IV
THE POPULATION OF ENGLAND: 1086-1700
L Eariy ostiiaatee of population baaed npon nomboa of familieB, or
ptmwrlyjiotcfaa — Unoestainty as to the proportion of the total
poputation to those enunxrated — Onuasioiis — Importance o< a»
etrtaiiUDg the general movement of popolation — DrtJmateaforEnt
land and fa^n«n« — One hundred penons per equate mQe probably
normal density of population tot Europe prior to the Industnal Bar-
olDtkm — England rdatnely under^wpulated — Relativi^ of the
ecneeption of noBToal deoHty: influenoe of liee eultuie in India, of the
laduAisl Rerolution in Europe ■ ' 87
IL Ertimates of Seei)ohm and Gasquet for the p(q>ulatk>D of *^»fi^
prior to the Black Death — Hie subsidy rolls — Elgures for five doub-
tks oompand with the figuras for 1377 — QiangBsbitherdativedeD-
ai^ofpc^ulatioo — The westward movement — Ua sigDifieanoB 03
HL Sae <rf viDagea in Derby and Basez in 1066 — Population of towne
m 1277— EnentiaUy niral population indicated by the evidMMe
from the Sobaidy BoUb — 71m growth of Londui .... .103
CHAPTER V
VILLAQE AND MANOR
L I\iihUiuue of atqwrfiofal aqncta of village life — Aitatooaey and
the village — ftiinitive land taiana an Ofnmiaa of eoonomia
lOQ
CONTENTS
II. Scattered farms and villager: Modes of settlemeDt: scattMcd fanca;
the CDQlooed village; the open-field villa*© — Field arrangonenU of
ft typical opoD-lield villngc — Methods of asricultiiie — DiviMona of
the fields iato strips — Village organJratJon — Racial e^Ciilana lions
of thsM thnc modes of settleinent — EcoDornte interpreiAtinna nig-
pated by Siberian conditions — The woncmie factors uoderlying
• tmwttioo from indiviiiuul farma to the o|wu-6eld village — Com-
pluity of oondltions b Europe before and during the great migra-
tioni
m
JIL The common people and the magnatea: Aristocracy ultimately tha
pnnlominant force Id medieval rural orgauiiatioti — Relation of a
landed aristocracy to the viUaBC — PoEsibility of a survival of the
Riral OTftaniaatton of the Roman ptriod — Factors in the natural
growth of an aristocracy — Influeace of the Norman ConquMt —
Propcfftions of the diffcrrjit claseee aa shown by Domtaday Baok^
The manor as an administrative and legal conoeptioa — Divergent
^rp« revealed by tlte Domeaday Survey . 120
IV. The organiuktbn of tbe manor in the thirteenUi and fourteenth oen-
turiea : The geocral aspect of a manor — Week works and boon days
— Swicea rendered by crofters — The officers of the manor — Vil-
lage officials — Dcatruntioa of the economic independenco of the
manor by the development of local cnoikcls — Stages in this proo-
137
T. The end of viikinnge in England: The influonon of commutation of
labor surviccH upuu tenure — Cuiupleidty of uiotivea underlying com-
mutation — CItfonoJogy of the movement — The now )-oomanty of
England 131
CHAPTKR VI
• THE TRADERS AND THE TOWNS
L Schmolkff'e conception of the "town ooonomy" — An unduly lit-
cnl interpretation of the aouroea — Pormalinn and legal fictions —
Enfranchisement of trade by maans of special privileges — Medieval
trade turiturially ctitensii'e but of lelaltvciy small volume — Its
needs not inadequately met by the complex legal status of trade and
traders 134
n. Fnirri and the Law Merchant: Fain and markets — Some fairs o»-
pecialiy important for wholesale and let foreign trade — European
O'cles of fain — Poeaible fair cycle in England — Esaeiitial and an>
oniary buaineasat the fairs — Tariffs, tolls, and "free trade" — En-
tranchiscmeDt eonfenod by the charters waa legal rather than fiscal
— I^powder oourta: their procedure and the Law Merchant —
Special fnBeUinofcQntinoat4d merchants m England .... 137
IIL AasoclatioDs of merchants: OrBaaisatioii of resident alien merehante
— Origiaa of tbc Tsutaaic Uanae — Activities of Um Hansards —
J
^^ CONTENTS Td
Tlw Steebntd — PrirBeiw of the Hum — TbrCarti Motatotk —
Fonrayue^ or priM — Stnigsle to maiptain the ptivtlega gmited
by the Cwta UcratUm— DadiiM of Um HaMuda— Mwdwiiti
of tbe SUpla — Pnrpon of Uw Staple — Its locstka — Ori^ o( Um
oofflpany — CotUral o( tbe tnda ia wool ^ Riao of the Memhant
Adventiinn — lllw doth tnde — Stnig^ with Ui* Baaaarda . . 146
IV. Townabip and borouidi: DiMi&etiaB batwera tbo loeU and tb« eoo-
Mmie aapecta of urban life — DiSennlkUoo betmeD utbao aad
ran] life — HilHarr Vetera in tfan growth of bocoa^ — Adminia-
tntlre tacton — Eoooomic and kital derdopraanta in iho thirueaUi
oaoUiiT — SigmSeaaoe of tbe late ecDcrgeiwe of inooqxirat«d towaa
in ooonectioo with SduxtoQer's theocr — The Gild Mercbaat — F»-
Ittiral Tt^^ntralf la tiwi and ooarDopoIitau^m • • * • « • 158
^ CHAPTER VU
' THE DEVELOPMENT OF GILDS IN ENGLAND
I. The word "^'' — Thrat typet of gild — Frcoch tAmiootoKy —
Brestano'a tbeoT7 — FrobabJy no fntenial domaait in tbe tntt gild,
no diract connection with the niodem trade unioo 16S
n. KeEipooa gildi: RefenncM (o rtJigicrua gilda at an early dale; Itllle
infonnation until 1389 — Fnnctiom and membcnfaip of nlipoua
gSdi — OfBcen, ruke, and euatoms ........ 168
^n. The GOd H«rch*nt: ReUgfaw dtwanla b Ihe'^ merchant — Re-
lationa with tbo a*h»; craft gild* — Gild merchant aod inuaicip^
Ky — Enential pnnlegee — Non-ruideDt membai^p — Hie abar-
tug of porebaaea — Officeca unH nKflJiimi .••<.<. 171
IV. 11ieC>nftcldi:RaBgbiM|3dieoiB(taMdof matnbcnof a&DxIccraft
— Oafia dMrtaed by the King — CMta deriring tbetr authority
from tbe mtmidpafity — Cnfta at Nonrich ia UlA . .176
T. Balation of difioreot typea of gild to mmJi otba: Tlw gU BMrdwot
BMMt powerful when tbo oU^er typM were rclativaly lew pconhMOt
— Rdigioua gilda dcrduped eonteniporeneouely with other craft
organiaatiooa — Cocfinkin of fnncJiona and aima — A«ociatioiM ot
crafta tor oer«moaial obecrv&neea — OecupMional atatatka— Pt*-
Amwthuitum of email crafta — Oafl gtlda probably a kaa oonapicuoua
twtan of aocial hf 0 than rcUgioui giUa 181
VL Tbe raUgbuB^ldB and the ciowd: Tbe gilda and tbe Statute of Mort-
main — Aonuamtiaa of chartata from th« King — The grant to the
Tailon o( Salisbury — CooGaatioa of gild property in 1547 — Not
diraet^ a canaa of the decline of the craft ^Itb — WagE-caroen and
anpbyera — Companiea formed by tbe employing ctaneoe . .187
Vn. Tbt SUtole of AppceBtieea: Purpoeea of tbe etatutc — Dietinctiona
between the varione enfta -^ Obligation to follow aome calling —
Thtna^-bdncdaueea ISl
•
m
CONTENTS
CHAPTER Vni
THE WOOLEN INDUSTRIES: 1460-1760
I. I>eT«lopm«at of t«chiiiquc in the wiootcn industry — TypM of wool
and of woolen ffttmcs — Fuoduncatal piuaeeaix oi tbc woolen nnil
WOrsUd induatrivi — ChnniebuiBtic features of vootcoa aod worateds
— Growth of tbo worsted industry in England IW
n. The i^rimon of labor in the woolnn induatry — Growth of specialiis-
tloD of toaks — Subordination of dyeing uud fulling — I'Tiiportiuns of
worlrara in tho womti-d iiidujttry — Ac<iuiBilioa of capitnlistic pontrol
by tho mamntilo clnm — Spinning not a spocialixed occupation in
the modern Moae — Rflation of industry to agricuttura . . . SQA
jlXI. Oeonniphy of the wooUn industrim — Effect of tho difTusion of in-
dustry upon the towns— The Woairw'a Act — Anti-capitnliHtio pur-
pon of the atatute — Importonoo of the cxemptioos — Changes in
the Mustriee after 1690 309
IV. Tho et*!* of manirfiKtture: ISaMW — Tho putting-out <y«t«m at
Colchestor — The lariOT and tho timaller masters — Importance of the
putting-out njTiiem about H-50 — Descriptions of the syalMn in the
lat« dirtw^nth Mrnlury — DivCTRMit fomm — PciWt«DCO of thaaa
oonditioiis until the early nioetoeoth century — Sporadic Uadendai
toward the factory eyotem .••*•*<•>. SIS
CHAPTER iX
THE ENOLOBUEE MOVEMENT AND LAND REFORM
' 'L Ti» neaninf; of " oncloetire" — Its effect upon afcricuHin^ matbodl
— Tba Midland tystvm — Change In the charaaleristic itize of tannS
— Socio] ooruequanoea of tlu.' diange — Setiueucv of thcac changM —
Continuity of tho oncloiuro movement — UnccrtoiDty of purpoee in
the early stai^ 226
n. Endonn* of wa«to — Lesat problema involved in eodoaura of tha
open fldda — Riithla of common pasture — Enclosure by a^reo-
mont — Tho duly of a atiward — Early oncloBnttw pnrtial — Croa-
tion oi pr«edcnt« for pnctomire by act of Parliamcait — Theory of
the Enclosure Acta — Daniters to small proprietor* — Lord Thur-
low** eriticiiun of Pnrliamentiuy procedure — E«aential difficultiee in
determlniiw questions of riftht and tiUo — The problem of common
puturee — tjociul couuKiueacM of onclgsiutt them — Prutesta at the
eloaeof thocightconthcentury 233
m. Early attempts to oorreot the mistakes of the Enclosure Acts —
Allotments and ntnall holdin^^ — Experimeota of landownera with
aUodneBts — Early lefcialation — Hie Act of 1882 — Need of eom>
pnlsioa — The Act of 1887 — The amall-hotdinKB movement —
PcMaDt proprietorship — Detects of the Act of 1802- The Act of
1907 MO
CONTENTS
m
CHAPTEnX
THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLTJTION
Orv" of *^ pbiam "Imluitofad Rcrolatioo" — Social tmportanoe
ct tits period oiupMtd with oths Inaaitioa pfriod* — Enrly con-
wfaumBw ol th> »)c*>t iTMrionaiitiiMiMMm Eptfiah writera— Pitt-
«ul^ o[ efcaficttttiidg Un noTcaMBt — IdentiGoAtion of the tiiov«>
flBMt with (1m pMt iavcntioiM an tcrcr — Tnynhcn'H emjibam npon
tfc> tin of tha lakao-fair* pidley — Socklntic eoiphusis upon capital-
inn ukd tlu rite of the tadtarj tyiMm — IflMloquMy of ftngr ■ngto
fonauU — Robim iDdapandnieB of tfan c«mtiv« t««bm ufidwly-
mg (be eliang» in iLe Uunile and tn the meUl tndm — Geueaia of
tha iMw ootton iaduitrjr — The (ud probletn «iid the metal tr»dca —
^ohd>l« nsk of TariooB industhal crmip* ia 1700 — Effact of the
lachatrial RerolutioD upon tiw rank of diScraot poapt .
SUUfltksof iDduatrialieroupiaci: Eotfukdh) ISSt ; PnaMwinI8S0;
GritUi Indu in 1901 — Tbeao figntaa probably lodicalive of oondi-
tioM that bad long pravailed — SUttaUca for the early twcDtieth oeo-
tw7 nrval tha full infloaaoa of tha IiMhiMrial Ra^utioo — Chanite
b the lebtiTB tniperU&M in iadiuilry aad a^ieultora — Tabtua for
Brilirii India ia IMl; t>atice in lim; the Gtfman En^iire in 1800
aad 1907; Fraam, in 1901 and 1900; Eoi^d and Wake ia 18L1,
IS31, IS91, and 1901 — Piimar)' lactota in imluBU-ial location in the
old and ia the new order — Humidity and cotton qunalng — Mia-
enl depoMts — ProUmna of oofnmereial availability — Influeooe of
the IndnatiiaJ Revolutkin upoa population — Gregury King'n (ore-
caat. 1603 — Actual pvwth of population ia Entluid
M7
257
ChroDoIonr of the ladaitiial Ramhition: Bta^a b tha dtvdop-
meat of mnntioaa — 8i(Difleaaea to tha individual invaatof of the
laehnical eqaipoMnt of BocIe4y — InvvntloD Id the larBW wnae a
CHAPTER XI
THE EAST INDU COMPANY AND THE VESTED INTERESTS
71w EatfiA and Dutch Compaitica for ttade with tha Eaat Indies
— Hm aOMlty of Indian aoUoM— Dev^hqiawiit cS the trado —
UndtatioB of the axpanaioo of P^««*' trade in the Spioe Tt*fi"'^t '—
EitahlNlimeota oa the eoirtiiMnt of India — Distnaa in the woolen
and aiflc iadiHtrlee — Asitatioa for protectkiB — Tb« Act of 160&-97,
to prohibit the woariag of Eatt ladian yiock — ContrMt bntvooD
tha Fkaadi aad Entfiah pohdea of protection — Relation of the ooin-
OHtelalbMie to party poUtica hi £n^and — The l^at India Com*
pan; the focua of dJwuwioma of eommenaal policy tfarouu^uMit tha
■wiataeiith wntury — Tlontaa Mud's deTenee of the Oompaoiy —
The pJaee of the balanoe^-trado doetiine in the controvcny — H*-
» ^^^^r CONTENTS ^^^^HH
I gotiations of 1713 with Franon — CompIeMty of the political issue —
I The Calico Act of 1T21 — Ex«eptioaB made in favor of tlie exieting
I ootton industry — DiscrcpaDcy botm«n tho eipeotatioiis of Ibo
I woolen Quuiufacturen and the nsulta of the protective legiala-
I tioD 276
^^^ CHAPTER Xn
^^P THE NEW COTTON INDUSTRY 1
I. The relation of inv«ntion to the rise of the ootton induatry — The
L process of spinmiw — C<u-(ling tnachinoe — Continuous and inter-
1 tiiiticntproc»nninf«pinnii]g — The throttle, ita Umttationn — Grades
I of yarn — Wyatt's olalme aa an inventor — Probable relations bo-
r tween VVyatt and Paul — Paul's spinniug patent of 1768 — Com-
mercial ventures of Wyatt and Paul — Generality of intcrcat in the
L problem of mechaaical spionlnf; — Arkwright's early career — Work
I on the spinning nuu'Juno — The patent suita — The jenny — Ovmp-
I ton's mule; itaaccompliahments, immediately and ultimately; its iu-
I fluenoe upon the induatiy — Development of the power-loom . . 287
' n. The expansion of tho oottOD induatry: Statistics of conaumption of
L raw ootton — Values of merchandise exported — Values of goods
I oonaumed at home and of exporta oompared with similar statiatioa
I of woolen* and Unions — Relativo importance of the different branchea
I of tha textile manufacture — The influence of the upianiug iuven-
I tlou upon the ooati of yarn, 1770-1 WU — Comparison of labor ootta
I «( Hwle qunning with labor oosta in ImUa 303
^ CHAPTER Xin
! THE REORGANIZATION OF THE METAL TRADES
L A new fuel and a new furoaoc: The change of fuel not on adequate io-
I dex of the character of tho tiuniiforoiation of the metal trade* — Sub-
stilution of the indirect for tho direct prooras — Malleable iron, cast
I Iron, steel — Persist«nt« of the direct prooesa due to mechanical
limitations — Uosatiafactory roaulta of the diront process — Types
[ of furnace — Traiuformatioo of the high bloomcry furnace into the
I modem blast furnace — Dudley's experiments — The Darbya at
I Colebraokdale — Perfection of a ooke-buming furnace — Need of
F biMt — Smeaton's blant pump 814
IT. James Watt and the steam engine: The Newoomeneo^ne — Watt'i
training and profuuion — Scientific atudy of boat and tho Newcomoa
I engine — His inspiration — Chanjte in the character of the eoicine
I •■ nsult of Walt's coudcmabg chamber — Moehanical diSicultits en-
I eountend in building cnKincs — Causes of these difficulties — In>>
I portaoM of the development of the ktha — The Klide rest . . 32*
UL The metallurgical problems of the iron industry: DifEeuItyaf ettmi>
I Dating coibon — The rovcrberatory furnace — Onions' description ot
A
CONTENTS
XV
hii BwUiod of puddling — UocerUiaty of the nahirv oC Colt's ood-
ttlbutkin — DovelopDMiit of Uw rolling mill— New ptoducU . 829
IV. Sir Heary Beaaemar: Spwal rignifionec of hil wrecr — E&rly train-
ing mad iaveoUon* — The brooM powder aehcme — Htceaaiy tot
secrecy — Tbo capMsty of mAchiDe-roakeni tOEt«d by the mode of
awardiac oontntcts for the tnftchinM — Importance <^ the achiev»'
nxtol indicated bjr their auccea In exeouUng the ooutnuta — Further
nprnaeittatioit — Geoen* of the iImI project — Original pnrpoM
— DMaiburlialioo by means of a blaat of air — Development of
the oonvcTtcr — AnnouoMuneat of the new process — Ditnppoinl-
menta — Importaam of noD-phocpboruM-tMwriiig ore* — Tbo Thomaa
acd Gilchriat pa(«Bt— Its influence upon the geography of the Euro-
peaa 000 bdotiy 8M
CHAPTER XIV
THE RISE OP THE MODERN FACTORY SYSTEM
L The deftaitioo of a factor;: The factory premmed by early writera
to bo dapcpfhmt upon tuohiaVT — Aggngation ol workcre and tat>-
tary diso4)line — Irksomenea of diac^dine — Early expmmeata-
tloB with the factory ii>'rt<-ja — ScanoiM for the late derctopmeat —
VMionot without machinery 344
XL Legal obataeles to the mtabliebment of the factory ayetem : Elisa-
bothftn leglahtion — Breakdowii of the tyxtecn of apprentic^ip —
lh« tout itodiing industry — Trouhlesi in the West Riding — The
KttMnpt to aplity the Statute of Apprenticce — The Woolen Inquiry
ud the Befxct of 1806 3fi2
m. "Ae riae and prcgreM of the factory ayatem: The earlieatfactoriM^
Dewfepnmit of factorica in the ootton bdoatry at the doee of the
ti^leenib centwy — ConditioDs in the woolen induatry — Kac-
teioa and tbo factory population in ISlft — Abnormal proportion
«f maMn and children — Probablo •xpiaaa.tiou — Changae in tbo
w>ont«d InduBtry — Pauper apprentieeehlp — Attccopts at regula-
tiao — liketibood of misjudging the propvoa of the factory rj-sIxud
— nopartkMU of the induatrial populatioa in factories at varioua
dataa — The occupational returns of 1901 S5S
{IV. ArtiMD(aiMlmaohinMy:In9ueBceaf the traositloaupontbeworken
leaa certain than (requooUy nuppoaed — Little evidanco of hardship
nkoas skiQad artioana — toiportance of the introduction of ua>
lUM labor In the testUe (rardea — Varioua oauaes of dktreaa —
Machinery an wiM>tici[MUing force 863
CHAPTER XV
THE RISE OF COLLECTO'E BARGAININQ
L Tlie wage-fixing ctauaea of the Statute of Apprcntioe* — Uncertainty
of the ttteot of tboff appUeation — Journeymen's orguusaUona in
3L7
xvi ^^^ CONTENTS
London: 1067 nnd 1696 — WMTen* clubt in tbo West of Engluid
About 1727 — Webb'3 tnteipraUtioo of the Act of 17G6 — Bvldeooe
of collMtive bareaiaiDg — The SpitalSelds dots — "Subscriptton
gociotisB" — The SpiUvlfielda Act: 1773 — Mode of adminiatrntion
— lAtor history of thn act — Wngra rcRUIatod accoTdiDg to the prioe
of bread — The ribboa manutaclure at Covuntiy — The big purl
time — The list of lS13-~OtgiuiiEAtion«of the wearera to resist di>-
prenion of wagea — DifTiculty of BoforciiiK the bst of 1816 — PMi-
tion for an exteiuioD of the SpltaUielda Act — H«peal of the &ot —
Wage lists at Coventry 307
IL "Hie CumbimitioD Laws; DiiBculty of etitimBling t)ie iraportaooe of
the CorobinntioQ Laws of 1790 tuul ISOO — Not gEtkenlly enforced —
Probable purpose of the Act of 1799 — The ooooeptioa of status —
The Act of 1800 — The dooLrine of conspiracy 377
IIL The lAwaof 1S24 and I$2S: FranaJs Place — Beginaing of the a«p-
tation for repettl of the Combinatiaa 1aw3 — Contact vritb Hiuue
uid M'CuUoch — The Committee of IS24 — Prepnration of the
t«st ol the acte — Anticipations of Place — Immediate results of ro-
pcnl — The Committoe of 1825 — Differeneee between the Acta of
1834 and 1825 — New importance given to the doctrine of cowqiir-
acy — Difficulties of unioniate — The Act of 1871 ; k aatlafactory but
legally ambiguoua position 380
CUAPTERXVI
THE PROTECTION OF HEALTH AND WELFARE BY THE
STATE
L CbitMleB to reforrn and the refonnets: New social problems and the
uuietoimod constitution — Difficulty of eteattng a central ndininia-
tration in a IVrliamentary nj-rtem — The ideal of local sdf -govern-
ment — Development of the agitations for stx^ial reKuUtiun and for
free trade — A. A. Cooper, the seventh Earl of Shnf lesbmy — Edwin
Chadwiofc 387
U. Sanitation: Sewers and methods of removing waste in the euly nioe-
teoDth century — Condition* in the poorer districta: Liverpool —
Chadwick'e eonceptioo of the modem in-stem — Invest igatious by
tb6 Pftor L«w Commiasionen — The Pubtio Health Act of 181S —
Faihire of the fimt BonrU of Itf olth — Acoompli/ihrnrnts of the period
1854-71 — The loRiKiation of 1871 — tJnfortuQalc policy in the de-
partmental orKauiKation of the Loeal Goveroinent Board — The
Minintry of llooIUi Act: 1019 396
IIL Uoualng: Importance of housing to public health — Shofteabury'a
act — TheTorreaii Act: 186S — ThoCroKi Act: 1875 — Subaoquont
developineot of the building code — Relative failure of the rccon-
atruetive aspects of thia le^ntntion — The new housing problem . 403
IV. FMtcry Icpdatioa; UnwiUiDgncaa of Parliament to legislate A-
CONTENTS
xvu
nctly wUb ratemioe to adult men axetpt in " duwonKa tndn'* —
lai— fill II dodriMR untraportaat In tho blatonr o( (aetory kin*-
Ifttion — Nawily of oomJation betwoen thi^ vpread of One UtMay
■yatem bikI the derelopmeBt o( faotorj- ksiAUtion — Nnturo of op>
pontMB to UetoT7 k^ilatioa in Puliameot — Acta prior to 1833
— tbt agfttlioa Imcud tn 1S31 — TbrAct of 1S33 — Rcpilalion of
boun — Ext«nioR of tba faetcty wds to other indiiHtrioa by the
Acts of 1807 KDd is;8 — ViumtidiLeUay dmneH* at tho atatistics
eoUect«d by tbo factory iiiepeictors — Daagnwji UiuIm . . 107
V. 'IlMniietofdwtitutioo: The Eliaabethaa Poor Iaw — He Law of
Settlement: 1002 — Increaeo in tbe amount of dcatitutioD in the Ute
flighteontli century — Cauwe — Depteealoo (cQowing the Napo-
toonic Wan — Abanilontnent of Chohaburr to tbe poor — The
mind woridtouae and out-r«lief — Abuae of tbe Poor Lav by land-
kirda and fanoere — Chattwiek'a propoaals — Inadequaey oS the
Poor Lav of 1834 — Tho RoyaJ Comaueion of lOOB . . . . 4U
VI. Social tDBunUKe: R«lat*oti of insunuoe to tbe leUef of destitution —
Variety of continsenciot to be met — PonibiliUM of shifting the bur-
den of proTidins (or disability — Imunuice a superior fonn of pro-
viwM for distnsi — Liability of employcra under the eocnmon law —
Tbd Compeantwo Act — llooUlity o( wnrkinsmeo'a organualiooa—
Ineuranee against ackoasa and diaabitity — Unemploymont — Old
Age — IMmbb nooompUahmente of thia Ifgiwiatiop .... 422
n
CHAPTER X\'n
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE RAILWAT
L Buly priTata tram Udw — lioet prolecMd by canal compnnin bs
■"—"■Mw cairien — Richard Trevitbidc and the nnii nnniliiMiin e^
gine — Steam-driven eoachee on tbe highways — DerdoptoeBt of
I the tr*tn linoi by the oolUerioa in the Neweaatla fidd ~ George
StepbeoBoo — Ration of aoTtharD ei^xirimanta with the locomo-
tive to TVorithJck'a work — Stepbenaon's experimenls with the re-
nataneM created by grwka — Tbe Stockton and Darlington R«il-
iray — Eaunlnatioa el dilTtrent method* of iteam traction by the
promoUn of the Liverpool and Manchester project — Stepbenson'a
plan (or the Una — Thelooomotiveoonteat— The "Roolcat" .
431
IL Growth ol tbe railway ayvtctn: 183IM6: I^edoaiinancc of local io-
Icrcats in early projeota — Thnnch tmffie — Bcginninsi ol amal-
ptmatiott — The Midland Couutiee linoa — Formation of the Uid-
land IUilway:l&M~The Great Woetem — Iu broad RMBa . . MS
m. The rise ofeanpaHUon: 1846-73: CompetitimlrttteNcioiH — Be.
pnninpi of the East Coaai Route — The London and North Western
•MHWCtion with Scotland — Tbe London- York projecta — Tbe Great
Norllwni — The rate war — The Octuple agreement — SchettMefor
i in 18&3 — Tbe iaue befcre CardwcU't oocnuutt49e —
XVIll
CONTENTS
Effect of Its deddans upon tho developmeot of the MldlAod Roilwiqr
— The attitude of tho Midland tovardii thiid-cUai pMsengcn . , 448
CHAPTER XVlll
THE GOVERNMENT AND THE RAILWAYS
OoeU ot rallnay coostniCtioQ — Parii&mentary costs — The f^erml
characUir of pMlinmcntary prooedure — Provisions ot the early char-
ters — Rftppninp of regulation — The Act of 1S45 — Provision (or
non-dlsdrlnunatory rates — Attempts to provide administiativo
■uperviBioD — The Railwny Commission of IS73 — Careful discrim-
ination ot the Committee of 1S53 in slntiriK the advantsgcs of the
policy of maintaijung compelitiou — Repurl of the Dtpartmcnlol
CommittM of ]i911 — Ltkeiiiiood of nalioc&Uiation of tho roil-
mya i69
Statotof pooUng Bffoemente— Methods o* ratfl-mivking— Growth
Ct Opporition among the traders — Agitntion for a general rovision of
ntM — The Act of I8S8 and the new rat«s — Uocomiiromiung at-
tituil* of tho rwlways — The Act of 1894 — B<a*onable ntea — Do-
olEolng ntt«s of dividenda — Growth of oocabinatloa among roil-
woys 406
CHAPTER XIX
COMBINATIONS AND MONOPOLIES
I. RdatiToly lato date of the combination movomeitt in Great Britain
— Signifioanoe of studying the cauHs of difTonences in the progress of
the movement in diSereut countries — Ch&r&cter and location of the
Ddneral itaouroM of Great ^toin — Mooopolbtic ooatrol of the
NcrwoHtle eoal trade before the development of rail competition —
RalaUoB of iroa depoaite to monopoly — Dependence of Great Brit-
ain upon foratKs markets • 476
II. Temporary and permanent eombioationa — Vertical and horiMntal
eombinatbns — A vertical oombinntion in the shipbuilding ludua-
try — Advantages of such integration — ComUnatJons in the thread
industry 4T9
pr luterpretatioos of the oomtunation movement by aooialista and radi-
cal* — The oonservattve yww 493
CHAPTER XX
INCOMES, WAGES, AND SOCIAL UNREST
L Material well-beiiig: Reduced death-rat« the boot evidence we have
ot improved living condilionii — EfTcet of social changes upon dif-
ferent rlntwiTTT — General rules ot wsg« unsatisf iwtory — Differentia-
tion between the nkiUed and the unskilled — Unskilled workerB close
to the poverty line — Bowicy's esLimatcs of wages during the nine*
CONTENTS Ox
teanth eeotejr — Bahttra duivta In btoowm ■borc ud balnr
£100 par jmr — Oiffen's cmdenoe of the inmua of tin nwlkr i»
eomH— TlMproUBtnof Urgefortunas — Chlom Honoy's iixUeU
nicnt of tha ""*■"[[ aooial onkr — DiiBoultiaa in intdivatiiig tha
■UtMtiaa of tba eonoentntioii of malth 4BB
JL CSurtiam: Intdlaottul buia of ehartinn — Danlopment ot Uta pnn
mm br ft ponp of Loodoa ■rtiBana — Hm Charts — Tharevidu-
tioaarj' tandenidM of nortbcm a^taton — Tba influenoa of tha Bir>
miinfam gro<q> — CoUapaa of tha moramect 513
m. Tin amona and tha aoualista: Hm ideal of a natkuul "tyadea
Union" — Owan'a inflnanaa — Hm Orand National ConaoUdated
Tndea Union — Tha Dorehoatct Labonca — Tlw National Amo-
datiaa of tba Unitad Tndta — Tha Amalganialwd SociB^ of Engi-
necn — It boooowB tha nxidel onion — Pariiaowntaiy aetiritiea—
Oowth of tha Lkkpaadnt labour Fartr 818
BELBCTED BEFEBENCSS 1
VXDKS. lit
MAPS
JtOattn Deuitia ai Poptiaiion, 1086 . M
Ridathrs Dcositjee of Population, 1377 ■ . 96
Relative Densitiea of Population, 1670 S7
Rdative Denaitiee of Population, 1600 98
Rdative DendtiCB of Population, 1700 99
Sketch of the Encloeure Me^ of Stow, Lincolnshire, 1804 . . . 112
M^> loootiiig the Importaiit Bnrvegn and Terrien refeznd to in
"Gray's Ba^iah IF^dd SyBteme" 117
The Plaa <rf a Macor 137
The Great Fairs and Btapla Porta 130
TheHaoBe 148
Rural Areas identified with the Woolen IndustrieB about 1660 . . 210
Cwnpetitivfi BaHw^ Systems, 1S43 445
Competitive Railwi? Systems, 1853 453
Competitive Railway Systems, 1885 4SS
FIGTTKBS
1. The Throstie 289
2. Paul's Spinning Machine, 1768 293
3. Improved Model of Hargreavee's Spinning Jenny .... 298
4. Crompton's Mule 209
5. Osmund Fumaoe 316
8. Furnace with Water-Blowing Apparatus 317
7. Detail of Water-Blowing Apparatus 318
8. A Norwefpan Blocnnery Fiunace 319
9. Blast Furnace 323
10. Developed Cylindrical Blowing Engine 323
11. Apparatus used by Watt in Expenmenta to dcmonebate the
Advantages d a Separate Omdensing Chambo' .... 326
12. Section of an Engine set up by Watt at Chacewater inCom-
wafl, 1777 827
13. The Reverberatory Fumaoe 329
14. Fumdl's Rolls 332
15. A Modem Rolling Mill for the Production of RaOs .... 333
16w Benemer Converting Vend 842
17. Vertiaa Section of the Beeeaoer Ctmrerta 843
nii GRAPHS
GRAPHS
I. Imports td Raw CoUtm aad Exporte (d Mamrfactorei, 17D0-
1800 306
n. Imports of Bav Cottan snd ExpwtB at Manofutnna, 1801-
1881 8oe
m. Relative Values of Textile RroduotB, o(msumed at Hcnne aad
exported 807
IV. Percentage of Raw Matariab used ia the TeztJle Trades, 1708
tol8S2 .• . . . 800
V. Belling Prioe of Cotton Yam, Number 40, and Coat of Raw Cot-
ton, 1779-1882 311
Vt Selling Price of Cotton Tam, Number 100, and Cast of Raw
Cotton, 1770-1882 811
Vn. Labor CoatB oi Spinning per FWuid of Yam 813
AN INTRODtJCTldj? TO THE
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF. ENGLAND
CHAPTER I
FORMS OF INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATION
I. Socialists and Isdustbial Hisroiftt
WnEN the German socialist Rodbertus began his studies
of the history of industry, it soon became evident tbat^ome
considerable degree of continuity of develop- ^^^j^„jj^^
ment could be found. Forms of industrial in<iu«tri«i hi».
OTganisation appeared in various places which **"
ootild be arranged in logical sequence; bepnning with simple
fonns and passing with minute gradations to the highly com-
plex forms of modem industrial society. The socialists were
profoundly interested in the non-capitalistic forms of organ-
ization and in the slow emeif^nce of distinct classes of capi-
talists and wage^amera. Aji economic interpretation of
history began to develop which was profoundly influenced by
the socialists though not confU>ed to them. Many of the
features of industrial history that appealed to them were
the obvious euperficial g:CDeraUzation8 that would appeal
to any casual investigator. The iogicat progression of these
forms of industrial organization made the st-hemea particu-
larly attractive to persons with theoretical interests. Gener-
aUzations have thus become current in economic writing
that are largely due to socialistic writers; they represent,
however, a euperficial interpretation of historj' that possesses
all the attractions of a plausible and simple account. The
views are not obwously distorted by socialistic doctrine, but
they are the basis of some unfortunate conclusions and they
are so misleading that they cannot sen'e as a guide to further
critical study of industrial problems.
The course of industrial history was sketched by theen
INDtSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
writers gomewhat as follows..., In Greece and Rome, mdus-
Tiie «od.ii»tie trial developftiwit was dominated by slavery
intcrpieutioa gJ^^ confinfid.*-to tlic houflchold. Somo large-
Bcale production was li^c possible by the aggregation of
considerable numbers df-8laves in the patriarchal household,
but even in such 'cqiees the industrial establishment was
merely a part of. the household. Little material equipment
was used. Produetion was directly dependent upon labor.
The power of the director of industrial enterprise was de-
rived fron^-Ips. ownership of men. Tliis system disappeared
after the fall of Rome, and when industry became important
in the l^ov-ns of the middle ages the free artisan was the bosis
of th^, development. The artisan was economically tnde-
pcndci^ and the strength of his material position made pos-
sible t>he successful struggle for political privileges and free-
dom that marks the rise of the Third Estate. This period
of industrial freedom was tenderly idealized by the socialists,
and, by one of thoee strange paradoxes, the middle ages,
which were stigmatized in agrarian hiatory as a period of hid-
eous oppression, were characterized as the golden age of
industrial development. The artisan was a skilled master of
his craft, possessed of sufficient freedom of expression to give
full scope to that "instinct of workmanship" that maJtes
work a pleasure. He owned his material equipment and sold
his product directly to the consumer. There were no capi-
talists to exploit workman or consumer; no employers, no
middlemen.
The development of the trailer created an opportunity for
the capitalist. The formation of a mercantile class soon re-
■iii«m*rch»ni ^''Itcd in the subordinatitm of the artisan to the
UcomMatapi* merchant; the merchant supplied the raw ma-
ttiiaiMipiojar jp^^jg^ employed the artisan to perform the
skilled craft-work, and sold the product to the consumer.
Distmctions thus aroee between the workers and the direc-
tors of industrial enterprise. The establishment of the fac-
tory system completed the transition from the non-capital-
istic to the capitalistic system and reduced the artisan to the
status of the modem wage-earner, without proprietary riji^ts
I
FORMS OP INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATION 8
in the industrial process and without any vital economic free-
dom. The attitude of the socialists is adequately conveyed
by the phrase "wage slavery" so frequently used by them.
This interpretation of industrial history is based on half-
touths: there is an undue sharpeninK of many antitheses,
and many details are excluded that are funda- _.„j, , ,,„j
mental. Theee weaknesses from the pomt of tb«BMiaii«tic
view of critical scholarship have been a source "*"
of strength in propaganda. The socialistic interpretation
ia not only easy to understand; it is the only interpretation
that ia eaay to understand. The Greeks had an old sajing,
"Hard is the good"; hard also is devotion to truth. It is
notably difficult to secure any adequate approximation to the
whole truth. Merely because of it* simplicity, this inter-
pretation, in tlie main socialistic in ori^ and tenor, has
gained wide currency in economic hterature until its short-
comings are overcome by mere force of iteration. Btlcher'e
writings, in particular, have given wide currency to the gen-
eralizations t bat originated with Rodbertus, and the brilliant
descriptions of BQcher's Industrial EvoltUion have appar-
ently established them in the scientific literature of the sub-
ject. The destructive criticism of Edouard Meyer and otlier
historians of antiquity has made little impression, though the
interpretation of BUcbcr has been shown to be palpably
wrong. The extraordinary \itality of these erroneous inter-
pretations thus creates critical problems that cannot be
avoided even in a general sketch of industrial history.
II. The Ttpical Forms of Ikdubtbial Oegaxizjvtion
In the description of industrial growth there are two dis-
tinct problems, which arc aigniiicautly related, though by no
means identical. There is neetl of careful description of the
forms of industrial organization which succeed each other.
There is need also of study of the conditions that produce
this progression from the .simpler to the more complex fonns.
It ia peculiariy unfortunate tu assume that the main task is
completed vhea certain forms have been arranged in a lo^c^
sequence.
INDUSTRIAL mSTORY OF ENGLAND
»
The general designations of the typical fonns need not be
modified; the following fonns can be distinguished: house-
Th» •■••aui] hold industjy, wage-work, craft-work, the put-
(<Min» ting-out system, the factory system. Many
refinements, however, should be added to the characteriwi-
tinn of these types.
The simplest of these types is household indiistty, or more
specificalty undivcrsified household industry. This stage
BoBMhoid of industrial development precedes any speciaU-
iadMtrj zation of industry into crafta. Logically, in the
pure type, each household would provide for its own in-
dustrial wants. No products would be exchanged in such
a society. Productive effort would be directed solely to the
satiflfaction of the wants of the household. The logical
requirements of the definition of this most primitiv-e indus-
trial form make it somewhat unreal. There is some truth
in the imphcatiun Uiat primitive peoples engage in few ac-
tivities that are not designed to satisfy their personal wants.
There is no elaborate division of labor and no skilled in-
dustrial craftsmanship. At the same time one must guard
against extremes. Among the most primitive peoples this
complete self-sufliciency is quaUSed in a variety of ways,
which are of great significance in indicating the process of
transution to a more elaborate oniering of society.
Mr. HiltoQ-Simpaon, in writing of the peoples of the Kasat,
says of one of the tribes of negroes Uving in the plains south
of the great Congo forest:
The chief of the second village of Makami appeared by no means
anxiouci for us to leave at once, so we willingly »i'ttloil down to
Pttma** ipcrid li few d»y8 in hia village, where we could enjoy
MiMn a splendid opportunity erf studying the daily life of a
people among whom European inQucoco haM not yet begun to be
felt. Every village between the Loango and the Kaaai appears to
be entirely self-supportinR ; every man raaiiufactiires hia own i{8r-
menta, weaving the cloth from pixhti glwr in the same way m do
the Buflhongo; aceompanied by his dogs, be participates in hunt-
ing expeditions, supplyinK his family with meat from his share of
the fcame, and tbc Banlii1<.-le huntcra arc far Hupcrior to their kina-
mcQ around the Mushcnge; ho oiakes his own bows, bowstrings, and
■
FORMS OF INDUSTEIAL ORGANIZATION «
tiw AaJta for bis oitowb, while be forms and decoratM with carv-
ing tbe cupe from whicb be drinks bis palm wine; hie wivee culti-
vate sufficient land to supply the family needs with cassava; his
children t«nd his chickens and goats. In fact the only things which
a man must buy, being unable to make Ibem for himself, are iron
obiects, such aa arrow- and spear^heads, knives and braccJets, all
of which are tbe woric of the village blacksmith, who is paid for
them to meat, fowls, foodstuffs, or palm cloth.^
Thw WlIaRC blacksmith speras to be only an exception,
Bomething that can be neglected in generalization, and yet if
one makes compariBon of the relatira aignifi- Tht h^ntthniii
cance of this iron work to other indiistriaJ work ■»« •«if*Jr
actually performed, it will readily appear that '^■***^
the proportion of industrial need actually satisfied by this
village smith was far from beii^ inconsiderable. It is
quite true that theee natives provided largely for their own
wants, but it is no lees true that we find in Uieir village life
the beginnings of specialized craft-work. Most of the in-
dustrial field was dominated by household industry of the
purest tyi)e, but in the metal trades we find craftsmen and
the b^nnings of diversified industry. Any European would
inevitably be primarily impressed by the relative self-suffi-
ciency of the villagers, but that is not the only important con-
clusion to be drawn from a study of their village life. In
studying industrial history it is necessary to recognize that
no ooa form of orj^anization really dominates social life at any
particular period.
Among tbe bushmen of Australia somewhat diCTercnt quali-
fications of self-sufficiency appear. The making of boomer-
angs and other implements in^'olvcd some degree of skill.
The older men of the tribe naturally po&sessed more skill than
the younger men in this can'ing and wood-working; the old
men were likewise less fitted to endure the hardships of long
expeditions. A variety of wares, — yellow ochre for body
pEunting, whetstones, and a narcotic heri>, — were usually
obtained by tribal expeditions whicb involved much danger
and hardship. A ceremonial friendship could bo estab-
I IUtoD.fiim|MaD. M. W.: Land and PtvpU» <4 1M Kami (Loodon, 1911),
331.
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
liahed between two men by virtue of which the older man
would produce certain manufactxired products to exchange
for the products of the expedition. There was thus some di-
vision of labor among the men of the tribe, thou^ it was not
as marked m the division of labor among the metal-uaing
tribes of Central Africa.
A more important quaU6cation of the self-eufBciency of the
primitive industrial household appears in the fairly con-
primiine ttid* tuderablc exchanges that take place at times be-
cautidinbu tween different tribes. The extent of thia inter-
tribal trade among primitive peoples seems to depend more
upon certain external circumstances than upon the grade of
culture. Peoples Uving uu waterways of vari<}us kinds do
more trading than inland peoples like tlie Australian bughmen.
A striking instance of the importance of intertribal trade
among genuinely primitive people is afforded by conditions
in British New Guinea. These people represent a low grade
of culture, and, at the time the observations were made, had
been scarcely affected by European influences. There are
many tribes of natives inhabiting the small islands at the
southerly tip of New Guinea, and various tribes scattered
at intervals along the coast of New Guinea. Among these
tribes there are marked specializations. Some tribes made
quantities of pottarj- for exchanges with other tribes; others
made stono axes for actual or oer^nonial use. One island
tribe specialiied in dugout canoes. These products circu-
lated throughout an extensive area, and there can be no doubt
of the extent of the trade or of the dehbcrate character of the
production of these various wares for the general market.
Curiously enough there was some specialization between
industrial products and foodstuffs. Some portions of the
Otoiraphicai trading area raised pi^ and yams with which to
buy shell jewelrj* and pottery. Certain areas
in the Gulf of Papua produced large quantities
of sago which were exchanged for shell jewelry and pottery.
This trade was carried on annually, and sufficient sago was
brought back by the pottery-making ^'iIlages to insure them
an abuudance of food for the rest of the seasoo. As much
bbM
FORMS OP INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATION
as two or three hundred tons of sapo mipht he brought bark
by the annual expedition. This epeciaUzation of industrial
work is possible without any genuine development of crafta;
the industries are pursued locally because the raw materials
are not generally available, no special tikill is displayed in the
product. Each household of each tillage would be engaged
in the local specialty, and at times the fonn of the trade in-
dicated that each household of one village traded nith a
household of the other village. It is thus thoroughly justi-
fiable to distinguish a period of industrial development that
precedes the appearance of specialized crafts, but it is not
wholly sound to describe such a primitive society In terms
of unqualified self-sufficiency. There was some trade even
in the most primitive times.
The importance of trade under such conditions can best
be f^jpreciated if wc think of frontier conditions that are
roughly famiUar to us all. In many frontier Tii«h«aiiM
communities there is no diversified industry, ^"^^ow
The crude textiles used are produced at home, and, to the
casual tra\-eler, it may seem that each household is really self-
sufficient. Such backwoods communities, however, may be
ftbecdutely dependent upon distant markets for their tools and
firearms, and perhaps for a wider range of commoditice. The
settlement is perhaps engaged in some extractive industr>- or
in fur-hunting, all with reference to the demand of the dis-
tant market. In truth, the outlying hamlet which seems so
independent is really as much a part of the entire industrial
community as the metropolitan city.
Even when qualifications arc admitted, it is difficult to find
characteristic iUu.<itrations of this undlversified household
industry, and it would seem that industry bo- -nn atiu
comes specialized into the \-arious handicrafts ''«»**<'i** •«'»
at a very eariy cultural stage. The evidence of early culture
et^ccted by anthropologists discloses primitive peoples which
are for the most part poes&ssed of some craft-skill. Only
among the most backward of these undeveloped races do we
find the degree of self-sufficiency that coincides with this
notion of the pure household industry. The pcAvVe& >lt^x&.
8
INDUSTRLU. HISTORY OP ENGLAND
emerge into the fidd of knowledge at the dawn of hii^tory
had likewise acquired some craft-skill. Not all the crafts
that ultimately arise were to be found in these societies. The
process of craft specialization is gradual; industrial pursuits
are withdra^^n from the household one by one, and in these
early periods of history the numb^ of occupations carried
on by craftsmen of the town or \'iUage is small. The earlier
WTiters have been disposed to characterise such social condi-
tions in terma of the sclf-sufficioncy that was being nibbled
away; the entire truth of the situation would see-m to be bet-
ter expressed by describing such conditions in terms of the
progresuon towards a new ordering of sociaJ life. In this
sense the outstanding feature of early economic life is the
rise of the handicrafts.
KodbertUB and Bticher have endeavored to give an ex-
tended meaning to the conception of household industry.
iBdMtrui They recognize a secondary form in which the
■•"^ natural monogamic family is enlarged by the
addition of slaves. It is beyond doubt that large numbers
were used as an industrial force by the heads of many house-
holds in the ancient world. It was possible even to develop
production on a considerable scale, and we know of numbers
of estabUshments in the various trades that must have pre-
sented the superficial aspects of .small factories. Assuming
that most of theoperativcH in such establishments were slaves,
Rodbertus and Bticher did not hesitate to classify them aa
industrial households.
Bdoch, Meyer, and other historians of antiqtiity have
shown that the number of slaves was seriously overestimated
importtaca at ^^ Rodbcrtus and BQcher. The free artisan
■i«»»n to was a larger factor in industrial life than was
aotiqiiiQ ^^ j^j^j suppoeed. It is therefore difficult to
form an exact notion of the relations between masters and
workmen in the shops and establishments of the ancient
world. There were some slave establishments, but there were
many enterprises that relied upon free labor, and on the
whole it would seem better to admit the presence of small
factories than to attempt to obscure the existence of some
FORMS OF INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATION B
large-scale production by an adroit defmition of teims. The
clafisification of the socialists ia indefeiudble aim in respect
to the purpose of this production. They are constrained to
affinn that the operations of the household were Prodotaon tor
designed to meet the needs of the household as ' '"•'^
distinct froni being production for the market. Now it ifl,
of course, true that the household of classical antiquity was
more largely self-centered than the modem howiehold, but
it ifi not true that these great slave establishments were con-
cerned with producing goods for consumption on the estate.
Pottery, metals, and textiles of the higher grade were all
widely distributed throughout the ancient world, and this
trade was no mere incidental feature of Giwco-Roman indu^
trial life. The production of the craftsmen of the ancient
world was undertaken with reference to markets, and in no
email measure for distant markets. It is therefore doubly
misleading to characterize the industrial forms of classical
antiquity as household industry. Occupations were rapidly
becoming distinct crafts and thus being withdrawn from
the ^here of imdiversified household work. These changes
were largely a result of the gradual expansion of commerce
in the Mediterranean world. N'one of the implications of
the simplest industrial category oorre^rand to conditions in
the ancient world.
The notion of a craft occupation may present some litUe
difficxilty because among primitive peoples it is not uncom-
mon to find industries practiced by the entire ^^^^^
population of certain localities. Such speciali-
sation represents progress toward craft-work, but it would
seem wise to con^dcr such diversification a preliminary stage
in the general di\THion of labor. Similarly the division of
labor between men and women must be regarded as ante-
cedent to the development of genuine crafts. The develop-
ment of specialized craft^skill is clearly evident only in cases
of specialization in particular localities; in its lowest form
this specialization appears in the \-illage blacksmith or other
such artisan charged with the performance of all the work
of that character done in the village. Such artisana '<h«r^
L
10
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
common in the Greek villages at an early period; they wcto
thought of as servants or elavcs of the entire 'village. The
rise of the crafts is soon indicated, however, by the existence
of some coni^idcrabie number of independent crafts in particu-
lar towns and villages. The list of recognized crafts is thus
evidence that industry has reached the craft stage and also
the basis for detailed study of the gradual diversification of
industry that is the chief featxire of the history of the earlier
portion of the handicraft period. It is of moment to ascer-
TfeicRtM tain the probable order of emergence of the
■Mti^ (hwir crafts, for some of the misconceptions of early
industrial history are due to the assumption that the relative
inportance of the different crafts and o(;cupations has alwajTj
been the same. References in classical literature to the spin-
ning and wea\'ing done by the women in the household con-
vey the impression that nearly everything of importance waa
done in the house. The significance of the villas blacksmith
is lost on the casual reader because the smith work does not
seem as important as the textile work, but it is not to be as-
sumed that the craft.«! emerge from the household in the order
of the intrinsic importance of the various occupations.
The older writere have distinguished two types of craft-
workers: wage- workers and craft- workers. The distinction
w»«^wotkMd turns upon the mode of payment for the work. If
o»H-«ofit (^e j^„ material is owned by the consumer, the
craftsman is really employed by him to perform a certain
amount of skilled labor for a wage. The craftsman does not
make any article to be sold in the market; he merely ficUs
his services. He is a wage-earner, though there is no special-
bed employer. If the raw material is owned by the crafts-
man, he must produce wares to be sold in the market, and he
can secure a return for his labor only through the price of the
finished product.
IjOgically these forms may be arranged in sequence; wage-
work may be regarded as a lower form of indus-
try than craft work, but there is no historical
justification for this logical assumption that these
fonna represent different stages in development. They are
wa aot diSw-
•alvtaCMin
4«Talop*ent
J
I
FOBMS OP INDUSTRIAL OEGANIZATION
11
tematn'e forma that emerge in different crafts. Rarely,
if ever, could one expect to find a craft which was at first
practiced according to the form of wage-work and then at
a later date according to the form of craft-work. It will bo
observed that Muioe crafts are of such a nature that they can
be moet effectively remunerated by a wage payment. The
building trades, for instauoe, arc primarily concerned with
the performance of certain skilled semces for the benefit of
a consumer. The raw materials can be most readily fur-
nished by the consumer, unless society is sufficiently diver-
mfied to maintain capitalist contractors. In the portions of
Europe which were well supplied with building otone, the
material used was characteristically gotten out in the im-
me<liatc locality, usually on land belonging to the person
for whose benefit the building was to be erected. The stone-
masons employed would be expected to get out their stone.
If some general quarry were used, the stone would probably
be procured by the consumer. The raw materials of other
crafts were such that they could most suitably be procured
by the craftsman himself. The textile workers were likely
to secure their own raw materials, A few crafts might well
work according to both sj-st^^ms. The candle-makers, for
instance, mi^t produce candles for a general market by mak-
ing up raw materials purchased by them. They might also
go out to some hnui^e or e^tabU^hment to work up into candles
a stock of grease that had been accumulated there. At Paris,
the candle-makers were subjected to specific regulations aa
to the quality of grease they might iL'^e when manufacturing
for the general maikct, though they were allowed to make
up any kind of grease for a particular individual if the work
was done on bis premises. It would seem that the distinction
between these different forms of payment for craft service is
not of great importance.
There are two distinct stages in the development of the
crafts which are of primary importance. In g,,^ ^ ^,
the earlier stages of indibttrial specialization, vo^^ot
the crafta emerge as occupations which pro-
duce a finished product, or at least a sahiblc product. C\o^
^
la
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
for instance, can be used without being bleached or dj*ed, and
it is fairly certain that "grey" cloth was used extensively in
the ancient and medieval periods. It may be that a weaver
would seJl the grey cloth to a prospective consumer, and thus
he would not strictly speaking deal in a finished product. We
cannot be sure whether weavers preceded dyers or dyers pre-
ceded weavers as persons exercising distinct crafts. It would
seem likely, however, that some persons would find a regular
and distinct occupation in bleaching and dyeing crude home-
spuns appreciably before weaving became a specialized occu-
SpcdkUMd pation. The dyers took the product of undi-
o«up«tion« versified household industry and gave the cloth
a finish that made it substantially a new product. Such
a craft would represent more or less exactly the notions
commonly held of craft-industry. A single craft, repre-
sented always by a particular workman, stands between the
"raw product" and the consumer. There 'm no middleman,
no intermediate processes of production and sale.
Such a simple situation cannot long persist; the develop-
ment of craft differentiation tends to disintegrate the process
SpBdatiuUM of production into its essential stages, and finally
bj prixM*«« gach phase of the transformation of the primary
raw material becomes the basis of a separate craft. Thus
in the textile trade.", we ultimately find distinct crafts of wool-
combers, weavers, fullers, dyers, and drapers. Spinning
never became a craft-operation in the legitimate sense of the
word; it was a subaidiarj' emplojinent of women and children
that required no specialized skill. The production of textiles
thus came to be the work of a group of crafts, so that some
of the workers never came in contact with the consumer. The
direct contact with the consumer tliat is so strongly empha^
sized in <lescriptions of craft-industry does not apply to the
later stages of craft-development. The disintegration of the
process of production required at least successive sales of
partly finished goods, (lldmlrers might sell combed wool to
weavcre, weavers would sell grey cloth to fullers or dyers,
fullers and dyera would sell finished cloth to the drapers
who undertook to sell the cloth in the distant market that
FORMS OF INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATION
IS
waa usually contemplated. A considerable di\-ision of labor
migjit thus develop without breaking down the indepcndenoe
of the craftsmen. In this second pcnod of craft-di^'ersifi-
cation each craft was a link in a chain of correlated crafts.
Sufficient differentiation to ^vc rise to many of these phe-
nomena undoubtedly existed at a relatively early period in
the development of craft-induBtry. The notion of direct
contact between producer and consumer cannot be regarded
as characteristic of the chief period of craft-industry. The
simplicity of industrial life during the craft period, too, has
been seriously exaggerated. The multiplicity of special craf ta
gave rise at an early date to all these loose codrdinations of
groups of crafts that are so hard for us to appreciate.
The recognition of this second stage of craft-development
is particularly important becaune it furnishes the ba^is for the
beginnings of capitalistic control of industrj-. BatiBBiqcrf
The formation of a considerable group of crafts «piuu»ttc
in a single industry brought with it certain tech- ""
nical advantages from specialization of skill, but there were
certAin economic disadvantages as long as the crafts remained
entirely indeiwudent. The successive buying and selling of
partly finished products were sheer waste of enei^-. There
was also no possibility of exercising any super\'ision over the
{Utioesa of production. These cli-iadvantAges could be over-
come if some one bought the primary raw material at the
outset and then hired the various craftsmen to perform their
craft-work for wages. A capitalist employer of this type
was necessary' to prev'eat specialization from degenerating
into disorder. The tendency toward disintegration was
thus offset by a tendency towwds integration: there was
disint^ration in the technique of production followed q>eed-
ily by int^ration of control.
The general industrial system by which this control was ex-
ercised passes under a great variety of names. It has been
called the "domestic ^^tem," because the workmen are gen-
erally able to pursue their craft in their homes. This term
jaeeeats an antithesis to the factory system, but it fails to
suggest any distinction between this form and the craft sya*
14
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
tem. Until the factory appeared the household was the scene
of nearly all industrial labor; the fact that the work was done
at home is thus of do distinctive significance. The phrase
"commisnion syfltem" has also been used, but such a term
Buggtsts a relation between principle and agent that is mean-
ingless in this particular phoKe of industrial history. The
Th«"puiting- term "puttingnsut system" is neither euphoni-
out" •jKem Q^g j^^j. elegant, but it has the merit of describ-
ing the salient characteristics of this type of industrial organi-
zation, and it suggests the features that di&tiuguisli this type
both from the craft forms that precede it and from the factory
system tJiat follows. The employer ovms the materials and
gives them out to various craft-worke-rs who carry the goods
througli a process or group of proce^es. The goods are then
returned to the employer, and, if they are not yet finished,
they are passed on to other workmen. The employer must
seeda be a capitalist: he owns the materials during the proo
ee8 of production and advances wages to the craftsmen. At
times the employer may own tools or other equipment used
in production. Instances occur in the nineteenth century
in whicli the employer owned the cottages used by the work-
men; the cottages were prepared for the weavers or other
craftsmen and rented completely equipped. Not infre-
quently part of the work was done in workshops belonging to
tlie capitalist employer and under immediate supervision.
This was most commonly the case with reference to some of
the finishing processes of the woolen manufacture.
The putting-out system is by nature highly elastic, ad-
mitting of many gradations of capitalistic control of the
lutdruituM Pi^cess of production, and corresponding va-
riety in the degree to which the disintegration
' trf industry into separate craft* ia remedied by
centralized direction. The scale of production, too, might
vary within wide Uniita. Many establishments in the
woolen industry organized on this system employed a thou-
sand hands, and though the number of employees was of
course somewhat increased by the absence of power machin-
ery the scale of the undertaking was really considerable.
and hiscortoU
importaac*
FORMS OF INDUSTRIAL ORGAmZ.\TIO.\ W
The variety of detail possible in this s>'stem enables ufl to ap>
preciate clearly all the phases of the long transition from craft-
work to the factory, and the minuteness of Ute changes af-
fords interesting ilkistrations of the continuity of industrial
development. At no point is there an abrupt transition from
the old to the new.
In the main, the putting-out Bvstem merely brought a
number of workmen under a moderate degree of supervision
and direction. The establishment was the looeest posidble
aggr^ation of workers. The development of this form does
not ordinarily bring with it any increase in the division of
labor. It was primarily an antidote for excessive disinte*
gratiun. In the eighteenth century, however, new tendencies
can be perceived in some English industries. Weaving, as
practiced by the craftsmen of the old school, comprised three
distinct operations or tasks : preparation of the warp ; the plac-
ing of the warp on the beam of the loom; and the throning
of the shuttle tltrough the warp. The preparation of the
warp and the setting-up of the loom required much skill,
thoui^ neither task required as much time as the throwing
of the shuttle. Concpntration of skilled workmen on the
preparatory tasks would thus make it possible to delegate
the laborious work with the shuttle to inferior workmen,
or even to unskilled beginners. A considerable dilution of
aldlled workers was thus p<»bible.
These tendencies were not merely local, nor were they con-
fined to a sinf^e industry, though we know more about the
woolen iudustr>*. These beginnings of a bori- H«iw«w
jontal division of lalwr, the spHtting-up of the i""'** o* >»i>«
old crafts into their component processes are the first evi-
dences of a transition to a new 8>T3tem of organization in which
the workmen were to be more than mere aggregations of unita.
The increased subdivision of processes of production made it
more necessary than in the past to work out carefully the
correlation between the v'arious groups of workmen. More
supervision became necessary because the workman was not
lUways a master of his craft. The employer thus became
by force of circumstance a disciplinarian, interested ineverj
^
16
INDUSTEIAL mSTORY OP ENGLAND
P
detail of the process of production. The advantages to be
RiM of ih« secured through the organization of team-play
*»*twy among the workmen and through more careful
study of the pace of the entire productive process could be-
come really significant only through an increase of diijcipline
and drilling that would be impossible as long as the workers
remained in their homes. The concentration of the whole
body of employees was indispensable: properly speaking it
was not an end in itself, but merely a means to an end. It is
the most notable visible difference between the establish-
ment organized under the putting-out system and the factory,
but it is not in fact the essential feature of the factory system.
The gathering together of operatives in one place would not
properly make a factory any more than the collection of a
large body of men makes an army. Until there is some plan
for the increased coordination of the workmen, some increase
in the division of labor, and new disciplinary measures to give
effect to the closer ordering of the productive process, there
is no real advantage iKcoIlecting the operatives into a sin^e
workshop.
There were advantages in this new organization that were
BulEcicntly great to induce the proprietor of the establish-
ment to adopt the new system, without assuming any change
in the technical equipment of industry. The change to the
factory system could take place before the introduction of
machinery, as far as the employer was concerned. This
industrial transformation, however, is distinct from all the
TiM huinitj ot phases of development that precede it in bdng
th« wwkaiw bitterly opposed by the workmen. They did not
like the rigid discipline of the new r^gjme; the liberty of the
craft-work in their homes was not significantly qualified by
the supervision exercised by the capitalist employer, and
they were loath to give up their personal liberty. The estab-
lishment of the factory system was undoubtedly delayed by
the unnillingness of the workmen to accept the conditions
of employment that it imposed, and the introduction of the
new system thus turned upon the pressure of competition
between the old equipment and the power machinery that
FORMS OP DJDCSTEIAL ORGANIZATION 17
begaD to afFect industry at the close of the eighteenth cen-
The factory that came into being in the early nine-
nth century thus differed from the putting-nut svHtem in
three re^KCts: the greater measure of coordination in the
of production; the massing of the operatives in one
establishment; the introduction of machinery.
Strict classification of industrial forms thus leads to a
Dumber of divergences from popular and legal usage. The
"workshops" of English statutes and the TtaUpid*.
"8weat^ops"that are currently distinguished uewj^"^
Irom "factories" would probably fall within •«»«i««i»
the meaning of the term "factory," as defined abo\'e. It
is commonly recognized that the distinction between "fac-
tories" and "workshops" is wholly arbitrary and uuforlu-
uate. Ad industrial establishinent does not change its chai^
acter significantiy by reason of employing a fiftieth hand;
if numbers can possess any importance from the standpoint
of claaafication they are most likely to mean something when
the establishments are small. The numbere fi\'e and six used
in German and French industrial statistics are probably con-
nected with real differences in the character uf the establish-
ment, but once the size of the establishment has grown be*
yond such narrow limits further classiftcatian by numbers
can ha\'e no functional significance. The attempt to distin-
guish workshops as places in which no power machinery w*a8
used was perlu^ie more significant, but no more jiistifiable
on scientific grounds. These distinctions have proved to
have been unwise from the admini-strative point of view.
There were no sufficient grounds for subjecting such estab-
lishments to different restrictions.
The sweatshop presents a more difficult problem of classi-
fication, and it may se«m extrai'agant to propose to classify
the majority of sweat-shops as factories; the g,,^,^^
conclusion is, however, irresistible. The sweat-
shop is the abode of the proprietor in most cases, but many of
I the employees live elsewhere. Furthermore, the work is done
under supervision of a taskmaster; the employees conl^-titute
a team oi workers oi various degrees of sldli oigaged in the
P
5F ENGLAND
series of tasks necessary to complete some industrial opera-
tion; there is ao elaborate divUion of labor and defiuite pace
for the work. The establishment represents a type of factory
in which the economic advantages are derived from this severe
driving of the laborers as a team. The fact that the proprietor
of the aweat-sliop contracts to do certain work for another
business man is of IndiffercDce in classifying the establish-
ment. The work of that buaness man is "put-out" in a
sense, but the manner of the putting-out is entirely different
kr*Miiar- from the delegation of work in the putting-
JJSE^S" out system. When the capitalist employer of
■»■•■«' the early days gave out work he was dealing
vifh people who were to perform the work in their homes at
their own convenience; the fact that they did the work most
literally at their convenience was one of the most serious
difficulties the employer had to contend with. He could
never be sure of getting work out on time. The essential
feature of the putting-out system is this absence of any dis-
ciplinary power; the capitalist was an employer of labor, but
he wa£ not a boss.
The pofiition of the sweat-shop is not happily defined in
terms of the putting-out of work : the work that is given out
is comparable to work let out by firms that do not care to
make all their accessories; it repre^nts a contract between
establishments rather than a contract between a capitalist
employer and a craftsman li\ing in his own home. Tho
sireat-ehop can thus be compared to the manufacturing finn
that makes some small specialty, not itaelf of use to consumers
but fundamental to many manufacturers. It is a small fac-
torj', representing the system at its wonst. It is a "morbid
survival," to use Hobson'a phrase; but it ts not a eunival
from any remote past. We sec in this form the eariy type of
the factory without machinery, exempt from all r^ulatton.
III. COMUEBCE AND I^fOTrSTST
It will be obser^'cd that the development of the various
industrial forms U merely an outcome of the progrcisive
division of labor. Each form Is related to particular degrees
F0BM5 OF INDCSTBIAL ORGANIZATION
19
• of industrial qiedaUxatioii. The fonns are not in themselves
[good or bad; they are ada|>tation!5 to the cir- lanoitrui
iiCtunstancea created by the gradual spccializa- •p*'**'*"''™
' tion of work. The central fact is not the series of succeaeive
industrial forms, but the division of labor, ever more and more
elaborately articulated. The seeming continuity of indua-
I trial development is vrholly due to this dominant fact The
teomplexities <rf the actual chronology of indui>trial history
^ara all loet to view because of the compelling logical move-
ment of this progressive di\Tsion of labor with its related
industrial forms. It is desirable, however, to keep these
complexities of actual chronology clearly in mind, for they
, constitute the main problem of industrial history.
I The advantages of the division of labor are so widely real-
ized that it is not neccssar}' to comment on the cause or the
■variety of forms in which they appear. But it would seem
that men were slow to appreciate the economic advantages
of this si)cciaiization of effort. ^NTiy has the development of
industrial forma been so slow? Why do the highly specialized
types of industrial society emwge so late? The general
answer to these fundamental question^) is fumiKhed by the
axiom of Adam Smith : tite extent of the market defines the
pro6table limits of the division of labor. The hnu^ br
village blacksmith must needs be somewhat of """•^rt
a Jack-of-ail-Tradcs because no one of his activities would,
in that \111age, afford him a livelihood. He must needs be
a worker in iron, a w^;on-maker, a joiner, and not infr^
qucntly be used to be called upon as a dentist. The hand-
loom weaver was also a gardener, and at harvest time he
I might hire out as a general farm laborer.
H The principle of Adam Smith is well known, but there is
^^ frequent tendency to forget that the market for industrial
products is no simple matter. The market xeniwrw «nd
is subject to social and territorial limitations. *m:)^ umit*-
It may consist of a clientele spread through a
wide area, but confined to a single class, or af^n it may ooD'
sist of all classes of persons living within a relatively circum*
scribed area. The limitations of the market tIom.^}ll%\ftIT^
i.
INDUSnUAL mSTORY OF EXGIAND
ft
torial point of view have always been keenly felt, the social
limitations of the market have not been as generally per-
ceived, though Ihcy arc of special importance in connection
with industrial history. In the middle ages, markets for
industrial products were small by reason of social rather
than territorial limitations. It was easier to sell the high-
grade broadcloth of England in the Near East or in the East
Indies than to sell auch goods to the peasants or shopkeepers
of the county. Until the Industrial Revolution it was easier
to extend the market for manufactures by selling through a
wider area than to increase the market by offering Uie goods
to the poorer classes of the community.
The foreign or distant market has thus played a more
prominent part in industrial history than the domestic
iaipoRuiu«« market. Some have been disposed to bellevs
loMica trad* (jj^t difficulties of transportation prevented the
sale of goods over large areas until a fairly recent period, but
this is a serious error. Transportation was slow, and the
volume of goods hamiled was small in comparison with mod-
ern traffic; but such comparisons are misleading. Manu-
factured commodities were sent great distances both in clas-
sical and medieval days, and, when water transport was
available, bulky commodities like grain and oil could pro-
fitably be shipped. The limitations of the market were an
outcome of the inequalities of the distribution of wealth which
placed the purchasing power of the community primarily in
the hands of tho landed aristocracy, so that the market for
duuiy industrial products was the luxmious demand of the
wealthy. Much industry was therefore concerned with a
class that was concentrated in the larger towns during the
Graeco-Roman period, though the towns were themselves
scattered throughout the ^fediterranean world. In the
middle ages the aristocracy was even more widely diffused
through an area that bad been enlarged by the development
of northern Europe.
The commodities used by the common people were not
all pnnluced in the home either in classical or in medieval
times; nevertheless, these needs were not sufficiently coosid-
4
FORMS OF INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZjYTI(»f 81
erable to afford a basis for the development of hi^y spe-
cialized industry. Such wants could be gratified
by a few local craftsmen. There was a nota-
ble interchange of products between artiRans and small far-
mere. The urban craftiiinau became dependent upon the
foodstuffs produced by the small farmers and among these
lower classes a genuine money economy sprang up at a rclar-
tively eariy date. The artisans sold their goods or ser^'ices
for money to the aristocrats or to the farmers of the neigh-
borhood; with money they purchased their supplies in the
market. It is the life of thcec humbler cUsses in society
that creates the appearance of intense local sclf-sufHciency
which many writers decUire to be characteristic of the eco-
nomic life of these early periods. The cosmopolitanism io
the life of the upper classes is quite as characteristic, however,
and the difference between modern life and the life of these
remote periods really lies in the strange dualism of social
organization in ancient and medieval times; certain aspects
of society being dominated by the narrowest local influences,
other aspects less definitely centralized than at the present
time.
The insistence upon local sclf-sulEciency is thus justifiable
in a measure, but it must not be presented as the whole truth
of the matter, and with reference to industrial historj* it is
peculiarly disastrous to neglect the cosmopolitan life of the
upper classes, for such influences were all-important in do-
tennining the more highly specialized industrial develop-
ments.
Not until the Industrial Revolution does the intensive ex-
ploitation of the needs of all classes in the community be-
come the dominant fact in indiLstrial specializa- uu itmOa^.
tion. When methods of production were pri- ^^^
marily dependent upon hand work, the high costs eowimiption
and tendency to emphasize distinctiveness of product inevi-
tably restricted the sale to the wealthy. Large-soatc produc-
tion with a mechanical technique made it possible to offer
to all wares that had fonncriy been the prerogative of
the vealtby. Consumption became more atandsxdi.iAd', ^^
ss
INDCSTRUL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
Dmnufacturer realized that it was more profituhle to sell r^-
atively cheap wares to the entire community than to exAi
distinctive products to persons of great wealth.
The expansion of the market for induBtrial products has
thus been a highly complex development; sometimes social,
The-wotii) sometimes territorial. German writers have
""*•*" made much use of the phrase "world maHtct"
in writing of recent developments, implying and frequently
declaring that the "market" was less broad in the earUer
periods. All highly developed industrial difltricts have been
dependent upon a world market, in the territorial sense of
the word. There has always been a world market, and at
the same time the territorial extent of the market has been
periodically enlarged — the world has grown larger. There
is a tendency to forget the significance of the terminology
established in ge<^aphy. We are all familiar with phrases
like "the Homeric Worid," "tlie World of Hemdotus," "the
Ptolemaic World," and yet we forget that the growth erf
geographical knowledge is closely related to the expansion of
commerce. In the study of industrial history these various
ptia£os tu the territorial expansion of the Western world are
absolutely vital.
The slow growth of industry prior to the ninth century B.C.
was largely conditicmed by the narrow limitations of the area
co*aB»f«» of significant social contacts. The rise of the
^^^ maritime development of the Pheemciao and
tivwtii Greek cities resulted in a great extension of the
civilized world. The entire euHtern end of the Meiliterra-
nean began to show evidence of a systematic geographical di-
vision of labor. The production of grain, oil, and metals was
somewhat specialized as well as the production of industrial
products. The muItipUcation of the crafts in the Greek
cities and colonies was a reflection of this extension of Mediter-
ranean commerce. Medieval industry* developed under the
influence of a somewhat different complex of commercial fac-
tors. The Dcwly acquired importance of northern Europe
gave added emphasis to the geographical division of labor:
there were climatic diffcrencm between the Near East and
FORMS OF INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATION 23
northern Europe that did not exist between the countnes of
t-he Mediterranean. Export indiistrie-s became Bx»wNiMla
increasingly important in the middle ages be- *•"»««•■«••
cause they were easential to the trade between northern
Europe and the Near East, or Levant. There was an increase
in the dependence upon export trade as well as an increase
in the area nithin the scope of the general commercial 8>-stem.
These conditions afforded medieval industry a broadej com-
mercial background, and, although the forms of craft-indu»-
try predominated as during the major portion of the classical
period, there were significant differences in the number of
crafts and in the degree of industrial specialization.
The Industrial Revolution was in part an outcome of the
commercial expansion to India aud the Spice Islands. New
markets were opened up and new wares were introduced
into Europe. The inventions were in many B,p,artBa»ior
cases a deliberate attempt to take advantage toUMiaiw
of the industrial opportunities created by this
commercial growth, although the changes in the metal trades
cannot be directly associated with the growth of conunerce.
With this sinj^e exception each great period of industrial
change has been closely related to periods of conunercial ex-
pansion. Industry has developed, therefore, as a result of
circumstances affecting the life of the community as a wholo -
and not primarily by re-aaon of any spontaneous tendency
confined to the industrial field. The factors that have domi-
nated industrial growth are economic rather than technolo^-
cal. Industry reacts to general social changes, and is seldom
an initial cause of change.
CHAPTER II
THE RISE OF THE CRAFTS IN ANTIQUITy
The bejpnnmgs of the records of Western ci\'ili2tttion are
closely associated with the begjnnings of urban life. The
rapid growth of our knowledge of the life of prehistoric men
KKordndhi*- should save us from the error of identifjing
J^J^^i the dawn of history with the beginnings of or-
wt"*! ^* ganized social life, and for that reason we should
not be unduly surprised to find revealed, both in Egypt and
Mesopotamia, a social structure already far removed from the
primitive conditions that cau still be studied among the back-
ward races of Attstralasia and the equatorial forests of Africa.
Between these primitive conditions revealed by anthropolog-
ical research and the social life of the early Egyptians and
Sumerians there is a gap which cannot be bridged. Social
history does not begin at the beginning of social life, and
there is great danger that the institutions of those early Bocie-
ties be misinterpreted because of an imwarranted assump-
tion that they must needs represent in actual forms the con-
ditions that should logically be found at the beginnings of
social life. Despite the brilliance of BUchcr's work and the
keenness of his sense of historical development, evidence is
constantly forced upon our attention that he could not free
himself from the disposition to describe the dawn of history
as if it were the origin of organized social life.
The political arrangements and religious beliefs are so dif-
ferent from our own that the changes seem immeasurably
great, — so great that we readily think of the Egj-ptians and
Sumerians as primiti%'e peoples, scarcely ci%'ili2ed. So com-
mon was this %iew a generation ago that the archeolo^cal
discoveries of recent years have been a real shock to our his-
torical consciousness. The discovery of the Code of Ham-
murabi, dating from about two thousand years before Christ,
THE RISE OP THE CRAFTS IN ANTIQUITY 25
has been the most notable single reflation of this hitherto
unknown world, but this is only one of many discoveries, and,
although the mass of our knowledge is still small, we can
form tentative opinions about the social life of these peoples
of the Near East.
The most noteworthy feature of these eariy records is the
unmistakable e\idenoe of developed urban life. The tiny
viUages of primitive society had long been out- RMoidt naa
grown, and some significant concentration of *"''"•
population had taken place. Among the Greek);, this tran-
sition to urban life took place within a period which was
within the historical era, and the Uterature and legends of
the raoc constitute a fragmentary and uncertain record which
has historical value, tliougli it can hardly be called a histori-
cal record. Even among the Greeks we have scarce any-
thing in the nature of a formal record until urban life had
become an established feature of their society, ^\^len a
people has not advanced beyond primitive village life there
is little likelihood that it will leave any records. Even in the
period following the fall of Rome, when social life was by no
means primitive, the decadence of urban life and the pre-
dominantly rural character of the settlements of the Teu-
tonic in^'aders created conditions so unfavoralile to the mak-
ing of records that the term "dark ages" is fairly descriptive.
The study of the beginnings of industrial organijuitioii is thus
profoundly affected by the defects of historical records. When
some conscious record is nuide, the details of daily life appear
only by chance, in references that were not designed to
deBcribe industrial conditions systematically, so that our
knowledge is at best incomplete. According to the caprice
of record-making, we begin to learn something of industry in
the Western world at a stage that is alreatly far advanced.
The most difficult problems in the early history of indus-
try center around the period of decadence in urban life.
There is an interval between the decline of the n,*
towns of the Roman Empire and the rise of the "*»*««••"
medie^-al tow-ns which seems to be a real break in the con-
tinuity of industrial history. For several centuries thec«
I
I
m INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
$ecsms to be a positive regression, and the rise of the towns in
the middle ages t<eems to be without substantial connection
with the urban life of the aneicnt world. The "dark aRcs,"
however, were not as complete a break with the past as is
frequently assumed. On the other hand, it is an error to
presume that the towns of the middle ages are a mere re-
vival of the older urban forms. There were profound dif-
ferences both in social and Jn pohtical organization, and
these divergences were of great moment viith reference to the
development of industry and commerce.
The cities of the classical world were, in the main, aristo-
cratic residence cities; there were tradesmen and artisans,
Tba but they constituted an inferior class, usually
«id«M dtr deprived of any political rights. Trade was tol-
erated, its advantages surreptitiously enjoyed, but never rec-
ognized as a worthy pursuit for persons of birth. The medie-
val towns were primarily industrial and commercial. The
aristocracy, lay and ecclesiastical, became definitely identi-
with the land, and, except for casual visits, ceased to ro<
aide in the towns. The townsmen constituted a distinct class,
possessing privileges of real significance in all the medieval
kingdoms. In many instances they achieved substantial
independence. The-se political differences reflect different
relations to the hind that arc of great economic importance.
In the classical world there were agrarian proble-ms, but
there was no opposition between urban and rural interests.
The class endowed with significant rights was so completely
identified with both town and country that no fundamental
oppocdtion of interest was conceivable. The aristocrats of
the ancient world lived primarily in the city, but drew their
revenue« from agriculture or mining. Their household con-
risted of a mass of blood relatives, slaves, and dependents,
who divided their time between the town hoase and the coun-
try house. Urban concentration was thus determined more
largely by social and poUtical purposes than by economic
factors.
The growth of cities in the ancient world was thus some-
what capricious, dependent upon mihtary power quite as
THE RISE OF THE CBAFTS IN ANTIQUrnT VI
much as upon commerdal advantage. At times trade dcgen-
erat«l into an organized system of collecting xfc«miiiiMT
tribute, ceasing to be in any sense a matter of hwu at ih.
reciprt>cal advantage. These military aiid ptiUti- •"'^*"' """^^
cal aspects of classical civilization appear most clearly in
the later history of Rome, notably in the last century of
the Republic and under the Empire. Toward the close,
tiie jwedatory motives undcrlyinR this civilization were
unbtashingly revealed. Rome became a great commercial
center, but the movement was almost entirely inward.
The flow of goods toward Rome wa.s balanced by the flow
of legionaries to the provinces. In alt this s>-stem of ex-
ploitation, Rome was inventing nothing: merely practicing
with full knowledge the lessons learned from the other great
peoples of the Mediterranean world, Carthaginians, Greeks,
and Egj'ptians. All had contributed SMnething toward the
upbuilding of the Empire that revealed the best and the worst
that antiquity could produce.
Antiquity produced brUUant cities and notable civiliza-
tions; but they lacked foundation. Industrial development
was inevitably a part of the premature brilliance of these
luxury-loving cultures. The rapid growth of urban centers
under the stimulus of social and political factors fostered in-
dustry. It is therefore peculiarly unfortunate that Bticher
and earlier writere should ha\'e attempted to classify the in-
dtistries of classical antiquity as primitive types, dcfmitely
inferior to the medie%'al types. The peculiar characteristics
of Clascal culture arc most clearly revealed in the relation
of industry to agriculture and in the predacious exploitation
of distant provinces for the benefit of military aristocracies.
The great market for industrial products was furnished by
the wealthy aristocrats, so that industry was primarily con-
cerned with catering to their wants.
The simplest measure of the intenmty of these poUtical
forces is afforded by the meager statistics of pop- g^,^, ^
illation. The studies of Beloch give the follow- (>» <^»a
ing results for the fifth centurj' B.C.: Athens, ■""*°'
including the Pineus, a total population of ehout V1J^!S^\
28 INTJCSTRUL HISTORY OP ENGLAND ^
Syracuse, 115,000; Corinth, 90,000; Sparta, Argoe, Megalo-
polis, Akragaa, Taras, Thebea, Sidon, and Tyre, 40,000 to
50,000 each. The number of slaves is largely a matter of
conjecture, but occasional references form the basis of the
conventional estimate of one third of the total population,
slightly more perhaps in some of the notable industrial cities,
elightly less in other cities. These figures represent approxi-
mately the position of the Greek cities during the period of
their greatest prosperity, and the figures are particularly
noteworthy in comparison with Rome, as the purely military
dements were lees obtrusive in Greece than in other portions
of the ancient world. Commercial conditions were more
important and in some cases predominant. The importation
of food products, which was essential to all the larger cities,
was balanced by an industrial export, so that Greek com-
merce was a pretty genuine exchange of commodities.
Beloch estimates the total population of Rome, for the
year 6 B.C., at 850,000 or 875,000. Estimates for the early
SoBM M the Empire place the population at about 1,000,000.
haiihteitwr This concentration was certainly not a result
**""' of purely economic forces, and the measures
necessary to assure an adequate supply of food speak elo-
quently of the significance of political factors. Under the
early Empire Rome imported between 6,000,000 and 7,500,-
000 bushels of grain annually, from Eg>*pt, the Crimea,
Sicily, Sardinia, and Africa. Much of this importation was
definitely a tribute to Rome's militarj' supremacy.
The rise of the medieval towns marks the beginning of a
great change in the relative importance of political and eco-
nomic forces in social life. Despite all the bar-
riere to intercourse there was a great increase in
the degree of economic freedom. Industry was free to the
extent of being conducted almost exclusively by free arti-
san.?. and commerce was free in the sense of being a genuine
exchange of goods. The rise of the towns in the middle ages
is thus not merely an important episode In the history of
poUtical freedom, but also an important chapter in the his-
tory of economic freedom. The achievement of political in*
Trids uid cb«
■ntOlciiI tows*
THE RISE OP THE CRAFTS IN ANTIQUITY «9
dependence was made poeaible by the close identification of
the feudal aristocracy with the land. Feudal society thus
tended to become divided between the rural interests of the
nobility and the urban interests of the Third Estate. Town
and countr>- were opposed to each other politically, and
were held together by the most casual economic relations.
The modem period is characterized by the development
of a close integration between rural and urban life. The
city becomes a foc^ point of all ecouomic forces; t^eOam ot &•
a distributing point for industrial products go- ■**«• *"»
ing to the rural districts and a concentration point for ag-
ricultural products and minerals coming from the country.
The function of the city becomes purely economic, and its
growth correspondin^y dependent upon its convenience for
commercial and industrial purposes. The modem city serves
a large re^on instead of a mere rural suburb; it possesses a
"hinterland" that comprises an organized complex of rural
end induf^trial centers.
There is thus some measure of continuity in the growth of
relations between town and country throu^out the history
of the Western worid. In the ancient world the rural districts
had no independent organization; they were merely tribu-
tary to the towns. In the medieval period town and coun*
try were substantially independent; each had its definite place
in the feudal order, and, though some contact was maintained,
each remained in its own sphere. In the modem period, town
and country have become an organic whole with reciprocal
functions and interests. The continuity of growth is not
at all times clearly apparent, and it is moat obscure in the
field of industrial history.
No striking differences in industrial forms distinguish class-
ical and medieval industry. The number of crafts varies at
different times, and in different places; great Andeatuid
changes take place in the relative importance of Sb^MtwT'
the various crafts. There are change.^ in the «mp««i>i<
scale of industrial enterprise; growth also in the umrkcta,
from small local and foreign markets which constitute the
reliance of a few craftsmen to large fordgn ium^^cXk Ni\ct.(^
80
INDUSTRL\L HISTORY OP ENGLAND
become the basis of great export industries.. There is like*
yfiae an increase in the number of towns possessing note-
worthy industries, Much development during antiquity and
the middle aRps is concerned with the diffusion of industries
and tj-pea of organization which emerge at a very early date.
The legal status of the artisan and the general social and
pohtical position of the class as a whole undergo many
changes. In short, the aspect of industrial Ufe that is least
inAuenced by historical changes is the form of organization.
There are many variations, but the predominant types, dur-
ing antiquity and the middle agee, are wage-work and craft-
work.
n. Egypt
The interpretation of Egyptian records presents many dif-
ficulties. The pictorial representations on the monuments ex-
hibit consideral>le numbers of craft operations, even in the
early period of the Old Empire, but it is not easy to deteiv
mine the status of these art-isans or their relation to possible
employers or customers. Much work was done in the estal>-
lishments of the royal household, the great landowners, and
the temples. It is essential to know whether the workmen
employed were substantially slaves permanently attached to
the household, or whether they enjoyed some measure of in-
dependence, working in part for casual consumers. Our
knowledge of the details of craft proccR'^es is more accurate
than our knowledge of the forma of industrial organization.
We must needs depend upon inferences for most of our
opinions about the civil status of artisans and the manner
of the remuneration.
The most important single source of information is a
description of the disadvantages of all forms of manual labor,
written by a scribe of the Ti^'clfth Dynasty (2000-1788 B.C.)
in order to encourage young men to undergo the arduous
preparation required by the profession.' There is thus an
' Tho dooimcnt is translnlod mtire by G. Miuticto in ha work Dn Genrt
BpUUiUnn chei fci Bgyptirna de VSpoque Pkarmaipit CP*™, 18T2), 48-73.
Considcnblo portioiu on: trniwlitted into Knglish in bLi Dawn 0} C'aHitatio»
(New York, 1S94>, i, 311-14. The testa ara ali^Uy diflcrcnU The tmub-
tfoD ^vcn bcre ia in part originaL
THE RISE OF THE CRAFTS IN ANTIQUITY 81
evident implication that a young man of the middle class
might at his own pleasure adopt any one of these various
modes of gaining a livelihood. Not all the crafts of which
pictorial reprenentation exists are mentioned in the scribe's
enumeration, so that it may be a presentation of the careers
open to a young man of the middle class:
I have econ violence . . . therefore apply your heart to letters . . .
I have beheld those who are engaged in manual work . . . and, m
truth, there is no occupation above timt of letters . . . n* cnfu la
it is the most important of all the emits. It is not a •"'» ^ofp"
vain thing ... he who applies hinkself to this profee^ou from hla
youth up, gains honor. . . . He iti sent on missionii. He who docs
not take up this profession will be clad in sackcloth.
I have never seen a blacksmith on an cmbiu^y, nor a smelter sent
on a misaion, but I ha%-c seen the smith at his work — at the mouth
of the furnace of his forge — his finders as rugged as the hide of a
crocodile, and stinking more than fish spawn.
Has the worker with metals more leisure than the man with the
hoe? . . . His field ir the block of wood under his liund, his tooU arc
of metal. . . . At night the laborer is fr«i, the artisan's hands are still
busy — for at night he works with hia torch.
■Djc stone-cutter who seeks his li\-ing by workiiy? in all kinds of
durable Btones . . , when at last he has earned something and his
two arms arc worn out, he stops. But if at suuri»e he reuiaimi ul-
ting, his legs arc tied to his buck.'
The barber who shavee until the evening . . . only when be is
eating can be lower his arm. ... He runs from house to house seek-
ing custom; He wears out his arms to fill his belly, for like the bee he
eats in propottioD to his toil.
I will tell you of the iiuukiu. Sickness threatens him continually
for he is exposed to all the winds — while the bunch of lotus fioweis
(which is fixed) on the (completed) houiKS is still far out of lus reach.
I direct his arms in the work. His clothes are in disorder. . . . (He
oootnunea himself, for he has do oUier bread than iit!< fingers.) (tie!)
He washes only onoe a day. He must humble himself in order to
please.
The weaver within doors is worse off there than a woman ; squat-
ting, his knees against his chest, he gcttt no breath of fresh air. If
he slackens work for as much as a day he is bound like the lotus in the
Bwamp, and it is by giving bread to the doorkeeper that he sees a
lay of light.
The armorer is put to great trouble when he sets out for distant
* AOanoa to ■ commoo moilo of gutuahmnaU
82 INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
lands, he must pay much for his pack mules. He must pay much
for their keep while on the road. Scarcely does he reach home once
more tbiiu he miii^t lenvc again.
The meseeoger leaving for distant lands wiIIr bis property to bis
children, for he fears wild beasts and the Asiatics. And what hap-
pens when he is once again in Egypt? Scarcely does he reacli home
once more than he must leave a^oiin. If be go(», his sorrow is a
burden to him, and all his happiness is gone.
The dyer's lingers reek, and the smell is like rotten fish. His eyes
are heavy with fatigue, and his hand does not stop. He passes hia
time cutting up rags. ... He has a hatred of gftniients.
The ahocmaker is very unfortunate. He begs ccaseleaaly. Hia
bealUi is the health of spoiled lish. He gnaws his leather.
The laundry-man waslung by the river- 'de is a neighbor of the
crocodile. While he beats the dirt out in the water his hand does
not stop. It is forsooth no easy trade that I describe to you, no
craft agreeable above all others. His food is laid with his clothes,
and no part of his body is clean. He is as wretched as a woman.
When I see him in his misery I bewail his lot, for he pasges liis time
with hifl be-ating stick in his hand. When I bring him clothes to be
washed, ho is told, " If you are alow in bringing them back, you will
be slapped on both cheeks."
The baker makes dough, and subjects the loaves to the Ere; while
his head is inside the oven, his son holds him by the legs: if be slips
from the hands of his son, he falls into the Samea.
Other workmen are described in the enumeration, such as
the boatman, the husbandman, the market-gardener, the
farmer, the fowler, and the fisherman. These, however, are
not industrial pursuits, though they are an indication of the
degree of the division of labor that is associated with the
rise of crafts in industry. When the list of crafts Is com-
pleted from other references, the number and character of
the crafts of th^ period would bear comparison «ith condi-
tions in the smaller towns of the early middle ages. Some
of these craftsmen seem to be engaged in wage-work, render-
ing services for remuneration of some sort: the harbor, the
mason, the stone-cutter, the laundry-man, the messenger,
Tt«d« Hnom and the like. Others make articles for a market.
■"'•^ There is a grave relief of the Fifth Dj-nasty,'
depicting a market scene which shows various craftsmea
* The SaUure relief ; vm Mup«ro, Daim qf Ciiitiuaiim, t, 323-23.
THE RISE OP THE CRAFTS IN ANTIQUITY 5S
disposing of their wares among tbcmsctves and to tbe fd-
lahs who have come in from the suburbs with garden pro-
duce, game, and fish. The trade is by barter. The crafts-
men indicated are: (^assbead-makere, makers of fans and
blowers for fires, shoemakers, metal-workers (a man with
fish-hooks), and a perfimier. Some craftsmen at least de-
voted time to the preparation of wares for sale to tlieir fellows
and the country people. In the daily life of the humbler
citizens, at least, the essential features of pure craft-work are
clearly evident at the dawn of Egyptian history.
jVrtisans were employed in throe ways; on the estates of
some great landlord, n)yal or noble; in the workshops of the
temples; and on their own account. The royal -n* poduoa
household derived most of its income from serv'- "' "^ ""^"m
ices and tools rendered as a tax or tribute by the various
artisans and agriculturalists. The pictures of workmen
bringing goods to the royal storehouses, thus, should not
be interpreted as evidence that the workmen were perma-
nently attached to the household. Some considerable por-
tion of the output would be required by the King, but much
of their time was at their own disposal. The work done for
the temples might be arranged for in a variety of ways; it
is conceivable that some artisans should be permanently
attached to the service of the temple, and slaves wejc, of
course, employed. Aluch of the work, however, was prob-
ably done by artisans hired for the occasion by those directing
the work of the temple. The tomb of Rekhmire (Eight-
eenth Dynasty) depicts the operations of large numbers of
craftsmen employed on work for the temple. Workers in
leather, wood, stone, gold, silver, and copper are repre-
sented. The briokmakcra in the building scenes are defi-
nitely stated to be captives; the other craftsmen arc appar-
ently freemen. There are two scenes suggesting payment:
in one scene the workmen with their nHves and children
file by the officials at the storehouse and receive grain, oil,
and clothing; in the other scene there are scribes and over-
seers for each group of workmen, and with each group of
supervisors there Is one man with a money bag. TheK ia
34 INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
therefore some slight reason to assume that the workmen
were paid a portion of their wages in money, though the man
with the purse may be a purely s>Tnbolic figure. That the
workmen received some portion of their wages in kind is
altogether probable, but such use was made of gold and copper
rings as to make some issue of currency etjually probable.
The list of crafts in early Egypt is interesting because it
is e\ident that the crafts do not appear in the order of their
importance in the field of consimaption. The textile crafts
are first represented by the dycra. Weavers are mentioned
in the enumeration of the scribe, but it is generally held that
weaving remained the work of women in the households until
the Twentieth D>-nasty. The word translated "weaver" in
the manuscript of the scribe is doubtful and it seems likrfy
that it was at least imcommon to find a man whose sole occu-
pation was weaving.
III. Mesopotamia
The increase of our knowledge of the history of Mesopo-
tamia in the early pre-Christian era is still proceeding ao
Bhortcvminit rapidly that no account of political or social life
oi tbs rtewdi (.^n be more than tentative. The process of do-
eiphenng the clay tablets, also, presents dlificulties that are
of special moment in the study of industrial development.
The designations of various kinds of artificers and workmen
are uncertain, and there are considerable differences of
opinion as to the correct translation of many terms. The
publications of texts afford only a partial knowledge of the
matters involved, and though the records at our disposal
are pecuUarly specific, our knowledge of tlie substance is
vague and uncertain. Contracts, receipts, accounts, lists of
officials and servants arc all precise, with the precision of
legal documents, but it is difficult to translate these records
without interpreting them in the fight of our own institu-
tions. Furthermore, the actual mass of material is small
relative to the needs of the student of social life, and at best
we have only a gfimpso of the economic arrangements of
these Mesopotamiaa peoples.
THE RISE OF THE CR.\PTS IN ANTIQUITY 85
In general, industrial arts were less diversified than in
Egypt; there was less work done in wood, in the metals,
and in leather. The woolen industry was by indamT aad
far the most important of the entire Rroup of «"■"•«•
occupations if we judge by the references in available sources.
The early development of systems of wcightu and mea9ures>
however, and the use of the precious metals as money re-
sulted in the abandomneut of pure barter at an early date.
There was also a caravan trade with the coast, so that the
general aspect of Mcsopotamian life is more nearly compar-
aiAe to modem life than the relatively passive economic
system of Egypt. The actiWty of commercial life brings
us rather closer to these peoples than to other peoples of
antiquity.
The abundant materials from the reign of Hammurabi
(2143-2097 B.C.) afford us references to the foUowing crafts;
brick-makers (?), tailors, carpcnt^^rs, raasonM, iiBiutof
branders, surgeons, builders of houses, boat- ""*■
builders, metal-workers, and weavers. In the code of Ham-
murabi there are several articles dealing with the sale of
beer, or some similar kind of alcuhoUc drink, but tbere is no
indication of a distinct group of brewers. Tablets of the
seventh century s.c. add to this list, spinnera, dyers, washer-
men, bakers, hamess-raalcers. jewelers, potters, wood-carv-
ers, and specialuGed workers in the various nwtals.
The status of artisans is somewhat uncertain, because the
statements about wages and the hire of artisans cannot be
assumed to refer to the hire of free artisans. Slaves were
kept, and were systematically farmed out for hire, the pro-
ceeds being paid to the master. At the same time there is
little doubt but that there were important classes of free
artisans, who worked fur hire for various individuals, for the
King, and for temples.
The temples were, as in Egypt, business institutions of
great importance. They possessed large estates which pro-
duced grain and wool. These supplies exceeded
their own needs, and became the basis of com-
mercial activity. The wool was sold at timea to artisans;
SC INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
more frequently, artisans were hired to work the raw niate*
rial up into cloth. This sj'stem waa of great antiquity. It is
clearly indicated by tablets dating between 2700 and 2680
B.C., and continued without et^^'ntial change until the seventh
century. In one of the earhest temple records on this sub-
ject, we find one hundred and ninty-one women set to work
in the "weaving-house" on the supplies belonging to the
temple. These women were paid wages. Both wool and
metal were pven out to artisans to be worked up at home.
The temples were among the most important centers of the
trade in wool and woolens.
Such establishments cannot be brought nithin the scope
of any single classification; least of all can such establish-
ments be classified as large households, in accordance with
Biicher's scheme, because their production was designed to
be sold in a distant market. It is not wise to endeavor to
descrilw these usages as a single system. Tliere was un-
doubtedly some genuine wage-work, illustrated by the turn-
ing over of bronze to a free metal-worker to be made into a
doorkey. The issue of a formal receipt for the bronze turned
over suggests that the work was done outside the temple
grounds, without supervision. When artisans came to the
temple and brought raw materials, we may have an indi-
cation of craftrwork undertaken with a \iew to sale to fellow
townsmen. The supplies of raw wool collected by the tem-
ple constituted the most readily available surplus and were
thus naturally the basis for this trade. There is therefore a
presumption, at least, in favor of the existence of some craft-
work. The situation of the women employed on the prem-
ises of the temple seems to present strong analogies to a rudi-
mentary factory, and yet it is hardly wise to apply the term
without some qualifying adjective. The general aspect of
industrial life is too rudimentarj' to make it desirable to apply
any of the modem terms, unless it is clearly recognized that
a " putting-out 8>'8tem" or a "factory" can exist in so simple
a form as not to be out of keeping with conditions that in
general represent the beginnings of craft-industry.
The important revelations of the sources consist in the
THE RISE OF THE CRAFTO IN ANTIQUITY 87
evidence afforded of production lor the relatively dis-
tant marketa of the Syrian coast towns and Egypt; the
evidence of the existence of professionalized crafla; and
the indication that the artisans were substantially free men
working for wages.
"If an artisan take a son for adoption," eayfi the Code
of Hammurabi (sections IS8-180), "and teach him his
handicraft, one may not bring claim for him. If suta* di
he do not teach him his handicraft, that son •"*«»•
may return to his father's house." Such proviaiona intimate
the existence of a s^ijtem of apprenticeship for the trona-
uission of craft-knowledge, but one must remember that
the full signiBcance of this as of other practices depends in
part upon the numbers of persona involved. By the seventh
century b.c. there is unmistakable evidence that the mem-
bers of the various crafts were congregated in special quar-
tera of the towns, aa in Eg>-pt. There were also certain offi-
cers with authority over the crafts. The translation of the
titles are uncertain and the functions of the officials are
unknon-n. Mospero is inclined to attribute administrative
functions to the oflicials of the Kgyptian craft£, but such a
Bupposition reflects medieval analogies rather than cod-
temporary evidence. Writing of the Assyrian peMfbi* cnn
ofRciaU, Johns inclines to a military interpre- •'««*«''«
tation. This would still bear analogy to the obUgation of
the medieval craftsmen to do watch and ward duty in the
city, but such a supposition would not imply the existence
of organized craft gilds. That some organization of the
members of the crafts began to emerge in the late period is
highly probable, with reference both to Egj-pt and to the
cities of Mesopotamia, but we cannot be sure of the nature
of the arrangements.
The existence of manufacture for export, of traces of craft
organization, even rudimcutarj' establishments for large-
scale production, none of these facts should close j.^,, ,pecu«-
our eyes to the infancy of oi^anized industry. »tioo meieij
The types appear, but the scale of all these *'*''°"'°*
phenomena is small. Exportation was infrequent, and oE
*
88 INDUSTHL4L HISTORY OP ENGLAND
small volume. Crafts were present, but, for the most part,
only tho most moderate skill was required and some of the
differentiation was baaed on varj-ing degrees of physical
fitness rather than upon definite professional skill. A lame
man would be as effective as a smith as a man with two good
legs; hence in Greek mythology Hephaistos the smith is
lame. Edouard Meyer miggesUi also that Homer is rcpre-
Bented as blind, because blind men so characteristically be<
came angers. The siiiRcr waa naturally thought of as being
blind. These suggestions are, of course, pure conjecture,
and they are dra^vn from Gwiek sources, but if these notions
have any vahdity they would have more than a narrowly
local application. They serve a real purpose if they empha-
size the slight basis of craft differentiation in these early
periods. The processes were in raoet cases simple, well
within the capacities of the more adaptable workers without
great preliminary training. The greater abundance of evi-
dence makes it easier to find illustrations for these supposi-
tions in the history of Greek industry, but the qualifications
are perhaps even more important for the interpretation of
the industrial development of the Egyptian and Mesopo-
tamia peoples.
IV. Greece
The rise of Greek civilization takes place within the general
limits of tho historic period, so Uiat we catch glimpses of the
development considerably before culture had reached the
stage of conscious record-making. There is a semi-hlstorio
period, of which we gain some knowledge from archeology
and poetic literature. These materials, however, are so
DtvwfMt difficult of interpretation that every possible
or«k^«t^ TOW is championed by Bomc scholar or scholare.
<■»"•"' Some say that the Greeks of this period were
wholly devoted to agriculture, feared tho sea, and therefore
engaged in commerce only in the most casual way. Others
are convinced that the Greeks were enga^d in active com-
merce with Egypt and the Syrian coast at least a couple of
centuries before the Trojan War. Some declare that the
THE RISE OF TIIE CRAFTS IN ANTIQUITY S9
Greeks merely absorbed various notable features of the cul-
ture of Egypt ; others reduce the borrowing from Egypt to
an ioconsiderable minimum. Judgment based on the scant
evidence in our possession is little more than a reflocUon of
preconceived notions && to what is probable.
In general there is probably a disposition to imdcrcsti-
mate the siKiuficancc of trade among undeveloped peoplca.
The presumptions of naive thought are com- DUpoduoaio
prehensively stated in the scheme of develop- Sf^^^^lSu
meat in List's National System of PoiUieal b«J«rouiid
Economy. The stages of economic evolution are character-
ized thus: savagery, pastoral culture, agriculture, agriculture
combined with manufactures, agriculture combined with
manufacture and commerce. Tra<ie is thus made to appear
aa the climax or final result of a long economic evolution.
The widespread disposition to exaggerate the difficulties of
transportation confirms the presumption that is dormant
in nearly all naive economic thinking. The wide i^)peal of
BQcher's Wews depended in no small measure upon the
adroit formulation of all these naive presumptions with all
the paraphernalia of erudite scholarship. The study of
primitive peoples, together with what we know of the ancient
world, shows us that commerce plays an important part
even in primitive life. Instead of evolving successively,
commerce and industry must needs devdop simultaneously,
and though there are many reciprocal inSuences it is most
likely that commerce is the conditioning factor in industrial
development. This is designed to be the thesis of the pres-
ent work, and it is hopeil that it will be possible to show
that tbo character of industrial development has been at all
times a reflection of the commercial background, and that
the great changes in industrial organisation are the out-
come of changes in commercial conditions which promote
growth of population, concentration of population, or both
gron increase and greater concentration. Certain aspects of
tbe Industrial Revolution have closed our eyes to these larger
relations between industry and commerce.
We can therefore approach these ambiguous livli'CA.^vstA
40 INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
of the nature of early Greek development with a presump-
Th* MBiioOT- tion in favor of what we may call the commer-
•iAi (iwotj pjaj theory. This seems, moreover, to be in ac-
cord with modem tendencies of critical scholarship. It is
obviously desirable to avoid extremes, and it is above all
necftisary to avoid building elaborate theories of develop-
ment upon single bits of archeological or hterary evidence.
Mr. Walter Leaf's studies of the Iliad bring to the subject
the monographic spirit, and though much must be regarded
as mere conjecture the conclusions are significant. His the-
sis may be stated briefly. The Trojan War seems to him to
have been the outcome of economic rather than romantic
causes. He regartLs the enterprise as an attempt on the part
of the Greeks to destroy a powerful town which shut them
out of the Dardanelles and the Black Sea. He endeavors to
show that Troy had been a trading station at which the
Greeks met the peoples of the Black Sea under Trojan aus-
pices. Tiring of the payment of tribute and the inconven-
iences of such indirect methods, the Greeks at last banded
together in the great military enterprise. Mr. Leaf brings
this view fonvard with due modesty. Nothing can really be
IHVved. But we can at least recognise the consLstency of such
on interpretation with the economic conditions of Uie early
period of Greek development.
The industrial growth of the sixth and fifth centuries B.C.
was in large measure dependent upon the extensive carrying
trade that sprang up in the period following the Trojan War.
If we include the Phoenician traders, as we should in any study
of antiquity, we could say with truth that the brilliant civili-
sation of the Grwco-Roman world was based on the spirit of
adventure shown by these navigators whose ener^es brought
all the peoples of the Mediterranean world into close con-
tact. The diversity of products was stimulating to indus-
try, as the diversities of culture were stimulating to litera-
tiu-e and art.
The study of the economic development of Greece and
Rome has produced an antagonism between students of his-
tory and students of literature and art that is extremely
:
THE EISE OF THE CHAFTS IN ANTIQUITY 41
unfortunate. It seems at times as if the students of classical
culture resented the conclusions of certain his- cttmu cim-
torical studies as being an attempt to depreciate sUfitr aad
the cultural significance of the achievements of
the classical period. There can be no legitimate cause for
such aiann. The material concerns of life with which the
economist is busied must ever be a means to an end, and not
an end in itself. No civilization con be jusUy app^ai»^d in
terms of its economic mechanism. At best, economic or-
ganization is merely a way of attending to the daily need of
material things, and no particular tj-pc of mechani.sm can be
deemed a measure of the artistic and spiritual achievements
of a people. High artistic accomplishment is not only pos-
sible when life is relatively simple, but perhaps more likely
to occur. It may be that our elaborate material civilization
is a positive hindrance to the attainment of the higher pur-
poses of life.
The low standards of artistic achievement In the early Vio-
torian age may rcatly be due to the disjdaconent of the old
craft methods by the technique of the Industrial Revolu-
tion. Production for the masses is likely to result in the sub-
ordination of refinement in execution and design to cheap-
ness. Production of articles of luxury for a wealthy leisure
class is by necessity characterized by elegance in conception
and execution. The idealization of the medieval craft-work-
ers has made us familiar with these divt^rgent tendencies be-
tween artistry of production and cheapness of production,
and yet there seems to be some obstacle to tiie application
of these principles to the achievements of the craftsmen of
Greece and Rome.
The notable parallels between the classic period and the
medieval period are neither willingly nor clearly recogni^ied.
In Francotte's excellent study of the industrial p«i»o«u b»-
deveJopmcnt of Greece there is no comparison S^JTa^' **
with the middle ages. Hr compares Athens o>''idi««»«
with the Manchester and Birmingham of the late nineteenth
century: the port of Delos with qua>'s two hundred and fifty
meters long is compared with our modem porta 'sWa VStf>-
afa
4S
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
meters of quays. Industry and commerce compare unfavoiv
ably with the industry and commerce of Europe since the
Industrial Revolution, but if we seek a basis of comparison
with conditions definitely prior to the Industrial Revolution
the results are different. Germany did not be^n to feel the
influence of the newer development of industry and oom-
merce until the latter half of the nineteenth century.
At the close of the eighteenth century Prussia still dis-
played the salient features of medievalism. There were
within Prussian boundaries, 1016 places classified as towns
or cities. Berlin alone had more than 100,000 inhabitants
(153,000), being therefore slightly larger than Athens in the
time of Pericles. There were three towns with more than
60,000: Warsaw, 64,000; Breslau, 60,000; Konigsbei^,
66,000. SjTacuse and Corinth were considerably larger than
these second-class towns of Prussia. At the most prosper*
ous period of Grecian development they had respectively
110,000 and 90,000 inhabitants. Six towns of Greece are
mentioned by Beloch as having between 40,000 and 50,000
inhabitants. Fourteen Pniasian towns had slightly more
than 10,000 inhabitants; Dantzig, Magdeburg, Elbing,
Stettin, Potsdam, Erfurt, Posen, Halberstadt, Halle, Miin-
Bter, Hildesheim, Emden, Brandenburg, and Frankfurt-am-
Main. Of the remaining 098 cities, 502 had a population of
more than 1000 and loss than 3000. This distribution of pop-
ulation is characteristically medieval, and such statbitics
as we have from the classical period reveal conditions that
are roughly comparable. Home, at the heigtit of her pros-
perity, was larger than any medieval town ; but with that ex-
ception the distribution of population in the classical period
bears significant comparison vnth the distribution of pop-
ulation in the middle ages.
There is so close a relationship between industry and popu-
lation, that the similarities underlying urban life lead di-
rectly to a presumption in favor of notable similarities in
industrial development. With reference to economic condi-
tions, the medieval period has more in common with classical
antiquity thaa with modem times. The Industrial Revolu-
THE RISE OF THE CRAFTS IN ANTIQUITY 43
tion marks a transformation of social conditions which
separates the modem period distinctively from both the ear-
lier periods. Despite our intellectual and artistic heritage
from the classical period, we can interpret the scant evidence
bearing on the social life of Greece and Rome only in terms
of our knowledge of the middle ages. The so-called "dark
ages" constitute perhaps an interlude, but there is no pro-
found change in the general character of economic arrange-
ments; merely the ebb and flow that constitute the mov^
ment of all historical growth.
There 13 enough material to enable us to distinguish some
of the periods in the industrial development of the Grecian
world. The four or five centuries between the jjj,, ^ ,,,ft.
fall of Troy and the early sixth century b.c. are io«ti«ry ta
mariced by the establishment of the commercial "***
power of the Greeks. Industry responded slowly. The crafts
began to emerge, but they were not very clearly differentiated.
Metal-workers arc mentioned. The smith's forge, like the
country stores and smithies of the small towns of our own
times, was a resort for the idlers and gossips of the village.
There is no indication of specialized work in metals, least of
all clear specialixation in the preparation of different objects.
There were potters, but no specialization of tasks; the vases
and other vessels were relatively simple. The builders did
everything needful in connection with building houses. They
could also build ships. The same word is applied also to
I makers of household furniture, of ploughs, and objects of
i horn and ivory. Leather-workers did everything connected
with leather, tanning a^ well as shield-making. These work-
ers were free to the extent of not being the slaves of any one
person, but they did not enjoy all the rights of peasants.
The craftsmen were employees working for the village as a
whtrfo.
Between the sixth and fourth centuries b.c. the speciali-
aation of crafts devcloijcd rapidly. "In the larger towns,"
8a)'s Xenophon in the Cyropadia (viii, 2), sp«cuuntian
" where many people have similar wants, a single ■" p">=*~««
craft J8 a means of livelihood. Frequently, the craftsman
«
INDTJSTMAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
*
does not practice the entire craft: one makes men's shoes,
another makes women's shoes; one Uves by sewing shoes,
another by cutting leather; one cuts out tunics, another de-
votes himself exclusively to osscmbhng the parts." In the
metal industries there were distinct crafts for making each
of the pieces of armor and for the different weapons. Hel-
mets, breastplates, plumes, shields, lances, and the like were
tmned out by diiferent craftsmen. In the making of pottery
there was deGnite (Uvision of labor into the fvmdamental
processes: the forming of the vessels on the wheel, the firing
and the painting. The dictionaries of antiquities afford
some indications of a fairly comprehensive list of crafts, but
references arc so scattered as to date and locality that it is
scarcely safe to endeavor to draw up a list of crafts for any
particular period or any single town. We can be sure that
craft specialization was far advanced in the Greek period, but
we cannot attempt any precise statement.
The third and second centuries n.c. are marked by the d&*
cadence of some of the Greek towns, but tlicse ciiangcs were
the outcome of the loss of political prestige and the conse-
quent loss of some of the artificial advantages that were d&-
rived in industry and commerce from the abuse of pohtical
power. Such changes, however, effect only particular towns
and not the Gra>co-Roman world as a whole. There was no
break in the general course of industrial development.
One of the notable features of the industrial growth of the
larger Greek towns is the "factory sj-stem." Eatabliaiimcnts
Factari **^ twenty or thirty persons existed in several
branches of industry. The craftsmen in these
undertakings were usually slaves, who worked under the
supervision of the owner or his agent. At times the entire
group was farmed out to some contractor. iVancotte cit€8
a number of cases recorded in Athenian wills. One Conon
left two establisliments : one of textile workers, one of drug-
gists. Timarchus left a number of industrial slaves: nine
shoemakers, a female weaver, a maker of fancy objects, and
two gangs of silver miners. The father of Demosthenes left
two worluhops: one of koifc-makcrs, with a personnel of
THB RISE OF THE CRAFTS IN ANTIQUrrY 45
tbirty-two or three persons; one of bed-makers, with a per-
aoDMtd. of twenty. The vase-painting establishments were
of aboat the same type; between ten and twenty workmen
were usoally emidoyed, and, although such subjects were
nuely choaeD for vase-painUng, we have a representation of a
vaae manufactoiy with eight workmen. All the processes are
dtown and the genoal aspect of the workrooms. Separate
rooms were required for firing, shaping, and painting. Some
portiona of ihe work were done out of doors under canvas
shelters, but most of the operations were by necessity done in
definite workshops. The methods of signing the vases dis-
tinguish between the proprietor and the vase painter respon-
sible for the decorations. These signatures ^ord clear evi-
dence that this most important industry was not entirely
dominated by slave labor. In a number of soniafrN
cases the same person is designated as being ■"*••"
botJi proi»ietor and painter. One Athenian painter, Eu-
I^ironius, rose from being a painter in establishments be-
loi^Dg to others to the proprietorship of an establishment
of his own. Such at least is the story that can be read from
a number of inscriptions and signatures.
Bficher classified these establishments as cases of "house-
hold industry," a household whose membership had been
enlai^ed by the addition of slaves, but still in legal form a
household. This is more misleading than helpful. Some
free industry existed side by side with these slave establish-
ments, and all were producing goods for sale in the market;
at times a local market and at times an export market. The
workrooms were not a portion of the dwelling-house ; in many
cases, at least, they seem to have been specialized quarters
exclusively (fevoted to industry. Francotte still hesitates
to apply t^e term "factory." He fears that the reader
will assume the existence of conditions such as xrnwUunciMN
followed the Industrial Revolution. All these ^""^f^
discusaona are a reflection of the unfortunate
modes of thought suggested by Rodbertus and BQcher. The
character of industrial life is only partially indicated by the
fonos of organization. The progress of economic evolution
»
46 INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
is not entirely ft matter of developing certain forms, even if
one were to ai>sume that there were no differences to be ob-
served beyond the bare facts of the most general classification.
The industrial life of a jjeriod can be appraised and described
only as a complex of elements. The degree of specialization
of crafts must be considered; the extent of the horizontal
diWsion of labor, if any; the Bcale of production and the
chara(;ter of the market; lastly, the forms of organization.
We have been too much inclined to Buppose that factories
and the factory system arc the distinctive and exclusive
feature of the Industrial Revolution, forgetting that small
factories had emerged at various times and places through-
out the period which we think nf as dominated by craft in-
dustry. There is no reason to feel that there is anything
abnormal in the emergence of various small factories in the
classical period. Nor is there any reason for hesitating to
admit frankly that these sporadic tendencies toward the fac-
tory system were rather more conspicuous in classical than
in medieval times. The putting-out system dominates the
middle ages in the more elaborately developed industries.
From the employer's point of view it would doubtless have
been more convenient to have his people collected in a work-
shop, but the development toward the factory was checked.
The free woricmen of the middle ages disliked the restraints
of the factory, and the crafts, composed in large measure of
small masters, were able to exert sufficient political pressure
to Buppress the sporadic attempts to bring workmen to-
gether in factories. The significant struggle of the English
crafta against these tendencies will be treated in a subsequent
chapter.' It must net'ds suffice here to call attention to the
fact. Slavery and the absence of any significant craft or-
ganization left the employers of the chuiaical period free to
organize these small factories, and it is perhaps more signi-
ficant to recognize tliis tendency and its causes than to en-
deavor to obscure the real facts. The existence of these
factories does not indicate a departure from the general con-
ditions of craft industry. This degree of capitalistic control,
> li\{ra, oliaptcc viii, f tii.
THE EISE OP THE CHAPTS IN ANTIQUITY 47
which can be expressed cither in the factory or in the put-
ting-out system, is a characteristic feature of the later forms
of handicraft industry.
It would be highly desirable to be able to reach a definite
conclugion with reference to the relative importance of
slaves to freemen in industry. It is unfortu- siarorj tn
natcty impossible. Ub-ing practically tlie same O"""
general figures from the classical sources, Francotte and
Edouard Meyer reach opposite conclusions. A neutral read-
ing of this controversial Hteratiure leaves the general impres-
sion that the defenders of free tabor have the better ease, In-
dustry as a whole was not decisively dominated either by free
or by slave labor. With the «tception of the extractive in-
dustries, in Greece free labor at least held its own. The com-
petition of the industrial slaves of the aristocrats was serious
but the freeman could none the less live by his craft. Slav-
eiy afforded the wealthy an opportunity to participate in the
profits of industrial enterprise \vithout loss of caste. De-
spite competition the two systems could exist side by .lide
without destroying each other; their existence was not exclu-
sively dependent upon their advantages as methods of pro-
ducing their wares. The free artJKan was perhaps a foreigner,
excluded from full ciWl rights; an inconspicuous factor in
I>otitical and social life, but economically important. In
many cities of the ancient world the commerce and industry
of the locality was really in the hands of these foreigners; the
participation of the aristocrats in business enterprise was
, HOOttwhat incidental. The casual references in literature
are an uncertain index of the proportionate importance of
these two elements in business life, as literatxirc was pre-
dominantly occupied with the doings of the aristocrats.
Other materials are too meager to afford clear evidence of
the proportionate import&nce of thei>e divert elements in
the community.
v. Roue and Constantikoplb
For the last century of the Republic and the period of the
Empire considerable information is furnished b^ in£Aiv^\\(A&.
^J
48
INDtJSTMAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
These materials are unsatisfactory in many respects, but ii
careful hands they reveal many aspects of the organization
of the artisans of Rome. It has frequently Iwen presumed
that some significant connection existed between the craft
R«imMi"c«a- giltls of the middle ages and these "collegia"
legU" — associations of craft-smen in ancient Rome.
The studies of Waltzuig show tliat the comparisons arc inia-
leading and unreal. These Roman organizations assxmied
a number of fairiy distinct forms, but in no case is there
justification for any significant comparison with the insti-
tutions of the middle ages. The societies for the celebration
of funeral rites are similar in many respects to the frater-
nities or religious gilds nf the medieval period, but such
societies should be carefully distinguished from craft gilds.
The Roman "collegia" seem to have had few distinctively
economic functions. They were not comprehensive group-
ings of all artisans exercising particular crafts. Neither skill
nor apprenticeship was an essential condition of entry.
The members of the society do not seem to have exercised
any of the supervkor>* powers that are the distinctive feature
of the craft organizations of the middle ages.
The inscriptions, however, enable us to gain considerable
insight into tlie degree of industrial specialization at Rome.
Tho ii«t of The following crafts ore mentioned in the in-
"■"■ scriptions from which Waltzing prepared his list
of eorporations at Rome. The crafts have been grouped
xmdcr the general classifications to facihtate economic
analysts;
Food, and induttriea eonneded mlh food:
Measurers of Rrain, workers in public gmnarics, perfumers and
Bpicers, bulchora, inn-koepers, confertioners, cooks, hiiy-mci^
chants, fruit-sclIcrB, merchants of Vfuctiiblea, bftknrB, Rrain mer-
diants, millers, cattle merchanta, merchants of suit mt-ftts, wino*
ecUers, oil merchant, pastrj'-cooks, fishermen, Esh-merchantA,
salt mGrchonte, pork locrchanto, shopkeepers.
merchants, cmbroidcreiB, workmen's
Textiles:
Dyers, fullers. linen
btousemakers, tailors.
THE RISE OP THE CRAFTS IN ANTIQUITY 49
Leather:
Shoemakers, women's ahoemftkcrs, tann<?ra, furriera.
Melals:
Smiths (bponie), ring-makcra, silwrsmiths, KoldsmiUia, gold-
bcaton, money-chiuigers, blacksmitlui, evlleis of ailver \tuc»,
vcdrroT-maken,
Wood ami manufadtires of toood:
Joiners aud furuituiv-uiakera, wood merchoDts, shipbuilders,
carpentera, joinen.
Stone, day and hvaMing:
Lime-burners, ditch-diggcrs, limo-portcrs, huildera, potters,
sculptors, Btoac-eaw)-ers, masons, wrEckcrs ol buildii^.
Transport:
Shippers, mulcteera, boatmen of the "nbcr, "curatores na-
vium," patrons of lighters on the Tiber.
Ajiiit*, gymnaMiS, Mc:
Musicians (horns), born-plasrers, mliOM, poeta and actOTB,
lute-f^yers, vild-beost ehaaers, ^adtaton.
Miaceilaneoia:
Porters, wreath-makers, jailers. ivOTj-canfra, wholesalers,
bathhouse-kec'ix^ra, masseurs, barbers, doctors, pavere, mer^
chants of pigments, makers of dice
The small number of crafts engaged in Icathei^working and
in textiles is noteworthy. There was considerable diversi-
fication in the mctol trades and elaborate epccialization in
the preparation of food. Without knowledge of the relative
numbers of persons occupied in these crafts, it is hardly justi-
fiable to assume that the textile and leather proups were
relatively less important, but there is strong presumption in
favor of such a conclusion. The preparation of clothing and
leather goods was primarily the work of members of each,
household. Little specialized skill was required and only
the very poor reported to the markets for the common tex-
tiles or leather goods. The list of crafts concerned with the
preparation of food products is verj' impressive, and compari-
son with the lists of crafta for Paris in the eleventh and thir-
teenth centuries would suggest that elaborate specialization
appears earlier in this general group than in any othoE .
CO INDUSTRIAL mSTORY OP ENGLAND
At Constantinople, toward the close of the ninth century
A.D., conditions were more nearly comparable to medieval
cnttt t-x conditions. The regulations made by the Pre-
couunuacpi* fg^t (,f (jjg ^ity for tlifi government of the crafts
exhibit many featiires that are definitely analogous to con-
ditions at Paris in the eleventh and thirteenth centuries.
The primary civil authority in Constantinople was exercised
by an ofDcial appointed directly by the Emperor, as the Pre-
fect of Paris was appointed by the King. The Prefect of
Constantinople had complete jurisdiction over industrial and
commercial matters and issued strict regulations. Some of
,^^ the crafts at Constantinople had no autonomous
powers at all; some seem to have been in the
way of acquiring a small measure of autonomy in the en-
forcement of the rxiles and customs of the craft. The per-
fimiers were instructed to prevent the preparation or sale
of defective or inferior wares "by mutual oversight over
each other." The spiccrs were charged with the supervision
of all wares of their craft, in order to prevent the making of
hoards, whether by members of the craft or by others. Simi-
lar functions were delegated to the chief merchants of pork
products. These various functions of supervision are compa>
able to the "view of the craft" that became the characteris-
tic pri\Tlege of the more powerful medieval craft gilds. It
would seem that administrative functions were in process of
development at Constantinople. The fundamental back-
ground can iiardly have been very different from the condi-
tions at Rome under the Empire, and thus we may well be-
lieve that gilds similar in most features to the medieval gilda
might develop in the Roman world, though we have no evi-
dence that the process of development was continued to that
point except at Constantinople. The book of the Prefect at
Constantinople is therefore an indication that the conditions
favorable to the growth of craft gild organization might
normally bo expected to appear in the course of the indus-
trial development of any lai^ town. This particular form
of craft organization should not be associated uniquely with
medieval conditions, nor should it be presumed to bo merely
THE BISE OF TEE CBAFTS IN ANTIQITirY 51
oc^ued from some Roman or Eastern model. When the d^
gree of craft Bpeciallzation had become considerable, it was
perfectly natural that the administrative officers should
delegate certain functions of supervision that could beat be
discharged by persons acquainted with the technique of the
craft. The gild can best be regarded as a spontaneous out-
growth of industrial conditions.
CHAPTER III
CRiFTS AND CRAFT GILDS IN MEDIEVAL FRANCE
Th» break-up of the Roman Empire was followed by dif-
ferent results in the various European provinces. In Eog-
lajid and in Germany the Teutonic influences speedily became
predominant. In Italy there was a marked decline, as soon
as the provinces ceased to send their tribute in money and
in kind. In France the disappearance of the administrative
framework of the Empire left many aspects of social life un-
changed. The Roman cities of southern France maintained
BomMi themselves after a fashion and the commercial
influenc* jjfg ([,^1 had developed was not destn)yed. The
Teutonic tribes entering Gaul brought with them many new
political conceptions, but the economic life of the Roman prov-
ince was accepted by them and many elements of Roman
culture were adopted. France became by force of circum-
stances one of the closest bonds between the old Roman
civiUzation and the new Teutonic civilization that was rapidly
assuming significant form. The relative continuity of social
growth is a notable feature of the history of l''rance; else-
where in the north of Europe the break with the tDstitutiona
of the Empire was so complete that the Roman background
exerted little or no direct influence upon the course of
development.
Much of the controversy that has existed among scholars
as to the relative importance of Roman and Teutonic insti-
tutions would seem to be resolved by frank recognition of the
diversities of development in diiTerent portions of Europe.
There were many elements of Roman agrarian and industrial
institutions that could be harmonized with the usages of the
invaders. Roman customs could easily be incorporated with
the Teutonic modes of life without making the final result
essentially different from results achieved in pro\'inccs where
CRAFT GILDS IN MEDIEVAL FRANCE fiS
Som&n influences were negligible. The con(!ition of the un-
free tillers of the soil dispUj's most notably the possibilities
of reaching substantijUly the same results from both Roman
and Teutonic backgrounds. The existence of Roman influ-
ences in certain sections thus docs not even create a presump-
tion in favor of similar influences elsewhere. The French
writers who find Roman influences in France are therefore
qiute as tntitworthy as the German writers who deny the
existenoe of similar influences in Germany and in England.
With reference to commerce and industry the situation is
somewhat different, because France and Italy were more
important both before and after the fall of Rome. There
was more xirban concentration, more commerce^ and a more
highly diver^ficd industrial life. Many of these economic
Bctinties 8ur\'ived the tumult of the invasions. The admin-
istrative regulations of the Kmpirc disappeared almost en-
tirely, most particularly the corporate organization of the
crafts, but the crafts themselves survived. The commercial
and industrial life of Roman Gaul exerted a notable influ-
ence upon the economic development of the Teutonic king-
doms that established themselves during the invasions. This
persistence of Roman influences in France is of more than
local significance. Industrj' and commerce affect larger areas
than the locaUties in which they are primarily concentrated.
At the least one must include the entire market area in stud-
ies of their influence, and, as Kngland and Germany were
partly dependent upon France for the sale of iB„«tMe«oi
their raw products and for some of the manu- f^^c* bi
factured articles, the industrial develo[)ment """^
of France in the "dark ages" is part of the general history of
Europe. The commercial and industrial s>-stcm that finally
took definite form in the medie^-al period wa"? an outgrowth
d the commercial importance of Roman Gaul.
The precise extent of direct Roman influences can
rcely be determined. Flach believes that many of the
Id Roman corporations became "confr^ries" — associa-
tions of craftsmen for the common celebration of religious fes-
tivals and of masses for the souls of comrades. ¥a]^\^,Xiwit
i
64 INDUSTRUL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
believes that some Burvivals of the Roman ofganizationa may
have persisted throughout the period of the greatest dis-
orders, becoming one of gevcral elements in the growth of
the newer institutions that emerge into the light of historical
knowledge in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.
In the study of industrial development an undue share of
attention has been given to the administrative organization
of craft-workers. There is a disposition to forget that the
fact of primary economic significance is the occupational
Bt)CciaIization. The division of labor into the crafts must
needs precede the formation of administrative bodies based
on the crafts. It is therefore not merely possible, but in-
eWtable, that there should be periods in which handicrafts
exist as specific professions despite the absence of corpora-
tions of the Roman type or gilds of the medieval type.
There is no clear evidence of corporate organization of the
crafts in Greece, neither Is there any definite indication of
craft oi^anization in the interval between the sixth century
A.D. and the twelfth century. But in both periods there was
active growth, though conditions were widely diflfercnt in
ThB each case. A certain measure of superficial
" '*"'' "*• " decay must needs have followed the break-up of
the Roman Empire. The domination of Rome had forced a
premature industrial growth that could not be maintained.
In Roman Gaul, for instance, there were eight imperial estab-
lishments engaged in the making of weapons. The artisans
were technically free, but they were subject to a definite ob-
ligation to pursue that craft under the given conditions, so
that they enjoyed only a much qualified freedom. Their
product was their contribution to the State. With the pass-
ing of the Empire all such forced industrial effort would in-
evitably pass into channels more in accord with the genuine
needs of the community. The flow of commerce toward
Rome declined, but inasmuch as it had never been a genu-
ine reciprocal trade, it was hardly a retrograde movement.
Changes occurred in the industries which ministered pri-
marily to the wealthy city dwellers of the Empire. The
overthrow of that particular group of parasites naturally
CRAFT GILDS IN MEDIEVAL FRANCE M
caused some decline in the industries which ministered to
them. Fewer objects of luxury were made, and the old
refinements of execution disappeared. The market had
changed. Certain arts were lost or neglected. The tran-
sition from the restraints and compulsions of the Roman
system to the freer r^^me of the middle ages involved de-
struction as well as construction. The fundamental special-
izations of occupations seem to have maintained themselves.
The craftsmen were shcitered during the period of greatest
disorder in the monasteries and on the great rural cstatea
of the feudal lonls. A small number of artisans Ptninanc*
maintained themselves unattached, but they o'***^
must have been exceptional, like the small freeholders in agri-
culture. There were such freemen, but they were not nu-
merous nor characteristic of the age.
On the great estates the craft-workers were relatively nu-
merous, but they were serfs. They were nevertheless better
off than the slaves of the old Roman system. They could
not be slain with impunity, though the ofTense of murder
was pimished primarily by the graduated fines common to
all early Teutonic law. The wergilds of artisans varied ac-
cording to the character of the craft. For the murder of
a goldsmith one paid one hundred and fifty sous, while the
worker in iron was valued at fifty sous. A carpenter was
appraised at forty sous, a plain laborer or swine-herd at
thirty sous. Some of the industrial work on the domains
was done by the artisans in their cottages; much, however,
was done in general workshops. The women in particular
were gathered together in a special group of buildings called
the "gyneceum." These were similar in all -n,*
respects to the establialunenta of the Gneco- "o°«»'"»"
Ronxan world for the utilization of the women on the great
estates, though men were seldom employed in them by the
lords of the early Teutonic kingdoms. It was presumed
that the gj-ncccum would be managed in all respects by the
wife of the lord, but there are references to laxity of man-
cement. As many as forty women were employed at times,
but references are too scanty to admit of statemeatA q& \n Vda
INDUSTRLU, HISTORY OF ENGLAND
characteristic size of these establisbments. The work con-
sisted primarily of textile manufacture; weaving, dyeing, and
the making of garments. These were used by the house-
hold in part, but there was frequently, if not uHually, some
aurplus for sale in the market. With reference to men, the
domains were probably significant oniy as an asylum for the
metal-workers, the masons, carpenters, and such craftsmen.
The great refuges for the artisans were the monasteries and
episcopal establishments. These frequently became aggre-
gations of people that bore all outward semblance to a small
town. The Abbey of Saint Riquier in the ninth century
cr»f« in the was the nucleus of twenty-five hundred houses,
Diatii caotuiy which wouUl indicate a population of more than
ten thousand souls. A portion of the settlement was ^vcn over
to the artinans, who were grouped in streets. The enumerar
tion includes: wholesale merchants, smiths, shield-makers,
saddlers, bakers, shoemakers, butchers, fullers, furriers, wine
merchants, beer-sellers. Each of these crafts was obliged to
fxirnish wares to the Abbey, but it was a group obligation and
the quantities of material indicated leave it fairly certain
that the artisans could dispose freely of much of their time.
The cartulary of Saint Vincent at Le Mans mentions artisans
rather more frequently than other cartularies, so that the list
of crafts referred to in the eleventh century represents pei^
haps the higher developments of handicraft industry around
monastic foundations. The following crafts are mentioned:
merchants, carpcntfirs, weavers, various kinds of workers in
gold and silver, tailors, shoemakers, butchers, bakers, wax-
makera, smiths, drapers, furriers, linen merchants, leather
merchants, salt merchanLs, glas-s-setters. It is noteworthy
that weavers and tailors seldom appear in the earUcr enume-
rations of the craftsmen that are partially free. The textile
industries were largely in the hands of women in the earher
period, as is shown by the Polyptique of the Abbey of Saint
Germain dcs Pr^ (close of the eighth century). Linen and
serge were made in the general workshops of the abbey (the
gj'ncccum) and in the cottages of the serfs whose wives were
required to furniah stipulated quantities of cloth. As in the
I
CRAFT GILDS IN UEDIEVAL FRANCE ff7
elaiilcftl period, the textile industries were slow to become
established as specialized occupations for men.
It may be not«d in passing that the classification of these
monastic and feudal establisliments presents the same diffi-
culties as the large establishments of the classical period.
They are a part of a patriarchal houscliold or of a feudal
household, but it is misleading to classify them as "household
industries" because the product was sold in distant markets.
Except perhaps for small differences in the quantities of goods
produced, these early medieval establishments differed in no
essential respect from the "factories" based on slave labor
during the classical period. This tendency toward the ag-
gregation of unfree industrial workers is, however, to be dis-
tinguished from any tendencies toward the aggregation of
free workers. The motives are different. Free laborers will
be brought together only under the influence of some con-
Bciousness of economic advantages to be derived from the
organization of the work in hand. The aggregation of unfree
laborers is more largely determined by the servile status of the
laborer than by profit-seeking. With rare exceptions, these
groups were indeed mere aggregations of women; no real
organization of work was achieved by bringing them together.
They worked side by side perhaps in a large room, but the
work could doubtless have been as efficiently done in the cot-
tages of the workers.
We know less of the free craft'imen of the eighth, ninth, and
tenth centuriea than we know of the same class in the Gfsdco-
Roman period. In the feudal hierarchy they had no place,
and consequently they are seldom mentioned in the scant
records of the period.
II
The eleventh century marks the beginning of a now epoch
in the development of industry: distinguished by the political
enruincipationof the artisan and a gre-at increase
in the degree of occupational specialization. The
rise of the free towns ta the political expression of the new
status acquired by the commercial and mdu£X.Y\8\ <:\&2»e%.
J
58
Es^DUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
Throughout the classical period and in the centuries inime>
diately following the Teutonic invasions, industry and com-
merce had occupied an inferior place in the social order.
Persons of social consequence were excluded from the direct
practice of such occupations, though it was not a derogation
of their caste to maintain groups of seni-ile artisans as slaves
or serfs. The commercial and industrial classes were more
or less completely deprived of legal rights. The meiic, or
stranger, that controlled the commercial enterprise of the
Greek cities, was tolerated and allowed some privileges, but
he was definitely excluded from citizenship. The foreigner
at Rome enjoyed a larger measure of legal rights, being sub-
ject to a legal system that afforded more scope for individual
initiative than the laws pertaining to citizens. Finally, in-
deed, these legal differences disappeared at Home, but much
ci the old prejudice survived. It was respectable to be a
great landowner, or a venial official, but it was not conceiv-
able that a pcison of consequence should be directly engaged
in commerce and industry.
The rise of the medieval towns composed primarily of
merchant and artisans, permanently altered the social
standing of these groups. They too became a distinct casta.
They occupied a position that waa inferior socially to that of
the noble, the ecclesiastic, or the pubUc officials, but they
soon became economically and poUtically of coordinate im-
portance. In the complex struggles between kings, barons,
and the Church, the Third Estate occupied a
position of strategic importance. They wero
courted by both kings and nobles. During the classical
period, this cla.ss wa.s politically subordinate to the landed
aristocracy resident in the towns; they now became an in-
dependent political factor. The urban centers became a
focus of industrial and commercial interests. X>owa to the
Industrial Revolution the structure of commercial and indus-
trial hfe was dominate<l by the institutions that took form
in the long period that began in the eleventh century.
This period of urban growth was one of especial prosperity
for Fiance ; some writers even have said that France has never
Th* TUid
liUta
CRAFT GILDS IN MEDIEVAL FRANCE 60
been more prosperous timn at the beginning of the fourteenth
centurj' when the new order had become defi- pncpwitT ot
nitcly established. The figures that we have for ''*^
the population of France lend plausibility to this view. It
is estimated that there were about twenty or twenty-two
milliuiui of [>cople hving within the territorial limits of France
as they stood in 1014. There was no considerable growth
of population until the eighteenth century; the vieissitudca
of pestilence and wars prevented any consistent increase.
Paris, according to au enumeration of 1292, had a popular
tion of slightly more than 200,000; and in 1328, the usual
calculations indicate 274,000. Kelatively to other portions
of Europe France must have occupied a singularly favorable
position. It is likely that she enjoyed a degree of material
prosperity that was equaled only in isolated portions of Eu-
rope. The Low Countries and parts of Italy shared in this
material development, but no large country was as favorably
situated. The advance in economic organisation can thus
be most adi'antageously studied in France, and most eape-
oially in Paris, its largest city.
It is a piece of rare good fortune that we have a fairly ac-
curate measure of the gronth of occupational specialisation
during the period. There is an enumeration of the occupa-
tioDS pursued at Paris during the latter half of the eleventh
tentaiyinlheiyictionaryof JeanGarkmde. To- aaeanuof
ward the close of the thirteenth century we have "^^ ^*
two sources of information: the Book of the Crafti, a record
of the customs of the crafts made at tlie instance of Etienne
Boileau, Provost of Paris, 125S-70;and the tax-rolls of Paris,
for the yean 1202 and 1300, which give the occupations of
most of the persons enumerated. All these records are lesa
accurate than we might wish, particularly the Dictionary of
Jean Garlande, but the combined evidence of the Book of the
Crafts and the tax-rolls must give us a well-nigh comprehen-
sive sur\'ey of the industrial organization for that period.
Thirty-seven occupations are described by Jean Garlande,
one hundred crafts are enumerated in the Book of the Crafte,
and two hundred and twenty-five industrial aad conim&'ci^vei
■aik
60 INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
occupations are mentioned in the tax-rolls of 1292. The
tax-roll mentions all occupations, but it will be wise to con-
fine our attention to industrial and commercial occupations,
excluding, for instance, porters, boatmen, public officials, and
the like. Many of the occupations listed occur only once
or twice, so that the number of important occupations is not
inconsistent with the number of organized crafts enumerated
in the Book of the Crofts. The number of occupations or-
ganized as crafts, however, must have been somewhat more
than one hundred. Occupations with less than ten persons
were frequently so organized, and there were one hundred
and thirty-four occupations listed in 1292 as having more
than five persons. The Book of the Crafts does not purport
to be a comprehensive enumeration of crafts, and several oc-
cupations were combined in one craft in a number of cases.
A number of occupations listed in the roll of 1292, but not
mentioned in the Book of the Crafts, received statutes as crafts
early in the following century. It is thus certain that occu-
pational specialization proceeded faster than the develop*
ment of crafts with custunis or statutes.
In any study of medieval crafts it is necessary to include
two groups of occupations which stand eomcwbat outride
the industrial field: the retail and wholesale mer*
chants, and the persons engaged in the prcparor
tion of foodstuffs. Study of the merchandizing crafts is of
especial importance, as they serve as a measure of many
changes in the market that would otherwise escape our at-
tention. The existence of such craft"? emphasizes the impor-
tance of distant markets, and in the presence of such tangible
e\'idcnce of elaborately organized trade, it is difficult to un-
derstand the tenacity with which many writers insist upon
the mj-thical direct contact between the mcdie\*al craftsman
and the consumer. In every large town there were three
crtittuui groups of crafts; those occupied with purely
^"^ '■'• local concerns, butchers, bakers, candle-makers,
brewers, and the like; those engaged in production with
reference to a distant as well as the local mnrfc^t — the va-
rious textile crafts, the leather workers, and the pietal-work-
p
CRAPT GILDS IN MEDIEVAL FRANCE 61
crs fall within tliis group; finally, there were tnerchandising
crafts, a few definitely concerned with the wholesale trade,
mostly, however, engaged in retail trade. The drapers were
wholesale dealers in woolens; the mercers, wholesale dealers
in silks and wares from Italy; the spiccrs, or grocers as they
canic to be called later, de-alt in spices, drugs, oils, and other
wares. The scope of the trade proper to these three great
wholesale crafts was constantly enlarged, but the original
division of business was roughly as indicated and the exten-
sions of later years were a natural outcome of these original
lines of demarcation. The development of these crafts and
of their powers constitutes an important chapter in commer-
cial history.
The crafts occupied solely with local needs appear almost
«ver>-where, and usually rose to positions of power and
affluence. The crafts of butchers and bakers were u.sually
composed of wealthy men, and in many towns acquired a
significant place in municipal politics. The merchandising
crafts were also present in most towns, and always impor-
tant. The crafta that represented the export industries
varied, of course, in different regions; metal RoEiaiui
industries were most highly de\'cIoped in Ger- •!»<»*»'*"<«
many, Italy, and parts of Spain; the preparation of the finer
grades of leather was originally a specialty of the Spauif^h
towns, but these processes of tanning spread northward
rapidly and gained a strong position in France; the woolen
industry was the predominant export industry in northern
France, the Low Countries, and later in England. In the
woolen industry regional specialization was carried to great
lengths; the weavers of each town confined their attention
to a single type of cloth, or at the most to a few types.
The different types of cloth were thus designated at the out-
set by the name of the town in which they were made, and
^ tbefie names persisted long after the diffusion of the industry
I
62 INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
Thb Crafts op Paris: Late Eleventh Cektcbt
After the Dultonary qf Jam Oarlande
Poods, and the Prirpta-ation of Food:
(a) Raw materiiils;
(none)
(6) Intenncdiato products:
(none)
(e) FiDishod products;
Bakers, pustry-cooks, makers of mcat^pivs, poultryHjooks.
(d) Merchandifling crafts:
Bakon scUiiig Uieir own product, eellera of cakes and
wafers, sellers of cakea and pastry, sellers of fruit, sellera of
wine.
Letter:
I (a) Raw mAteriak:
Tanners, fiirriera.
1 (6) Intermediate products:
^B Lorimcni (tnakers of the metal fixtures for harness). Set
^^r below.
(e) Finiehcd products:
Workers in cordovan leather (shoemakers), Rovers, sad-
dlers, shield-niakeni, cobblere, belt-makers.
(d) Merchandising cruftn:
Retailers of caps, girths, belts, and puisea, retailers of
shoes.
M^als:
(a) Raw materials:
Blacksmiths, goldsmiths.
(6) Intermediate products:
Loriiriors, cutliirs, buckle-makers.
(c) Finished products:
Sword-grindcrs, bell-founders, goblet-mcndera, broach-
makers.
(d) Sellers of pins, razors, soap, mirrors, eta.
TexHUs:
(a) Raw materials:
(none)
(&) Intennediate products:
Weavers (women).
(c) Finished products:
Dycn, fullers, cap-makers.
(d) Merchandising crafts:
Drapers, retailers of cloaks, etc
CRAFT GILDS IN MEDIEVAL FRANCE OS
In the list of crafts {pven by Jean Garlande the retailing
crafts and crafta occupied with local needs predominate.
There were criers of wine, of cakes, and of wafers; persons
who circulated in the streets selling their wares or urging the
advantages of particular wiue-^ihops upon the passers, ^fost
retailing, howevw, was not itinerant. Selling was done in
shops or stalls; fruit, cakes, and pastry could all bo pur-
chased in such fashion, as also a variety of manufactured
articles. Pins, soap, mirrors and razors were the specialty
of one class of sellers; cloaks, xindergarments, cape, girths,
belts, purses, and shoes were to be bad of various other re-
tailers. The preparation of food occupied a small group of
crafts. The butchers are not mentioned, but they must have
existed as a distinct occupation, as we have references to
them in charters of tlie following century which speak of
them as having been long in existence. Some writere even
believe that the butchers of Paris maintained some sort of
organization throughout the period between the fall of Rome
and the twelfth century.
The degree of specialization in the leather, textile, and
metal industries was not great. There is little reason to
suppose that any leather goods found their way u*ih*t-
out of Paris at this time, but a notable import ^'■''^
trade is indicated. The tanners prepared only the coarser
kinds of leather; the types tanned with oak bark, grades of
leather that were used only in heavj' goods. The finer grades
of oil-tanned leathers were all imported at tlm time. Origi-
nating in Spain and associated nith Cordova, these leathers
were called "corduan," and the workers in such leuthers were
thus dubbed "corduanniers," a word which was crudely
reproduced in English as "cordwaincr." This craft later
specialized in shoemaklng, but at this time the Parisian
worlcmen made all types of fine leather goods. It is inter-
esting to note the early distinction between the cobbler,
who repaired shoes, and the makere of new shoes. The
metal-workers were chiefly engaged in the finishing crafts,
the materials being imported in an advanced stage of manu-
facture.
M
INDUSTRIAL HXSTOBY OF ENGLAND
The textile crafts enumerated represent primarily the fin-
ishing processes. Specialized women weaveis ore mentioned,
- _^ ^ but it is fairly certain that the chief textile
crafts were concerned with fulling and dye-
, ing. The drapers, at this time, can hardly have been occu-
pied with anything but their proper business of wholesaling.
Inasmuch as cloth became later the most important indus-
trial export of Paris, this tardy development of weaving as
a distinct occupation for men speaks eloquently of the slow
growth of industry up to the eleventh century. The impor-
tance of the weavers at the close of the thirteenth century
shows how great a change took place in the intervening
period.
The tax-rolls of 1292 and 1300 enable vb to form some
opinion of the relative importance of the various occupa-
tional groups. The striking feature of the figures is the clear
evidence that the textile and clothing group had only re-
cently become coordinate in importance with the leather
and food groups.
NuHBEBa or Pebsonb zmplotxd in thb Vabioub Inddbtbial Groups
Pabis, 1292 AND 1300
Owiip
Pooda and food products
Lwther
Metala
TwrtilBB
Clothing
Together
Wood
Building trades
EocleaiasUoal omamenlA •
UiioollmeouBi ■ ........
Numbtrof
patent, ItM
956
933
606
251
667
918
340
194
77
541
4565
Mat
20.94
20.44
13.27
20.11
7.46
4.25
1.69
11.85
100.00
ISOO
(not comparable)
1223
729
632
SU
1243
289
225 '
83
(not comparable)
CRAFT GILDS IN MEDIEVAL FBANCE
es
- The increase in the numbers of persons reported in the
leather and textile trades in 1300 is partly due to the differ-
ence in the character of the tares impcsed. The taxes of
1300 fell upon the poorest artisans to a greater extent than
did the taxes of 1292. The lists are thus somewhat short
of being comprehensive; conclusions must thus be subject
to qualification, but it would seem likely that there had been
some change in the occupational grouping. The period was
one of rapid growth in the population of Paris; at least such
is the conclusion reached by students of population, but
tiieir computations being based upon these tax-rolls must be
subject to the same elements of error as our industrial sta-
tistics.
CLASSmCATIOH Of OCCUFATIOHS ACCOBSINQ TO SiZB: TaX-RoLLB Or j
1292 AND 1300
UmOoKS
6-9
10- IB
30-ae
«H»
«o-se
lOO-lW
aoow
1292
1800
91
224
40
3S
34
31
31
30
11
8
11
7
6
8
a .
4 '
In 1292, 225 occupations were enumerated; in 1300, 348;
the difference is largely due to the inclusion in the lists of
1300 of a large number (A occupations practiced by one, two,
or three peraons. The most notable change occurs among
the weavers of whom 82 were enumerated in 1292 and 360 in
1300. The increase was greatest in the textile and leather
groups, and it is for this reason that there is reason to sup-
pose that there was some actual growth even in so short a
period.
The classification of the crafts according to groups and
stages of production is perhaps more interesting than statis-
tics of numbers. The elaborate division of labor a— ly^. «(
that existed can be shown in no other way, and "«"*<* =*•*•
the notion of the craftsman as maker of a finished product
is BO widespread that emphasis upon the disintegration of
the process of production is hif^y desirable. , Marx e.'^^'cnf
60 INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
ciated the importance of this tendency toward a disintegra-
tion of the industrial processes into their essential stages,
but he does not seem to have realized how early the change
took place. One must, of course, recognize that the develop-
ment of occupational specialization in Paris was greater than
in the smaller towns, but when all allowance has been made
for the diversities of chronology in different places, it would
seem that one were justified in saying that the beginning
of the great economic development that was associated with
the growth of the towns was most significantly marked by a
notable increase in the process of industrial disintegration.
Occupations at Paris in 1300
Focda, foodstuffs, and by-products:
(a) Raw materials:
Sellers of wheat, measurers of grain, scllera ot flour, seUera
of oat^, of hay, of forage-etuff.
Butchers, skinners, measurers of wine.
, (6) Intermediate products:
Millers, oven-tenders, tripe-sellera.
(e) Finished products:
Bakers (bread), bakers of various kinds of fancy cakes
(oubliers, fouagiers, gaatelliers), pudding-makers.
Brewers, cooks, poultry-cooks, fried-food sellers, sauoe-
mflkers, candle-makera, soap-makers,
(d) Mcroiijindiaing cnifts:
Bakers selling their own product, regraters of bread and
other foods, innkeepers (two kinds, ostellierSj taverniets),
iriioIeBalers of wine.
Sellers of p^rlic, of salt, of spicea, of herbs, of fruit, of mus-
tard, of milk, of cheese, of oil, of fish, of herring.
Leather and articles made of leather:
(a) Raw materials :
Tanners in oil, tanners in bark, tanners of sheepskins,
parchment-makers, furriers.
(6) lutcnncdiate products:
Leather painters. (See also the lorimors and nail-makers
under the metal trades, and the saddle-bow-makers under
wood.)
(c) Finished products:
S«d<iler>i, harneas-nukers, two kinds of shoemakers (cor-
duanui<!rs — high-grade shoes; savetonniers — cheap shooe),
cobblers, glove-makets, belt-makers, purse-makcts.
CBAVT cms IX MnNETAL FKUmCB CT
(4) MocbnfiHCCBsftK
nrw^ iln^M TiiuA.iffy'f|iTif STT^^StEffiZS. KuaSt^SllL UB-
miken. eGU^noss. -vurjacs ic liutcaswS tx^ipa mad taa.
(e) Fimdied proiorB:
qiomttkas.
GimdEn of kurrES. Eriiiio? ssd mcQZ:i£n d sworis.
(e) Makors cf veapoziE and usic?:
Maktfs <tf bovs. aiTOKS. asd cTQSF^xnrs. uiov-oubn,
umoKfB fboth of Eoen aod horae . mako? of tva kind? of
cairuB, «f cbaia idjuJ, of mriAl plates, diidd-oukcxs (Uaeii,
Indier, tappa), hdmei-tnakaB.
(a) SeHen of nv matemk:
Wcxd merchants, bemp mcrcfaaots, flax mathants.
(b) Fr^nration of raw maierials:
Wocd-oomlMiig aiMJ spuming (mentioDed in two or three
places), spumoB of alk (two kinds, 4 gnnds fuaeaux, A petita
fineaux).
(e) Inteimediate products:
Weavera of woolens, of Unm, of cuitbs, of tapestiy (two
kinds, tapis sarrsaiDois. tapis nostrei), weaves of silk rib*
bons, weaveia of silk kerchiefs.
(d) Finishing processes:
D^-eiB, calenderers, fullers, eheanoen.
(e) Merchandising crafts:
Drapers (sellers of both domestic and imported cloth),
sellers of imported canTas, mercers (selleis of silks).
Ctethitm and garment-makinii:
(a) Raw materials (other than textiles) ;
Sdlers of felt, of plumee.
(fi) Intennediate products:
■ (male and female), lace-maken.
68 INDUSTRIAL mSTORY OP ENGLAND ^M
(e) Finisheci products:
L Tailors, brecches-makere, tToiisers-malteri*, eleven different
F kinds of headdress-makers, oiifli n dialiuct occupation.
{d) Morcliaudiaing cmfU:
Fi'iperers (dealeni in second-hand clothea), mercers.
Wood and manvfactwes of uviod:
(a) Dealers in unwroiight wood:
Scllcra of firewood, sellers of cbarcoaL
(6) General wood-workera;
CarpcQters, turners.
(c) Makers of epecialties:
Coopers (two kinds — of barrels with wooden hoops, of
U barrt'Is with iron hoops), wagon-nuikcrs, wheel- and plough-
P Wrights, makers of writing-tablea, tnink-makers, makers of
jewcl-caskcts, makers of croquot^malleU, makcm of altars.
(d) Merchandising crafts :
Sellers of wooden vessels.
Bmlding trades:
Markers of stones for cutting, cutters of stone, mortar-
men (mortolliors), um»jns, pbstcrers, slaters, tilent, tUo-
L makers.
^cclenastiail-omavumt maJctrs:
Chasiihle makers, sculptors of images, painters of images,
bead-makers (several kinds arc distinguished).
Personal tmrvitx and miscAlanemu:
Barbers, bath-house keepers, lauudcrcrs (men and women),
surgeon doctors (men and women), fencing-masters, mone>'-
L changers, brokers.
■ IJuahcl-baflkct-makcrs, basket-makers, ash merchants,
ft straw-sellers, wax-workers, lutc-makem, cut-Rlaas workers,
K glaziurs, pottere (elay, copper, and tin, each a special group),
■ dice-makere.
■ Lantern-makers (horn), dealers in horn, comb-makere.
I Jewclers^, makers of driiiking-eup dc luxe (usually of agate).
I Illimiinators of manuscripts, scriveners (copyists), book-
~ bindiM«. book-^cUers.
The relation of these highly specialisted crafts to each other
varied in the different occupational groups; in some cases the
Cratttmeo uid product really passed throuRh the hands of the
eouunan whoIc group of praft.^; in some ca.ses the speciaJ-
ization was associated with household work. In the group of
■
»
crafts concerned with wheat and wheat products, we find re-
tail wheat^sellers, flour-sellers, millers, oven-tenders, and bak-
ers of various types of things. But the wheat merchant did
not sell crude wheat to the millers, nor <iid the millers 8eU
exclusively to 9our merchants; least of all did the bakers buy
of wheat merchanti! or depend upon peddlers and retailers to
sell their bread. The bakers of bread bought crude wheat in
the neighborhood and had it ground on their account. They
baked and sold their o'kh product. The poorest classes were
largely dependent upon the bakers for their supply of bread,
but only the poorest people bought bread. Those who were
better off bought wheat or flour. If wheat were bought they
mu5t needs have it ground at their expense; there was more
waiting; some considerable stock had to be kept on hand.
These dtlTerent craft:) thiu; dealt with families of various de-
grees of wealth. The establL-^hments of the nobility and the
Church were usually supplied with grmn and provitiions
directJy from their estates, without recourse to the markets
of Paris or the neighboring towns. Within the households of
the magnates, however, the diviaon of labor was quite as
elaborate as in the community at large, except for the mcr-
chandlting functions. The \'ariety of fine pastry-cooks listed
reflects the desire of citiaens of easy circumstances to havo
some of the good things enjoyed by the wealthy. The bour-
geois who could hardly buy bread without some loss of caste
could properly enough buy fruit paaties and fancy cakes.
There were thus many degrees of directness of connection
between prtKiiiction and constmiption. The very poor were
served by the relatively indirect processes of food production^
the very rich were maintained ahnost directly by the sen'ice
of their establishment.
The dependence of the wealthy upon the labor of free
artisans is most conspicuous in other occupational groups.
In leather, metals, textiles, and clothing much ^^^
craft-work was dominated by the desires of the
wealthy. Saddles and harness were elaborately tooled and
adorned. There were two distinct grades of shoes, and the
better grades made from cordovan leather fumi^ed «xi\Jw>'S-
;0 INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
ment for the larger number of workmen. Gloves, belts, and
purses were f{)r the most part articles of luxury. Among the
metal-workers, the goldsmiths were one of the most important
crafts, and theru were several other crafts that specialized in
objects of luxury. The most striking single illustration of
specialization in the production of luxuries is the presence of
eleven different crafts concerned with the making of head-
dresses. There were two main groups, bats or caps, and
kerchiefs.
Nearly all of the finished leather and textile products
passed succeiwively through the stages of production sug-
iBOMitd gceted by the occupational divisions. The
■'•'*'''*"*" change that took place in these branches of man-
ufacture between the eleventh century and the close of the
thirteenth century is notable. In the eleventh century most
leather was imported; at the close of the thirteenth century,
nearly all kinds were produced locally, though it is hardly to
be presumed that the entire demand was supplied by the
local production. Saddlers and harness-makers were par-
tially dependent also upon the products of wood- and metal-
workers. Saddle-bows were made by a separate craft, and
the metal parts of saddles and bridles were made by the
wealthy craft of lorimere. Both of these products involved
three stages of production, and in the tliirteenth century
the consumer rarely came in contact with all the craft-work-
ers concerned.
The inferences that can be drawn from materials in the
Book of the Crafts indicate that leather was purchased out-
Saddiart tad right from the tanners and curriers by the crafts
'*'*^'' engaged in subsequent processes of production,
but the saddlers seem to have had saddle-bows made for
them by hired craftsmen, and the lorimers frequently em-
ployed leather-workers to set their bits and finishings in the
harness. The harness-makers objected to this, but it was
doubtless a persistent feature of the industry. Thus, in one
case the craft concerned with finishing the product under-
took supervision of some of the intermediate stages, and to
the other, craftsmen concerned with an intermediate product
J
CRAFT GILDS IN MEDIEVAL PRANCE 71
had the finbhing done for them. The torimers sold 6onie
finished products and some intermediate products. The
complexities of medicvai iDdtistrial conditions were due to
the variety of ways in which this slij^t mensure of general
supen'i.«ion could be maintained. Tho degree of disintCRra-
tion suggested by the specialization of occupations was never
an established fact. Some craftsmen hired out to members
of other crafts, but without the close and permanent con-
tracts that would create Che relations that wc associate with
the terms "employer" and "employee." It was wage-work,
but wage-work for a producer. The distinction may not
seem very significant, but it is really of moment in any study
of the development of the wag&-caming class. At this time
there were wage-camers, but no class of wage-earners; none
were permanently or exclusively wage-earners; there were
alternatives of employment that do not exist when the
distinctions between employer and employee are sharply
drawn.
One entire occupational group, the oven-tenders, includ-
ing ninety-four names on the roll of 1202, must have been
employedby various kinds of bakers, and thou^
they may have had opportunities to become
bakers themselves, there is no clear reference that would war-
rant such an assumption. In the textile trades, the fullers
and shearmen were primarily employed by other craftsmen.
They were sometimes employed by weavers, sometimes by
dyers, conditions in the woolen industry at Paris at this
time were highly unstable. Some weavers had acquired con-
siderable means and occupied themselves wholly with the
(pving-out of work to fullers, shearmen, and dyers, Much
dyeing was done on their own premises, too, despite the pro-
tests of the dyers, whose only consolation was the conces-
sion of exclusive right to dye with woad for the various
blues. The drapers, originally cloth merchants, also began to
concern themselves with manufacture, (p\'ing out work to
wea\'cr9 and others. There was thus some
small degree of mtegration in this as in other in-
dustries. It is an indication that the be^ma^ oV CK^\\a^-
*
ft
7« INDUSTRI.\L HISTORY OF ENGLAND
istie control reach far back into the past, to a period that is
not usually thought of as capitalistic in any sense. But if
the term is used mth minute discrimination, the high degree
of disintegration is in it^lf an indication that the fundamen-
tal conditions of capitalistic industry were present. Th« scale
of business enterprise was small, so that the problems of cap-
italistic control were not conspicuous, perhaps not even rec-
ognizable, if one insists upon associating the notion of
capital with the scale of production that is dominant to-
day. From the standpomt of analysis, however, it is wise
to distinguish diEfenrnccs in kind from differences in degree.
Capitalistic control had appeared in Paris by the close of the
thirteenth century, though to a slight and nncertjun extent.
The outlines of a putting-out system can be seen in a number
of industries, though without the definitenesB of subonUna-
tion of the various craft^s that characterizes the putting-out
Bystcm as it existed at the eve of the Industrial Revolution.
m
Apart from the casual assistance rendered by vnte and
daughters, the master craftsman had assistants of twocla-ses;
j<mnieyiMn apprentices, young men or boys learning the
and ■pprcDticoi trade; journeymen, young men wlu) had com-
pleted their apprenticeship, but for one reason or another
had not yet become established masters. These distinctions,
based primarily upon the degree of maturity and training <rf
the workman, must be very old ; and although these subordi-
nate classes of persons were ultimately affected by the corpo-
rate privileges acquired by the master craftsmen, it would be
an error to suppose that these lower ranks of workmen were
in any sense created by the statutes of the crafts. These
Bubordinate positions in the industrial world were a natural
and inevitable outcome of the fundamental conditions of
handicraft industry. Work was done ahnost entirely in the
house of the master: shops, such as they were, being hardly
more than a room or other portion of the dwelling given over
exclusively (o craft-work. In the ordinary course of things,
cnit ktiowledgu wan trau&uutted from father to son, and,
CRAFT GILDS IN MEDIEVAL FRANCE 73
unlees some special arrangement were made, craft knowledge
could scarcely be secured in any other way. The narrow
hereditar>' succession, however, was not followed very strictly
during the middle ages. There was a deal of free choice of
occupation, and there are su^estions that somewhat similar
oonditioDS prevailed during the classical period among free
artisans.
When a boy desired to take up a craft other than that of
his father, it could be arranged after the manner of an adop-
tion. In becoming on apprentice the boy ac- suin* ot
quired by necessity many of the elements of the "■* ■!'»'•'"'=•
status of the man's son: the contract of apprenticeship was
io fact an instrument which proWded for a qualified adoption
— adoption for a period of years. Tlic long periods of ap-
prenticeship and the early age at which boj-s were appren-
ticed reflect this aspect of the arrangement. The boy was
turned over to the master at twelve years, or the like, and
was expected to serve him faithfully for the prescribed in-
terval. The master was under obligation to supply all hia
vants, and to teach him the craft. It was presumed that the
mastej would get enough work out of the boy to afford him
reasonable oompensation for hLs pains, and all too frequently
the apprentices were a lucrative source of cheap labor. It
is very difficult to determine the actual scale of industrial
enterprise during the middle ages, because the apprentice
was a notable source of g^n, if he was used definitely as a
helper instead of being tau^t the craft. Many masteni
seciu^d considerable numbers of apprentices and estab-
lished shops which would perhaps bear comparison with the
"factories" of the classical period. The attempts to limit
the number of apprentices, that are notable in the gild stat-
utes, were io part due to some desire to protect the apprentice.
If there were many, none <)f tiiem were likely to learn much.
The maintenance of a small scale of production was thus at
once a measure of protection to the small masters, to the
apprentices, and to the standards of workmanship. The
master had authority to apply corporal punLshment. Many
contracts of apprenticeship, also, make special tofiU\A.Qnx (A
74
IXDUSTRIAL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
the master's wife, bringing out the sense in which the appren-
tice was received into the family.
The position of the journeyman undergoes many changes
in the course of gild development. In the early period there
jounieTnini ^^ Qo artificial barrier to prevent the journey-
■ndmuten j^^q trom becoming a master. His position
differed from that of a master primarily in two respects: he
had little money and no home. These two qualiBcations,
money ai]d a home, were essential to tlie position of a mas-
ter, and of the two the latter was the more important. The
master must needs have a wife and a home because both
journeymen and apprentices must needs have board and lodg-
ing provided. Besides, there must be some place for a shop.
The household was the industrial unit, an^l for that reason,
if for no other, the unmarried workman was inevitably
obliged to attach himself to some a-itablished household until
Buch time as marriage opened the way to having an estab-
lishment of his own. In this earhcr period the journeyman
had every reasonable expectation of becoming a master.
The wages he received above his bed and board would usually
enable him to marry and set up shop in a couple of years. If
he had money and could marry sooner there was nothing to
prevent him from becoming a master.
In ail these statements it has been assumed that the craft
consisted primaiily of men. There were several crafts in
Women ta Paris that wcre composed aUnost entirely of
inijuna women. This was unusual, however, and be-
came even less usual later. When women were adixiilted to
membership in a craft their position differed in no respect
from that of the men. Widows frec|ucntly carried on their
husbands' business, and a small number nf women were to
be found on the rolls of the crafts at all timee. This occor
sional presence of women does not constitute a special prob-
lem.
All the fundamental aspects of craft industry cmei^ed in
France before the members of the craft ac-
quired the privileges that made them gilds. The
gpld was a pohtical and admiuistrative organization of the
CRAFT GILDS IN MEDIEVAL FRANCE 75
oraft. The discussion of the origins of the craft gitda is
obscured by the ambiguity of the tenn and the persistent
tendency of many writers to minimize the importance of the
unorRanized groups of craft-workera which were notably
developed in the early period in the French towns and re-
mained a significant feature of life in the provinces until
a very late period. For a variety of reasons the free craft '-
(mdtier Ubre) was more significant in France than io Ger-
many or F.ngland, and as France was if anything the leading
industrial country of the medieval period, it is perhaps justi-
fiable to stress these divergences of national history. The
relative importance of free and chartered crafts is obviously
of moment in any discussions of origins, and it must be
clear that the ori^ of the chartered craft, or gild, prc.«enta
a Imtorical pn»blera that differs in many respects from the
problems connected with the rise of the free crafts. There
can be little serious question of Roman or primitive Teutonic
elements in the statutes and charters of the privileged gilds
that bc^ to appear in the twelfth century. The charters
or statutes were granted by authorities that had no connec-
tions with the remote past, and their purposes were so ob-
viously spontaneous that no distant origins can be signi-
ficantly called in question. If, on the other hand, attention
ia concentrated on the craft groups, which certainly per-
OBted throughout the period of the invasions, one must needs
hesitate before denying the possible significance of Roman
8ur\4v*al3 or of Teutonic fraternal organizations.
The free craft was a voluntary association of individual
craftsmen, without legal authority of any kind. The hier-
archy of masters, journeymen, and apprentices
might exist : tliere might be a considerable Iwxly
of customs and usages. But the oflicers of the free craft, if
there were any, had no authority to enforce the customs of
the craft. Such in.<<titution5 must needs have been a spon-
taneous growth. No single, mechanical account of their
origin can be adequate, but it is part of the spontaneity of
growth that many elements of the past should be incorpo-
rated in the new order, though given different mcaxvov^x^
the new combination. Such organizations doubtless rep-
resent the fusion of many elementa. One must anticipate
likewise many diversities of form and divergent purposes.
The early history of craft organization is thus dominated by
tendencies toward spontaneous variation rather than by def-
initeness of form, though the forms which ultimately de-
velop become even excessively rigid and fixed. It is for this
reason unsatisfactory to take refuge in the easy solution of
perplexities by refusing to consider anything but gild char-
ters and statutes. The purposes that underlie these char-
I tera can be understood only in terms of the vague voluntary
organization that preceded them.
The history of Paris affords special opportunities for ob-
serving the transition from the free craft to the privileged
A(-iiiidOoo oi craft with statutes. The Book of the Crafts,
prt'ii»(M made at the instance of Etienne Boileau, the
Provost of Paris, is not a collection of statutes; it was de-
signed to be no more than a record of cxistoms, though the
process of record-making did in most cases give a somewhat
diffej^nt significance to the usages recorded. The prepara-
tion of the record is in itself evidence of consciousness of the
need of some change. The authority to enforce regulations
was vested in the Provost of Paris, an official whose juris-
diction included both civil and criminal offenses. The Book
was designed to facilitate the regulation of the crafts, and it
was to this end that the members of each craft were called to
the town hall and required to state the customs of their craft.
In the course of proceedings provision was made for the ap-
pfflntmcnt of wardens in a number of crafts in which no
wardens had previously existed. Such officers were charged
with the enforcement of the rules of the craft, and the emer-
gence of a group of gwom wardens is tlic most indicative evi-
dence of the transition from the vague organization of the
free craft to the more strictly ordered gild or sworn craft
Th« ■wgra im4tier juri). The wartiens were charged with
"^ the exercise of a portion of the authority of the
Provost; service was an obligation that was in a measure
burdensome to the individuals named, but the right to elect
CRi^FT GILDS IN llEDIEVAL FRANCE n
WHdeDB vas a privilege that rmgbt mean much to a craft, as
H pnotieally traiLsferred to the members of the craft as a
body the admimstrative authority of the Provost. Certain
monopoUstic features were inevitably associated with this
autonomy of administration, so that the attempt to use mem-
bers of the craft as assistants in the administration of craft
rules led gradually to the creation of privileged bodies with
appreciable grants of administrative power.
The entire prt>cess of development ih suggested by the
diversity of conditions that is recorded in the Book of the
Crafla. In the case of twenty-five crafts no
reference is made to wardens. In some cases
reference is made to "prud-honunes" and, as the tennis
used both in a general sense and in the technical sense of
"warden," these references may be to wardens whose ap-
pointment or election was so well established by custom
that no detiuled reference was made. The majority of crafts
in this group of twenty-five, however, were very small, accord-
ing to the numbers given iu the tax-roll of 1292. There were
eight master wire-drawers enumerated in the tax-roll, divided
into two crafts, drawers of iron wire and diaweis of brass
wire. When called before the Provost to state their customs,
the drawers of brass wire petitioned to be exempted from
the burden of having wardens. There were few masters and
they were all very poor. It was suggested that the Provost
have all the masters swear to observe the customs of the
craft. In a few cases there were important crafts that had
no wardens, but it would seem unwise to draw such cases in
question. Our information may be defective, or there may
have been some special reason that made it advisable for the
Provost to supervise the craft directly.
In most cases the technical character of the rpgiilationfl
made it essential for the Provost to utilize tlic craft knowl-
edge uf the masters. Thus the more consider- auric* et
able crafts all have wardens: in twenty-nine '■*f^«'*
crafts, appointed at the pleasure of the Provost; in two or
three cases, appointed by the Provost, with the approval of
the craft; in seventeen crafts, freely elected b'^ V\\% it^V
78
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
I
There is no evident basis for the discriminatioo between the
crafts. On the whole, the older and more important crafts
were allowed to elect their wardens, but there were excep-
tions. The brewers, the. r^raters of bread, the dyers, and
the sword-grinders were all old crafte of some considerable
importance, but they had appointed wardens. Apparently
there was not a little caprice manifested in the grants of
pri\Tlege, as in the enforcement of many general n^ulatious.
Keeping the city watch was a general obligation, which crafts-
men must needs share with other citizens, but a number of
crafts were entirely exempt, and the number of excuses that
might be given varied considerably among the crafts. The
&scal obligations of the crafts varied capriciously. The
medieval administrator had no conception of uniformity of
rule, Dor any consciousness that administration of justice
without respect of persons was either desirable or attainable.
There were few pri^-ileges that might not be had for a con-
sideration, and craft privileges were at various periods a lu-
crative source of revenue to the Government. There is little
reason, however, to suppose that there was much downright
buying of privileges in Paris at the close of the thirteenth
centur)'.
Conditions among the crafts noted above represent the sig-
nificance of pohtical and administrative factors in the trans-
rtud4) formation of free crafts into privileged gilds.
loihiMeM There is, however, a group of crafts closely as-
Bociated with the royal household which dcvelaiwd under
notably different conditions. Eberstadt, E. Bourgeois, and
some other writers have been moved by these and similar cir-
cumstances in some olhcr towns to call attention to the im-
portance of the feudal background. Eberstadt, who has be-
come most closely associated with this theory, unfortunately
writes with little caution and tends to overstate his case.
Bourgeois in more careful, and presents the so-calicd feudal
view of the origin of crafts in its most acceptable form.
The large establishments of the great lords sheltered many
craftsmen and became the scene of further specialization of
occupaUons at a fairly early date. The service of the kltchea
CRAFT GILDS IN MEDIEVAL FRANCE
ma elaborately organized for reasons that are obvious.
The establishment required much craft scr%'ice .j^ ^^^^^^
of smiths, garment- makers, ehoematcers, masons, «* u** («vd*i
aod builders. The craft* which were earliest
to emerge, and many that persiKted through the period of
disorder, found shelter in the households of feudal lords. Both
at Paris and at Blois there is clear eWdence that the develop-
ment of a number of cruf ts was profoundly in- tim miti
fiuenced by the presence of the royal household. '«>»••'>«"
The situation is no doubt exceptional in some respects, but
it b at least indicative of the variety of administrative ar-
rangements that makes it so difficult to generaUzc about any
aspect of medieval law or custom. The former dependence
of these crafts upon the royal household survived in two
respecta; there was an obligation to pay special fees to the
King, or to some persons designated by the King, aod there
was more or less complete subjection to the supervisoiy
authority of some official of the royal household.
The King's mai«bai bad complete jurisdiction over the
many iron-working crafts that developed out of the plain
forge work; blacbuniths, hook- and hasp-makers, helmet-
makers, gimlet-makers, edge-tool-makers, locksmiths and
cuUen were all oblif^ to purchase of the Marshal the right
to exercise the craft. After the general admission fee had
been paid tlierc was a special f cc lo be paid for the right to
work at home, and another fee for the right to work away
from home. The King's Marshal appointed six wardens to
enforce the customs of these crafts. Any infringements were
punished by fines which were paid to the Marshal. In case
of refusal to obey the orders of the Marshal, the offender
might be forbidden to exercise his craft, and in case of per-
sistence in disobedience the Marahal might tear down the
offender's forge. The cutlers and locksmiths were obliged to
pay fees to the Marsha! for the right to exerci-se their craft,
but they were under the general authority of the Provost of
Paris. The bakers were subject to the authority of the Chief
Bread-Maker (Grand Pann^tier), thou^ they had the rij^it
to elect twelve wardens and seem to have enjoyed some
80
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
measure of autonomy. The King's Cook had jurisdiction
over the freshwater fishermen. A special group of fisher-
men, however, were subject to the discretion of one Guerin
Dubois, "to whose ancestors Phihp the King gave this right."
The said Dubois sold the right to fiah in the waters described
for such prices as he chose. The old-clothes merchants were
subject to the discretion of the Miiitre Chambrier, who seems
to have been Chief Groom of the Bedchamber. Leather-
workers, both shoemakers and saddlers, were under the
authority of the King's Chamberlain, though the proceeds
collected from the sale of permits to exercise the craft were
divided between the Chamberlain and the Count of Eu. The
revenue from a group of five other leather-working crafts
went to a private indindual "who had been given the crafts"
by the King. Masons and plasterers were supervised by the
Master Mason who was appointed by the King to hold office
during pleasure. The masons were not obliged to pay any
fees, but they enjoyed no autonomy.
The wood-working crafts, at the time of Etionne Boileau,
were imder the authority of the King's Master Carpenter.
In 1313 general complaints prepared by the
craftsmen against the Master Carpenter re-
sulted in a hearing at the Parlement (court of administra-
tive and civil law) and in the suppression of the office. The
authority over the crafts passed naturally to the Provost
of Paris and in the course of the century several of the wood-
working crafts recdved statutes. The general craft of car-
pentry, confined at last to a much-narrowed scope of work
by the process of subdivision, finally received statutes toward
the close of the fifteenth century. The incident is signifi-
cant because it illustratCH all stages of the process of tran-
mtion from a craft sheltered and dominated by the royal
household to a craft with privileges which made it largely
autonomous.
Although the craft gilds of the later middle ages came to
have a fairly definite form, it would be a mistake to suppoea
diat thw was in any respect an indication or an outcome of
a common origin. The gild pri\'ilegeB developed in many
ThsMTpcaten
1
CRAPT GILDS IN MEDIEVAL FRANCE 81
ways. Such generality of form as eaine to exist was prima-
rily due to the preissure of the economic needs of Dft^iiiiei
an industrial and commercial life that presented «' f'><i
many fundamental elements of similarity despite "* *''"°*°
tlie diversities of political forms in national and municipal
life. There was a tendency to make similar regulations, and
the attwnment of common ends led to the creation of devices
which were similar in general outline. The technical proc-
esses were largely similar, the conditions of merchandifting
were substantially the same in all countries. The larger
outlines of craft life were thus common to the crafts of all
the lai^er European cities, and, as our knowledge is fre-
quently incomplete, we tend to see only these general fea-
tures. Close contact with the problems of medieval indus-
try will usually force upon one's attention the persistent
variety of medieval arrangements; much of this diversity is
no doubt mere difference in detail, but there is sufficient
variation to make one cautious of generaliitation.
The character of craft life is depicted with some clearness
of outline in the statutes and customs of the crafts, though
the picture is in many respects more nearly akin to a pho-
tographic negative than to the finished print. iii*«i«od
Many aspirations are expressed in these docu- "^"^ "■" "'•
ments which show by sheer dint of repetition that the inten-
tion was not wholly realized. Masters kept more apprentioea
than they should. fShoddy and fraudulent work were common
at all times and in all towns. It was difHcult to confine the
various crafts to the tasks and work which properly speaking
belonged to them. One \s inclined to belie%'e that the idyllic
pictures of medieval industrial life are based on reading craft
statutes and customs as literal records of what was done. It
is necessary to remember that we are dealing with a period
whose profes^un of faith was eloquent, thou^ its practice
of virtue was qualified by all too human weakness.
Craft statutes arc eonecmed with three kinds of matters:
definitions of the ciWl obligations of the mem- coomit or
hers, definitions of the status of the different '"^ """"^
classes of workers, and regulations of a tech&.vcai v(^t\^l»^i^A
S9 INDUSTRUL HISTOBY OP ENGLAND
character. The civil obligationa of members of a craft in-
volved various matters of fees: fees due the King or mxmici-
palitywith reference to the exercise of the craft; feea con-
nected with the sale of the manufactured wares or the
purchase of raw materials. The keeping of the city watch
was likewise the subject of many clauses, especially the matter
of excuses. Some crafts were entirely exempted, but in all
cases certain excuses were a valid means of escape from duty
on any particular night. The old-clothes merchants recited
a long list of proper excusefl, when they came tefore Boileau:
age, the condition of the wife, their annual bleeding, or ab-
sence from the city of which notice had been given. Tliey
went on to say that the wardens ought to accept excuses
when sent in by a neiRhbor or journeyman, but they required
all excuses to be delivered by the wife in person "whether
beautiful or homely, young or old, strong or weak. And it is
wholly shameful and improper for a woman to come and wait
around at the ChAtelot until the hour of guard mount, rcquii^
ing her return home through the streets of a city like Paris,
with her son or daughter, or perhaps with no escort at all."
The definition of the status of tiie different members of the
craft included, in general, statement of the conditions of
Dev»ioiinieiw apprenticeship, the mutual obligations of ap-
ct It«^:"°°* prentices and master, the rights and duties of
ftppnadcM journeymen, and the qualifications recjuired of
masters. Regulations of this class became very detailed in
the late period in '1 countries. In early statutes or customs
there are few regulations. The general tenor of the regula-
tions of apprenticeship in the Booh of the Crafts seems to favor
the apprentice. The restrictions seem designed to insure
honest instruction in the craft. To this end it is provided
that no new master shall take an apprentice during the first
year; that the widow of a deceased master shall take no ap-
prentice, though she may continue to exercise the craft. The
reotrictions on numbers are expressly declared to be de-
signed to insure good teaching, as a master could not gi\-e any
significant attention to many apprentices. The weavers re-
quired that proposals for apprenticeship be submitted to the
CRAFT GILDS IN MEDIEVAL FRANCE
wardens, who mi^t refuse to allow the contract to be con-
cluded, if in their judgment the mast«r was not capable of
discharging all his obligations. The minimum duratioii of
^prenticcahip was usually fixed at six years, though as many
as eleven years were required in some crafts. In a few crafts
only three years were required. The statutes of the gold-
Bmilhs provided that apprenticeship should end when the in-
dividual was capable of earning one hundred sous per year
in excess of his board, but this is on isolated case. Fagnicz
says that, to his knowledge, it is the only case in which
the length of the period of apprenticeship was dependent
upon the proficiency of tho apprentice. One must remem-
ber that, for the most part, sons of masters were not re-
quired to comply with thct provisions of apprenticeship. The
regulations appUed in their rigor only to persons not bom to
the craft.
The status of the journeyman at the close of the thirteonfh
century was not rigidly dehnod. The constant references
in the Book of the Crafts to the direct promotion
of apprentices to the grade of master show that
the transitorj' status of journeyman was not universally ob-
serv'cd. Even in the later pennd, sons of masters could dis-
pense with the term of service as journeymen, and, at this
time, the practice seems to have been general. Lack of funds
must have been the chief factor in forcing workmen to ser\*e a
term as journeymen. The journeyman was not supposed to
hire him.>feif out to any but masters of the craft, and it was ir-
regutar for him to work on his own account. When ho lived
with the master it would be ob\'ious!y difficult for him to work
outside the shop without detection, but when he found his own
lodgings many opportunities for independent work presented
themselves, especially when there was much wage-work io
tiie craft that could be done on the premises of the customer.
The obligation to work for a master thus constituted the most
distinctive feature of the status of the journeyman. Fre-
quently, the journeyman was not supposed to participate in
any way in the sale of wares at the weekly market, but that
restriction was not tmiver&al.
S4
INDPSTRLiL mSTORY OP ENGLAND
IfMUM
The conditions of becoming a master at the time of £tieime
Boilcau were hedged about with few formalities. Most of
the customs say that any one may become a
master " who knows the craft and has the where-
withal." The requirement of adequate means to support
the obUgations of the master was perhaps more rigidly en-
forced than at a later date. The hose-makers reported that
thirty-five of their number had fallen into poverty and be-
come journeymen. It may be that the stattunent merely
means that they had been obliged to hire themselves out to
other masters of the craft, and so were working as if they were
journeymen. One must needs assume that they went into
the shops of other masters, not even having the means to do
work at thoir own homes. Later, the tenns " master" and
"journeyman" implied a definite status. The master ootild
not cease to bo a master, even if he became poor. Doubtless,
at this early period the terms were hardly more than descrip-
tive phrases. There is no evidence of any formal ceremony
of admiwion to the prade of master. The special test of
craft skill, the masterpiece, is mentioned only once in the
Book oj the Crafts, and in that smgle case in no technical
connection. Apparently the masters were examined or made
to swear that they knew the craft, and of the two modee of
inquiry the latter seems to ha\'e been the more common.
This would not have led to the admission of unakilled workers.
The elaboration of the later requirements for the mastership
was not necessary from the point of view of testing craft
skill. The attempt to limit the number of craft-workers by
complicated conditions of admission to mastership was one
of the most arbitrary of the %'arious monopolistic practices
I of which the privileged crafts were guilty. In the crafts
^B that still remained subject to direct royal authority, certain
^^ fees had to be paid, and all masters were frequently required
^^ to Bwear that they would observe the statutes of the craft.
^B The oldest portion of the customs of the crafts is that con-
^^ c-jiij cemed with the regulations of the technical proe-
^^ Miai«titioa ggggg of the craft and its relation to other crafts.
^■^ The first objects of these regulations were to prevent car&*
*
^
CRAFT GILDS IN MEDIEVAL PRANCE 85
lesB workmansliip and unfair competition. In the crafts
whose market was purely local bad workmanship injured the
consumer, and at times injured the honest workmen by en-
abling their unscrupulous ndghbor to undersell them with
inferior goods. Frauds in manufacture were more sejious in
the crafts which were devoted to the export t rade, because all
the goods were marked with the name of the town and sold
as such. The goods of indiWdual maslcrs were only in-
completely di;stiuguished at best. A number of dishonest
masters could thiis injure the trade of the town as a whole,
and there was a disheartening amount of dishonesty. The
inspection of goods with which the wardens were charged
was therefore a matter of great importance. The craft stat-
utes endeavored to create standards of manufactiu^. The
raw materials that should be used were definitely stated . The
use of inferior materials waa prohibited. In crafts which re-
quired close attention to the work, ni{^t work was forbidden.
With the increase of occupational speciidization the de-
limitation of the activities proper to each craft became im-
portant. The cobblers were thus prohibited Daiiaiution
from making new shoes. Dyers were not al- •'<'*''•
lowed to do any fulling, and it was only as a concession that
the woolen weavers were allowed to dye in other colors than
blue. The old-elothcs dealers were allowed to mend old gar-
ments, but were not supposed to compete with the tailors
in the making of new garments. Specialization had been
carried far enouf^ by the close of the thirteenth century to
require some of theee niceties in the delimitation of spheres
of activity, but this type of difficulty became much more
pronounced later.
There are some traces of an element of communism. Mas-
ter« were at times required to share advantageous purchases
with each other. Such regulations, however, were rare.
Id the records of the customs of particular crafts there is
much caprice. The early records are particularly erratic
and incomplete. Much of this lack of system in the writing-
down of customs was due no doubt to the casual manner in
which moet of these records were made. UaxiaW'^ ftntct^ %v^
86 INDUSTRIAL HXSTORY OF ENGIAND
dfio occamon required the ni«tTHng ijf the record, and, bb ia
natural, the matters of numient with reference to the current
events exercised an undue influence on the character of the
record. The caprice of external events, too, exerted a great
influence upon the date at which privileges were granted to
crafts. Many aspects of craft life and craft development,
therefore, admit of no satisfactoiy e^qilanation. Forms of or-
ganization were seldom rifpdiy defined, and the growth is
systematic only in a very general sense.
CHAPTER IV
THE FOFUIATION OF ENGIAKD: 1066-1700
OoB knowledge of population during the middle ages is
inocmiptete aud unsatisfactory. There wore no comprehen-
sive enumerations of population for any entire suty
country until the beginnings of census work to- •n™»««MoM
ward the close of the eighteenth century. In particular towns
and in some provinces enumerations were made at various
times, and in France a comprehensive enumeration was at-
tempted toward the close of the seventeeoth century, but
these enterprises were not carried out with much statistical
precision, so that the results are hardly superior to the esti-
mates obtained by other means. Estimates of population are
based on two types of material: enumerationa of families,
property-holders, or adults (or purposes of taxation; and the
registers of births, marriages, and deaths. Both of these
sources are subject to errors of omission and to errors in esti-
mating the proportion of the enumerated population to the
total number of persons. The proportions of families, adults
over fourteen, marriages, births, and deaths to the total
population are all constants within a Rmall margin of uncer-
tainty, but the range of possible variation is suf&cient to exert
asigoificant influence upon results. If the families in a rural
community arc comprehensively enumerated, the popula-
tion could nowadays be estimated at about fom* and one
half times the number of families, but it is not entirely safe
to a.ssume that this proportion would be true of a medieval
population. The ecclesiastics were then more numerou.s and
would not be represented in the count of famiUcs. It is also
more than possible that more ficr\-ant8 were kept than at the
present time- The moat serious element of difficulty, how-
ever, is the likelihood of omissions. The lists available for the
earUer medieval period are tax-Usts, so that Ihci^ '«q>\3^«^\3&
Jk
J
88 IXDCSTIUAL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
motives enou^ for omissions of many kinds. The I'ery poor
were frequently omitted entirely because the tax would not
fall upon them directly. Some of the well-to-do were fre-
quently able to keep their names off the rolls, or were for some
reason exempt. It is not possible to secure any accurate
knowledge of the absolute numbers of the population.
For the more general purposes of the economist it is suf-
ficient to secure some conception of the relative changes in
Th« BMia the mass and density of population. It is impor-
'**"• tant to know whether there was a steady growth
throughout the period or mere fluctuations attributable to
the vicissitudes of war and disease. Our experience oi the
growth of population during the nineteeotii century has
made us prone to asstm:ie that a progressive increase of pop-
ulation is the normal condition of a European country, but it
Is not at all clear that Europe has diiTcrcd as widely from
Eastern countries as is frequently supposed, and there seems
reason to believe that the movement of population in Eng-
land presents a marked contrast to the general changes of
population on the continent of Europe during the period.
In England there seems to have been more of a steady
growth of population; in France, population has fluctuat«d,
tending to approximate what we may call the normal den-
sity for the country, though frequently below that figure be*
cause of various calamities. These at least are the conclu-
sions that may be drawn from the figures presented in
Tables I and II, and there is no ground for supposing that
there is sufiicient error in the figures to impair the validity
of the general conclusion.
It will be observed that the population of France reached
a mean density of about one hundred persons to the square
mile early in the fourteenth century. Pestilence and wars
reduced the population, but it tended to recover. The figures
for 1581 are not \'cr}' satisfactory, but those for 1700 and
1715 suggest pretty clearly that such decrease of population
as occurred during the period foUowing 1328 can legitimately
be ascribed to calamities. The decrease between 1700 and
1716 is known to be due to the dearth of 170^10 and the
THE FOFDIATION OF ENGLAND: 1086-1700 89
Tabu I
Tbb PoPDunON OF Enoland: 1086-1801
Tehi numitr cf penoiu and maan dmuiti/ per tquare mib
Dote Total persons If eon denaOn
1086 1,800,000 3fi.38
1327 2,225,000 43.73
1377 2,500,000 49.14
1570 3,882,000 76 .31
1800 4,460,000 87 .67
1630 5,225,000 102.70
1670 5,305,000 106 .00
1700 6,653,000 111 . 10
1760 6,066,000 119.20
1801 8^1,000 163.70
Tablb n
Thb FopmATioN or Fsakcb to 1^9
TebU tamber of pertona and mean dmnty per aquare miie {Ae bmmdariea
of 1871-1914 ore aasumai)
Dale ToUd Permmi Af ran deruUg
Prior to Itom&n GonqucBt 6,700,000 32.35
Nintli century 6,500,000 26 .55
1328 22,000,000 106.20
1581 20,000,000 06.60
1700 21,136,000 102.00
1715 18,000,000 86.90
1770 24,500,000 116.00
1788 26,000,000 125.00
losses in the military campugns of the period. A populap
tion of about one hundred persons to the square
mile would represent the normal possibilities of
adequate maintenance in view of the agricultural technique
of the period. Assuming the crops and methods of culture
characteristic of the middle ages, a population of that d^ree
of denaty could provide for its essential needs without rely-
ing upon any systematic importation of grain or other fooda.
Knowing as we do that few regions of Europe were regularly
importing food, this assumption is wholly in accord with
medieval conditions. Industrial development was prinut*
rily dependent upon agricultiiral resources. Industry floui^
ished upon the basis afforded by a local ag^icuitAxn^osi^eafc,
90
INDtJSTRIAL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
and was thus definitely subordinate in importance to agri-
culture. When the Industrial Revolution introduced changes
in technique which made it possible to develop great concen-
tration of population in the proximity of mineral deposits,
densities of population greater than one hundred per equare
mile began to appear in notable sections of England and
Europe. Until the Industrial Revolution this fi^rure of one
hundred persons to the square mile represents about the
norma! density for Europe. The Low Countries were per-
haps an exception to this statement, a.s they received appre-
ciable quantities of grain from the Baltic countries.
The figures for the mean density of population in England
show that the agricultural resources of England were not
M*<ii«T«i ^"^y utihzed until the seventeenth century, and
EoeiMd uadtT- that England waS relatively under-populated
'*'" until the eve of the Industrial Revohition. Tha
continuity of growth of population in England is thus due
to this emergence of significantly new factors in economic
development when the limits possible under the old technique
had been reached. The be^uning of dependence upon the
importation of grain shortly after 1750 affords striking con-
firmation of the substantial accuracy of the estimates of nor-
mal density. Some improvement was taking place in agri-
cultural technique, but even such added pos.sibilities did not
make it possible to maintain a population of much more than
one hundred to the square mile. France remained substan-
tially self-sufficing in the production of food, and the mean
density of population shows no increase such as took place in
England. The increase of population in France could be
explained by the remarkable improvements in the technique
of agriculture.
It must be rememljered that this conception of normal
density is purely relative; a fact emphatically suggested by
comparison between Europe and the Orient,
especially rice-producing countries. Statistics
are available for British India, and, though there
are many element* of uncertainty, it is fairly clear that the
great density of population in the most fertile provinces, six
normal
IhcOrUfll
THE POPULATION OF ENGLAND: 1086-1700 91
sundred to the square mile, is not to be attributed solely or
even pnnuuily to a low standard of li\'ing. Good arable land
constitutes a somewhat lai^^ proportion of the total area than
is usual in Kurope, and this is of course of importance. The
great factor in the high denmty of population, however, is the
dependence upon rice. Rice responds more signilicantiy than
wheat to intensive culture, ^^^lcat yields between 530 and
1800 pounds per acre, according to the cultural system : rico
yields between 820 and 4500 pounds per acre. The food
value of rioe is perhaps sU^tly lower than that of wheat,
but a rice-growing region can nevertheless maJnt^n a greater
density of population than a wheat-growing region. The pro '
portion is indicated roughly by the quantity of land that caa
be effectively cultivated by one man and hb p«mmu
team. In medieval Europe it was aeeumed that '^^'^
a peasant cultivatorneeded about thirty acres for independ-
ent maintenance of himself and his family. In Britkh In-
dia, in the proWnce of Bengal, between five and ten acres are
sufficient to occupy the peasant and his family, not in mar-
ket-gardening, but in staple agriculture. The specialized
agriculture now practiced in Europe makes it dlfBcult to in-
stitute comparisons with modem oondition-s, but Europe has
become so dependent upon the importation of food that her
own agricultural resources are no longer a measure of the
density of her population. Under the influence of the In-
dustrial Kc%'olution the factors determining the growth of
population have become so complex that it is scarcely pos-
sible to assign any precise limits to the dcn^ty of population
that may be achieved even in large areas.
The figures upon which the estimates of population are
based arc rather more satisfactory for En^and than for
Pranoe. The English figures are in each case based upon
some approximately oomprobensive enumeration. The fig-
ures for France are based on enumerations, but j,,ad4iid.*t
none of them are as comprehensive as those «* the creoth
available for England. The estimates for 1328 in **"*"
France arc probably the most reliable figures we have for that
country until the enumerations of the " InteudaxAa" mYlVI^.
92
INDUSTMAL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
This 19 particuJarly fortunate, as it is rather more impor-
tant to knon- the population at periods of greatest prosperity
than in periods of distress. An enumeration of hearths was
made in 1328 with reference to the levy of an armed force;
the figures are comprehensive for the royal domains and
thus include a lai^ portion of the kingdom, but the popula-
tion of the estates of the nobility must be assumed to have
been proportionate. As the lands of the royal domain were
fairly well scattered throughout the kingdom there can be
little objection to projecting these figures into the non-enu-
merated portions of France. The chief difficulty is to deter^
mine the probable proportion between hearths and the total
population; the very conservative writers multiply by four,
others by four and one half or five, according to their temper.
French material is so largely based on the number of hearths
or families that we have no definite meana of testing prol^
able proportions by different tj-pes of enumeration, as is pos-
sible in England. The figures for France prior to 1328 are
highly speculative, and the estimate for 1581 is an expression
of opinion rather than a statistical result, but the general
course of development docs not seem to be open to much
doubt. We cannot be certain of the precise figures, but we
can feel confident that France was about as densely popu-
lated in the early fourteenth century as she was at any time
prior to the late eighteenth century. The land of France
was fully settled and utilized when the medieval ctviliaatioD
was at its height.
n
The movement of population in England has been ob-
scured by the relative uncertainty that has existed with
Tt, BU(i reference to the population prior to the Black
DMih Death. In Domesday Book and in the roll of
the poll-tax of 1377 we have for those dates much more accu-
rate data than exist for France, but there were no collected
data for the years immediately preceding the Black Death.
Some writers, notably Seebohm and Gasquet, declared that
England had enjoyed great prosperity prior to the great pes-
THE POPUtATION OP ENGLAND: 1086-1700 98
tileDce. The later visitations were sufficient in their minds
to prevent any considerable increase of population between
1349 and 1377, so they were disposed to regard the figures for
1377 as indicative o( the population immediately after the
Black Death. It has generally been as!<umed that the popu-
lation was decreased by one half orone tliird during the course
of the pestilence, so that this would indicate a population of
four or five millions in the years immediately preceding the
pestilence. If this were true the general course of the growth
of population in England would have been roughly coni-
parable with the movement of population in France. A
population of five millions in England would indicate a mean
density of about one hundred to the square mile, and under
such conditions it would be necessary to suppose that Eng-
land was a maturely settled country.
The figure for 1327 gi\'cn in the table above is based upon
inferences drawn from the subsidy rolls of that year; or in
the case of one county the year 1332. A sub- sutitidr
sidy was levied in 1327 in all or nearly all the •*"•■ '**'
counties, and many of the rolls for the counties arc extant.
These materials have attracted little attention from stu-
dents of population, partly because there arc no summarized
neults and partly because the lists are liata of property-
holdera rather than householders. It must be confessed that
the basis is not as satisfactory as might be desired, but upon
careful examination it would seem that there are no more
omissions from these lists than from the other lists that are
the basis of estimates of population. Furthermore, care-
ful studies bj' Powell of the subsidies lened in Suffolk in 12S3
afford some definite indication of the proportion between the
total population and tlie number of persons enumerated in
the subsidy rolls. The multiple six, used in the tables, is
derived from this source.
The poll-tax lists which are available for 1377 and for po
tions of England in 1381 are eubject to many omissiona.
They purport to enumerate the entire adult DttKuotthi
population over fourteen years of age, but it is Pou-tu ii«u
Btill necessary to compute the probable nuxoTDci o1 c!CkA<^<iA
J
04
INDUSTRIAL fflSTORY OF ENGLAND
and some allowance must be made for adulte not enumerated.
Lai^ Qumbers escaped enumeration in 1381 ; "escaped" is the
appropriate term, as it is presumed that they took to the
woods during the enumeration. As much as one fifth is
added by some writers in computing from the lists of 1377
merely on account of omissions. It would seem defensible,
therefore, to use the subsidy rolls of the early fourteenth
century despite the fact that they do not purport to be ab-
Bolutcly comprehensive enumerations of adults or house-
holders. The subsidy was a tax on property from which only
the very poor were exempt; the returns are thus comparable
to the returns of the Domesday Sur\-ey. Figures from five
counties, enumerated in Table III, indicate a population
that constituted only seventy per cent of the population of
the same counties In 1377. These counties are reasonably
representative, as they arc well scattered and present many
diversities of condition. They contained about one tenth
of the population of England in 1377. Comparison with
the figures from Domesday Book and from some other sub-
sidy rolls shows that the population was not growing con-
sistently. The changes in Worcestershire are especially no-
table. There were 50,000 persons Id the county in 12S0, as
n» -tinKt* compared with 27,000 in 1086 and 28,000 inl327.
It* lii? These figures would not support the contention
that the population of England was at ita maximum just
prior to the Black Death, and it is very difiicult to find any
grounds for assuming a population of four or five millions.
Table III
CHANosa m Pofdwtcon: 10R6, 1280, 1327, 1377
OnuH*
LedoeaUT
StaStitds
Somanet
Siuux
WoroetUf
York. North Riding
lOSa I28l>-130a UDl
40.6.32
10,068
83,684
^400
2^750
41. 2M
50,Sd8
(1332)
65.332
183,723
IS«
1I7T
2fl.82e
S0.760
21,712
36,0S3
62,814
87.072
43.278
1)S.310
SS,09S
25,753
267.882
53.097
THE POPULATION OP ENGLAND: 1086-1700 OS
If the figures arc interpreted without prejudice, they vould
indicate that the population in 1327 was somewhat less
considerable than in 1377, probably not as much as thirty
per cent short, but definitely less than two and one half mil-
lions. The figure 2,225,000 is designed to present this
opinion in round numbers, and, though it is hypothetical, it
is not much more of a guess than any of the other figures.
96
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
These considerations would perhaps require some modifica-
tion of the views currently expressed about the mortality
from the Black Death. The epidemic may perhaps have been
somewhat less general or the mortality somewhat less great.
At all events, the recuperation from the ravages of the dis-
ease must have been much more rapid than has been assumed
by Cunningham, S«ebohm, and Gasquet. The Htiggestioos
THE POPUL\TION OF ENGLAND: 10&6-1700 07
of the mftterial in the subsidy rolls lead to about the same
conclusions as those reached by Thorold Rx^ra ^ra calcu-
lations based upon the food-supply. It would seem, there-
fore, that we have grounds for saying that the movement of
population in England was distinctively different from the
movement of population in France.
The study of relative changes of population in the various
&8
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
at couBtr
den>it7 mapa
counties is fully as significant as the study of totals for Eng-
land as a whole. In some respects there is less
iikcUliood of distortion of results by reason of
general statistical errors, for we have no grounds
for supposing that errors were localized by counties. Fur-
thermore, a considerable margin is afforded by the mode of
presentation that must be adopted in studying density fig-
THE POPULATION OP ENGLAND: 1086-1700 09
uree by counties. In some cases small diffcmnces might throw
a particular county into a higher class or lower class. The fig-
ures for York in 10S6 are low because of the devastation of
the county shortly before the survey. Durham is set down
for what would seem to bo a very excessive figure in 1570.
With these exceptions there is no Rround for assuming that
the figures for any particular county are seriously defective.
J
100 INDUSTBUL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
The maps showing the relative density of population have
been shaded to represent the relation of the density in par-
ticular coxmties to the mean density of population in England
as a whole. It is thus possible to compare the conditions at
the various dates. Changes in relative density ean be stud-
ied apart from the general growth of population. Counties
whose population was not more than five persona per square
mile above or below the mean density for all England con-
stitute the basic group, repreaentiag approximately the mean
density. As this group of counties is to sen'c primarily as a
basis the range of variation has been made timall. Deviation
DafUtJon f i«m from this mean density is indicated in four
umiumi) groups: more than twenty-five persons per
square mile above the mean ; between six and twenty-five per-
sons more than the mean density; between six and twenty-
five persons per square mile less than the mean density; and
more than twenty-five persona less than the mean density.
The total range of variation thus indicated is nn the whole
greater than would be found in a maturely settled country
prior to the Industrial Revolution.
The maps reveal a fairly definite movement of population
westward and northward. At the time of the Domesday
MoT«ni«t» of Survey, the population was most dense in the
poputatioo eastern counties. There was a great belt of mid-
land counties in which the density exceeded the mean density
for England, and on the frontiers of Scotland and Wales very
low densities. Some of the border counties were not enu-
merated at all, but allowance has been made for their pop-
ulation in calculating the mean density. The relative con-
centration in the eastern counties gradually disappears;
population does not decline absolutely, but the growth in
those counties is not as rapid. By 1600 the population had bfr
comefairiy well distributed throughoutEngland. In no county
was tha« a population that exceeded the mean density by
more than twenty-five persons to the square mile; the coun-
ties showing such excess over the mean density in 1570 had
passed the mark by vcrj' small margins, and there is consider-
able reason to doubt the figxire for Durham in 1670. The
THE POPtHATION OP ENGMND: 1086-1700 101
map for 1600 thus indicates the close-^rthe 6rst phase of the
development of settlement in Englandfthew was K^^Hdnj
a mean density of 87 persons to the squitrB.tijile '•■^•n**^
and population wa* rattier evenly diffused--. -In the seven-
teenth century the beginnings of the modem-fcossing of the
population are e%'ident. The metropohtan area of. London
began to show up conspioiou.'fly, and Worcestershire, marks
the be^nings of the nmnufacturing districts of Che'-west.
Lancashire shows a high dencdty, but not as much aBoVe- the
mean for aU England as in ItiOO. The map for this pentid
is probably typical for a maturely settled country prior to ihb ,
Industrial Kcvolution. There is a clear distinction between' •
counties whose interests were purely agricultural, and the
counties combining agriculture with manufactures. Norfolk,
Gloucestershire, \S'iltii, and Devon were the principal textile
counties. Worcestershire combined textiles and metals.
The textile industries of Suffolk, Ksscx, and Kent had de-
clined and they had become more largely agricultural
counties.
The changes that are suggested by these maps can hardly
be explained except in terms of the migration and differen-
tial gro^vth that would naturally be seen in the iiMDing of
transition from a sparsely settled frontier to a '''• "'*»•
maturely settled country in which the relative density of
eettlement is closely adapted to the agricultural and indiL<r-
trial advantages of the various portions of the total area.
The massing of population in 1086 represented a preliminary
stage in settlement in which the coasts were more densely
aetUed because of their proximity to the influences of the Con-
tinent. Inunigration from the Continent affected these coun*
ties more than the midlands and new industrial processes thus
estabUahcd themselves in these counties earlier than else-
where. The map of 1086 can thus be explained by the his-
tory of settlement. The map of 1700, on the other hand,
represents the relative advantages of the different sections of
England. The study of the density of population by counties
tends to oonfirm the conclusions suggested by the study of
total population and mean density. We mav tea&ot^V^ ci^^^^
I
108 XNDUSTRUfc HISTORY OP ENGIAXD
ceive England to hayfe.been sparsely populated in the middle
ages, much less dpif^iy populated than the Low Countries
and France. ICiiftbuid, to use Mackinder's {^t phrase, was
a frontier pro^^IUfe of Europe.
En^and.vias acted upon by a diversity of European in-
Quences^ and for this re-ason the history of England mif<t be
Mediant '■.• studied with a European background. Many
Son^rf-.' En^h institutions were imported from the
Bm'H*-.'' Continent. In economic concerns England was
Ificenise a passive subject. Her industrial and commercial
. -iifc in this early period was dominated by Continental influ-
•'-..^ices. The woolen industry developed under the stimulus
of the French and Flemish technique. New method.s and
products were in no case introduced by the English indus-
tries of this period. The progress of manufacture thus fol-
lows the advance in Europe after an interval that is at times
considerable. Not until 1700 was the general position of
English industries wholly comparable as regards technique
with the similar industries on the Continent.
The Industrial Revolution thus brought about a great
change in the relative positions of England and the Conti-
nental countries. England ceased to be a mere frontier
pro^-ince and became the leading exponent of Western civili-
zation, both in the initiation of new technique and in the dis*
semination of European influences in the Orient and in the
New World.
ni
The period prior to the Industrial Revolution also pre-
sents a marked contrast with modern conditions with respect
^^^ to the relative proportions of urban to rural
population. In the early period towns were
small and in general the population was widely scattered in
villages and hamleta. Diapereion was characteristic of this
period, just OS concentration is characteristic of the mod-
em period. There is thus a difference in the relation of the
population to the soil as well as some difference in the actual
mass of the population. Although the population of France in
THE POPULATION OF ENGLAND: 10S6-1700 lOS
the nineteenth century was not very much Rrester than in the
early fourteenth century, the aspect of the countrj-Bido was
difTercint. A different form of social organization had grown
up which emphasized the town, and especially the great me-
tropolis, at the expense of the small rural communes. We
are so faniihar with the more elaborately organized massing of
the population that we are slow to realize how large a popula-
tion can be maintained when widely dispersed. "ITus is a
feature of medieval life that is particularly difficult for us to
reconstruct imaginatively.
There is sufficient evidence in the Domesday Survey to en-
able us to form fairly definite impressions of the size of settle-
ments, but the statistics have not as yet been tabulated for
any considerable number of counties. Profesisor Vino-
gradoff has worked over the surveys of Derbj'shire and Essex,
which are fairly typical counties. Derbyshire two oonoiiM
riiowed a density that was only slightly under *" "**
the mean den^ty for EngUmd, while Essex was one of the
most densely populated countie-'i. The counties also repre-
sent somewhat di£Fercnt types of settlement in other respects.
The two counties [says Vinogradofr] may be taken as intereflting
examplea of the repartition of population in the midlands and in
the southern counties. At the satno time the Danish cWuvnt ts
strongly represented in Derbyshire without being predominant
there, while Essex, though suhgtantially aktii to Hurtfordshirv and
Sussex, yet has many features in common with the East Anglian
settlement, and especially Suffolk, from which it is divided by
the slight demaxcation tine of the Stour. In regard to thv soil und
contour of the country, the two shires in question present marked
contrast; hill!) and dales arc characteristic of Derby^re, plains and
marshes of Essex.
Turning to the northern county, we natxirally find a population
more scattered, and ooDceotratcd us a rule into smnltcr groups. It
is true that in some cases a rural organitation described under one
name in Dotneaday may in truth have consisted of several memtwrs
only loosely connected with each other. But although this element
of tutcertainty cannot be eliminated, it is not unreasonable to as-
sume that the single place name points to a nucleated settlement
of some sort, as the record is careful to notice over and over a^ia
the subdivision of rural units. . . .
■ii
104 INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
The best way secou to be to group the settlements according to
the number of villein and aoc-nian hoiiaeholds assigned to them.
The villeins and soc'mcn wore the principal classes of rural tenan-
try, and held among them the regular shares of the field holdings,
while bordarii and cutters catnc in as small tenants of a few acres
or of cottages, and had better be left aside in a review of the main
features of the village settleraente.'
The number of households of viDeins and soc-men would
represent roughly one sixth of the total population. Vino-
nutt** tad grodoff suggests grouping settlements of 2 to 5
^•^•* households (under thirty persons), 6 to 11 house-
holds (36 to 66 persons), and over 12 households (over 72
persons). These groupings may seem to emphasize unduly
the very small settlements, but there were so few that were
larger that separate classification would scarcely be necessary.
In Derbyshire there were only 6 or 7 villages of 30 or more
households, so that the classification as a large village of any
BCttlement having more than 12 households is definitely jus-
tifiable. In Essex, there were 19 villages with 40 or more
households: one village had 143 boiiseholds, the other IS
panged in size between 40 and 80, few of them having more
than 60 households. The proportions of the total popula-
tion li\-ing within these various types of settlement were as
follows:
Drrrbv Eim
per (cid prretnt
HamteU, 2-5 households 9 9.4
Small viilujccfl. 6-11 houMholds 35 16.9
Large villages, over 12 housobolda 57 73 . 1
81 99.0
The portion of the population of Derby that was not clas-
sified cannot be assumed to be distributed in larger units;
the impossibiUty of making the classification complete is
due merely to the difficulty of placing the unclasidfied entries
within the designated groups. " Boroughs" are omitted, but,
as will be »een later, the Domesday borough was not distin-
guishable from the villages in respect to ase. With rare
exceptions there was no urban population: no groupings
' VLuogradofl. P., Bngtu\ Socirly in ttn EUventk Century. 269.
THE POPULATION OF ENGLAND: 1086-1700 105
of population suflicientJy large or depeDdent upon com-
mefce and industry as distinct from agriculture to admit
of separate classification. The population vm exclusively
rural.
The subsidy rolls of the early fourteenth century afford
further evidence of the relation of population to the soil. The
dasaificaticms must be changed slightly, if the diviidon into
groups is to bear any relation to the relative y™^ ^^
numbers of villages of the various sizes. The
somewhat larger figures, however, cannot be assumed to in-
dicate that the scttlcmcnte were as large as indicated. In the
tax-rolls we seem to be dealing with areas rather than nith
final units of settlement, and at times two or three villages
are explicitly grouped. Casual phrases, too, suggest that va-
rious scattered farms were included in the enumeration under
the caption of a neighboring \'illag8. We may be sure that
the settlements were not larger. But even when all these
allowances have been made, it seems clear that there were
more large villages, \illage3 of two or three hundred inhabi-
tants, than at the time of the Domesday Sur^-ey. At this
period the boroughs were becoming distinct types of settle-
ment, but were not significantly larger than some of the vil-
lages. In the County of Somerset 17 places were described
as boroughs, ranging in size from U households to 63
households. Only 3 boroughs had more than
60 households. There were 13 \-illages with more
than 60 hou-seholds, 1 having 176 and another 103 households.
In Staffordshire, there were 3 boroughs, having 55, 56, and
57 households respectively: there were no villages in the
county of more than 47 households, and only 3 having more
than 40. In Sussex and Worcestershire, there were villages
that were as large or larger than borougKs, though in Worces-
tershire the City of Worcester was the lai^est place in the
county. In 1280, at a period of great prosperity, it had a pop-
ulation of about 1800 persons, though no village had more
than 1500 persona. The poll-tax returns for 1377 afford the
first comprehensive indications of the emeigence of towns
that are distinctive units of settlement. The list ai lnyma^
106
INDUSTRIAL HISTOEY OF ENGLAND
however, shows pretty clearly that the urban movraoent
was just begimung.
Fopnii&Tioii or ths Towns ubted on tsB Sou. aw thb Poll Tax
o?1377
(Oub tUrd of the eQumentod populatian Is idded to nproNiit flUldtBti, and one
fittli of tlMt total ii addad to oorer ponible amiKfana.)
LwKtoE. 37,302
Yoric 11,697
Bristol 10,152
PlymouUi 7,738
Coventry 7,706
Norwich 8,322
lancolii 6,458
Salisbuiy 6,161
Lynn 5,002
Colchester 4,728
Beverley 4,260
Newcastie 4,234
Canterbury 4,128
Bury St. Edmunds 3,007
Oxford 3,770
Glouoester 3,582
Ldoeeter 3,361
Bhrewsbury 3,33L
Yarmouth 3,105
Hereford 3,044
Ely 2,857
Cambridge 2,857
Exeter 2,496
Worcester 2,491
The predominaDtly rural
tury England is suggested by
EingatoiKiD-HuIl 2,491
Ipswich 2,410
Northampton 2,362
Nottingham 2,313
Winchester 2,304
Stamford 1,948
Newaric 1,884
Ludlow 1,874
Wellfl 1,874
Southampton 1,843
Derby 1,672
Lichfield 1,538
Chichester 1,389
Boston 1,302
Carlisle 1,084
RochestOT 912
BaUi 912
Dartmouth 803
9 towns over 5,000
11 towns 3,000-4,999
19 towns 1,000-2,999
3 towns under 1,000
character of fourteenth^cen-
the following tables:
TabldIV
NoitBSS 07 SvrrLKiairTs: 1327 and 1332
ClmlM
Leiontn-
Stafforda
Somenet
Simex
WofoestBT ... .....
York, North Riding,
1301
Vndw^ao
279
218
402
179
110
340
30-39
43
46
138
117
68
102
W-GB
1
3
20
21
23
13
Ota- 00
13
S
6
Bcnueht
I
3
17
6
6
109
THE POPULATION OP ENGLAND: 1086-1700 107
_ Table V
n^OPOBTions or Tire Tot.m. Pom-ATios Itmxsmya zAcn or thb
VARIOUS Oeoups of SiTm^MKNTB: 1327, 1332, and 1301
1 r™,
Pw tad A> fdlaiM «f
P^tBU
I CauMy
V-drlO
momm
2^8 iwawt
VhM namw
OHrta namm
I»
Nit
SUBonb
SoOHOMt. ...
WoroMter. . .
York, North
IUdiu«,]301
«.0B
62.88
89.64
32.31
26.14
43.29
21.74
29.15
3a .08
42. 8S
32.S6
28,31
0.92
3.24
«.2!{
13 13
23,81
6.60
9.93
8 eo
10. 01
4.33
10.38
4,37
4.91
3.02
7.43
i!3i
17.39
If we assume that the total population is about six times
the number of names on these subsidy rolls, it will be seen
that the bulk of the population lived in villages p,,4>iaia.ac«
of less than 300 inhabitants, and in some coun- "f *i°*ii
ties two thirds of the population lived in villages
of lees than 120 inhabitants. It is unfortimate that there
has not been more study of the sources of information avail-
able to U8. The statistics are not minutely accurate, and
yet they present a more vi\-id picture of the general basis of
medieval life than any other kind of information we possess.
It would probably be possible to work out specifically the
regions of small hamlets and large villages, and these differ-
ences in the size of sottJementti would hara some relation to
forms of village organization and methods of agriculture.
Despite the amount of work that has been done on medie-
val records we may still feel that there are many important
social data still to be gathered.
These figures for London are ^ven, aa the best obtainable.
The growth of the seventiienth century is somewhat exag-
gerated by the inclusion of outlying parishes in tii« Rr»wth
the statistics. Thl-j is in itself an indication of "' ^a'on
the gr«)wing con9ciousnp.ss of the existence of a metTopolitan
area distinct from the City of London in its strict legal sense.
The area for which figures are given after the beginning of
the seventceuth century is the re^tratiou area of births and
fe
108 INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
EbTUUTED POPCWTIOK OF LOYDON' •
lMS-19 QiKlcr 50.000
1577 i... 43,700
1400-1600 40,000-50,000
1632-^ 62,400
1563 93,278
1580 123.flG4
IS89-M 152,478
1605 224,275
1622 272,207
1634 339,824
1661 460,000
1682 669,000
IStheentUTT about 700,000
1801 (census) 864,000
* Odcblon, C.:"'n>(>l'opul*llon(if Old Uinilon," fflorkwpaif'i MdpaifM.vol. I4D, pp.4g4,
4S0, *95. It ia iinfiiHrlunalo Ihbt Crri^loQ iiihkr* no ttietuitt t" nsrnlat* th» fnMniilifrom
the bill* of DiurlalLlv *iLh Ihe KTlfJuL] rhiiti^ in ihn timtU irithin ftbiflta mc^ iDlormfttiDO
hju ['<jlliK-ipd. Tli'wi limits nvrr FiTonHnI iriEh r^EfV-lfct rv^Lilily in th* f^tn 1631^1. Tha
roiillkpi^^Uy of U4*» tb«( miidii h*" rt,Ui^ l^odooa tbut » »riouB konnfl of roof union it ab
«Br1y «t4K4f of CDQUIne melFOV^IXnn po»1h. tl* mantioD of Ihc tavcqlotDth e«ntury la In
MfuldcrKblc mMMin upvaiou ul Iho an* IdantlBad witli Loodun.
deaths, usually described as the area within the Bills of
Mortality. Uttle attempt has been made to study all the
etements mvolved in the growth of the general urban area,
and, as these problems would require much critical study and
no little erudition, it would be out of place to include such a
study in the present sketch. Some genej-al conception of the
growth of London vi, however, of great importance. It will
be evident that the growth of London was very slow until
somewhat after 1500. The sixteenth and seventeenth cen-
turies were charHctcrizcd by a notable increase in population,
and thie period of growth was brought to a close about 1700
by the difficulty of dealing with the sanitary problems of ur-
ban life. The plague was a persistent feature in the life of
the city and a hirgc factor in its death-rate. There was no
possibility of growth by natural increase; the general level of
population was maintained by the influx of people from the
country. Ivondon and Paris were, at this period, about equal
in size, Paris being perhaps slightly larger. Both cities
failed to make any significant growth during the greater part
of the eighteenth century. The increase in the size of Lon-
don revealed by the census of 1801 is presumed to have been
the result of the last ten or fifteen years.
CHAPTER V
VIUAGE AND MANOR
fiTMPATBrnc appreciation of the life of the medieval
period is impossible unless the ri^ts and duties of the vil-
lager are clearly understood. The daily round of his duties
and the legal dcHiiition of his relatioDs to his neighbors are
both of momeat. Furthermore, we must not forget that duiv J
ing the major portion of the period the life of the villager
was affected by the presence of a personage of some degree of
social and political consequence. The " big house," as it
is frequently called to-day by the Enj^ish peas- vuug«t» ud
anfary, was not a part of the Nillage in any accu- ■"*«"•••
ratesense of tlie word, but the life uf tlie village was very defi-
nitely concerned with the "big house" and its master. Tho
superficial appearance of rural life cliangen very slowly and
there axe still in England some few villages which would pre-
sent to the casual observer most of the features of rural Eng-
land in the tldrteenth century. The crops would be different;
farm implements would be better; fotKl more varied; cloth-
ing profoundly changed; but the aspect of the village fields,
the \-illago street, and the "big house" would all be subifitaD-
tially as they were in the thirteenth ocnturj*. The "shell"
of the old English village can still be seen, though the legal
framework of society has been completely transformed. In
the few archaic villages tlmt still exist the ancient system of
farming is perhaps more nearly discemible than the legal and
social relations among the villagcre.
The present position of the aristocracy in England is of
course a heritage from the remote pa.-t, and tho critics of
aristocratic inatitutions, therefore, find much to deplore in
the ancient eyatcia that created this division of society into
classes. Some have written bitterly of the titled personages
.that kept the land in "fetters," refusing to allow th^ («.W<3v '
4l6 INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND ^^
men to raise food on land which they themselves put to no
higher tit^e than the breeding of pheasants. Many problems
of agrarian history have thus become bo inextricably inter-
woven with the social problems of the present day that it is
difficult to approach the past with the dispassionate detach-
ment that is most favorable to a just understanding of history.
Those whose interest has been centered around the growth
of free institutions have also contributed prejudices wliich
Judgment ci color Interpretations of the rural life of the mid-
ib« old ordw (JIq ages. There are suspicions that tlic villager
was originally free and that he lost his freedom by reason of
the unjust use of political power and economic advantages.
The slow process by which the villager acquired his freedom
is followed with interest, but there is little sympathy for the
system of social organization which is regarded as the means
of depriving the villager of freedom. Many writers who
find little to criticize in the institutions of the present day,
' thus find grounds for believing that the middle ages were a
peculiarly dismal and unfavorable period. It is as difficult
to pass judgment upon the medieval rural life as it is to ap-
preciate jUHtly the position of the negroes in the South before
the Civil War. At their worst, these systems of organizar
tion were no doubt a curse to all concerned; slave and mas-
ter, villein and lord, alike. At their best., and perhaps even
generally, these institutions were not inconsistent with some
measure of materiaJ well-being. It is doubtful if we can say
more of the social institutions of our own time. Modem in-
dustrialism at its worst can create miseries which can scarcely
DM • primuT ^^ surpassed, though many are pleased to be-
putpo«e ot lieve that there are opportunities for the devel-
opment of personality that did not exist in
earlier periods. An uncharitable critic, however, can paint
a sufficiently dismal picture of our own day. Whether or no
there is real improvement in the social conditions under which
the mass of the people Uvcs, it is at least certain that our
understanding of the past is not promoted by attempts to dis-
cover evils and find grounds for the condemnation of long
historical periods.
VniAGE AND &UNOR HI
TTift study of thcsp hj'fjone methods of agritnilture and these
obsolete English land tenures is gradually becHining part of
a larger sociolo^cat study which includes not 8odoioty«a4
merely the more primitive periods of Kuropcan ■"' "««••
development, but also the conditions which now exist among
many peoples in the most sparsely settled portions of the
world, most notably in Africa, The history of village life in
India i« also a portion of this more gonpral study of i)rimitive
methods of agriculture and laud-htilding. The broader view
of the sociologist tends to emphasize what the jurists and
constitutional historians were prone to forget. These va-
rious primitive and archaic customs are not merely an his-
torieal Btepping'Stone to modem land law; they were methods
of organising rural life that bad a significant relation to the
economic needs of a sparse population. The laws and cus-
toms which we find so difficult to understand were the ex-
pression of vitel economic needs, and it is not entirely clear
yet Uiat the opening-up of large areu« of new land can be
accomplished better under the principles of modem Euro-
pean law. Many changes in agrarian nwthods and many
diversities in the form of settlement are due to changing
relations of the population to the land. The legal organi-
zation of \'illage life is thus only part of the tmum r«i«t«i
problem and the merits of a particular method •«» •toaimic
of legal organization cannot be judged except in *° °*
relation to economic conditions. It is suggestive in this con-
nection to remember the experience of the French in Algeria.
It seemed to the administration in 1850-00 that it would be
wise to clear away the obscurities and uncertainties of Mos-
lem land tenures, which like medieval tenures rested on use
rather than exclumve ouncrship. The precise conceptions
of modem land law were thus suhfitituted for these vague
notatms of use. It might well seem ihat such a policy was
tax enlightened furtherance of social progress. Events proved
that it was a mistake. It has turned out to be economically
disadvantageous; it has undermined native agriculture and
concentrated land in the hands of Europeans, leanng the
natives impoverished. In northern Nigeria V)t\ft 'ft'nSJ^ wl-
112
INDUSnUAL HISTORY OF ENGLAJ«)
»
miniatmtion is pursuing the oppoidte policy. Recent lawa
provide that do rights in land shall be recognized that are not
established in the native customs. No one, least of all a Eu-
ropean, is allowed to buy land. The necessity of following
such a policy suggests a vital relation between primitive land
tenurcB and the needs of primitive life. It is implied also that
legal forms are not an end in themtielvea. The elaborately
sophisticated notions of modem law are not absolutely bet-
ter than primitive notions. The legal framework of society
must be adapted to the economic conditions of the time.
II. Scattered Fabms &nd Villages
A rural population may lie settled on the land in one or
more of three forms. The people may hve in scattered farms;
in villages surrounded by enclosed fields and individual farms;
or in villages surrounded by fields not divided into permar
nent indindual holdings. In this last ease the land was
cultivated by the entire village in accordance with certain
general rules and arrangements. The more perplexing his-
torical and constitutional problems are concerned with this
third fonn of settlement and its agricultural methods.
VDX&GE AND HANOH 113
In the enclosed village the land would be cultivated by the
individual villagere eacli according to his tai^te and ill'^posi-
tion. The fields of each \'illager would be sep- tatiM»d and
arated from the untilled land and from other *^ii-a«i<i
arable fields by permanent fences. In the
open-field \'illage, the land woi^ld lie in large masses unob-
structed by any but the most temporary kinds of fence, divided
into large units for each particular season. The enclosure
map of the Parish of Stow illustrates the general features of
this arrangement. There is a considerable area devoted to
the village with its housei^ and gardens, and we may presume
that this general area was separated from the outlying fields
by pernumcnt fences or hedges. The area designated aa
"old encla-nires" was also di\ided into separate lots. These
fields were cultivated without reference to the general agri-
cultural arrangements of the village. At the other end of
the village there were areas resen-ed for pasture; special
graziii^-land was set apart for the plough oxen in order to
assurt? them ample forage at a short distance from the village.
The arable land of the village thus lay in four irregular fields.
There are grounds for believing that there were only two
fields in the early period, designated respectively as "east"
and " west" fields, and in those daj'S we must presume that
there was relatively more cow pasture and no enclosures at
the westerly end of the village. The changes in the arrange-
ment of the fields that can thus be deduced from the late map
were the outcome of attempts to improve the system of
viUag*? agriculture. If there were only two fields TbBtwi>-fl«id
one half the land of the village would Ue idle ■»•'*"
each year, for medieval agriculture was based upon an alter<
nation of cropping and fallowing. In the early period, the
large masses of arable were devoted to wheat, and as long
as no other crops were grown the resting of the laud in alter-
nate yeara was economically profitable.
The precise nature of the benefits of a fallow year ifl not
well undcrst{K)d. It is now held that the decom- . „ _^
Fftuovtiic
position of the great mass of roots left in the
soil by the cereal crops produces conditioiia \iu^ aa» \oi-
114
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGIAXD
favorable to tlic growth of the same crop in the following
year. It is not now deemed likely that the fertility of the
Boil is really impaired in any way that would admit of recov-
ery during the fallow year, though the weathering in the in-
terval is undoubtedly beneficial. Experiments conducted at
[ Bothamstead for a serins of years resulted in a production of
[ slightly more than twelve bushels of wheat per acre when
f wheat was grown continuously, where-as eighteen bushels
were grown per acre when an alternation of wheat and fallow
waB practiced.' These j'ields were larger than the medieval
yields, as modem methods of cultivation were used, but one
must presume that the proportionate importance of fallowing
is roughly indicated, tinder the three-field system the usuiJ
yield of wheat was eight or nine bushels per acre; pro-
portionately less would be raised under the two-field sys-
tem or under continuous cropping. In southern Russia and
in parte of the United States farmers are content to harvest
6cven or eight bushels of wheat per acre, and an appreciably
smaller yield must have been secured under continuous crop-
ping in medieval Europe. Fallowing increa.?ed the crop so
significantly that it became almost universal in the middle
ages. At fir^t an alternation of wheat and fallow was prao-
ticed; soon, further modification was made to economize the
arable area. It was discovered that satisfactory crops of
Tii« tiu«*- the other cereals could be grown immediately
fliM •Tttom nfter a crop of wheat, and by this means the
fallow was reduced to one year in three. One third of the
arable only need lie idle. Somewhat less wheat would be
grown, but there would be a crop of rye, oate, or barley. The
change from the two-field system to the threo-field system
was probably made at an early date, for no general change in
agricultural methods was necessary. No new crops were
really introduced. Nothing need be done but rearrange the
arable fields.
The division of the arable into two or three fields, which
were left fallow every second or third year, made it necessary
for each villager to have land in each field, and, though the
■ Hall, A. D.: The Bo<A o} Rothamalcad ExpefijnmU (New Yock, 1605), 65.
.
VILLAGE AND ILANOR lU
reason is not clear, the parcels of land used by the villa^fln
were not compact masses even witMo the Anotnucu
fields. Each field was div'ided into small strips '"" '«i«""
eoataining at the most an acre or an acre and a half, seldom
less tlian a quarter of an acre. Normally, the strips were
long and narrow, but the shape of the strips was largely de<
tennined by the method of ptoughing which was necessarily
related to all the details of the configuration of the land.
These small strips were divided among the villagere partly
with reference to equal divimon of all the kinds of soil among
all, partly with reference to cooperative ploughing. In the
early period the stripe of the villagers were intermingled so
that no one would possess contiguous strips. If a %'illager
maintained himself and his family entirely by agriculture
he would require about thirty acres of arable land : his holding
would consist of twenty-five or thirty strips scattered around
in the two or three fields. The strips were divided from each
other by ndgc^i of unptougbed turf, and the furrows were
turned in toward the center of the strip so that the strips
were pretty distinctly set off from each other.
The work of the village required some organization, be-
cause the dates of ploughing and harvesting were of impoiv
tance to all. The cattle were usxiaDy turned in vub^ itd-
upon the stubble after the har\'e8t, and it was *'*»'•
therefore essential that no one should delay this use of the
fields by neglecting to get in his crops with the others. Plough-
ing and planting were subject to similar limitations. In order
to avoid wasting land in lanes and roadways, no permanent
pro^i^on was made for access to the fields. Certain strips
were designated to serve as means of access, and they were
therefore ploughed last. It was equally necessary to har>
vest them first in the fall. Crops, ploughing, planting,
harvesting, were thus oU subject to some rou^ organiza-
tion for the viUago a*; a whule. Ploughs and plough teams
were owned jointly and used cooperatively. The \illage con-
stituted a community in a more organic sense than the mod-
em village, but one must avoid confusing this organization
of agriouUure with what wo think of to-day as communisou
J
L
There was no community of goods in the medieval village;
both land and crops were subject to the control of individuals
and were capable of being accumulated. The nature of the
righte over the land were different from the property rights
familiar to us, but there was an exclusive right to use certain
quantities of land which makes it impossible to compare
this medieval sj-stem with any type of socialistic com-
munism.
Medieval England eadtibited all three forms of settlement.
Scattered farms wore the characteristic forms in some of the
ronu of infertile regions; and even in the fertile sections,
Mtuanmt there were usually some farms lying interspersed
among the villages. Hamlets or small villages which pos-
seesed no organized two- or three-field system were the char-
acteristic feature of the northern coxmtjes, and predominated
likewise in Wales and Scotland. Larger villages without
field systems were found in the eastern counties. Organ-
ized field systems were the predominant feature of village
life in the midlands.
Tlie explanation of these different modes of settlement has
been largely based in the past upon the racial aspects of the
Viiiooi«i- settlement of Britain. The scattered farm is
iiuiatioiii identified with survi\Tng Celts; the open-field
villages with their field systems are identified with Teutonic
elements; and the absence of fidd systems in the eastern
counties is explained by survival of Roman forms of rural
organization. This identification of the mode of settlement
with racial customs has so long conunanded the allc^anoe of
constitutional historians that it is hardly fitting to do more
than urge the claims of explanations that are economic rather
than cultural and legal. Study of conditions in Siberia by
Russian scholars has shown that the highly organized open-
field village can develop naturally out of scattered farms,
which tend to predominate when the country is first settled
by casual colonists. The development of village life creates
scarcities of arable land and meadows which make it desirable
to restrict individual caprice and greed. We arc thus in a
position to assert that these dilTcrcnt forms of village life are
VIUAGE AND MANOR
HT
not exclusively of racial or^n, though the character of the
Teutonic migrations in Europe undoubtedly adds racial
and cultural elements to the history of settlement in western
Europe. Funhcrmorc, the emphasis upon the underlying
economic factors by these Russian scholars affords explana^
tions of many features of medieval life that would otherwise
have no meaning to ua at the present day.
The transition from the settlement in scattered farms to
the open-iield village, or village community, is brought about
primarily by increase of population. Different methods of
i
J
118 INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
using land become necessary because land becomes rtUUtvdjf
tcaaetaic Bcarco. The eignificance of incrcasinR population
'****™ and of relative scarcities of land must be con-
mdcrcd with reference to each type of land. In primitive
times little attempt is made to transfonn nature. 'The mead-
ows are the only source of hay, becAu.^ they alone present
sufficiently favombte conditions to tlie growth of grasses to
maintwn a continuous crop. Forests are not cut clear and
the land prepared for the plough until all the unforested land
has been occupied, and the search for such unforcstcd land
has been a notable feature of the migrations and settle*
ment of western Europe. If the population is sparse thcro
will be meadow and arable for all. Each settler can appro-
priate such land as be needs. Land is substaotiaUy a free
good.
Co the non-appropriated meadows the unrestricted right to cut
grass products, with increase of populutiori, disiistrous results. As
jJeKionlnw the number of cutters increases, competition arises,
of r*i|uiaUoD (ind each tries to commence cutting carliur than the
others; this diminbhea the crop, because no one waiu until it is
fully ripe. All lose by this, and the community, to prevent it, for-
bids the cutting of grass before a certain date. . . . The next stage
in the regulation of meadows has already an ec|ualizing character.
In Siberia, among tJic Kirgizes, the Cossacks, etc. the preventive
measureB are followed by a limitation of the number of cutters
each family nuty employ. . . . Finally, the community allots to
those who have not enough grass, parts of the meadows occupied
liy others.*
In the case of appropriated arable land the process is more
complicated. At the outact each settler is free to occupy such
ftom frM ''"**^ ^ ^^ *^^'"*- I'cspiti' the i=eeming equality
McaiMiicau of opportunity inequalities soon arise. With
a large family more land can be occupied and
used. , The poaaession of a few more draught animals enables
a man to bring much more land under cultivation. Small
differences in nomad we-alth thus become translated into
large differences in landed possessions. Class conflicts arise
between the rich peasants and the poor, which may at times
I Lmrioiki; Origm 4/ Frvftrtu in Load, p. 33.
VniAGE AND MANOR 11*
'result in violence. Once the poor become relatively numer-
ous and suitable plough land becomes scarce, the original
freedom of occupation is restricted. Because arable laJid
is more necessary than meadow, pasture, or forest, it is pro-
vided that no one shall have the right to make Ruch use of the
land if some viilagor ia ready and willing to plough the land.
"It is forbidden to offer resistance to the plough." This reg-
ulation ia likely to destroy the scattered forma, as their
pastures and meadows are broken up for arable. Presently
restrictions are placed upon the number of years that land
may be left fallow. After a stated interval an occupier loses
all exclusive rights of use, and the land may be ploughed by
any \'illager. Actual allotments of land to the poor are at first
made from the estates of those who die without heirs, or from
the property of those who refuse to pay the vill^e ta.Tes.
Annual allotment of the land is reached only at a late date.
The stages of development which Lewinski traces among
the peasants of Siberia would doubtless represent the un-
hindered operation of economic forces. At the coatonn rf
time of the first contacts between the Romans >*• GmoimIc
and the Germanio tribes the annual allotment of
village lands was common among many villages, though not
universal. The passages in Tacitus which refer to settle-
ments in scattered farms have been the subject of much con-
troversy, and, in the opinion of some, cast doubt upon the
description of the practice of allotments in chapter twenty-
six. It is peculiarly unfortunate that the text is so corrupt
that no undoubted reading can be pven for this latter chap-
ter, but the account of Tacitus becomes much more plausible
in all respect-) if we do not look upon this matter of agricul-
ture as a definitely racial custom. If we anticipate some di-
versity of practice, as would be natural among tribes whose
economic conditions were somewhat different, the difiiculties
of the text of Tacitus would largely disappear. It would
se^Q in fact that the Germanic tribes were at that time at
a stage of development in village organization roughly com-
parable to that of the various tribes in Siberia at the close
of the past century. The open-field viWa^^ -waa cttTSMi.^^^
no
INDCSTRL\L HISTORY OP EXGIAXD
be the characteristic feature of rural life, but many scattered
farms existed, and many villages were really in an iotenne-
diate stage of development. The pressure of population that
is deemed to be a motive in the migrations of the Teutonic
tribes would be conidstenC with such a development of organ-
ized villas life based on the relative scarcity of land. In so
far as the migration involved entire tribes, there would be
every reason to suppose that the forms of ^'illage organiza-
tion would not be greatly changed even though the A'illagera
were to find a relative abundance of land available. The
mode of social organization would sun'ive despite the re-
moval of the economic pressure that had been the cause of
its development. The different modes of village life of Celts,
RmUI <iu- Germans, and Romans were due to the different
twvacM economic circuniBtances of their life prior to the
great migrations. The relegation of the Celts to the infertile
districts tended to perpetuate modes of settlement adapted
to the needs of a sparse ptipulation. Little concentration of
population was possible, so that no elaborate forms of vilU^
life developed until a late jieriod. The Celts continued to Uve
in scattered farms and hamlets, not so much because they
were Celts as because they were poor people living in an
inhospitable country. The Germans brou^t the habits of
organized village life to the fertile sections of France and
England and the development of rural hfe that had begun in
Germany continued without serious interruption.
m. The Coumon People ANn the Magnates
The fonns of village organization are not in themselves an
indication of the general structure of rural society. Society
might be essentially democratic or essentially aristocratic,
or there might be significant changes in the degree of social
stratification. The legal details of \-illa^ life would naturally
be somewhat different in these various circumstances, but it
is not necessary to assume that there would be any profound
^ ,_ changes in the system of agriculture or in the su-
perficial aspects of village life. By the twelfth
and tbirteentii centuries aristocracy bad become a funda-
VILIAGE AND MANOR 181
mental feature of En^ish life. The magnatefi were occu-
pied with mUitory and admioistrative fuDctions. They were
muntained partly by tlie produce of hinded estates exploited
in tJieir behalf by the villagers, partJy by produce turned over
to them by the viUagcre. The existence of a class of mag-
nates thus presupposes a servile class or classes; some per-
sons entirely deprived of personal liberty, othora enjoying a
qualified freedom.
The social organization of Britun, as of Gaul, during the
Roman occupation was predominantly aristocratic. Rural
life was dominated by the great landed proprio- n. lumu
tors whose estates (\'illas) were tilled by classes •i™'*'"
of unfree tenants. The estate was divided into two portions:
a domain exploited directly by slaves tmder the supervinon
of the agents and stewards of the proprietor, and a portion let
out to tenant farmers {coloni) for rents payable in money or
in kind. Both of these classes of xmfree tenants cxiiibit many
varieties of condition: there were various degrees of per-
sonal freedom among the slaves as among the tenant farmers.
There were slaves who enjoyed no freedom of action at all,
mere members of the gangs of ten which were the usual unit
in the working of the estate. There were other slaves who
were entrusted nith a small holding and a cottage, so that
they enjoyed much personal Ubcrty in the details of their
work and in their family life. Tb • tenant farmera were free
in the legal sense of the word, but they were bound to the
Boil. They were not allowed to leave the estate, nor per-
mitted to marry any one dependent upon another lord or
master. The obligations of the tenant farmers were vari-
able in many details: the amount of rent due the proprietor
varied, as also the mode of payment. Some tenants, who
had brought new land into cultivation, were required merely
to continue to cultivate their holding. Other tenants were
obliged to pay significant rents.
Some elements of Homan life undoubtedly survived the
Gennanic invasions. The ates and names of strntht^n.
many modern Fr^udk villages are a sunival ""inoiiit^
from Roman times. Roman land mcasvu^ aii^ ^'^^ '^-
J
1«8 I>JDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
rangements left traces in both Gaul and Britain. But there
are grave doubts of any general 9xu-\ival of the aristocratio
structure of rural life. The history of the invasions and the
conditions subsequent to them present an infinite variety of
detail, so that no general sLateiucnts can wisely be made;
it would seem likely, however, that the rural aristocracy of
Roman times disappeared largely if not completely, and it
is equally probable that no Germanic aristocracy succeeded
Immediately to such a dominant position in social life. Ge>
manic society was not lacking in social classifications even
at the time of the invasions, but the proportion of freemen
was large and the actual differences in wealth much less
considerable than in the Roman society that was destroyed.
The invasions no doubt increased in some measure the power
and economic importance of the leaders, but it is unlikely
that the magnates among the invaders acquired complete
predominance in any short period of time. The aristocratic
structure of society in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries
must be traced primarily to the influences at work in political
and social life among the Germanic peoples. The aristo-
cratic forms of the later period were not borrowed from the
Romans; despite many resemblances, they were the product
of spontaneous growth.
The need of military protection was of great moment in
giving larger importance to the magnates, and the incurMons
orowih of ^^ *^® Danes exerted a profound influence upon
■ muiury the development of .inglo-Saxon institutions.
""' The increasing solidarity of political orgamza-
tion was also a factor of great importance. The formation of
a strong monarchy practically required the development of
on aristocracy possessed of administrative as well aa mili-
tary functions. The magnates thus became the chief bond
between the rural village and the larger social life of the king-
dom. The aristocracy was a means of securing some meas-
ure of centnUisation in a social structure whoso essential
principles seemed to be excessive decentralisation. The
change in the character of social life is concretely expressed
by the gradual decline of dependence upon the group of kins-
VILL.\GE AN*D MANOB 188
men and a corresponding increase in the reliance upon the
protection of some noble patron or lord. There were many
motives underlj-ing the acceptance of qualified freedom by
|)easants who were originally free of all obligations to an aris-
tocracy; poverty, loss of blood kindred by Wolenoc, displace-
ments caused by Danish incursions, might all lead to the
willing acceptance of the protection of a lord. We have not
sufficient information to trace these social changes in any
detail, but it is fairly clear that the growth of dependence
upon the magnates was of mutual advantage; a gain to the
peasant as well as a source of power to the lord.
The drift toward manorial organization was greatly stimu-
lated by the changes brought about by the Norman Con-
quest, so that we cannot be sure how far back we t*« oridn of
can wisely cany the manor as we come to know "^ "'•'^
it immediately afl«r the Conquest. It is certain, however,
that the structure of society in the eleventh century is not
wholly the woric o( the Normans. The mass of material
furnished by the Domesday Survey tends to gi\-e conditions
at the close of the eleventh centurj* a somewhat dispropor-
tionate place in history, and the slow development of the
Saxon period is just beginning to be fully appreciated.
Dorrmsday Book, however, affords abundant cndcnce of the
existence of the main features of the aristocratic society that
reached the height of its power in the thirteenth century.
The enumeration of the population was not comprehensive
but it seems to have been designed to include the heads of
families and servants attached to the households of persons
of consequence. The restilts of the enumeration must show
approximately the proportions of the different classes <rf
society.
In England as a whole, society had thus become notably
aristocratic: the ma-ss of the population were unfree, and,
tiKwgh the tenant farmers are presumed to liave D*p«i)d«itt
held sufficient land to guarantee some measure **•"••
of economic independence, they were none the less required
to make some contribution to the affluence and KiajstyoSvcjsw:.*!!
of the great feudal estabUshmenta. The croitew ^Jycfrda-m. ^xA-
J
184 INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
PSB CiNT or pBWBONft HtfUUeaATBD IN EACH C1.ASS TO TFS TOTAb
POPOL&TION EMUUXHATED IN D0IIE8DAI BoOE: 1086*
Base tenures — Ptr emi
Serfs (nrrvi) 9.
Croften (bnnlarH and eottarii) 31 Ji
Tenant (armera (vtUani) 38.
Toto! btiae teaures 78^
Honorable tenures —
Yeanrnn lanaen (aoR-inen and treetnen) IS.
TeuAnta in chief and mesne lords 3.5
EtHunerated persons not included ia the above daaaifioation 8.
100.0
*laiiua: FnuSal Slaiitlia, 9.
coOarit) were persona who had some land, five or ten acres
at the most, but not enough to occupy their full time nor to
provide sufficiently for their families. They worked on the
lord's estate and rec^ved pay in kind. The dependence of
these Bervile classes upon the lord was real, but it is not
necessary to presume that their economic condition was in-
tolerable. The yeoman fanners bod at least sufficient land to
afford their family adequate provision, they were all economi-
cally independent; the freemen were in addition legally in-
dependent, looking to the King's courts for justice; the soc-
men were required to attend some manorial court and thua
subject to the payment of certain legal fees to a manorial lord.
In this aristocratic system that was growing up the unit
of rural organization was the manor: a peraon might hold
several manors, and the ecclesiastical corpora^
tions held large numbers of them, but in such
cases the manors retained their administrative and legal in-
dividuality. Ordinarily the manor consisted of a residence
and farm utilized by the lord of the manor, together with a
mass of peasant holdings. There was usually an organized
village, but the village need not be exclusively inhabited by
persons depending on the manor. The holdings of freemen
might bo intermingled in the %'illage fields with the strips
belonging to the lord's farm and the strips held by the lord's
tenants. The complexities of the legal organization of txuaX
life are in large measure due to the lack of precise correlation
VILLAGE AND MANOR IM
of the varioua categories. Fiscal tenmnol(^y does not quite
correspond to legal tenninology, and legal tcnninology does
not entirely correspond to the groupings of the population in
villages and hamlets. This lack of correspondence between
the various aspects of social organization leads to no little
diversity of meanings in connection with the term manor.
"The prevalent meaning," says Vlnogradoff, "is that of an
estate or district of which the central house is the hall."
It would seem that an attempt had been made in the Saxon
period to substitute estates of four or five hides (presumed to
be equivalent to 480 to 600 acres) held by thanes for a quan-
tity of small freehold tenements. The re%'eoue presumed to
be derived fitmi such an estate would correspond tt) property
units that were used in calculating military obligations.
The conception of the manor was thus influenced by fiscal
and militarj' policies which made it desirable to create ap-
pearances of uniformity which did not exist.
Actual manors, ns thc>' appear in Domesday, do not often con-
form to tbeae averages, and present a variety of different types
wbicb miut be examined separately if we want to -^j^ „
form an opinion as to the character and origins of
manorial institutions. They may be arranned very roughly in the
foDowiDg five classeB; with a good many subdivisions and inter-
mediate shades between thorn. The grouping would be somewhat
as follows: the manor as a capitalistic organizatiou, on economic
center surrounded by peasant holdings supporting it; the manor
as an administrative rentej- of scattered and more or kn ind^wnd*
ent itettlvntonts; the soke, a center of jurisdictional and tributary
organization; royal manors; small estates exploited directly by
their masters or rustics.*
These 1)1)63 will perhaps be more readily perceived if
some of the descriptions in Domesday Book are given. An
example of the capitalistic manor may be found in Bedford-
rfiire, the manor of S<^nehou. Two fifths of this manor,
four hides, was reckoned as the lord's farm; assuming the
ploughlands to be 120 acres, this would mean a demesne farm
of 4S0 acrps. The rest of the manor, 720 acres, was occupied
by tenants: 24 ^-illein households, 4 crofter households, and.
■ Viiiop»doa,P.:£ii^MA&ae(irtnli>eEtc>KiakCcnb«ru,%V\.
1M
E^TJSTRIAL HISTORY OP ENGL.\ND
I
8 serfs. Formerly, there had been one soo-nmn on the manor,
holding 60 acres, but he had disappeared. The medium-
sized manors were usually of thia type, and in such cases
there was real interdependence between the lord's farm and
the peasant holdings. In the very large estates, belonging
to the wealthiest magnates and to monastic houses, the home
farm tends to become entirely subordinate to the peasant
holdings. The revenue of such an estate was derived from
tribute and from assignments to the lord of portions of the
produce of the peasants.
When the manor was merely an administrative organiza-
tion this subordination of the lord's farm to the peasant
AdmioiiBatiT* holdings was even more marked. A royal
nanort manor of Mansfield, Notts, is fairly representa-
tive. This consisted of a central manor with outlying por-
tions. The central portion consisted of a demesne farm and
peasant holdings, but barely one tenth of the total area lay
in the lord's farm. There were, besides, twenty-seven settle-
ments attached to the manor for purposes of taction, and
in none of these outlying portions was there any land that
constituted a demesne farm. "We ore clearly in a district
of scattered homesteads," says VinogradofF, "inhabited by
small farmers paying dues to the central court at Mansfield,
and possibly performing some services for it." When the
manor became primarily a center of political and legal obliga-
tions this relationship between the central nucleus and the
appendages was strikingly empha-sized. Thus, the manor
of Bolingbroke in Lincolnshire had a demesne farm of 240
acres, subordinate holdings in the immediate locality for 12
aoc-mcn, 12 villeins, and 8 crofters; as an economic center,
it was only of moderate size. Its jurisdiction extended over
17 places and 529 soc-men were under obligation to attend
the manorial court. The income from the manor must
therefore have been derived chiefly from fines collected in
the court. The royal manors cxliibit all these features, but
also some special features, but these matters are hardly of
moment in an introductorj- sur\'ey of rural organization. The
very small manors are likewise a problem for the erudite.
VILLAGE AND MANOR
127
IV. Tire OnoANiiATios- of the Manor is thb
Thibteenth and FomtiXENTH Centuries
The genera] aspect of the t>'pical manor is presented in the
representative plan shown below. The common fields, com-
The^imo^l^^S?^' (hewing* P^'>^;
\
L
ira
INDUSTRLVL HISTORY OP I3^GLAND
mon pasture, and waste were the persistent features of thai
AapMt* o( rural landscape. The demesne farm would not, ]
tti< mtDot •JJ^ jjig early period, consist of a solid block of I
land; it lay in strips in the common fields intermingled with]
the holdings of the peasants. I^ter it was brought together]
in the compact mass represented in the map. The separa- j
tion of the village from the cottages of the crofters is wholly j
typical, and the manorial mill likewise. The wind-mill that]
stands by itself in the waste cannot readily be brought
within the scope of normal manorial organization. The lord
of the manor had the right to compel the tenants of the estate
to use his mill, but he seldom indulged in the luxury of two
mills and never long permitted any one to infringe upon hia
monopoly of milling.
The economic organization of the manor was designed to
provide for the exploitation of the lord's farm by the labor
Ber\ices rendered by the tenants. For purposes
J^^Udo of definition of the obligations of the tenants
the labor senices were divided into two main
oTasBes: the week works, an obligation to work two or three
days each week under the supervision of the lord's bailiff; the
boon days, supplementary services rendered chiefly in connec-
tion with ploughing and harvesting. Villeins were required
to render ser\'ice of both types, and freemen were usually
supposed to grant the lord certain boon days. In addition
to these services various kinds of work were required of
cottagers; blacksmithing, carpenter work, holding the lord's
plough, herding the sheep, were characteristically the tasks
of persons not enga^d in tilling a thirty-acre holding: one
may look upon the cottagers, or crofters, as ser\'ants who
have been given some measure of pergonal independence or
08 ^'illagers who have lost their economic independence. It
is probably more correct to look upon these cottagers as a
class of sen'ants living in independent houses, though some
of them become relatively independent village craftsmen.
The various classes of dependents on the estates of mano-
rial lords were graded into a hierarchy with reference to the
degree of subjection to the lord's pleasure. The cottagers
VILLAGE AND &LVKOa 120
were presumed to be under obligation to render such service
as they were bidden to perform; their full time ouicatioM
was their lord's, though it is likely that they •"•»•*■
were left considerable opportunity to work small garden
plots. The villeins were under obligation to remier defi-
nitely limited services. The stigma of iHlleinage attached to
the uncertiunty of each day's work ; the villein was never able
to know what the morrow would bring forth, he must needs
perform the task set him by the officers of the lord, provided
that the quantity of work required did not exceed the con-
ditions defined by his tenure. The freeman, under obliga^
tion to furnish merely certain boon works, escaped the taint
of servile dependence upon the orders of the lord. The
burden of the general farm-work thus fell upon the tenant
farmers, persons holding twenty or Uiirty acres by some form
of imfree tenure. Serfdom was not a prominent feature of
En^ish village life, so that references to the position of serfs
are not abundant. It would seem that the distinctive feature
of serf dum lay in the character of the tenure rather than the
mze of the holding.
The supervision of these labor services was a considerable
task so that certain administrative officers were essential.
The affiurs of the lord were in the hands of two oacW* of
tO&fxrs, the steward and the bailiff. The stew- ■*" ••'*
ard was charged with legal and financial business: he held
the manor coiu-t, or leet, attended to all matters connected
with the tenures of the villagers and their financial obliga-
tions to the lord. The steward also supervised the market,
if the lord had the privilege of holding market. There waa
always the mill to manage. The steward exercised some
supervision over the general arrangement of the 6elds of the
demesne farm, but he was not concerned nith any details <A
farm management. The managenumt of the farm was in the
hands of the bailiff and the hayward: the former had charge
of general arrangements of culture; the latter, oversight of
the woods, cereal crops, and meadows. The hayward's ftmo-
tioas were thus pretty extensive. The organization of har-
vesting was bis work. The supervision of (encfta axwsA 'iSoa
OP ENGlu\ND
arable to keep cattle out during the growing season, and the
impounding of stray cattle, also fell to his lot.
Coordinate in importance with these officers of the lord
was the village reeve. He was elected by the villagers to
M _ direct the general agricultural operations of the
\Tliage, and all details concernmg the manage-
ment of the fields. The bailiff was supposed to keep an eye
upon the reeve, but in actual fact the reeve was quite as
important as the bailiff from the point of view of village life.
The village constable was also elected by the villagers, and
the inspection of bread was carried out by persons chosen by
the villagers assembled in the court leet. There were thus
some clcmcuts of democracy in the organization of the manor.
The legal organization of the manor implies that each
manor was a substantially independent unit of social life,
and, in the early period, this may have been generally true.
The growth of commerce, however, and the increase in the
concentration of wealth led to the grouping of manors and
ultimately subordinated the manor to conimcrcial contacta
with the market that destroyed the close interdependence
between the household of the manorial lord and the labor
Ben-ices of the tenants.
By the thirteenth century there were three classes of
manors: manors which were essentially independent, manors
coiuetion of which belonged to a monastic bouse thus fonn-
Um laeoDf jng pj^rt Qf g^ |fu.g(; group which sent their prod-
ucts to the monastery, manors which bclon^d to some great
noble or bishop who would find it convenient to perambulate
the countrj' with his hoiL«ehold to consume on each manor
the surplus available for bis maintenance. In tliis last typa
the manor was merely a source of income for a non-reaident-
nmgnate. It was sound feudal theory that each lord should
live on the pnK^eeds of his estates, and for a time this was
literally done. The tenants were under obligation to render
services in carting and hauling so that the products of the
demesne farm could be concentrated in some central place.
In so far as the manors were the property of monastic houses,
it was essential that the produce should thus be sent to the
VILLAGE AND RLWOR
centra! establishment. Perambulation of the group of
manors was somewhat more economical, but both of these
methods of collecting the revenues were inconvenient. The
possessions of individual proprictora were widely scattered,
and it was really less convenient to collect the rents in kind
than to collect them in money wiUi which supplies could be
purchased at the nearest market. The period 1250-1500 is
marked bv a gradual transition toward conver- . ^„
sion of labor dues mto money rente, and toward
an abandonment of the demesne farm. It became more
profitable to let out the demesne farm. The surplus grain of
each village came gradually t« be sold in the nearest market
an<l the great household.-; became purchasers in the market.
The connection between non-resident lords and their manors
thus became more exclusively financial, and the viUa^^rs be-
came more nearly tenant farmers whose only obligation to
their lord was the payment of a money rent. The rise of the
local market thus tended to destroy the characteristic eco-
nomic features of the manor almost as soon as the legal
features of the manor began to assume definite outline. Be-
fore 1500 the manor ceased to be of any ^ntal fugnlficanoe in
the economic organization of England, though the court lect
long renoamed a notable feature of village life.
V. The End op Villeinage in Enqland
The transition from labor ser^noes and pa>'mcnts in kind
to payment of rents in money, that proved to be a primaiy
cause of the decline of the manorial economy, exerted a pro-
found influence upon the status of the tenant farmers, The
distinction between free tenure and villein tenure was greatly
dimimshed even by a moderate commutation of labor serv-
ices into money duei^, and when all obligations had been
translated into money the only remaining difference lay in the
nature of the record of the title to the holding. A freeholder
theoretically held his own title-deeds ; the trans- tk* hm gi
formed \'illein could at best show nothing more *•"• ft««
than a copy of tlie records of the court leet. His '•"*°^
tenure was no longer subject to the lotd'ft "«'Ai\ivA.\T«is>. »i
132
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
legal jmint of view it was in many ways inferior to a freehold
title. The last vestiges of tJiis copyhold tenure have not yet
been entirely swept away, thouRh the legislation of the late
jUDeteenth century leaves Uttle but the luuiie.
The study of the passing of vUldnage is still far from com-
plete. In the past it has been approached almost exclusively
Hntniiid- from the point of view of the nllein. The re-
•"'^'* searches of Professor Gras in the field of market
organixation have disclosed motives that are so de&ut^y
advantageous to the lord that it would seem likely that the
trausfonnation was less exclusively a conquest of freedom
by the villeins than has been assumed. The history of the
rise out of villeinage would thus seem to be more than a chap-
ter in the struggle for hberty in which the privileged classes
arc presumed to play merely an obstructive r61e. It is
wholly probable that there should be much friction in a
period of re-definition of obligations. The lord would watch
his revenues with aoUcitude; the villagers would similarly try
to utilize the occasion to pare down thdr obligations. The
attempt to convert somewhat uncertain rights to service into
precise equivalents in money must inevitably have created
much difficulty, and no httle tension; and yet, on the whole,
both lord and tenant found a vital interest in the transition
to a system of money payments.
Studies in the manorial records have thrown some light
upon the chronology of the movement. It appears that little
loflnenco of progress had been made toward the new order
tb* BUeit prior to the lilack Death, and it seems equally
^'"'^ oertun that the disorganization of rural We by
that pestilence exerted a profound influence upon the organi-
zation of the manor. Many tenants died of the plague, and
many baihffs. It was less easy to maintain the old customs.
Sometimes the demesne was dinunished in extent because it
was difficult to keep it under cultivation as a unit. Sorao-
times it was necessary to attract new tenants by making
more favorable leases. For many reasons commutation be-
came increasingly common in the generation follomng the
Black Death. The rcktion o' the peasant rising in 1^1 to
VILLA.GE AND MANOR
183
Tmodmi
icriscoutof vfllcim^isasyetmicertain. The social back-
ground is b'till a matter of controversy, as well as the details
of the revolt. By 1400, however, oommutation of rents was
more common than the exaction of the old labor services,
and toward the tatter part of the fifteenth century the old
system was exceptional.
The social position of the villeins thus became substan-
tially similar to that of the aumll f recholdore, the indei)eQdent
peasant proprietors who are usually spoken of as
the forty-shilling free^ioldcrs, or yeomen. The
aristocratic structxu^ of society persisted, but the power of
the aristocracy was tempered by the presence of this large
□umber of peasant culUvater» who had become substan-
tially, if not technically, independent. Nearly half of the rural
population must have been included in this class of yeomen
farmers, as augmented by the emancipation of the \iUeins
from their precarious services. Many other rustics who did
not have sufficient land to afford them full maintenance
were rendered independent by the returns from craft work.
The artisans in town and country must have constituted a
numerous class, and there is perhaps ground for presuming
that between one half and two thirds of the population were
economically independent. There were wago-Gflmers both
in the crafts and in agricidture, but it was unusual for any to
remain wage-earners permanently. The social ladder was
intact, and the diligent might reasonably expect to achieve
independence In agriculture or in industry.
*
The intorpretatlon nf the economic history of the middle
ages has been dominated in great measure by the conception
of the " town economy" developed by Schmoller, Ashley,
BOcher, and other writers of that generation.
Each town [saj-a Schmoller, in his famom essay on the Mercan-
tile Systcml, and especially each of the larger tomis, seekfi to shut
Tiw town itaeU up to itaclf as an ecoDomic whole, and at the
ttMuimj same time, in ii-s relation to the outside world, to
extend the Bphcre of itfi in&ucnco, both economic and political,
as far afl possible. It is not without siKnificance that, during a
considurublu period of ancient and mctiieval history, all complete
political structures wurc city slJites, in which political and economic
life, local economic selfishnesa and political patriotism, political
conflict and economic rivalry, all coincided. The economic pol-
icy of the G«rman towns of tho middle ages, and thftir economic
institutions, have played a controlling part in Gennaii life down
to the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries; they project them-
Sidves, so to speak, in so many directions, into our own time, that
we must ptiasv a moment to speak of them more at length.
Not only separate jurisdiction, but also the right of holding a
market, of collecting tolls, and of coining money, were, from early
times, the privileges of growing urban communitica. This ex-
ceptional position was strengthened by the abolition of paymeiitA
and 8cr\-icoj! in kind, as well as by the principle that "town air
makes free"; and finally, by the conquest of the right of self-
government and legislation by the town ooimcil. tlach scparato
town felt itself to be a privileged community, gaining right after
right by struggles kept up for hundreds of years, and forcing ita
way into one political and economical position afler another, . . .
\Iarket rights, toll riglita, and mile rights are the weapons with
which the town creates for itself both revenue and a municipal
Msnidpti poltc>'. The soul of that policy i^ tho putting of
■alflahnaw fellow citizens at an advantage, and of competitors
from the outside at a disadvantage. The whole complicated sys*
tem of regulations m to markets and forestalling is nothing but a
■
k
THE TRADERS AND THE TOWNS 185
oootrivaDce so to resulate 8ui>ply and demand between the town»-
mao who bu>-s and (ho countrjinai) who eells, that the fonucr may
find himself in a position as favorable us possible, the latter as un-
favorable as possible, in the business of bargaining. . . . The wholo
weil-rounded law aa to strangers or " foreignera " was an instrument
wherewith to deetroy, or. at all cvonta, to diminish the superiority
of richer and more sidlful competitors from outside. Except during
a fair, the foreigner v/aa excluded from all retail trade, allowed to
remain only a certain time and [Hobibited from lending money to
or entering Into partuen<J)ip with a burgess. ... In abort, the town
market fonned a complete system of currency, credit, trade, tolls,
and finance, ehut up in itself and managed &s a, unit«d whole and
on a settled plan; a system which found its center of gravity exclu-
sively in its local intereets, which earned on the struggle for eoo-
Domic advantages with ita collective forces, and which prospered in
proportion as the reins were finnly held by prudent and energetic
merchants and patricians able to grasp the whole situation.'
This interpretation of mtinicipal policy contains many
brilliant half-truths; the various a^>cct8 of political and
economic policy cited in proof of the inter- supwflciditj
pretation arc indeed a faithful reflection of the *"' '^^ '''*'
ordinances and the provisions of the charters. But these
provisions have been read literally in a narrow legal spirit.
Little care has been taken to geek the vital significance of
these reflations in the economic and political life of the
medieval period. The sinister influence of municipal author^
ity in the Iat«r period has been reflected back to the earlier
period in which these institutions arose.
Literal interpretation of the legal documents of the middle
ages is peculiarly dangerous. It was a period of intense
formalism: a formalism so rigid that few rules could be car-
ried out to the letter. Furthermore, the emphasis on form
rather than content created an attitude of mind that was
particular!)' open to legal fictions and eva-iions of many kinds.
The political organization of the general community was
highly complex: there were many overlapping jurisdictions,
intenvoven in such a manner that acts prohibited in one set
of regulations were protected and guaranteed by regulations
of a coordinate juri^ctjoa. The difficulty of visualizing
' SehnioUer, O.: The MmMtOt S^tltm (New 'Yo^ \Wn,Ml.
188 LVDUSTBUL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
the entire structure of this social organisation tempts us to
isolate the problems that are most nearly comparable to our
own, and, while this method leads to results, it seldom fur-
nishes an accurate representation of medieval life. The
mimicipal constitutions tended, in practically all portions of
medieval E\irope, to raise obstacles to commercial develop-
n»«oh«n- nient, but the traders found a larger freedom
chiBcmefn o( than would have been possible within the limits
of the municipal constitutions in the fairs, in
the special privileges obtained by great trading companies,
and in the development of a Law Merchant enforced by
special courts. Writes upon constitutional history have
been constantly aware of this ^-igorous development of mer-
cantile privil^es, but to them these privileges and arrange-
ments are exceptions; exceptions because the municipal
organization is presumed to be the primary legal background.
The merits of the legal question need not be argued at
length, but it would seem safe to say that thcw different
masses of law and privilege were at least of coordinate im-
portance during the medieval period.
It is diflicult for us to realize that trade could flourish
upon the basis of such a ma.ss of special privileges as were
Ad*<)u>c7 o( characteristic of the middle ages, and it would
tha priTii«ii«« indeed be impossible to maintain the continuity
of trade or to transact tiie volume of business that charac-
terizes modem commerce. It is essential to remember that
medieval trade was after all comparatively small in volume;
confined to a »mall number of commodities in any given
rc^on, and periodic rather than continuous. The great
staple commodities found a market that was spatially ex-
tensive. From a very early date the various countries of
western Europe and the Mediterranean world were eng^^d
in systematic trade. The territorial extent of the market
for most products is frequently underestimated. Textile
districts, woolens, linens, and silks; metal districts; leather
districts; r^ons producmg spices, drugs, and dyc-atuffs
became diHtinet as curly as the twelfth century, and this
geograpliicai di^'isioa of labor became the basis of an active
i
THE TRADERS AND THE TOWNS 137
commerce that was as truly "world-commerce" as the com-
merce of to-day. The known world was smaller, but the
commerce of the time included practically all parts of the
known world. This trade was not in any vital sense depend-
ent upon rights of trading in the iovns as municipalities.
The fairs were the primary basis of the distribution of t^ese
basic commodities throughout Europe, and these fairs, or^
ganized with more or less elaboration, constituted a vast
trading community that was international in Thatn^iac
structure aa in its legal rules and procedure. <*"«'*»'*»
The fair charters were thus the guarantees of commercial
freedom, just as the mimicipal charto^ were the bulwarks of
political freedom. Little by little the bond of union between
trade and the towns became closer, and, in the end, the spe-
cial franchises of the traders became a part of the municipal
constitution. The nature and degree of this assimilation of
these two types of franchises difTered widely in the various
European countries. In France and in England the mimici-
pal constitution come to be relati\'ely favorable to the trader,
and the older, more special organization of commerce re-
ceded into the background. In Gcrnmny, most especially
in Prussia, municipal selfishness maintained itself longer as
a substantial fact, so that the fairs remained an essential
feature of commercial life down to modem times.
The constitutional hiator>' of municipalities is thas distinct
from the economic history of the oi^anization of commerce
and the growth of commercial towns. It is particularly
necessary' to avoid identifj-ing the rise of municipal freedom
■with the rise of commercial freedom. These developments
were closely related and each exerted important influences
upon the other, but for a long period these matters can best
bo treated as distinct episodes in the development of uri>an
life.
II. Fairs ano the Law Merchant
The fair is not sharply distinguished from the market,
though its functions and ot^anizatjon ore different in many
respects. The German phrase "JahnnazV.V yr&'c^uk&'Ocw'c
13S
INDtrSTRIAL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
close association of the underlying ideas: the fair was a kind
Huittuaad of market held at less frequent intycn-ala and
'■*" for the purpose of transacting a different kind
of business. The market was concerned with supplying the
necessities of life, ser^nng primarily as a bond between town
and country. It was the basis of such interchange of primary
products as was necessar>' among specialised craft-workers
and the agricultural members of the community. Even in
small towns and villages the market was held each week. The
fair was a similar organization designed to maintain some
connection between the town or village and the outside world.
As the dependence upon Kuch trading connections was slight
it was usually possible to meet these needs by holding one fair
each year. The fair was usually associated with some church
festival of genial or local importance. Easter week, Saint
John's Day, Trinity, and All Saints were common dates for
fairs. The feast of the patron saint of the town or monastery
was the most usual choice when the date was based upon
purely local considerations.
Fairs of purely local significance seldom lasted more than
one day, and the majority of fairs were of this type. It ia
not always possible to distinguish grants of fairs
from grants of the right to hold a market, for it
was usua! to combine the right to Iiold an annual fair with the
right to hold a market. The Committee on Market Rights
and Tolls reported the followiiiR numbers of g^.^nts: for the
thirteenth century 3300; for the fourteenth century 1560;
lor the fifteenth century down to 1482, 100; a total of 4960
fairs and markets granted and probably existing at the close
of the fifteenth century. The kingdom was thus provided
with a very substantial mechanism for the maintenance of
commercial contacts. The trader was by necessity of the
case a traveler, in most instances accomplishing a fairly
definite circuit each year, for the generous distribution of
fairs throughout the year made it possible to arrange rea-
sonably continuous circuits.
The fair, howevex, was not merely a basis for the retail dis-
tribution of the primary imports; the wholesale trade in the
THE TRADERS AND THE TOWNS
TiM SlUt flirt
ii Staples of foreign commejce was likewise carried on
in fairs. Particular faira came to be frequented
by the foreign merchant and the itinerant re-
taileiB. At times the rise of fairs to peculiar importance
was due to genuinely important economic factons, such aa
[the location of the town with reference to trade routes or ita
relation to the more important manufacturing distrietB, but
In many instances relatively trivial circumstaztoes were suffi-
140
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGIAND
CydM
dent to occasion a notable gathering of traders. Many of
the famous fairs of Europe were thus held in places of do
especial iuiiK)rtance otherwise. When such gatherings of
traders appeared at a fair the period was usually extended,
first to two or three days, then to a week, and &ially per-
haps to a month.
TTie foreign traders attending such fairs, like the retailers
frequenting fairs of lesser import, were disposed to arraugo
a circuit which would enable them to come in
contact with all the regions producing the goods
sought by them, so that the fairs which become prominent
in comiection with the wholesale trade of Europe tend to
fall into more or less definite cycles. This tendency is most
clearly apparent in Continental Europe, where the fairs of
Champagne and of Flanders constitute two closely orgao-
ized groups of fairs. There were six fairs in each group,
distributed througliout the year. As the manufacturers at-
tending the various fairs came from somewhat different
areas, the wholesale market was relatively comprehensive as
regards area and approximately continuous as regards time.
In England, tlic cycle of wholesale fairs was not so defi-
nitely organized: the fairs were not subject to any common
Ad Eagiuh administrative regulations, as was the case with
"*'' the fairs of Champagne, and as we have no
knowledge of the credit organization of the English fairs we
cannot be certain that the most distinctive features of a fair
cycle were present. The more important fairs, however,
succeeded each other in a convenient sequence and the
arrangements made by the royal treasxity indicate the pres-
ence at these fairs of a substantially identical group of trad-
ers. By letters patent of November 16, 1240, the bailiffs of
Winchester were ordered to make known to all merchants
*' the provision of the King and Council that the King's
prises ' from merchants shall be paid at four terms of the year,
to wit, prises due at the fair of Northampton in the fair of
fit. Ives; priHCfi due in the lattej, at the fair of Boston; prises
in the latter, in the fair of Winchester; and those due in the
' Gee infra, 151.
THE TR.\DERS AND THE TOWNS 141
lattw, in tho fair of Northampton." * The group of fairs
meationed presents the following sequenoe: the fair of Saint
Ivea, eight days beginning Eastw Monday; the fair of Bos-
ton, eight days be^ning with the feast of Saint John the
Baptist, June 25 to July 2; the fair at Winchester (Saint
Oflee's Fair) August 31 to September 15; the fair of North-
ampton, November 17 to 25. Other evidence showB that the
merchants usually attended the fair at L>'nn, immediately
fuUowiag the fair at Boston, and a fair at Stamford is men-
tioned as important, though pea-haps not equally important.
In so far as debts contracted at one fair could be paid at a
subsequent fair, this English fair cycle closely resembtes the
Continental fairs. The King, at least, rec^ved goods and
money due at one fair at a subsequent fair.
In picturesque accounts of fairs there is a tendency to
emphasize the variety of goods displayed for sale, and one
frequently carries away the impression that the DMiuMot
fairs, and particularly the great wholesale fairs, ' '■**
urere devoted to trading in all the goods known to the period.
Distinction should be made between the classes of goods
whose purchase and sale were the main purpose of the fair,
and the classes of goods in which incidental trading was in-
evitable. The gathering of any great crowd of traders would
require more than the usxial activity of trade in food, eep^
cially cooked foods. Butchers, bakers, and all classes of cooks
were thus a prominent feature of any fair. Possible dispari-
ties between the volume of goods brought to the fair and
pxmihascd there would inevitably require many merchants to
add to their train of pack-animals. Dealing in hor^^s mules,
and their equipment was therefore an incidental feature of
every considerable fair. The assemblage of traders, further-
more, created a demand for more or less craft-work; black-
smiths, saddlers, hamosA-makcrs, barbers, tailors, and the
I like would all find special opportunities for custom. Car-
I palters would be in demand to put up and take down the
^m light wooden booths that were used during the fair. The
^K incidental work of the fair would thus be representative o(.
^■^ iCirf. Pol. RoOi 1332-17, "zaa.
1
I
I
142
INDUSTRL\L HISTORY OP ENGLAND
ToUt 4Dd dDM
the nonnal life of the community. All this business must
properiy be disUDguishcd from the main business of the fair.
These EngiiRh faire were especially devoted to the trade in
wool, cloth, and bides. Foreign goods were exchanged for
them products: wines from Gasoony; spices, drugs, and dyes,
coming by way of the sea or from France and Flanders;
wax, linen, German wines, and other characteristic products
from the Hanseatic towns of the Baltic. But the exchange
of products does not seem to have been as (daborately oi^an-
ized in England as it was on the Continent
Sjinpathetic understanding of the relation of fairs to medi-
eval trade is made particularly difficult by the obtrusiveneea
of the dues levied on merchandise entering or lea\ing the
fair, and by various restrictions on trading. The
laissez-faire thought of the niDctcoatb century
made all these features seem exces.'dvely restrictive. Kitchin
expresses this view characteristically in speaking of Saint
Giles's Fair at Winchester:
The regulations of the fair were on every hand arbitmry and
opprefBJve; and, if it relieved the city of Royal cxtictions, it at the
same timo dcKtxoyed its independence; all trade was forbidden in the
city and in the "seven league circuit ; no man might buy or bcII
auglit except at the fair; the Civic Authorities had no jurisdiction,
even over their own citiaens; nor indeed coiild any lord of a nmnor
hold his Court-baron within the circ^-it of the seven leagues, except
by special leave from the PaviUion Court, The tolls taken at the
gates of the Fair were a considerable burden on traders and buyers
and were levied on Englishmen or forc^ers alike.'
These presumptions in favor of free trade tend to create
prejudices against the whole structure of medieval conmicrce.
Th« ttttiom It seems to be burdened with axceasive dues and
c« 111* fair cnunped by urmecessary regulations. In look-
ing for the frank economic freedom that is a£^umed by the
modern thinker to be neccasaiy, we frequently fail to appre-
ciate the extent of the legal cnfrancIiiBement that was guar-
anteed by the fair. "At fairs and markets," says Lipeon,
"full freedom of traffic was accorded indifferently to alien
I Uitdtiu: A Charta <4 ZfAmnj ///, 21.
I
THE TRADERS AND THE TOWNS 14S
sod to native, to bui^ess and to stranRpr; and it was this
policy of free trade and the open door wiiich attracted traders
and afforded scope for the unrestricted play of commcreial
forces." In the context this passage could hardly be misun-
derstood by any one familiar with the constitutional history
oi the medieval i>eriod, but the phrases "Iree trade" and
"the open door" are singularly infelicitous because they
sue^geet that the freedom guarant«ed by the fair was fiscal
and economic rather than legal.
We con know little of the actual burden of customs and
tolls during the medieval period. The multiplicity of duc6
and the obtrusive methods of collection would seem to make
it inevitable that the burden of indirect taxation was greater
than it is to-day, but one must remember that the less obtru-
sive burdens of modern customs htr none the less real because
less consciously felt. In the middle ages the larger portion
of public revenue, such as it was, came from direct taxes on
land and incomes from land. Much medieval trade was
carried on under special licenses, and evasion of customs
was easier than it is now. Althougli the burden of indirect
taxes was undoubtedly considerable, we do not really know
whether it was greater or less than it is to-day. The fair was
cextaiiily not i)riuuirUy a meoham^n for lightening fiscal
burdens.
The essential feature of the fair was the creation of a special
court in which all parties, of whatsoever extraction, should
have equal rights. In the other courts a citizen _ , ^ __
. . , _ Ta# fur C6Qn
of a foreign countrj*. or even a resident of another
locality in the kingdom, would have no rights. The law of
the land was indeed a-s namiw in spirit and letter as has been
represented by writers who represent the medieval period as
dominated by intense loralLign, manifested characteristically
in the conception of an essentially exclusive municipality. The
notion of the town economy is a legitimate interpretation of
the developed municipal constitution. If there had been no
other legal arrangements, trade would have been impossible.
The notable feature of the fair, therefore, was the creation of a
special court, which tasted throu^oui Uve ^ua , ^xA^ V«t ^Oca
144
INDUSTRUL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
time being, supplanted the other local courts. At Wnchea-
ter the fair courts were charged with all legal business of the
fair, the town, and a circuit of seven leagues within which
trading was prohibited during the fair. In this manner the
legal disabilities of aliens and non-residents were completely
overcome. The suspension of the municipal constitution
during the period of the fair at Winchester is 8>Tnbolic. As
Kitchin says, the civic authorities did not have jurisdiction
over their own citizens during the fair: the policy of munic-
ipal sdfishncss of the town was nullified by the freedom t^
the fair.
These fair courts administej'ed a difTerent kind of law.
Local courts, whether in England or on the Continent, were
charged witli the administration of a body of law that was
essentially fomml. Pleadings must needs follow definite
forms and errors of form were absolutely fatal. The omission
or misplacement of a word would prevent a person frum se-
curing legal relief. Customary law, too, was relatively rigid.
The number of writs that might be issued by the local courta
was limited, and if anything arose that created a new prob-
lem it was practically impossible to secure relief. The fair
courts, which came to be called "Pie-Powder Courts," were
the lowest courts in the legal hierarchy, but they adminis-
tered a kind of law that gives them a notable place in legal
history. Procedure was de-signed to be informal; the sub-
stance of the case was regarded as more important than the
Th« L«w fonn of the pleadings. It was intended to make
Mwchant procedure sufficiently simple to enable mer-
chants to dispense with lawyers. This complete informality
of procedure was not always achieved, but in a mea-sure the
law enforced by ihese courts was administered by merchants
without special icg»\ training. In the decision of cases the
judge was presumed to be guided by his conception of what
was just and fair. Because merchants were primarily con-
cerned with contracts, the Law Merchant was particularly
lich in cases concerning the enforcement of contracts, and
when the various types of commercial paper began to appear,
they were recogoizcd soonest in this special body of law de>
4
4
1
1
^
THE TBADEBS AND THE TOWNS Itf
vdoped with reference to Uie needs of the mercantile com-
munity. The l^w Merchant and its gpecial courts thus
enabled tJie merchant to do busineas, although the ordinsiy
courts and the general body of law were wholly inconsistent
with the existence of the very mobile trader that was typical
of the period. Trade and traders stood outside the general
legal fnuncwork of society.
The special merchants court, the "Pie-Powder Court,"
originated in the fairs, but courts administering the Law
Merchant came to be established in many towns. B«,n«iooot
In the English boroughs the distinction between ">" i-**
the mercantile jurisdiction and the ordinary
jurisdiction was not alwi^ well drawn; at times one court
administered two kinds of law, at other times there were two
courts with distinct series of records. In the earlier stages of
this development the borough court could admioistcr the
taw Merchant only during the period of the fair, but this
/estriction was ultimately removed, and cases under the Law
Merchant could be heard at any time. These extenaona of
the jurisdiction of the courts of towns and boroughs thus
resulted in a significant extension of the legal enfranchise*
ment of strangers. Many privileges of the fair became essen-
tially continuous, so that much trading could be done at all
times. These possibilities must have tended to restrict the
importance of the great fairs by giWng the wholesale trader
sufficient legal freedom to make him relatively independent
of the privileges associated with the fairs. It is possible that
the early decay of the great jntenmtional fairs in England
was due in a mea^iure to the development of other and better
methods of handling the wholesale trade. In this respect, at
all events, there seem to be diflerences in the mechimism of
trading in England and in Ck>ntinental Europe that are as yet
iU-imderstood.
The relations between England and the Continent were
peculiar in a number of respects. The Kings of England
possessed territorial rights in France which made cbarten to
them grant special privileges to merchants who *'*•'' ="'i»^
were in a sense stxangers, but none the less \!nsai wJ!c>\wSv».
v»
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
Thug a charto* of Edward I to the wine merchants of Aqui-
tajne (August 13, 1302) placed them under the special pro
tection of the King "in England and elsewhere within his
power." He gave them the right to "trade in gross in the
cities, boroughs, and merchant towns either with natives or
inhabitants of the said realm or with foreigners, strangeni, or
with pri\'ate persons."
The aaid merchant vintneni may lodge in the cities and towns
where they wUl, and tarry with their goods at the pleasure of the
owners of the inns or huuscs. All contracts made by the said viat*
ncTs with any peJiron shall be good, so that neither merctiant can re-
cede therefrom, when oncecarnest money has been paid., . .Ailbail-
ifla and mtnisterH of the fairs of the cities, boroughs, and mentliant
towns shall do speedy justice from day today without delay, if they
complain to them of wrongs, vexations, or touching debts or oth^^
pleas, and the justice shall be according to the Law Merchant;
if there be found any default in the said bailiffs or ministers,
whereby any of the said vintners have experienced delay, ovoD
though the vintner has recovered his loescn against the princH
pal party, nevertheless the said bailiff or minister shall be punisb*
able by the King, and this puaLshment is grant«d as a favor to the
said merchant vintners to hasten the doing of justice to them.*
By the "Carta Mercatoria" it was provided that there
should be a special judge in London to hear pleas of alien
merchants, if the sheriffs fail to do speedy justice. The for-
dgner tlius came to hare many rights by reason of the con>-
plexity of jurisdictions which it is so hard tor us to under-
stand to-day. We are accustomed to a l(«al ^^tem that
admitusters the same law to all parties; in the middle ages
each class in the community enjoyed some special privileges
and was subject to a somewhat different set of legal arrange-
ments.
ni. AssoaATiONS OF Mbbchants
The mwchants coming to England from foreign parts
sometimes came as piu^Iy individual traders; but the traders
coming from the Baltic towns, a particularly important and
numerous group, began at an early date to form associations
■ CA Charter iMi$, m. »-aa
THE TRADERS AND THE TOWNS
147
which were designed to protect the individual merchants
during their residence in England. Th^ formed a " hanse"
— an association of merchants recognized by the State.
At a later period, and in France during the early period, these
aswxiations were called " companies," but they were not oom-
ponics in any modern sense of the word. Privileges and real
estate were hdd as corporate property, but trading was al-
ways strictly indi^-idual, even when the intrusion of fraternal
elemente into the association gave rise to the obligation to
share advantageous ba^alns with fellow members. In
medieval En^and there were three associations of merchants
of fundamental importance: the Hansards, tntiat
from the German and Baltic towns; the Mer- "*^"'''—
chants of the Staple, merchants, mostly native En^ishmen,
trading in wool to the Ix>w Countries; and the Merclmnt
Adventurers, English merchants, who began in the fifteenth
century to compete with the Hansards fur the control of
En^ish trade with the Baltic. A fundamental feature of all
these assmiiations, whether of foreign or of native merchants,
was the aoqui^ition of rights and privileges designed to over-
come the restrictive features of municipal and even national
regulations of commerce. Conunerce could tJirive only
under a regime of special privilege, and these great mercantile
associations held as a cherished corporate possession the more
important franchises granted to trade and traders.
The origin of the association of Germanic merchants ta
obscure. The earliest references to an organization reveal
the existence of an association substantially
similar to a merchant gild located at London
and composed exclusively of foreigners, primarily merchants
from Cologne. In 1157 specific reference to a house belong-
ing to these merchants appears in the patent* by which they
were guaranteed the protection of the King. Their persons
and their property were thus assured of legal safeguards:
they were under obligation to pay various duties and were
charged with repairing the Bishop's Gate. In many ways,
therefore, their position was comparable to that of native,
citizens of London. The growth o{ Ihe mviDidv^Vi \«9\^&^
The Him*
148 INDUSTRLU. HISTORY OF ENGLAND
to sharpen the distinction that existed between tlicse privi-
leged foreiKners and the citizens, for the foreigners did not
participate, as such, in the rights of self-government that
were gradually acquired by the citizena, though citizenship
waa not incompatible with membership in the Hanso and a
number of Hansards rose to i)n)minencc in the government
of the City. In this early period, when botli foreigner and
native bom were subject to royal judicial and administnr
THE TRADERS AND THE TOWNS 140
tive ofRccra, there were few essential differenceg in civil
riglits. It is importAnt to note that the Hanse privileges
were based on royal grants which were later recognized by
tlie Mayor and Burgesses of London. The agreement of
12S2, however, secniB to indicate some subordination of the
Hanse mexchants to the City. The merchants of the Hanse
were governed by an aJdennan, who held court independ-
ently of the jurisdiction of the City, but it was p^^,^
provided that he should be a person enjoying
the freedom of the City, in other words, a citizen of Lon-
don. He was also required to take oath before the Mayor
and BurgesssH of the City.
The establishment of the merehants of Cologne proved to
be the nucleus of a larger group. Merehants from the Baltic
ports, notably Hambui^ and Liibeck, appeared in tondon.
At first there were many jealousies. In 1260 and I2G7 mer-
chants from these towns gained recognition as independent
associations, but these separatist tendencies were subse-
quently overcome and a general association of German mer-
chants was formed. The agreement above mentioned is
usually aasimied to indicate the disappearance of the ind^
pendent oiganizations, as only one association is referred to.
Right to maintain permanent establl'^hments in the pro\'inccs
had also been acquired; the first stations were suttDoiof
at Ipswich, Yannouth, Lj-nn, and Boston, and "•* ^"^
though they enjoyed some measure of independence they were
subordinate to the establishment at London. A merchant
could not become a member of a provincial establishment nor
enjoy its privileges unlejis he were a member of the London
Hanse.
Details of organization varied conaid^^ly during the ex-
istence of the association, so that it is not possible to give any
general sketch of the system of organization. The Alderman
of the German Merchants at London was presumed to act
as spokesman and as defender of all German merehants in
England, but in practice his control of the provincial aesocia-
tions was not very great. Both at London and in the i»to-
vincial stations there were a considenibVe uaxt^otx ^ ^'<st*
R
IBO INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF EXGIAND
moos in pamaQcnt residence, and the cine and judicial
functions of the association were of course lai^y exercised
by them. There were some merchants whose business kept
them traveling between the countries, but the general tend-
ency was to establish partnerships (subracing permanrat
nsiidentfl both in Gennany and in England.
The activities of the Hansards were not confined to the
towns in which they had permanent establishments. They
traded in many towns, at many fairs, and were active in the
country- districts, buying both cloth and wool. They churned
the right to engage in retail as well as in wholesale trade
throughout the kingdom. The cl^ms were persistently
Tiwde ai tha opposed by native merchants, but the Hansards
^"'** retaiiK-d a significant hold on the trade of the
kingdom tmtil their expulsion. In the early period the im-
ports conwKtwl chiefly of furs, tar, and salt fish; the exports,
of wool, leather, and cloth. The extent of the trade iu-
creased nr>tably. ^Vll the tar products, iron ore, sted, copper,
wood and manufactures of wood, grain, flour, flax, linen
yam, alks, malt., beer, wines, woad, and drugs, came to be
regularly imported. The list of eiqiorts was not similarly
ertended.
The establishment of the Hanse acquired the name " Steel-
yard" in the fifteenth century. The association had in-
Tha " stMt- creased its holdings of real estate and enlarged
y*^" ita warehouses and living accommodations so
that it was pos^ble to house all members in buildings owned
by the corporate group. The growing hostility of the citi-
zens and traders of London was perhaps a contributory fac-
tor. At all events, the separateness of the Hanseatic juris-
diction was more and more sharply emphasized and the older
individual freedom of the merchants gave way to a system of
living that brought into prominence the fratenial and com-
munal elements that had always been latent in the idea of
the association. The hostility of the City inevitably forced
the Hanseatic merchants into closer d^)endeoce upon each
other.
Among the privileges of the Haose in the early period were
THE TRADEBS AND THE TOWNS
151
k.
special exemptions fn>in the pa>'ment of cuRtoins duties. The
liberal policy of Edward I toward foreign mer- j^^^ prwi«fw
chants was embodied in a group of doouments:
some grants of pri\Tleges were addressed to particular Rniups
of merchants, su(!h as the wine merchants of the Duchy of
Aquitainc and the Hansards; there was also a grant of essen-
tially similar privileges to merchants of all nationalities in
the " Carta Mercatoria" of February, 1303. The privileges
claimed by the Hansards are presumed by many to have
been founded on the general grants of this "Carta Merca^
toria," as the special charter cited by Hubert Hall * seems
to have been overlooked. These documents, like moat medi-
eval grants of privilege, were definitely reciprocal agree-
ments: in exchange for certain franchises the King received
certain financial considerations. The alien merchants re-
ceived assurance of personal security, guarantees of certain
commercial privileges, and legal rif^ts. In return, they
agreed to pay cej-tain additional import duties. According
to these arrangements the aliens were subject to the paj-ment
of duties which were perhiqM fairiy heavy, but absolutely
certain.
' The native merchant was not under any obligation to pay
duties, but. he was obliged to sell his goods to royal agents
whenever the goods were needed, or alleged to ^^
be needed, by the royal household or the military
establishment. This exercise of the feudal obligation of pur-
veyance, or "prise," amounted in fact to obligatory sale to the
King at such price as the Kind's agents were pleased to name.
The prices set were usually low so that resale at a proBt was
possible and usual. It was thus in reality a tax that was
capricious in its incidence, and also a method of making the
Crown an unfair competitor in trade. This right of prise was
a source of revenue to the Crown in any case; if the purchase
w«e actually used by tlie royal household or for state pur-
poees, those needs were supplied for much less than the normal
market price, if the goods were subsequently resold, the royal
tnuaxy was the beneHciary of the commercial transaction.
> HaU: Cutlvma Bmiwe, t, U.
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
Hwtaiotl«"
As long as these rights of prise were nmintwned the native
merchaots were constantly menaced by the possibility of
royal exactions that might well be heavier than any definite
customa duties. The establishment of formal import duties
with reference to alien importers was thus relatively favor-
able to the alien merchants, despite the fiscal biuxlens in-
volved. The civil and legal rights acquired were worth the
price. The King, too, gained; he could not exercise the right
of prise over aliens.
In the "Carta Mercatoria" alien merchants were assured
personal eeourity; they were given the ri^t to reside in
cities, boroughs, or merchant towns; they -were
exempt from the payment of various municipal
taxes; the obligations of all contracts were guaranteed; judi-
cial officers of cities, towns, and fairs were required to render
prompt justice to all merchants, according to the Law Mer-
chant; they were guaranteed freedom from all prises or delays
due to prisage. The coinmereiat privileges of the charter
were especially significant with reference to the development
of the trade of the Hansards: aliens were given the right to
engage freely in wholesale trade with natives and with
foreigners, and in the retail trade in mcreery. The term
"mercerj'" is conveniently vague. At all times a somewhat
artificial classification of goods, the list of merceries tended
to increase in each successive generation, both in England
and on the Continent. Some of the textiles, most small
manufactured articles, and various drugs fell within the scope
of the term "mereery" at various times, and these were the
wares which were most freciuently retailed by wealthy mer-
chants engaged simultaneously in wholesale trade.
The privileges of the "Carta Mercatoria" were subse-
quently withdrawn from the general body of merchants, so
that the special grants that had been made at that time be-
came singularly important, as they maintained the regime
of prinlege for the Hansards and some other small groups o(
merchants. The Hansards were obliged to defend their
privileges on a number of occasions, but they seem on the
whole to have succeeded in maintaining tlicir claim to exemp-
I
4
I
I
4
■
THE TBADEBS AND THE TOWNS U$
tion from any duties not provided for in the schedules of the
grants of 1303. This principle was definitely n, rtmcti*
acknowledged by the Crown in 1354, but toward '*'* '^' '=^»
the close of the centuo" the need;! of the treasurj- resulted in
new demands on the part of the Crown whicli the Hansards
were not able to resist. At that time increased burdens
placed on native merchants had created notable prefcrencee
in favor of the Hansards. The interminable negotiations
over these fiscal matters are obscure and lircsomc, but the
fact that alien merchants actually enjoyed preferencee to
the disadvantage of the native merchants is of substantial
importance.
The late fourteenth century, characterized by thcee fiscal
Btragglee with the Crown, marks the culmination of the
commercial importance of the Hanseatic merchants. The
oi^anization was important throughout the fifteenth and
sixteenth centuries, but it was gradually losing ground, in
En^and as in Germany. Political disorder was a cause of
decay in Germany. In EogUmd competition with English
merchants was the principal factor, though of course the
growing importance of the English trading community was
furthered by the weakness of the Hanseatic League in Gei^
many and the Baltic regions.
The appearance of the Merchants of the Staple is the first
indication of an organized attempt of native merchants to
secure some share in the wholesale trade that untiiuiti u
had remained in the hands of aliens until the *^ ^*"''*
lat© thirteenth century. The Staple, as the term is used in
English history, was the town or group of towns designated
by the King as sole exporting points for wool and wool fels.
This concentration of the export trade in wool seemed desir-
able from the fiscal point of view. If the movement of wool
followed a defiaite course in the process of exportation it was
much easier to be sxu^ that the export duties would not be
evaded. The town or towns designated as Staple ports might
be in England or on the Continent: if English ports were
dc^gnated it was practically necessafy to designate a number
of places conveniently situated with reCecetvfift U> V^3.%Nttx\K>''^
N
154 INDtJSTBLVL HISTORY OP ENGLAND V
centers of wool production ; U a Continental town were chosen
a single town would suffice, as the trade could be more easily
concentrated. For this reason, doubtless, a Contincntftl
SU^Ie port was favored. During the period 1285-1.392, there
waa no Staple at all for seven j-ears; for thirty years, not
locatioQ of consecutive, the Staple was in various English
tiuSupi* towns; for the remaimng seventy years, the
Staple was at Calais or some town in the Low Countries.
Throughout this period the location of the Staple was highly
uncertain, but for the century and a half that followed, un-
til 1558, the St(^>le remained at Calais.
The body of merchants that ultimately came to be known
as " Merchants of the Staple" did not acquire charter rights
until the fourteenth century. The development of this or-
ganization is obscure.
There were certain merchants of the realm, both native and for*
eipi, whom the king waa accustomed to call to consult with him
Oric>o*a(tba in his council conceniing loans, customs and subsi-
Staplna dics, grants of wool and other outtters touching their
trade and the king's need. These were probably the riche.st and
most influential of the wool merchants. When Partiamoot gave
the king a grant of wool, he ncgotiat<?d with these merchants for
the sale of it to them outright, at other times he arranged with them
for & certain part of the proceeds, after they had sold it in the con-
tinental market. They were habitually spoken of as the "kii^s
merchants" or the "merchants of the realm. " When they had the
king's wool to sell, thoy were obligtrd to take it to the market which
be had eslablishef! ; and it was because of injury done to them luid
througli them to the kuig, by not attending the same market, that
the other merchants were compelled to go there also. Those mer-
chaato of the realm who sold the king's wool formed, then, the nu-
cleuB of the famous Engli^^h Cunipiiny known in later times as The
Mayor, Constables and Kellowahip of the Staple; and out of their
organitation grew the organisation of the 8taple.
It is obvious from the charter that the merchants already had
some slight degree of organization. The whole body of the "mcr-
chaDt£ of the realm " constituted u cammunilaii; they were evidently
in the habit of acting together, and they bad a major. We know
that the charter did not create the of!)ce of mayor, since a few montlis
before it was given, a "mayor of the merchants of the realm" had
been sent on a diplomatic errand to the count of Flaaders. The
THE TRADERS AND THE TOWNS
150
obarter bIbo mentioiu a council of tbeee nine merchants with which
tbe mayor was to act Id cases of infringement upon the tighta
granted. There is no indication whether the council was a new
titution or whpther it had existed before.
It was these spcci.nl " iiierchantji of the realm" whom the king
choae to sell his wool, who first attended the Staple. The center
about which they were organized was the king; they were prima-
rily tlw " kiog'a merchants." But after 1313 the other wool ni«r>
ch&nlM alno went to the Staple. The records begin to speak of tho
"Mcrolmnts of tlic StJiple." The Staple beoame the center about
which they were orRanized, and with this change there gradually
came a change in tiie title of the mayor to "Mayor of the Mer*
chante of tbe Staple," or simply "Mayor of the Staple." *
[ These merchants constituted a distinct body from the citi-
MM of any town in which the Staple was held. "They
dwelt by themselves in certain streets or houses natr^Kki
set apart for them: they elected their own """ 1
officers, who governed them according to royal ordinancics,
who judged them according to the Law Merchant, not ac-
cording to the Common Iaw." * This company of mer-
chants were an important factor in the commerce of England
until the exportation of wool was prohibited in the seven-
teenth ccuturj'. With the pasdng of the export trade in raw
wool the company ceased to possess commercial importance,
but the existence of a moderate amount of projKirly gave the
company an unwarranted length of life, for the organization
still exists as a sort of endowed club.
I The Company of Merchant Adventurers owes its origin to
the same general circumstances that had earlier created asso-
ciations of alien merchants in England. Civil tii« Hirdum
.bilities in towns, uncertainties of legal "'•*'»'"•
"status, and absence of any national organization for the pro-
tection of subjects in foreign parts made it necessary that
there should be some oi^;anization capable of dealing with
foreign states and of acting as the corporate recipient of fran-
chises and privileges. The Company of Mcrcliant Adven-
turers, however, came into great prominence only toward the
■ Jendua, A. L.: TIm Origin, Uit OifaiHttUion and At Loeaticm o} fK* StapU
rfErtgland, 13-14.
• IbiiL, IS.
1^1
15fl INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
close of the fifteenth centiny, and the period of its commer-
cial !dgnificanr» extends through the seventeenth century.
English traders who were actively engaged in commerce
with the Low Countries began to receive grants of pri\'ilege3
in the thirteenth century, and seventeenth-ccntiiry writers,
who were very anxious to carry- the origins of the company
for back into the past, declared that these grants were the
basis of the Company and Fellowship of Merchant Adven-
turers. But these grants were made to Englishmen generally
and not to any specific group of traders. The origins of
^^ the company are obscure. There were some
administrative officas before the memb^ship
in the organization was rigidly defined. Persons trading in
cloth and other goods to the Low Countries were evidently
presumed to be members of the organization by fact of being
English traders. Membership implied nothing more than
Bubordiuation to the jurisdiction of the Governor, which was
primarily in the interest of the individual trader. When the
administrative business increased in volume, fines came to be
levied to meet the neceesarj* expenses; in theory, these were
an obligation upon all English merchants engaged in trade in
the commodities which had become the affair of this group
of merchants. The goods handled were in general the ex-
ports not covered by the regulations of the Staple; primarily,
therefore, undyed cloth. The years of the fourteenth cen-
tury, in which there was no Staple on the Continent, proved
to be especially significant in the development of more for-
mality of organization among the cloth traders who had fol-
lowed, as it were, in the wake of the Staple, securing a cer-
tain amount of protection to which they were not technically
entitled. Grants made in 1359, by reason of the removal of
the Staple from Brugee, are in a measure the most specific
beginning of the formal organization of the company. A
charter of 1462 recognises the obligation of all English trad-
ers in the Low Countries to pay fines to the organization,
and in 1505 a more specific cliarter established a society
with a strong central admimstratjon.
The sixteenth century was marked by the struggle of the
THE TRADERS AND THE TOWNS
157
(erehant Adventurers with the Staplers and the Hansards.
lie gradual decline of the wool tr^e and the rbe Trad* at tfa«
[of the woolen industries in England gave increas- «™i*»>'
ping importance to the cloth trade. With the change in the rel-
ative importance of these branches of trade many Merchants
'of the Staple turned from their prinleged trade to the cloth
trade, liie Merchant Adventurers declared that th^ had
■a monopoly of the cloth trade. It was not their intention
to exclude the Staplers from the trade, but merely to secure
the fines from their membership. The Crown did not siistain
■ the claims of the Merchant Advcnturera, but seventy-three
Staplers joined the company. One must regard the Mer-
chant Adventuno? of this period, therefore, as an inclusive
I monopoly, expressing with some formality the spirit of the
early grants of privilege — the inclusion in the organization
of all English merchants actually engaged in the cloth trade
with the Continent. In the seventeenth century the mem-
■bcrship roll of the company had become subject to many re-
Btrictive measures. Apprenticeship was required, and a
variety of exclusive features were embodied in the rules.
The detennined attack on the company as a monopoly b^ina
in the seventeenth centurj' and continues with no significant
interruption until the monopoly was aboU-shed in 16S8.
H The stru^te between the Ma\:haot Adventurers and the
Hansards is an intricate episode that involves much detail
of Continental commerce and politics. The stmntowith
Merchant Adventurers were eager to exclude "" b*"***^
■ the Hansards from England, and the Hansards equally in-
" tent upon a restriction of the rights of the Merchant Adven-
turers in Germany. The Merchant .Adventxirers were reia-
Uvely successful, though there were elements of compromise
in the general settlement. The Hansards were allowed to
, niaintiiin themselves at London in the Steelyard, and in
Btum the Merchant Adventurers received %'aluable privi-
at Hamburg. The trade of the Hansards, however,
^declined steadily after the middle of the sixteenth century
and they oeasod to be an important factor in the trade of
^^ngland. |
i^" INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
IV. TowNSHn* AND Borough
The economic and constitutional problems that are asso-
ciated with the development of urban life are in many ways
distinct. The lawyer is peculiarly concerned with the growth
of the municipal corporation; the economist sliould properly
I be interctitcd iu the difTcrentiation of urban and rural coni-
Diunities. These problems arc related, but they are not iden-
tical. Three types of urban oommuoity were ultimately
citiw. recognized in medieval English law; the city,
borouiiw, the borough, and the market town. The city
was a privileged jurisdiction which was also the
seat of a bishop. The borough was a pri\'i!eged town, enjoy-
ing rights of a vaguely determined character which ulti-
mately led to its recognition as a corporation. The market
town was an urban area devoid of any distinctive legal
privileges, for the existence of a market was not in itseU an
eridence of the urban character of the settlement. The
economist should therefore be occupied with the conditions
affecting the development of a somewhat larger number of
I places than the lawj-er, whose boroughs are only a single
i class of urban settlement. Furthermore, boroughs were in
^■some cases so small that they do not differ from villages ex-
^" eept in their possession of pri\Tleg€s. The development of
I the municipal corporation is thus only a portion of the gen-
I eral subject of the growth of urban life.
I We are hardly in a position to trace all the stages in the
j gradual differentiation of urban from rural communities, but
Tovn ud we can perhaps describe the points of departure
•'""'^ and define roughly the outstanding features of
a community that has become urban. There might be a
disposition to assume that the distinction between the urban
and the rural community should txim upon the degree of
concentration of population. This simple basis of distinc-
tion encounters serious difficulties of fact. Periods of un-
doubted importance in the development dF the relations be>
tween town and country were not distinguished by sufficient
growtli of population to afford much presumption in favor
TBE TRADERS AND THE TOWNS
15S
of ft theory which places primary emphasis upon the mere
number of people living in the settlement. In the time of
Edward the Confessor there were 400 houses in Cambridge;
in 1279, there were 5M houses. In the meantime great
changes had taken place in the It^al and economic relations
between Cambridge and the county — changes that could
hardly be e^lained by the increased importance of Cam-
bridge as a center of population.
Camlnidge was not a parliculariy lai^ town, but it was
fairly representative. In the Saxon period there was at least
one town in each county, though some coun- na mUttMy
ties possessed two or more. These towns, how- '^^'^
ever, should not be characterised as urban settlements.
The Saxon county seats and many if not most of the Saxon
towns were aggregations of people for the purpose of main-
taining a militarj' stn)nghold. The rural communities of the
county were presumed to contribute to the maintenance of
the walls by money pajment or labor services, and in many
instances this obligation assumed the form of maintaining
a bouse in town. The tenant of the house was pre-tumed to
perform certain defined duties with reference to the repair of
the walls. The population of the town was thus drawn from
all parts of the county. The motives undorl>-ing this aggre-
gation of population were not eoon<Hnic but military, and
for this reason it cannot unreservedly be called an urban
settlement.
The ftmdamental economic problem is to explain how the
inhabitanta of these towns gained a Uving. 'Ilic towns were
BUiTOunded by fields which were organized for agriculture
after the manner of the fields surrounding the villages of
the oountr>'side. Until population passed a certain point
there is no difficulty in presuming that the biu^esses who
maintained the walls of the town weru primarily engaged in
agriculture. They were thus scareely distinguishable from
the villagers of the county. But not all the inhabitants of the
^- towns and boroughs could live on the product akuum ua
B of agriculture. Various artiswis and traders '^•"
f are discernible, just as in the villages. Each. viUai^ -"oiii^ist,'
160 INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
tained a few artisans who were more or less completely
dependent upon their craft-labor. Now tf a ■village wero
required to send eome one to reside in the county scat to
repair walls, it is entirely conceivable that artisana should
be selected in preference to others, or that persons selected
should become artisans. ThpTe would be little or no incon-
venience in the concentration of certain types of village
artisans at the county seat or borough, and there were some
advantages. During the Saxon period trading was prohib-
ited outside of the boroughs. The publicity of the town and
its assemblages of people made it easier to secure proper wifr*
nesses to transactions. Under such circumstances industry
might well become somewhat concentrated in the towns
without requiring us to presume that there were any economic
motives underlying such a location of the craftsmen of the
community. In so far as burgesses were sent up by lords
of manors there would be even greater likelihood that the
choice would fall upon the artisans of the estate rather than
upon the agriculturalists. The mixed condition of the popu-
lation of the early borough is illustrated by a statement about
the Borough of Buckingham in the Domesday Survey.
There were twenty-six bui^sses on the King's demesne who
held eight carucates of land, and twenty-six burgesses "con-
tributed by various lords" who owned no land. The bur-
gesses on the royal demesne had sufficient land to maintain
themselves and their families by fanning; the others had no
visible means of support xmlees we assume them to be arti-
sans.
The beginnings of concentration of population, in England
at least, were not wholly an outcome of economic factors.
The interests of a rural conmiunity widely scattered over the
land were not the initial factor in setting oflf certtun settle-
ments differing in size and legal organization from the rural
villages. The towns owed their origins in many cases to
military necessities, in other instances to administrative con-
_ _ „ venience. The borough, in so far as it was a
county seat, was not merely a fortress, but the
"moot-atow," or meeting-place, for the county. This fune-
THE TRADERS AND THE TOWNS
I
Uon made special administrative organization desirable. It
was better that the borough, as county seat, should not bo
part of any of the adminiatrativo divisioDS of the county
— the hundreds.
The borough [says Maitliind] is a vill which is a hundred; or it is
a vili which baa an organization similar to that of a hundred. Tho
idea is familiar to un; it ia in our classical book. Perhaps it is too
famitiar, for is there not hero a new departure in the hiator>* of in-
atitutioR.<i? We are to have a "tun," a nil, with a jurisdictional
organ, with a moot that can speak law. Ought vm not to ask what
thou^t lies behind this vill that is a bimdred? Will it be fantastic
to compare small bcginninf^s with a great achievement?
The city of Wasliiogton ia not in any of the united atatca of North
America. 'Why not? Ikcaaie it is the "moot-etow" of the Kreat
npuhtio. Tho dvitas (city) of Cambridge is not in any of the hun-
dreda. Why not? Because it is the county's town, the moot-atow,
fortren, and port of the republic of Cambridgeshire.'
Towns came into being for many reasons, and it would
seem that the economic advantage and functions of the urban
as distinct from the rural community were
among the later reasons for these aggregations
of people. The economist must, therefore, seek to discover if
posflible when people came to live in towns because it was
economically advantageous, and not by reason of political
obligation or administrative convenience. In an age that
leaves scant record of its doings, it is perhaps more than we
should expect to bo able to accomplish. It is difBcuIt at all
times to ascertain motives, and particularly in the middle
agee. But it is important to recognize problems even if so-
lutions are not forthcoming.
The period that elapses between the Norman Conquest
and the thirteenth century- was not marked by any notable
changes in the population of boroughs and towns, so far as
we know, but the changes that wwe taking place in the
character of town life and the growth of commerce and in-
dustry may well furnish grounds for prcsmoing that tho eco-
nomic advantages of town life were beginning to be con-
sciously felt in England.
> MaiUond. F. W.: Tnm«Aip and Boraa(k,%\.
ne problaa
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OP ENGIAVD
We are not obliged to suppose that the balance of motives
waa identical in all towns, much less that motives were i
Growth ol tical in all countries. The relatively sp;
towns population of England will probably explain tho
ditTerenccs that may be noted between England and tho
Continent. Furthennore, we must realise that there were
economic factors underlying the growth of the larger towns
that were not present in the life of the smaller towns. Wi:
all these qualifications we may regard the thirteenth century
as the period that marks the undoubted rise to importance of
the economic basis of urban life. Changes took place in the
character of the privileges and rights of towns. ChanKes
occurred in the volmne of trade which occasioned significant
development of fairs and markets. Lastly, the woolen
industry rose into prominence as a specialized industrial
occupation. One must presume that these changes were
closely related, and it would seem safe to say that the eco-
nomic factors in town life became at this time a predominant
factor in their growth.
The constitutional development toward the incorporated
town is therefore roughly ccmtemporaneous with the change
Th« !<)•• of in the character of the urban unit that was an
«eorpor«tion outcome of the increased importance of the
economic factors in town life. Elements of corporate per-
Bonality begtn to emerge in the thirteenth century. The
idea was not at that time familiar to English jurists, however,
and though there were many features of municipal organiza-
tion that implied the existence of corporate persomdity, the
documents do not recognise this fact in any fonnal state*
ment. In the following century the corporate idea be^ns
to appear in occasional charters, though the form of the grant
was not as explicit os the form inaugurated by the charter
granted the town of Hull in 1437. The towns did not bo-
oome full-fledged corporations until a relatively late period.
They were not "complete political structures,*' to use
SchmoUer's phrase, until the general character of medieval
life was fairly well fi.'ted. Much of the commercial structure
of the middle agee had taken definite form before the munici-
I
I
i
THE TRADERS AND THE TOWNS
168
Fpal constitution was sufficiently developed to adn\it of much
m coniiistcnt policy. The town was not so completely "iso-
lated" in its econonuc rdations as Schmolt^ declared, and
the period of its political power coincided with the declining
prosperity nf the late fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.
In Eoghind, at least, there seems to have been an inter-
mediate period between the rise of the town as an urban settle-
ment in the twelfth cenlurj- and the acquisition ti» god
of complete corporate privileges in the four- wf«**^
Iteenth and fifteenth ceDturics. In this inten'ol the gild
chant was of vital significance. It was an institution
lich existed in conjunction n-ith the municipality without
ever being entirety identified with the town cither in ita
memberahip or its official staff. Although the gild merchant
is a tn^ng organization that pof^esspd much importance in
the mmueipalities it can be studied most advantageously in
connection with the other types of English gilds. Its exist-
ence and importance afford further e\'idenoe of the tendency
already mentioned to organize the trading community inde-
pendently of the municipaUties. The group of persons Uving
in the town were not all subject to the same jurisdiction.
The town as an urban center was distinct from the municipal-
ity, and it is for this reason that the municipal charters may
obscure the commercial oi^anization of the period if they
are literally interpreted.
The medieval town differed from the cities of the ancirait
world most notably in the greater dependence upon the
economic bases of urban life. Adventitious political and
administrative elements, which had contributed lai^y to
the beginnings of town life, sank into the background.
Towns which possessed no economic advantages lost their
importanre and were distinguishable from villages only by
their privileges. The increased emphasis upon trade and
industry made the town much more than a mere county seat
— fortress and moot-stow for the little rural i„tenMU,>a*i
communities of the vicinity. The general urban uopoctiaw o(
movement of the thirteenth and fourteenth cen- *"
tunes was part of the commercial development <::A. 'vcsXkxci
184 INDUSTRIAL HISTOBY OF SSGLAND
Europe. Thetownsbecamepartof the economy of the eotiie
body of Christian states, and each town thuB became a point
of contact between its immediate neighborhood and the out-
nde world. The urban communities became the means of
promoting the economic interdependence of tiie European
world-
Social life of the medieval period is perplexing because it
Beescas to involve a paradox: it is at once intensely local and
CoraiopoH- . intensely cosmopolitan. Institutions, partiou*
^"'^ lariy institutions concerned with the adminia-
tration of law, were highly localized. Th^e was a ma.^Tninn
degree of legal decentralization. Society thus seems to be
divided into tiny autonomous imits: villages, manors, towns,
and privileged ecclesiastical bodies. But despite this appear-
ance of minute subdivision the spirit and essence of medieval
life was cosmopolitan. Christendom was a cultural unit,
and despite obstacles that loom large to our eyes, there were
strong cuirentB of trade and much travel. This general co»<
mopolitan movement was organized about the towns, and,
whatever the appearances, it is well to remember that all the
towns found their ultimate prosperity in maintaining com-
munications between the outside world and the litUe rural
conuuunities in their immediate neighborhood.
CHAPTER VII
THE DEVEIX)PMENT 01' GILDS IN ENGLAND
AoUsuitiM
The interest of modern readers in the craft gilds of the
middle ages liaa created special associationg between the gen-
eral terra "gild " and this particular form of gild.
A number of writers, including Professor W. J.
Ashley, have given added currency to such a specialization
of meauing by using the phrase "gild system" to describe
the form of industrial oi^nization which is more precisely
described as the craft or handicraft sj-stem. This laxity of
usage has been peculiarly unfortunate because it adds to the
K)bscuriUes and complexities of a subject that is beset with the
difficulties that come from ambiguities of terminology and
misleading connotations. The word "gild," or "guild," '
ia derived from not less than three roots, and possesses, thoro-
fore, even at the outset, a wide range of meanings, twme of
which have no significant relation to each other. The first of
these roots was used in the sense of payment, compensation,
offering, sacrifice, worship, idol. The second root expressed
the notion of combined or collective action, a meeting. The
third root was associated with the idea of a banquet The
word was thus not clearly specialized in the meaning of an
association and might refer with obvious propriety to a
munber of different kinds of societies.
The disposition of the earlier Teutonic writers to trace all
gilds to a common Teutonic origin was not imoatural, but one
cannot help feeling that this unduly literal scholarship added
gratuitous difficulties to the problems connected .^^^^ ^^
with these different types of association. Throe
distinct tj-pes of society nu^t be described as ^ds: aa>
In economfe writinB soomi to bvor the shortor form "gild." Grtm, Cuik>
King^MH, Aahley, Bnnuoo, liptoa, muI Unvin &I1 use tbo [onn "cld."
lOS INDUSTRIAL HISTOBT OF ENGLAND
sodatioDs for charitable and religiouB purposee; aasodalaoDS
for commercial or social purposes; and aasociationB designed
to share with the municipal authority the supemmon of f dlow-
eraftsmen. In England and in Gennany these associations
were all called g^da, thou^ there were iisually elements in
the name of the society that would be sufficient to indicate
the general purpose of the association. ReUgious aasociA*
tions were usually placed imder the patronage kA Bcane saint,
or connected with the celebration of some relijpous festivaL
Gilds of Corpus Christi, of the Holy Trinity, of the Blessed
Vii^, were to be found in many towns. Some of these
religious titles appear in connection witii associationa that
were not delusively religious in character, iat merchant and
craft gilda were sometimes so closely identified with religions
observancee that the religiouB element appeared in the title.
In such cases it would seem that there might be pounds for
searching for specific evidence of the actual purposes of the
gUd.
All writers have recognized that these three types are80ini&-
what distinct, but many have insisted that the growth of
these different forms of association is dominated by some
common principle. This thesis was pven wide currency by
Professor Brentsjio's essay on the "Origin and Development
of Gilds," and later writers in dealing with English problema
have found it difficult to emancipate themselves from the
influences of the misleading suggestions of the old Anglo-
Saxon term. The IVench terminology is different, and
VMnch di^ French writers have maintained more explidt
tidctiaaa distinctions among these various forms of as80<
elation. The religious association is designated by a special
term both in Latin and in French (fratemiias-confririe).
The merchant gild for some reason as yet unexplained haa
left little trace in the history of French commerce. A de-
rivative from the root "gild" appears in French terminology
in this connection. The craft gild is deedgnated by the term
"metier," the general term for craft. It is therefore neces-
sary to 'itariTigtiiah in French between the organized and
imoi^aniied crafts, and thus we have the "metier libre"—
THE DEVELOPMENT OP GILDS IN ENGLAND 167
fronii
IB mere group of unorganLscKJ craftsmen distinRubhcd
the "n«^licr jur6," ihe chartered craft whose members sw(
to obsen'e the 8tatat«6 of the oi^anizatioD. The confr6rie,
or religious fraternity, plays about the same rfile in France aa
■the reU^ous "f^ld" in EnRland.
There may have been significant difTerences in the devel-
opment of the g^ld merchant in France, but we can at least
■ &Qirm that such associations existed. The craft gilds in
France and in England al3o exhibit diUcronccs of fonn. lliQ
most notable difference io the history of ^ds in the two
■ oountritw is that in France these forms apiioar more clearly
' to be different kinds of associations. The members of these
sodeties were drawn fnim a single class, and in many cases
the same people belonged to two societies or gilds; the differ-
ent fonns thus cxcrttd curious reciprocal innucnccs upon
each otlier, aa thej' were all a part of tlie daily lite of a fairly
definite group. The close relations of the different forms ^
^d to each other cannot be effectively studied, however,
unless the larger differences of form and purpose are care*
fully distinguished.
Pin commenting upon the statutes of three Anglo-Saxon
^ds, Professor Brentano says:
The cflWDoe of the manifolf! reRuktions of the statutes of
three gilds appeare to be the brotherly biitidiiig tt>get!ier into
unions between nmn and man, sometimes even e«- Sccntuo'i
tablisfaod and fortified by oath, for the purpose of ■^•■i*
mutual help and support. This essential characteristic is found
in all the Gilds of every age, from those fimt known to ua in detsilti
to their descendants of ihc present day, the Trade Unions. A^l
ooitiing to the variety of wants and int«reats at various times, the
suns, arrangements, and rules of these unions have also varied.'
^
This statement errs in two respects: in attributing a frater-
nal purpose to the craft gild, and in alleging a direct connec-
tion between these early associations among artisans and the
modem trade union.
The fact that a single term was applied to a variety of
organizations in the middle ages can hardly be taken as c\'i-
i Brentano, U: The Qn^ and Dcnicpment of Gitds,^.
168
INDtlSTMAL HISTORY OP EN'GIANT>
dence of a common purpose, and it happens that there is fairij
Mitpuct4 definite evidence that there was no clear fr
tmtuut temal element in the craft gjld of the pure t>'p€u.|
Id the course of development in En^ijand the religious and]
industrial organisations of craftsmen frequently became one]
society rather than two parallel organizations of the
persons. To that extent a fraternal element crept into th6
craft organizations, but it would be an exaggeration to su|;
pose that the craft pid was in general a kind of fratemity.|
Both on the Continent and in England the religious society
and the administrative orgamzation of the craft were distinct;^
they were diCFoent oi^nizations of eesenttally the same
group of men. Although the modem trade union is not com- j
parable to the craft gild, the relation between workingmen'o
benefit societies and the trade union is substantially 8iinilar|
to the rdation that existed between the religious fratemitj
and the craft gild. These various kinds of gilds are not '
merely variations from a common type, but essentially dif-
ferent organizations, owing their origin to widely different
circumstances and havii^ notably different functions anc
purposes.
II. The RELiQiotJS Gilds
Scattered evidence of religious organizations begins to
appear in the Saxon period, but no considerable mass of evi-
dence about such bodies is available imtil the late fourteenth.'
century. In 1389 the King ordered an inquiry into the prop-
erty and regulations of these gilds. Each gild was thus re-
quired to make some statement of ita purposes and of the
property in its possession. A lai^e number of the replies of
the gilds are still extant. These documents comprise the
primary source of knowledge of such gilds. Many of th'
gilds had doubtless been in existence a long time, but it ifl:
seldom possible to trace their history into the remote past.
We cannot even be certain that the religious gild of that pe-
riod was substantially similar to the earlier organizations to.
which references exist. It would seem, however, that C«>1
tain common purposes were present in all such associatioj
n
THE DEVELOPMENT OF GILDS IN ENGLAND 169
PsrpoMa
The gjlds were formed prmiiuily to insare the celebration
of maases for the souls of deceased members. This general
purpose naturally included the funeral ca«monies, and in
some cafiea an appropriate funeral was guaran-
teed to members. In order to assure the say-
ing of the masses, the gild vas usually endowed with prop-
^y whose revenue was applied to the payment of gild
Itplalna. Because this jHwperly was really devoted to r©-
purpoaes it became s matter of real conoera t" di»-
cover the amount of gild property. The inquiry of 13S9 was
inspired by royal je-alousy of ecclesiastical endowment.^, and
Boon afterward the general statute of mortmain was declared
to be applicable to gild property. The growth of the re-
li^ous gilds was thus restricted, and at the time of the R^-
ormation these g^th were technically dissolved, though they
^^ were in many instances able to reorganize under new names
^P Tith new charters.
^ Although the celebration of relifpous services was the gen-
eral and primary' function, the activities of the gilds were not
confined to such things. Schools were frequently muntained
by the gilds and one of the coll^^ at Cambridge was en-
dowed by the gild of Saint Marj' and Corpus Christi. Relief
^ was Ub'ually given to brothers or sisters who were in distiese
^H through sickness or poverty. J\
^M These rdigious fraternities were usually composed of a
^B numb^ of people worshiping in the same church. In many
^P cases a number of members of a single craft
^ might be pronunent in the gild, for the crafts-
' men were usually grouped in one or more districts of the
^ town and would thus naturally worship at the same church,
^p But even in these cases the craft was not really the basis (rf
^^ the organization. Persons not of the craft would be in-
L^ eluded, and women were more freely admitted to these gilds
^B than to the craft associations. Nor should one suppose that
^ these gilds were composed exclusively of artisans. The rolls
of the Gilds of Saint Mary and Corpus Chriati at Cam-
bridge contain many names that have no occupational desig-
nation with them; the proper inference from SMck ^&3i.'ocnS&
Manb«ralit9
tTO
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGTAND
of course uncertain, but it is Dot unlikely that such peraonsl
would have been merchants or persons whose Income was]
derived from land.
There is no certain basis of information as to the usual i
number of members, but lists of founders or charter mem-
bers are in most cases short, seldom more than ten or a dozen
names. Thus:
In the I7th year of King Edward the Third, Ralph Capclcyn,
Bailiff; William Double, Fishmooger; Roger Clonjiil, chandler;
H«nry Boaenorth, Vintner; Stephen IjUcos, fltx>ckii!JimonRer; aod
othere of the better sort of the piu-ish of St. Magnus n«ar LundoD |
Bridge . . . commenced and caused to be sung an anthem of our i
Lady called Salve R«giua at every vesper, and ordained candles J
to bum lit the time of the said anthem in honour and reverence of j
the five principal joys of our Lady, and to excite the people to devo- "
tion. . . . ^Vhe^eupon several other good people of the same parish
seeing the great aeomliness of this service and devotion proffered to
be aiders and partners in sustaiuing the lights aJid anthem, by
paying each person every week a half penny, and soon after . . .
they commenced to find a chaplain to aing in the said church for aO
benefactors of the light and anthem.'
Oifuiintfoii
Once established the gild was likely to grow to considerable ^i
proportions. ^M
These gilds elected their own officers, usually a warden and^f
alderman, at times a clerk, or trea-surer, and a summoner.
These officials were presumed to exercise the
necessary administrative functions and in addi-
tion to adjust disputes among the members of the gild. New
rules and regulations were made in the general meetings of
the fpld as a whole. These business meetings should be
distingviished from the general assemblies of the members
at funerals or church sennce, and likewise from the feasts
held each year. At all these occasions, however, the mem-
bers of most London gilds and of various gilds in other
towns appeared in a distinctive costume or lively. This
costume was made at the direction of the wardens and paid
for by members at cost. If complete it consisted of both
hood and gown, but sometimes the hood was allowed to suffice.
* Citod, Uawiu, C: OviU* and ComjiontM <tf London, U&.
There is reforence at times to the secrets of the gilda, and
there are many indications that the authorities at all timea
distrusted these religious organizations, fearing apparently
that other purposes were concealed beneath these profes-
sions of religious zeal and charitable intentions. In the early
times, too, the Church distrusted them. In the fourteenth
oeotury the religious gilda of London, locally known as the
parish gilds, seem to have bad covert political significance.
But of these matters there is do proof.
III. The God Mebcbant
The gild merchant presents a most complex array of prob-
lems; tlicrc are certain elements of kinsliip with the religious
gilds; some powers were exercised that were later the peculiar
privilege of the craft gilda; and »ome of the general concerns
of the town were administered by the gild merchant with a
measure of autonomy difficult of comprehensioD to modem
minds. The pld merchant was frequently dedicated to some
patron wunt, or associated with some church festival, and
the pious obsen'ancea of the simple reli^ous gilds were main-
tained. The fraternal elements are also conspicuous. Sick
members were frequently cared for; merabcra pr«u«»i
who fell into poverty were raven a small stipend, •!•=>•"'•
and if a member were imprisoned the officers of the gild were
in many cases required to procure his deUverance if possiblo.
These features of the gild merchant owed their origin to the
circumstanceB that led to the rise of the religious gilds.
The relation to the craft gilds is a matter of greater im-
portance. It would »eem that the pld merchant exercised a
general supcn'ision over the crafts, eubstan- control ol
tially similar to the supervision that was later "'"'
exercised separately by the individual crafts. The very
important inspection of all manufactured goods sold was in
the early ixsriod exercised by the general gild men-bant.
Bad workmanship was punished. Rules wctc laid down
with reference to the exercise of various crafts. It would
seem, therefore, that the craft gilds were in a sense subsidi-
ary orgaoizatioDs, designed to discharge moi« cofrnv^'^'udc^
ire
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
?
and adequately powers which required a detailed knowledge
of the craXt not readily acquired by outsiders. In some in-
stances this 8plitting-off of the larger crafts from the general
gild merchant can be traced in detail. Weavers or other
craftemeo would meet surreptitiously in the gild rooms to
make rules for themselves, thus assuming to act with the
authority of the entire gild. But although there are in-
stances of this sort, it would seem that in general the crafts
received their grants of authority directly from the munici-
pality or from the King. The process of specialization of
Craft ^di function within the gild merchant, if it actually
iiuie»ea<i«Bt occurred, was obscured by this rcfCTence to the
ultimate administrative authorities. For the most part,
the relationship between the gild merchant and the craft gild
in England was not very close.
The craft organizations have been presumed by some to
represent some measure of opposition between the wealthy
merchants and the les3 well-to-do artisans. In some of the
Gennan cities there were serious class conflicts between these
groups, and the craft gilds rose to power on t)ie ruins of the
older institution. In England there is Uttle evidence of any
general struggle between the artisans and the merchants,
and it is hardly likely that the formation of the craft gilds
was merely due to specialization of functions within the
larger association.
The large-T importance of the gild merchant historically lies
in the close relation between it and the municipality. This
OMwraiiMttos has been the subject of much controversy, but
"*""■* the researches of Gross have shown that the
earlier writers were guilty of generaUzing from insuflScient
evidence on a subject tliat is ill-adapted to any geQeraUzatooD
at all. Gross says:
" Any complete generalisation upon the constitutional history of
the towns \» impniviihle for thi^ reason, tliat tbeir histor}' does not
start from one point or proceed by the same stages." Thoiiji;h all
the borouffhs had much in common, and the constitutions of many
were modelled oSIkt tho stune cxomptur, each had a separate life,
developing a persouality of itd own; nor had Parliament yet b^[UD
THE DEVELOPMENT OP GILDS IN ENGLAND 178
J tflKf thooo iodivklual peculiarities. Wliilc, tJttMi, the
pnbHqdn bid down in tlii» chapter touching the non-
identity of gild and borough will apply in most <Mae», there were
doubtlesB local variations, ranging from practically complete
atnalsunatJoQ of the two cicmcnttf to tho other extreme of open
antAgonism. '
The gild merchant was an unportant but subsidiary part
of the admiuistrative machinery' of the borough. It was
Bubordioated to the town magistrates, but en- f^^^aaa of
joyed a greater degree of autonomy than any *•«>"
modem department of municipal government.
The general aduiiuislratiun of the borough was in the hands
of the borough assembly. This assembly elected both od-
luinLitrative and judicial officers, who thus executed both
civil and criminal law. The gild merchant was charged with
the regulation of trade, the supervision of the craft«, and
with certain judicial or quasi-judicial functions with reference
to commercial matters, primarily disputes among membaw
of the ^d.
The essential privilege of the gild was the monopoly of
trade within the town. In the letter of tho law this monopoly
was absolute and its enforcement would seem Mooopoir
to sugge-st the policy of municipal sel(l<thness "' '"''•
which is the basis of the old idea of a "town economy."
The monopoly of trade was, however, less restrictive in fact
than would appear on tlic suifaoe of the regulations. The
clause, " so that no one who is not of the gild may trade in
the said ton-n, except with the consent of the burgesses,"
Bceras categorical: tlie actual signiQcanoc of the monopoly
was in fact ({ualified by the admission of non- in actn«i
residents to the privTlogca of the gild, and by the i*""'*'^
extension of privileges of wholesale trading to non-membcra
upon the pajincnt of certain duties. The actual rigidity of
the ^d monopoly thus turns entirely upon the proportion of
ident to non-resident members, a subject upon which we
ire not well informed. In Dublin, between 1225 and 1250
ahout one half tho free citizens were non-residente, so far as
• GnM,CliartM:rb<WUercha<i,7Vn.
the
^■ffesi'
^'ire
174
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
may be judged from the place names that follow the names H
of the citizens, and in the list of one hundred and ninety- H
one penons admitted to the gild merchant of Dublin inH
1226, ninety-sue were non-residents. The records of Leicester H
reveal a large non-resident membership in the ^d merchant, H
and there l3 no reason to believe that these towns were excep- H
tional. Unfortunately we have few Unin of members of the^|
gild merchant, and little work has been done on the Iist« we^|
have. Still it is clear that we must not assume membership H
to be confined to residents. H
The resident population of a town was not identical wiibH
tither the municipal corporation or the ^d merchant. H
hlbsibtnhip Neith(;r of these bodies were local bodies in theH
rtoduiWa sense that we would naturally suppose from ourH
modem conceptions of citizenship and towns. Persons liv-^|
ing in the vicinity and persons living in privileged jurisdio-^|
tions within the town were freely admitted to membcrship^B
in the gild merchant, though they were usually excluded H
from citizenship. The necessities of trade made it essential H
to adopt a relatively broad policy, and the differences between "
the body of citizens and the body of members of the gild j
merchant amounted to an enfranchisement of commerce. |
Members of reli^ous houses were by necessity excluded from
citizenship even if the order was phj'sically situate in the
town, but these monastic houses were important commwv
cially both by reason of the quantities of wool at their diS'^^p
posiU and by reason of their purchase of raw materials and^
manufactures. The country gentry, too, might well find it
convenient to possess trading privileges in the neighboring
town. Merchants with definite trading interests in a small
group of towns would find it specially advantageous to be
meuobeirs of the gild merchant in each of the towns in which
they had commercial concerns. The gild merchant was thi
an extension of facilities for trading rather than a restricti%
feature; it supplemented the markets and the fairs.
There were restrictions upon the complete freedom of
trade. Casual merchants could not. come to a. town when no
fair was in progress and sell their wares in competition with j
ica
ivaW
I THE DEVELOPMENT OP GILDS IN ENGLAND 175
[the merchants who were regularly doing businesw in the place
Ljlany incidents can be found of determined A<«u«irMtrii>. _
I opposition to such sporadic trading by aliens or """^ *" *"^ I
foreigners. The payment of dues required of non-members
is also B matter that requires some care in interpretation.
iThe dues were in most instances seignorial or royal dues from
Ivhich the gild as a whole bad secured exemption by paying
annual sum into the royal treasury. This sum was ^
subtleas smaller than a tmm representing an exact capital-
ition of the dues chargeable. By pa>'ing a lump sum the
[gild members reduced the fiscal burden and escaped many
^exactions to which they would othpjwiue have been subject,
Lbut there was some justice in requiring non-mcmbere to pay
dues, ioasmuch as they did not contribute to the general
pa>'ment to the royal treasury.
I It will be eWdent that the extent and nature of the com*
xncrcial monopoly exercised by the gild merchant can easily
be mi.Hunderstood. Generalization is hazardous, whether
with reference to particular towns or to particular periods.
These strictures upon the theory of cxclusivcness are not
designed to be generalizations, but merely indications of the
dangers of interpreting literally these various terms which
^^ have in all cases taken on new meanings in oiur modem life.
^pThe gild had a monopoly of trade, but it was in fact an inelu-
^^sive monopoly. Both town and gild have left record of a
^—policy of the closed door; but it is easy to forget that pains
^Kw^e takoi to get everybody inside before the door was
^closed.
^p The right to participate in the bargains of fellow-gildsineD
^Pis indicative of the inclusive character of the gild monopoly.
The ordinances of the f^d merchant at South- sbutac o( i
ampton pro\*ide "that a (pldsman shall have a '>"«**"
share in all the merchandise which another gildsman buys, if
he is on the spot where the merchandise is bought" At Ber-
wick even those who were not present at the transaction were
allowed to share, pro\'ided that they paid the buyer twelve
I>ence for profit. "This privilege," says Lipson, "was in-
tended to foster equality, and protect the pooc ttoT&.\i^'A<%
h
17«
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
7
OrsknluUoD
into the lianda of the few. It embodied the principle that j
every burgess should have a share in the trade sufficient for |
the maintenance nf Iiinwelf and his family." The pild at '
limes engaged in joint purchases. In a numbo" of towns the
trade in specified articles was restricted to the officers of
the gild in their official capacity. The profits wore turned
into a common purse. Aliens were at times required to
make tender of their entire cargo to the gild as a whole, and
were thus subjected to many delays and restrictions. It waa
an attempt to promote the interests of gild members minted
with jealousy and ill-will towanl the alien and foreigner.
The organiztaion of the gild merchant was similar to that
of most gilds. The primary source of authority was the
general assembly of all the members. For ad-
ministrative purposes an alderman and assist*
ants were elected. There were from two to four assistants
designated by names that varied in the different towns:
stewards, ichevins, and wardens were the terms most used.
There were at times subordinate officials: farthingmen, leve-
lookers, gildans, heyners, tasters, cup-beari^rs, ushers, door-
keepers, a dean, clerks, a treasurer, a marshal, sergeants,
collectors, bailiffs, and provosts. The functions of theee
minor officials are not wholly certain. The meetings were
called "gilds," or "morning talks." They were held annu-
ally, semi-annually, or quarterly, for the purpose of admit-
ting new members, infficting penalties for failure to observe
the statutes, or making new ordinances. Both at these
regular meetings and on special occa.iions there was much
eating and drinking: "drinkings with spiced cake bread and
sundrj' wines, the cups serving merrily about the house."
IV. The Crast Gilds
The study of the conditions at Paris at the close of the
thirteenth centurj- was designed to suRgest that the essential
feature of a craft gild was the right to elect
wardens to exercise the "view" of the craft.
The craft gild, according to this interpretation, is to be
conceived as a body of craftsmen possessed of some meas*
Cr»R(Ud«
THE DEVELOPMENT OP GILDS IN ENGLAND 177
ure of autoDomoua power. The organization would become
a deiinite part of the municipal admiuistration^ exercining
powers that would othrawise be within the province of the
municipality. This conception is in general applicable to
English conditions, but there arc subordinate forms of ^ds
which might easily be a source of confusion.
Associations of craftsmen are found which are not craft
^Ids in any technical sense, notably religious gilds oompoaed
primarily of members of a angle craft. Reli- ^^^^^ mwku-
gious gilds can usually be distinguished from tio«i» oi crafts
true craft gilds by their more inclusive member- "**
ship and their fraternal and spiritual purposes. More seriouB
confusion can arise with refCTcnce to organitations of crafts-
men that received charters from the King. Grants of priv-
il^e from the King were not uncommon in the early period,
and after the Refunnation they become particularly impor-
tant. It may seem pedantic to distinguish these two typea
of grant of power, but it will be evident that the King could
grant privileges that could not be secured from a municipal-
ity. A town could grant the "view" of the craft in that
town, the King could grant the "view" of the craft in the
kingdom as a whole. Royal grants frequently carried ex-
emptions from supervision by the municipal authorities.
Buoh grants were uiwially made to alien craftsmen settling in
England, and in such cases the grant included two distinct
Beta of privTleges. The King alone could grant authority to
hold property in a corporate capacity, so that the craft gild
could not become an endowed corporation without a royal
grants After the Rcfonnation this power became particu-
larly desirable and many of the crafta sought royal charters
and paid good prices for them. The history of organizations
of craftsmen in England is thus complex to a d<^ce, and
many of these form^ cannot be adequatdy described as gilds;
in the later period the term "company" was usually applied.
Apart from the royal charters granted to groups of aliens,
' which begin to appear in the fourteenth cen- ch>rt««d
I tury, there are instances of a significant exercise •'•««'»«'»■ ,
^B of the royal prerogative in behalf of native ar^^'Cffl. "V^ I
»
198 INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OP ENGIAND
history of London affords the clearest evidence of the ch:
acter and purport of these early grants, though these cas
are not unique by any means. The Bakers, the Fishmongers,'
and the Weavers of London obt^ned privileges from the
King, so that they formed definite jurisdictions before the
founding of the municipality in 119L Alt three of these
groups of artisans stood outade the municipal constitution.
Closely associated with these groups of artisans were similar
bodies that are designated as the "adulterine" plda. They
seem to have been organized after the same general manner,
thou^ they had no royal grant of privilege, or at least no
recognized grant. These organizations, particularly in Lon-
don, exerted a profound influence upon the municipal insti^^
tutions that took form soon afterward. ^|
There were thus three distinct types of craft organization
designated casually as gilds: religious gilds of craftsmen; au-
tonomous crafts, possessed of no general political or juria-
dictional privileges; craft oi^anizations chart«red by the
King having perhaps the right to hold property, the ri^t to
supervise the craft throughout a considerable area, and pos-
nbly the right to hold court independently of the municipal
authority. The presence of these variant forms makes it
essential to form some judgment of the purposes and impor-
tance of each, and for tliis reason the suggestions to be de-
rived from comparisons with French conditions would seem
to be of special importance. i
The autonomous craft gild charged by the mimicipality '
with the Bupennsion of the craft in that town was tj-pical in
Tb«trpic*i the sense that such an organization tended to
"f*" «"* become established in the crafts that were suf-
ficiently Uirge to make such organizatiun practicable. In the
smaller towns, and with reference to the less important crafts, |
such orgamzations emerge at a late period, but with the ex-
ception of colonies of aliens such ot^anizations tended to
become the basis of the administrative control of industry.
When royal incorporation of native craftsmen became com-
mon in the sixteenth centiuy, the purposes of the oi^aniaa-
tion were altered in a number of respects so tiiat the frequent
I THE DEVELOPMENT OF GILDS IN ENGLAND 179
^MgnatioD of these later associations as "companies" iiidi-
rtes a change in character as well as a change in name.
The teodencics and ideals of municipal administration
are illustrated by the project for the reoi^anization of the
crafts at Norwich (hat is sketched in the " Composition" of
1415 and embodied in the ordinances of 1449. The " Com-
position" of 1415 was a compromise between the general
body of citizens and a small group that seemed to be on the
verge of acquiring oligarchic powers. In order to prevent
the government of the city from falling into the hands of tliis
oligarchy, the form of government was altered in a number
of respects. The speciSc provision for a larger measure of
craft autonomy may have had some definite relation to local
I>oliticaI conditions, but the scheme sketched in 1415 is so
lai^y the embodiment of common ideals that it would seem
that we are chiefly indebted to the crisis in municipal politics
for the record rather than for the ideals expressed.
^k It is ordained that each craft tn the City sbaU frody and yeari^
^Vime of each craft within it«elf two umst«r8 for the year conuD^
' tSi which two masters shall be prcitenl^ii by bill R«(diattaM
written to the Mayor by the men of the fliime cmf t. ■* h«"*«*
The which masteis at a certain day . . . shall be charged to make
good and true search in the craft of all defaults in the craft. . . .
And all the defaults that they find in the craft shall be well and
truly presented to the Mayor without concealment. And the
defaults m preiwnted . . . shall be judged and fines imposed acoord-
inf; to the graWty of the offense. One half of the fine shall be paid
to the sheriffs and one half to the masters of the craft. . . . And if
there bo any cmf t that needetb to be searched and will not have a
search, the Mayor ahall send for the craft and charge them to
cbooec two masters within its members. And if they will not
cboose and present the names within eif^t days next following then
it shall be lawful to the Mayor ... to choose two membere of the
craft and to Kive them charge to make good and true search in the
manner aforesaid.'
^f The powers of the wardens are more specifically described
in the general ordinance of 1449:
Which wardens and the said persons assigned and named for
tbe common council of the craft . . . shall have full power, author-
> HudBoo, W., and Tincej-, J. C.: Sefact Btxatin of Na*M)lck,\, VJb-
m
INDUSnOAI, HISTORY OF ENGLAND
The isuU ctatU
ity, and juriadiction to judge defaults found by the wardeiia aad
itnpoac fir>08, uikI also to prnvide, make, and ordain all nuumer of
lawful ordciukDcGs, cutiatilutiumt, nets, and penalties, and the acts,
ordenanofis, and conBtitutions, where they be hard, i^ct'OUs, or
df'/cctivf to remedy, relorm, ami amend as often as seemeth to them
expedient. Providing always that such acts, constitutions, ordi-
nonccK. ]i[id iicnaltics, nmdeortoboma<Ie, bcnot put into tsecution
until the Mayor and Aldermen or the moat part of them have over-
Been it and exanuned it, and, until by the aaaent of the Common
Council of the city, it k confirmed, enacted, and enrolled io the
chamber of the city.*
The ordinance then proceeded to make arrangements for
the problem presented by crafts which were t<x> email to have
an entirely independent organization. It is
implied that many disorders and abu.ses had
been common in the past because such small crafts were
not supervised. It was accordingly provided that all small
crafts should be united to larger, but related, crafts for tlie
purposes of administration. Thus, the smiths should have
joined to them the bladesmiths, locksmiths, and lorimcrs.
Some element of autonomy, however, was provided for all
crafts: the search of the craft was m all cases to be in the
hands of some member; if there were seven or more persons
in the craft the warden should be elected; if less than
seven, a warden was to be appointed by the Mayor.
Search of the craft was presumed to be made once every
three months or oftener.
This arrangement, though primarily administratire, re-
veals an intrusion of other than administrative elements.
The purposes of these imions of small crafts with larger ones
Beems to have been religious and spectacular. The crafts
or unions of crafts hod special uniforms or hvcries which were
to be worn by all members when they assembled at meetings
for business or worship, and, most particularly, when th^
marched or rode in the processions at the inauguration of the
Mayor, or on the feast days that were celebrated by pagcanta.
On such occajuons it was desirable to maintain groupings
that would insure a more equable distribution of the financial
■ Uudaom, W., BDd TiosfiS, J. C: ffp. cU., u, 28a
DEVELOPMENT OF GILDS IN ENGIA!^ 181
burdens of the pageants. Retigioua purposes, tlierefore,
tended to complicate the social organization of the craftsmen
by creating a»>ociationH which overlapped, and by rendering
■oncertAJu tJie relations between the fraternities and the orgao-
izations whose functions were primarily administrative.
V. Rbiation op Different Typbb of Gild to
Each Other
^P The validity of the dtstinctioos suggested between these
Hthree types of gild is qualified by the lack of fixity of form
that is characteristic of all medieval institutions. There
wer«, indeed, the differences of purpose that have been eug-
geeted, but these purposes did not exclude each othpT. It
is thus difficult to determine in many cases whether tticre are
two or more distinct organizations, or merely one organiza-
tion with two or more distinct purposes.
In general, the gild merchant assumed iis most character-
istic form in the early period of commercial and municipal
devdopiaent. In the smaller towns tins devel- j^^^ ,^
opmoitwas it&elf relatively late chronologically, ^^^ i^**
so that the transfoimatioDs of the gild merchant
cannot be aeeociated with specific periods and dates. The
aasociation that originally cxerci^ significant influence
over the regulation of commerce and industi^- was shorn of
its powers by the development of the municipality and by
the increased specialisation of the crafts. The name sur-
vived in many casee for several generations after the insti-
tution had become a mere shadow without substantial
power. At times this old tradition expressed itself in a
[banquet or in some ceremonial obscn-ance like the Corpus
risti procession; at times it became a mere formula in-
herited from a dead past and repeated without any clear
lotion of its meaning, "The ft)urteenth century," says
■roes, "may in general be called the period of gradual
transition. In the fifteenth century the transition waa
tompletcd. In tJiis, and in the following centuries the term
Gilda MercaUjritt' became less and less frequent."
The religioua gilds as definitely diaUnct \n:^\,u\.v:n:& -tic^c^
^panq
BChri
be
in
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
k
likewise characteri6tic of the earlier period, but the history
of this cicmrat of medieval life presents more
opmeni 0* r«ul complcxitiea than the pild merchant, for the
goua titd crtit jyotivca of such Organizations persisted un-
changed for a long time, certainly down to the
Reformation. There was therefore a \'igorou3 development
of fraternal organizations during the period of the develop-
ment of the croft gilds, and in many cases the craft ^da
absorbed many of the motives and purposes of the fraternal
organization. In the larger towns the important crafts pos-
sessed either two distinct associations that were essentially
parallel or a single organization that exercised all the func-
tions of both. In the case of the smaller crafts the purposes
were more likely to be kept distinct. The view of the craft
could wisely be entrusted to wardens of the craft even if the
group were small; at Norwich, a craft of seven mastCTs was
not considered too small to be given some mea.siire of auton-
omy, and in Paris the hearings before fitienne Boileau showed
that there was no hesitation in organizing the small crafts.
The functions of the religious fraternity, however, could not
be effectively performed if the number of members sank to
vntendtiM tad Buch Small proportions. The financial respon-
enft fiiA» (abilities for a chapel or chantry and the appro-
priate celebration of the various religious pageants required
a considerable endowment or notable contributions or lH)th.
Of the eight religious gilds in Cambridge making returns in
1389 five cannot be specifically connected with the crafta or
with the artisan population. One of the three remaining
gilds was founded by a group of skinners, and provision was
made that the chief official should aIwaj->) be a skinner. It
would seem to be implied that members of other crafts might
be admitted, even though the fraternity was in a measure
identified with the skinners. The two other gilds were clearly
composed of groupa of artisans. The Gild of Saint Katherine
in the church of Saint Andrew contained in its list of founders
an ironmonger, a baker, a currier, a chaloner, a piper, and a
wool-comber. The Gild of Saint Mary in the church of Saint
Botolpb includes among its founders a fuller, a skinner, a
THE DEVEIjOPMENT OP GILDS IN ENGIAND 18»
PafsantiT
cordwainer, and a tailor. These plds were primarily fra-
ternal organuatioDS for the celebration of masses and the
relief of indigent brothers and sisters. It was apparently
necessary for the smaller groups of craftsmen to combine
in one association.
The influence of pageantry upon the crafts can be seen in
tiie combinations among the craftsmen of Norwich for the
purpose of participating in the Corpus Christi
procession. Saint I^uke's Gild, oompoeed of
the pewtcrers, bracers, bell-foundere, plumbera, (^asiers, |
and painters was at the first entirely responsible for the pro*
duction of the pageants, although it is not knoftn when it
mtroduced them. In 1527 the gild petitioned that it be re-
lieved by assigning to each craft in the city the production
of one pageant for the procession. Tliis request was granted
and twelve pageants were assigned to various crafts and
groups of crafts. Only a few years before, an arrangement
had been made to amalgamate with some existing frater-
nity the crafts " that had no vows" — that is, no pro^nsion
for common religious ceremonies — so that the systematic
organization of religious life and pageantry went band in
hand.
The religious organizations of the fourteenth and fifteenth
centuries were practically obliged to adopt a liberal policy of
Inciusivenesa in the choice of members. They occop»aoD»i
were rarely a parall^ organization to the craft •»"•''«
BJlda because the crafts were for the most part very small
groups. Statistics of occupations are infrequent, as may
well f)e fiupp^ised, but there are fortunately ocrasional figures
which afford at least a basis for surmises pending the accumu-
lation of a broader mass of material for statistical study. It
is hard to believe that the meager results, as yet available in
print, could not be significantly supplemented by careful
utilization of the full resources of the manuscript records.
The best evidence is fiunisbed by the tax-rolls, which usually
give the occupati<H)s of artisans. At this period surnames
were not universal and the designation by occupation was
frequently necessary* as a means of \deii\^<^\l\QTi. \ii "^c^
184
INDtJSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
subflidy roll (or Cambridge in 1314-15 we find entries like
the following: "Walter the Barber," "John the Girdler,"
"Alan the Skinner," etc. Such entriea are fairly certain
evidence aa to the occupation. When the article dn>p8 out
it is perhaps hazardous to assume that we are not dealing
with a real surname instead of an occupational designation.
Thus, "Walter Faver" may be "Walter the Smith"; "John
Sherman" may be a "Shearman"; but the reality of doubts
is indicated by the entry, "Robert Hatter, Shearman."
However, there is reason to suppose that the occupation
would be given if it had ceased to correspond with the name.
The most serious source of error probably lies in the incom-
pleteness of enumeration of the relatively poor people who
were in many cases artisans. Comparison of the tax-rolta
for Colchester in 1296 and 1300 or for Paris at the same date
will indicate the possibilities of under-counting. In Paris,
fai 1296, only 225 occupations were listed; in 1300, 348 were
listed, and the number of occupations in which fewer than
five persons were employed had changed from 91 in 1296 to
224 in 1 300. The evidence from these roUs, therefore, cannot
be assumed to represent comprehensive enumerations, and
should be presumed to be somewhat of an under-statement
both of the relative size of the groups and the numbers of
occupaUons represented.
I
Eekative Skb op the Occcpational Gbocps dj Ftvi Khouss
Towns*
JW*
JVumttr af cnflt Hotuv
Awiv
t
pwton
1-4
ftrtnni
8-0
pfrtffnf
lO-ie
pfnvfu
Oiirtt
LdoMter
Dublin
1314-18
1300
12e»-70
1336
1378
1381
1225-50
36
23
23
26
(refereo
29
34
13
6
20
21
CC to fiv
only)
26
IS
2
6
5
1
e crarta
18
6
3
I
1
3
9
2
2
3'
i
* ftapand tiaot U» noordi ol the vukaiH towu.
i
THE DEVELOPMENT OP GODS IN ENGLAND 183
The combination of a number of closdy contemporary rolls
Id probably eliminate some of the errors, though it makes
poenblc to over-count. The figures for Dublin arc taken '
3m a list of free citizens for the period 1225-50, so that
lerc arc many elements of error: inclusion of persons not
Sving at the same time; omissions of residents who were not
ntizens. If the retxims from Dublin were not relatively
insistent with the other fif^res they could hardly be ao- >
spted as even an approximate indication, but the relati^-o
>nsLstoncy of both sets of figures would seem to lend added
libility to both. ]
Leicteiter, Cambridge, and Colchester were small towns of
about two thouKHnd inhabitants; Oxford had a population of
five and a half thousand, if the academic and ecclesiastical
population is included. It is unfortunate that such figures
cannot be obtained for one of the larger industrial toi,vns, and
for this reason the figures given for Paris in the earlier chap-
ter are helpful. The striking feature of all these enumera-
tions is the large number of very small crafts, crafta with lesa
than five persons recorded.
There is no printed enumeration for Norwich that would
pennit of a similar survey of occupations, but the numbers of
oocupatiooB and the numbcis of organized cnJta Romban ,
suggest substantially thesame general condition. "''"^ I
One hundred and forty-seven different crafts arc mentioned
in the records of Norwich during the last half of the thir-
teenth century. As much as a century and a half later, only
nxty-three crafts were enumerated in the Usls of those par-
twipatilLg in the Corpus Christi procession. The town had
grown some in population, but not a great deal, and there is
certainly no ground for supposing that the number of distinct
occupations had decreased, though it is quite likely that the
entire one hundred and forty-seven occupations were not
exercised at any given time. One must infer that most of the
crafts were very small, consisting of less than prBpoa<i*niEw«
five p«Bons; perhaps it would be better to say ** ""^ "'"•
masters or journeymen. It is further notable that at Nor-
wich the six^-three crafts in the procesaou "ficte TiaV. ^ «t-
188
INDDSTBIAL HISTQEY OF ENGLAND
ganized as ^Ids. They participated in tliat aSair under
thiiiy-two bannera and there ia reason to suppose that the
number of ffids waa somewhat less. In Paris, in 1300, out of
348 distinct occupations hardly more than a himdred weie
organized aa craft gilds. At London, toward the close of the
thirteenth century, ninety-eight distinct occupations are
mentioned in the records. In 1310, there were thirty-six
recognized craft fflds. It would seem, therefore, that the
rather more complete details available for the smaller towns
are really an indication of a general condition. The crafts
were for the most part small, and large numbers of them wen
not organized into gilds.
BiUTiva OcoTFATioNAL Ddtkbbmtutioit ahd NxnfBBBS Of Gbut
Giu>B iH Vabioob Towns
r«m
Don
Ifitmbtraf
era/U
FnbaKi
Bewrley...
1390
1610
••
38
87
•-
*;na
CambridgB.
1314-lS
60
..
..
%800
Colohwter.
1301
1377-99
88
4i
■•
2,000
4,728
Ldowter...
1196-1226
1289-70
1336
40
49
48
• ■
•■
2,000
London. . . .
1275^9
1316
1353
1422
ISth centuiy
98
..
36
50
89-112
157
30,000-40,000
30,000-40,000
30,000-40,000
30,000-40,000
3o,ooo-4o,nm
Iforaion. . .
•
1250-1300
1440
1446
1449
1543
147
63
73
i6
24
8,000
6,000
Oxford
1381
84
-•
4,000-6,000
Salisbury...
1420
..
36
19
-■
1276
1296
1300
224
848
97
71
200,000
BtOmer...
1300
-■
S9
25
■■
I' THE DEVELOPMENT OP GILDS IN ENGLAND 187
The organization of artisans for the typical purpose of
lexercising the \'iew of the craft played a relatively less con-
spicuous part in the social life of any towns that k«UiImw or-
were as small as the majority of Enj^ish towns, J„*^^,°'^
and the fraternal organizations of a relifpous «p>cim>iu
and charitable character were relatively more conspicuoxis.
The wide range in numbera of members among the crafts of
the larger towns created distinctions within the general
mass of artisans. Only a portion of the artisan population
f was organized in craft ^ds and only a few of these at-
tained significant power by reason of numbers or wealth.
The acquisition of power in the municipality by a small
group of crafts was thus far from being a victory of " do-
mocracy" in any modem sense. The groups of craft gilds
that rose to special eminence in Paris, London, Norwich,
and many other towns of England and Europe were all too
frequently imbued with the spirit of the commercial or
■ feudal oligarchy that they supplanted.
A few particulars concerning a number of towns have been
reduced to tabular form, partly to convey information, partly
■ to suggest the inadequacy of our knowledge of many vital
'facta concerning these associations in tbo medieval period.
K VI. The Reuqioub Gilds and the Cbown
"Die development of the religious ^da was profoundly
Influeaoed by national legislation. In the earlier period
they frequently received endowments for the , . _
Baying of masses, so that they began to acquire
considerable amounts of property like all other insUtuttona
connected with relijpon. This dedication of property to
devotional purposes became a subject of royal concern be-
cause of its withdrawal from the taxable re-sourcos of the
Government. The inquiry of 1389, to which reference has
already been made, was the outcome of this solicitude, and in
1391 it was announced that the propert>' held by the religious
gilds was subject to the prohibitions and restrictions of the
Statute of Mortmain. If this act were strictly interpreted
it woiild render it impossible for the religious ^da V^ 1;:tst^ja:(»b
188 INDUSTRIAL mSTOBY OF ENGIAND
as voluntary associafioDs, and it b probable that l^ere is a
connection between this decision and the inereaaing fre-
quency of the granting of royal charters to such bodies, most
particularly in London, but also in the provincial towns.
Gilds which possessed much property would be practically
forced to secure a royal charter or license.
This change in the character of the religious fraternity was
of great importance to the other fonns of craft organizations.
The relations betwerai the fraternity and the
craft ^d were transformed. When the admin*
istrative organization was clothed with various poweis by
the municipality, it was obviously more important than a vo^
untary association for the celebration c^ masses. The ao-
quimtion of corporate character by the wealthy fratvnitiea
in the late fourteenth and early fiftemth centuries reversed
the relative importance of these two types of oi^anization.
The privil^e of holding property was valuable; the graieral
corporate privileges conferred by the King were more import
taut than any rights that the municipality could confer.
These bodies were originally organized for religious and social
purposes, but when the fraternity was fairly well identified
with a particular craft the economic functions were soon ab-
jbumhaid Borbed by the corporation. The corporation
'"'*""• was able to exercise the supervisory functions
of the craft ^d rather more adequately than the gild imder
mimicipal authority. The rdipous fraternity had always
exercised some disciplinary authority over its members that
was not confined to mere craft matters; the prestige of the
officers of the corporation was if anything greater than that
ci the wardens elected or appointed to exercise merely the
view d the craft.
The character of the powers conferred by these royal char^
ters is illustrated by the grant made to the Tailors of Salis-
bury by Edward IV (1 Ed. IV). The Kmg granted "to all
the men of the craft of Tutors in the city aforesaid, ... to
be one body and conmionalty perpetual. And also he hath
granted to them to begin, make, found, ordain and stable of
new, a perpetual fraternity or ^d of brethren and usters. . . ,
THE DEVELOPMENT OF GILDS EN ENGLAND 189
he hath granted that the same men of the craft, Gvcjy
(year of themseivea [i.e. out of their number] to choose two
[wardens to o%'ersee and govern tJie craft Commonalty and
lild as aforesaid, and also all goods, chattds and possessiooa
the same, for evermore. . . . ^Vnd that the f^ame wardena .
1 Commonalty have succession everlasting and a commoa i
1, for the needs of the said Community." ' i|
The primary motive of such a grant was the reorganiEft-
(tion of the religious fraternity to make it conform to the laws
iting to the holding of property, but in the granting of the
(charter of incorporation much was accomplished that was
Bot deliberately intended. The grant of power to the war-
[deiis included the view of the craft that they already pos-
by delegation of authority from the municipal!^.
[It was not uncommon in the middle ^jea to get grants con-
Lfirmed by various authorities; it was thus wholly in accord
l-^th medieval notions of the proper course of action to in-
) elude in the enumeration of powers desired of the King these
awers that had originally been received from the town.
je process of incorporation thus tended to ob-seure the
tively slight distinctions that existed between the f rater-
ity and the craft gild.
Not all the relipous ^ds secured charters. The expense
[of obtaining such a grant would be prohibitory to any but tbe
realthy organizations, and it thus came about
^that the distinctions which had long existed
between the rich and the poor craftsmen and their societies
were accentuated by the addition of powers to the gilds of the
rich. The new kind of association added to the existing
variety of gilds a type that became the viable evidence of
■the chasm that was opening up between the rich and the
poor.
AH fonns of gOds began to be transformed in the fifteenth
century, and most of these changes were carried to their
conclusions in the first half of the following century. The
Reformation did away with the oldra forms of fraternal
> Htuikini. C: AndeiH Tmit OuOtit anJ Compmitt ef SttUAury (Saliabury,
lOlSj, ns-19.
Rich tad poM
IM
DfDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
organization, and the economic changes reduced the oldeel
type of craft gild to a position of such subordinate importance
that it ceased to be a significant feature of industrial life.
^, The endowments of the fraternities were finally
•««*Mrti(m«* confiscated by Edward VI under authority <rf
the Statute of 1547. Such a step had been con-
templated by Henry VIII, but nothing was done beyond
I making an inquiry into the niunber of rcli^ous organizations
and the amount of their property. The Statute of Edward
VI provided that all property formerly devoted to religious
purposes should come at once into the possession of the King,
but it was ordered that all grammar schools formerly main-
tained by such institutions should be assured the payment of
an annual stipend from the revenue of the property confi»«
cated. Whatever the intent of the act, ita consequences were
unfortunate, for the gre-at rise in prices, even then consciously
felt, aoon rendered these fixed salaries wholly insufficient to
maintain the schools in their original condition. Much might
ba%'e been done for popular education by the endowment
of the existing schools with the property of the gilds and
chantries.
Ilus confiscatory statute has frequently been allied to be
the cause of the altered position of the craft plds, but such a
Utaiu taac~ view fails to taite adequate account of the dis-
floss pcnniRtd tincUons between the two types of organization.
The statute, though obscure in many respects, does distin-
guish between the secular craft gilds and the religioua organ-
iiations. It does not prohibit or dissolve organizations that
existed for purely secular purposes. The craft gilds were
thus not directly affected by the statute. In so far as the
luDctbns of the craft gild had come to be exercised by an
incorporated fraternity, it would of course be somewhat
affected, though it would seem that the craft organization
could continue, shorn of its property-holding powers.
The altered position of the craft gilds must be attributed
i>MUa, „i to a variety of elements, partly economic and
uu out cuda partly political. There was at th\s time a move-
ment of population away from the incorporated towns: the
THE DEVELOPMENT OP GILDS IN ENGLAND 191
'movement was not precisely a rural exodus, for many villages
1 grew to considerable proportions; it would seem to have been
in part an attempt to escape foom restrictions imposed upon
I industry and commerce by the older municipalities. There
I was doubtless some increase in the proportion of artisans
'among the rural population. The;»e changes resulted in a
distinct increase in the number of artisans not formally or-
^fiumed in p\ds.
B ^ the Uu-ge towns the distinctions between an employing
Himd a wage-earning class was becoming significantly es*
■tablished. The wealthier masters in some crafts became
I employers of considerable numbers of journeymen or small
I masters. Certain crafts, aim, were in general composed of
vcU-to^o masters who employed the less wealthy masters of
; other crafts. The employing classes, particularly in London,
corporate charters during this period and organised
< associations which were different in a number of respects
I from the old craft gilds. The wage-taming classes were at
Umes excluded entirely, at times admitted to membership
I of an inferior order. The distinction between the two
classes of members was in most cases emphasized
by the livery or uniform of the company; only
the controlling members were allowed to wear the livery,
which thus became a symbol of power and alBuence. Even
when the old craft gild survived, its meaning was changed,!
The relation to the employing master became relatively nior»*
important than the right to elect wardens to view the craft,
and at times the new of the craft came to be exercised by the
officers of the craft of employers. Ultimately, new organiza-
tions of workingmen began to appear, disguised at timt^ as
fraternal associations, but in purpose more nearly akin to
the modem trade union.
VII. The Statute of AppRENTicia
i The economic changes arc reflected in the increased solici-
tude of the Government with reference to industry, and
though much legislation was merely a record of good inten-
tions, some of the statutes exerted a slgpi&cfta^ \s&\k.<i;QK]b
I
I
198 INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
upon sociaI and industrial life. The Statute of Apprentices
(1563) vrm imqucfitionably the most notable embodiment
of the policies that dominated industrial life until the In-
dustrial Revolution was far advanced. It was in a measure
a codification of older statutes which had been imperfectly
administered, and the dominant purpoec sceini;
to have been to prevent change rather than to
make innovations. In fact, however, the statute made a
number of important innovations. It was hoped that the
statute would check the deoliuo of the corporate towns, pro-
vide for more adequate training of Wllage artisans, assure a
mora considerable supply of agricultural labor, and afTord
aome guarantee that wages would be adjusted to the "ad-
vaneement of prices of all things belonging to said servants
and laborers." Few social concerns were not in some mcas-
uie affected by this great codification of industrial and social
ki^lation.
Thirty-two crafts, including all the more important and
frequent occupations, are enumerated in the articles referring
to the length of term for which such craftsmen should be
hired. These crafts were later designated as crafts to be
taught in corporate and market towns to the sons oS fre^
holders. The mercers, drapers, goldsmiths, ironmongers,
and clothiers were forbidden to take any person as appren-
tice whose father or mother was not posuessed of a forty-
shilling freehold. These were crafts whose masters were
characteristically employers so that this distinctioo is sig-
nificant. In another article twenty-one crafts arc enumer-
ated which were allowed to be taught either in towns or in
the countr>'; all of these crafts were to be open to persons
whose parents had no property at all.
There are thus implications that a wage-earning class was
already established : it is assumed by the statute that the
w««^«Mn«r» larger proportion of artiaana work for hire, and
ud wiiM it ig fof this reason that the regulation of the
wages of town artisans became a matter of solicitude. The I
wages of agricultural labf)rer8 and of certain "artifiocrs" had ■
long been regulated by justices of the peace, but these "arti-
I
I
THE DEVELOPMENT OF GILDS IN ENGLAND 193
eaiii'
Kgric
no p
Kipprc
iceis" seem to havo be«n the masons, smiths, carpcntas^
ad the like who were recognized aa Iwing a distinctly rural'
ip. Tho artisans of the towns had not been included in
'earlier statutes, partly because tlieir interests were presumed
pto be in charge of the municipahty, but partly because they
not been mere wage-eamere. The statute must have
tended to accentuate the changes that were taking place
because the status of the various classes was so specifically
defined. The conditions of entrance into the crafta prac-
ticed in towns amounted to a real restriction. j
^, Evcr>' person was ordered to adopt a definite profeeskOlH
W calling. Kxcepting persona owning proijerty, peraraa
of gentle birth, and scholars, every one must needs choose
between the aca, the crafts, and agriculture. Any person
failing to make a decLsioo could be required to work at
riculturc. Oeedom of mov^ncnt van likewise curtailed:
no person might leave the town or parish in wliich he had
. employed unless he obUuncd a formal testimonial from
appropriate authorities or from two householders. Them
restrictions destroyed the conditions that had made craft
autonomy possible in the eariier period. In so far as craft
organizations continued to exist they were mere ahadows of
what the>' had been formerly.
K The wage-fixing clauses constitute pcrh^M the most fa-
mous portion of the statute and their place in the history of
the centuries that followed shows how great a
■ohange had taken place in the position of the
Beraftamen. The intent of tliese clauses, however, was other
■than might be supposed. The provisions were designed to aa-
^Bure the pajinent of not merely a living wage, but an e*iuiv-
atent of the wages that had prevailed before the rise in prices.
The clauses Were not intended to guarantee an improvement
in the relative well-being of the aKisan, but to protect him in
his existing state against the unfavorable effects of the price
revolution. The justices of the peace were presumed to as-
certain the cost of maintaining the appropriate standards of
life and to regulate wages accordingly. The notions under-
■b-ing the statute were in some respects mmilor to t.h& xKcj^x'^
Vt^Stias
IM INDUSmiAL mSTOBY OF EN6IAND
expressed by the phrase a "liviiig wage," bat there was no
impUcatioa that the artisan had not been getting an appn>>
priate living.
There has been much controversy over the history of these
wage-fixing provisions, and the results are as yet too inconolu-
ave to admit of final judgment of the matter. It is evident,
however, that the earlier writers vrere wrong in asserting
that the powets of the statute were not exerciaed at alL
There are a number of waga-assessments in print and the list
is constantly increasing. It should be otraerved that most of
these lists apply to rural workmen rather than to the ciafta*
men of the towns, and there is considerable ground for mp>-
poong that the act was devoid of real significance in so far
as it related to the urban craftsmen. The more technical
character of the crafts made the problem of wage-r^ulation
too complex for the quality of statecraft represented at
quarter sessions. The failure of the assessments made by
the Gloucestershire justices for weaving seema to have been
^ical of such attempts.
^per
CHAPTER Vm
THE WOOLEN INDUSTRItS: 1450-1780
I
Tn many industries the technical tranaformations of the
, period of the Industrial Re\'oiution obscure the conJiidcrablo
IvancGS in technique that were made during Tedwiui
the earlier period. In the woolen industries '"wo"""'
I the chief improvementa in the character of the goods, as
distinct from processes of manufacture, took place prior to
the Industrial Revolution. At that time the process of
manufacture was somewhat cheapened, but the character
of the goods was not notably transformed. The develop-
ment in this industry, or group of industries, ther^ore falls
Into two distinct periods: in the earlier, there was a great
technical advance that is most clearly apparent in the chai^
acter of the fabrics made; in the later, the changes were
primarily concerned with the organiiation of the industry
as a business enterprise and with its mechanical equipment.
The history of the woolen industries thus requires that some
' attention be given to purely technical matters.
H There are in general two classes of wools, short staple
^ vools and long staple wools, and the larger di0crcnccs in the
L fabrics produced were originally due to these differences in
H the natiu^ of the raw material. The average length of staple
HoE various types of wool is given below.
r
dat
AvBaxoB Lbnotb or Staflx ot VASiors Woou
Merino 3.25-2.6 inoheB
tFiiuenMB-bred..... S "
'Alpnoa 7.5
Moh^r 8 "
lincalosture 10.5 "
^
These differences in length of staple are so closely asso-
dated with the other properties of wool that they serve as the
basis of classification, though the difference iu k,u!ig»\\ Sa. i:i.<:a.\&
loe
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
to
ft
to
Merino*
itoelf the most ^gnificant of the di5erencc& The short staple
wool is finer, more curly, and possesses ^eater
felting properties. The long staple wool ia
more nearly like hair, possessing the peculiar felting property
in such moderate measure that its use is limited to types of
goods in which little felting is desired. Both types of wool
are native to England: the short staple being characteristic
of the South Down sheep, the long staple of the Lincolnshire
sheep. The fleece of the English South Down is inferior to
the fleece of the Merino, and this difference in the quality of
the native wool supply probably exerted a notable infiuenco
upon the early history of the English woolen industriea.
The English-grown wool was less well adapted to tlie making
of the finer grades of cloth so that the Enfilish industry suf-
fered in a variety of ways from the competition of the FVench
and Flemish weavers who found the fine Spanish wool readily
available. In the eighteenth century the Merino eheep were
brought from Spain to England and (Jennany.
The English wools were considerably improved
by judicious cross-breeding with Merino stock, but the fleece
still remains slightly inferior, as is indicated by the difference
in staple. Pure-bred Merinos cannot be successfully mmn-
tained in England. The best Merino wool now comes from
Saxony, the climate there having proved to be somewhat
more favorable than the climate of Spain. England had
always produced the finest long staple wool, so that the im-
provement o( the Leicestershire stock in the eighteenth cen-
turj' by careful selection has merely emphasized a difTcrcnce
that has alwaj-s existed. The advantages of proximity to the
supply of raw material are not decisive, however, and though
this long staple wool is particularly fitted for the worsted
manufacture, that industry was relatively slow in establish-
ing itself in England. The location of the different branches
of the manufacture in England, ht)wever, seems to be related
to the character of tJie local supphes of wool. The south and
west became identified with woolens; the eastern countiea
and later the West Riding of York became identified with
the worsteds.
^^ THE WOOLEN INDCSTRIES: 1450-1750 197
^P These difltinct types of woolen goods were originally
"Dascd on these different types of raw wool, but the difference
in the goods ia primarily an outcome of differ- _^^
cnt methods of manufacture. Woolen cloths,
oriRinally prepared from the short staple wools, are shrunk
and felted until the wea\'e pattern is largely lost. The finish
of the cloth is dependent upon this felting process and the
subsequent raising of the nap to produce a soft, velvety sur-
face. Lai^e patterns in different colors of yam will appear
in the 6nished goods, though in vaguer outline becaiue of
the blurring of the tines of the weave in the felting process.
All these goods shrink considerably in the finishing, being usu-
ally reduced about one third both in length and breadth.
■lAs a rule woolen goods contain a greater weight of wool per
square ;'ard than worsted goods that are not felted, and as
the weight of yam is likely to vary within the same general
range, the diitercnccs in weight of woolens and worsteds are
roughly correlated to the degree to which the woolens ha\'e
been shrunk. The higher grades of woolens made in the
fifteenth and sbcteenth centuries weighed about one and one
half pounds per square yard.'
■ Th«t>'p«s<3rwrM>IcauiiidiMt«diBtheatattitwoaiini)ttwMai|Mnddtoeo4^J
with tbe modero typM, Bi thededgnotions an boMd OB eolar and idftMof flUMW
factuTo.TboSt«tui«o(155I-S2(5A6Ed.Vl,cfl}oaumoratMthcri>Ilowu)gt>-paa:
WL pc t>^ Wl.. p" t.
atr ^ {lb*.} ^^ (CBaI
BNaddoUu (one ftod ihn* qwUn TKKb wld*) —
HM, 8<iBU. RauUuc t l.TI
Wttamun. Ina« rilnthi 1.7 1.54
diertdotlii., 1.4 l.)7
OolwiJ MM ami akon Dlaih*—
SuffeUiTyortoUB. Eml looc >.S l.M
■hurt I.* I.«3
Whltn »nd rnlt —
Wtas. UloUHiltr, SomtnM t.S 1.91
Wtlu. CloufiVcr. Snuanal B.I 1.4t
TuiDtou uid lind(i«sliii« B.e 1 .4ft
Nonbm riotlw ,.,, , , l.T .9t
IWTs* alotlu lone y»pt iridr) —
TaantiM >Bd Brti^wiltr. ..■■.. ......... 1.8 l.>
BfiMd*. on* &nd iht** quu-un yur^M wiiia» ontiiurH*. aHtiac
Uavimdilff doMD* 1.1-1.9 .M
, Cbetk*. 4IU >ud vUa .•■.•■••••..••>....... l.i l.S
<lrtM*, UwM quHUn «< ■ Tlird vtd* —
WJab 1.S >.S3
_MMchwMr , l.> 1.13
Cmimi*. thn* qmrM** «f « rtf4 «id« — _^
W»ldi H l.N
UaubaUt. L«aculiii* ud ChHOrira M l.T
rmanUfom,iH¥aimtWhH-.oa*madBf*ltUh»tttyud^M»... l.l l.afl
TVre «nu on gcoerft) dtffemioe bctwe«i the htoad and the kinK dotha. TtA
trioK* wcK ixiaiMi cloltu that bod a nap oa one t>Aa ix^'j. ^\)gcmk -^tia^ '
^Bixtuni of wool and coarm> coUon.
198 INDTJSnUAL HISTORY OP ENGLAND ^M
Worsteds were woven from yams prepared from long
staple wool, and were not subjected to the shriukinK and
Wonted* felting process. The low felting properties of
the long staple wools thus rendered them
peculiarly suitable for such fabrics. The worsteds could bo
finished with reference to weave patterns, for the harder
surface of the cloth and the absence of any considerable nap
made the weave pattern very conspicuous. Twilled serges,
various "pepper-and-salt" effects, and the whole range of
fancy weaves characteristic of modem worsted suitings are
thus a direct result of the emphasis upon the weave pattern as
distinct from the felted nap distinctive of the woolens, com-
monly called " broad cloths" even to-day. The worsted
goods were lighter and on the whole cheaper than correspond-
ing grades of woolens, and, Uttle by Uttle, the worsteds have
D*din«of driven the woolens from the market. The
thf vooinu appearance formerly distinctive of woolens can
now be produced in worsteds, so that relatively few true
woolen tj-pes are seen in the market at the present time.
This is the outcome of a long historical process.
The woolens are the older type, so far as we know. Wor-
Btcds do not appear in England until the thirteenth and
fourteenth centuries, and hardly more than a century earlier
on the Continent. Despite increasing competition with the
worsteds, the true types of woolens maintained themselves
until the period of the Industrial Revolution, but the decline
of the industry in the nineteenth century was relatively rapid.
The development of the woolen and worsted industries is
difficult to trace in detail because the names of the goods are
far from stable. Old names cannot with certainty be identi-
fied with modem types. There is reason to believe that the
more important types of woolen goods had become fixed at I
an early date, perhaps as early as the beKinning of the four-
teenth century. But there was much technical improvement
of the pn)cesses of finishing. The textiles preserved in
museums afford some means of studying these changes, but
there seems to have been little systematic study of this aspect
of industrial history.
I
THE WOOLEN INDUSTRIES: 1450-1750
100
ETie progn^ss of the worsted industrj' can be followed with
■e success, though it is not possible to interpret all the
Ills without more study of the fabrics them- ^^ ^
es. Worsteds were first made on the th»wor«ud
itinent, in France and in Flanders, but the ""^
iety of fabrics seems to have been small in the twelfth and
leenth centuries- Some coarse cloths may have been
Ic of long combing wool in England independently of
lign influence. The kersej-s, 80 frequently enxmierated in
the statutes, would seem to bo worsteds in that sense, and the
Draper's Dictionary citea evidence to ehow that these goods
were really a kind of serge. It has generally been supposed,
i however, that the development of the industry was the result
of the initiative of Continental weavers, and to the best of our
pnaent knowledge the new types of worsteds were first
brought out on the Continent and introduced into England
by immigrants. The introduction of the manufacture is
associated with two distinct waves of immigration : the earlier
P immigrants, coming at the beginning of the fourteenth cen- ■
tury, brought with them the fundamental types, says, serges,!
bombazines, and tirotaines; the second group of immigrants,
who appear first toward the close of the fifteenth centtiry,
^ introduced a number of specialties which competed men
B keenly with the woolens than the other tJ^)e8 of worsteds.
^1 Ilrlany of these goods were mixed with silk.
^ The goods introduced at the time of the second great im-
i migration of Continental weavers are usually called the
"New Drapery," and it would seem that the it* •■!»•»
term is substantially accurate, though there is '>"p«'t'"
much confusion in the statutes and in the references of con-
temporaries. The enumeration of the new drapery in the
Statute of 1565 includes some of the older types, notably says,
stamens, and kersejn, while various other references would
restrict the term to a much narrowCT group of fabrics. There
is thus uncertainty as to whether the term should cover all
worsteds or merely those types introduced in the late fifteenth
and early sixteenth centuries. The period marks a new stage
K In the development of the worsted manufactvue vc^ ^^v^^bs.'^
too
INDUSTRIAL HISTOBY OF ENGLAND
at all events, and the number of nev fabrics is in itself evi-
dence of the general character of the change even though the
various fabrics cannot be certainly identified. The charac-
teristic features of worsteds were more definitely brought out,
and the advantages were vigorously exploited by increasiiig
skill in the preparation of fancy yams. The scope of the
industry was further extended by active imitation of French
fabrics in the late seventeenth century. At that time there
was no appreciable immigration, but the increase in the in-
dustry was comparable to the developments in the earlier
periods of expansion. The extent of the change can be
rou^y measured by comparison of lists of worsted fabrics
for 1578 and 1739.
Worsted Fasbics: 157S
From B list in the Burghley Papera designed to serve m k bam for oiilniht-
ing export duties*
LmaA
iruEh
Wight t/
Wti^V*
WtieUpr
(«<A.)
(udM.)
5K
iHMiriianI
0b*y
Bays, double
S4
2
44
1.3
.«5
" middle. . . .
34
1.75
24
.7
.46
34
1.76
24
.7
.46
24
1,5
42
1.7
1.18
St&miiiett
22
32
1.4
Berge, French.. . .
23
20
.86
* Jvhh: Vartltd Vanu/iulun. 118. FliurM for widtb ■!• from othB •simtB; 0I1MI7,
■cSittvod nfonuoflft ia tbfl Viotoriui CauAty Uutoriw,
Wtiehlefpita
ir^«jj,^
8t.yt», Flanders
Narrow Worsteds
Norwich grooaiues
Mockadoes, double
single
tuft
Plommetts
Csrella
Fustians of Naples
filanketts or Spanish rup. .
27
15
14
14
14
14
14
14
14
la
7
6
4
3
6
4
4
6
10
.69
.46
3&
28
.21
.42
.28
.28
.42
KuitHoaa.
Bon^Huiiwil
Motley > nude in England at this time, but not enumerated.
TBE WOOLEK INDUSTRIES: 1450-1750
WoBSTKD Fabbics: 1739
Ml
(Contemponry pdmphlet)
•
OJ amAvag vxxA entire
Biy»
Cadia
CalfmMwow, Blowiwd
IShalkNiM
tSog&tbm
DamMkB
^uiibGniMi
iDuroya
Ruantta
Baring Gnpa
tDunntB
Ererlastingi
fTainyB
Ranten
CantilooDa
tPurnellowi
BuQtiju
Worsted pliuh
Satenetts
Bolting Clotha
Quarter diamond
HmRmteeBS
Swathing Bands
Bird'a-Eye diamond
Gwaeyi
tSerge Demm
Qrogram
Cunbletts
FuilflOB
■ Jamn: ITvAd ManataitiiH, 333. t DnoUa (•btin thm ct mmt latniduolio&
Of combing wool and carding uwot mixed
(Warp of combing wool, woof of carding wool)
B«ys Druggette, Hain Swan Skin
Bnad Radi Druggette, Porded Swincoe Bays
dothien Serge Flannel FeipetuanBa
OennanSccge Long Ella
NcrwidiCrapM
BilkDrugBetU
Hair Flush
BcmbftiinM
Qf long wool, ntt, mohair, and Cotton
Spanish Poplioi Alapeena
Venetian Poplins Anterines
Bair Cambist Silk Satansttai
n
In the latter part of the seventeenth centuiy and in the
early eighteenth century we find some indications of the rela-
tive numbers of persons engaged in the different operations
of tiie woolen industries. Some of the figures were prepared
by pamphleteers who were endeavoring to show the impop-
tance of the industry as a source of onployment to the poor,
80 that there is some possibility of exaggeration; the interest
of the figures, however, does not depend upon minute accu-
racy. We are chiefly concerned with the larger features of the
statistics, the proportions among spinners, weavers, and fin-
ishers, and the relation between what we may call the main
processes or tasks and subsidiary processes. It would se^n
that even these crude figures throw some light upon the growth
of the division of labor in the industry and moke it eaaiez ta
208 INDUSTRIAL HISTOBY OF ENGLAND
imderBtand the transition from medieval conditions to t2ie
factory system.
FBOFOBnoHB or Wobksbs ra rm Woolbt Imdurst
Sorters
Pickna
Scriblen
Senmrna
Winding
OreBsem
Setting h&ndlea
WUVSBfl
Burlen
PCLLBBS
Shearmen
kttp 30 faxnu
tS81*
24bo;a
13 women
20 b(^
100 men
Uebuufa
4meB
12
2
W
fiShaodi
12
2
14 hand!
2
1
6"
ghauda
8
3 handa
1
1
2 haa<ta
Pwmmi mfiid tt
MMl*
:in7t
4
80
88
4
8
13
4
S
• Soottlab Blat. Boo.; CIM Umi^oitaty al Nrm Jftib, nxrU.
t Ei»a: SUiU e/ llu Ptar, i, 221; Juan: ir«ri(«d Jfaiw/iu'vn. >18.
I V. C. H.: OlownHw, n, IBa
It is unfortunate that these estimates do not include any
figures for the dyers. The medley cloth was probably used
in its natural color, so that no dyers would be used, and the
dyeing of the broad cloth was done after it had passed
through the hands of the London merchants. The state-
ment with reference to the broad-cloth manufacture was
exclusively occupied with the persons employed by the west
of England clothiers. The condition of the English industry
was always somewhat exceptional: short of being wholly
r^>resentative, because a large part of the cloth exported
was sent out wholly or partially unfinished. Some of the
Flemish and Italian towns made a specialty of dyeing and
finishing.
The woolen industry was divided into four primary occu-
pations: the preparation of the yam, which was chiefly con-
cerned with tfpinning; the weaving <^ the cloth; the physical
THE WOOLEN INDUSTRIES: 1450-1750 «03
manipulation of the cloth, shrinkiiig, picking of burrs, shear-
ing, stretching, and pressing; the dyeing. Each stacMia
at tbeee primary tasks was ultimately sub- »««»'«*"
(firided, but these mibdivi^ons were dow to appear for rear*
sons that will be obvious from an inspection of the table.
The work necessary to prepare wool for spinning required
pn^Kstiooately few hands, so that specialization of these
tasks was not iisual imtil the industry came to be organized on
ft laitfe scale. The tasks subordinate to weaving were prob-
ably fairly well specialized at an early date, though we hear
littie of Uiem as distinct occupations. Much of such work
could be done by children and was undoubtedly done by the
apprentices ot the children of the weaver. The processes
associated with fulling were by necessity the work of adults;
fulling, rowing, and shearing was men's work, burling —
picking knots and burrs out of the cloth — was done by
women as soon as it became a separate occupation. These
various finishing operations became distinguished at an early
date. Tha% is a rough consistency in the proportions oi
persons in the three accounts given : about three times as many
persons are engaged in preparing yam as in weaving, and the
labor employed in fulling and its ancillary tasks is slightly
less than the labor employed in weaving. If these facts repro-
eent to any degree the fxmdamental proportions r,i„^, ^
of labor in the industry, some interesting light tbe miIt
is thrown upon the numbers of persons enrolled
in the various crafts in the early period. Our m(»t com-
plete information is from Paris, but there is no reason to
suppose that conditions there were not entirely representa-
tive of the mgriTriiim degree of industrial specialization for
that period.
Propobtions or Teztile WoBucite in ma Fabib Tax-Rolu:
1292 AMD 1300
1292 1300
Con^Mn
^iDDen
Weavers 82 860
Fullers £4 48
XJyerB "tt la
RM INDUSTRIAL HISTOBY OF ENGLAND
The very large number of weavers and the abseooe of a
specialized claaa of pinners shows clearly that the weaves
were either having the yam prepared in their own households
or were buying yam from persons who did not r^ard spin-
ning aa their mun occupation. It is most like^ that the
separation between weaving and spinning took place very
early; we have vague allusions which seem to indicate that
there was an appreciable trade in yam between different
r^ons of northern France and between England and the
Continent. It is entirely possible that Paris should have
drawn much yam from the neighboring countiyside. ITie
women on the farms were the primary source of labor for
ginning. We hear little of this aspect of the industry in the
materials concerned with crafts and craft organization be-
cause this labor was almost entu^ly unorganized, but from
an economic point of view it is important to recognize the
existence of this group of workers and it is our misfortune to
be without any account of the manner in which the industry
was supplied with yam in the early period. It is quite pos-
sible that there was more capitalistic control of these early
processes than we suspect.
It will be observed also that there is a disproportion be-
tween the number of weavers and the number of persons
Tha fl-titi- engaged in Unishing, very striking in the figures
tB«cnfu f^,,. j3()Q This admits, however, of a simple
explanation. There is strong reason to presume that much
unfini»hoii cloth was u-sotl in this early period. If this pre-
sumption is well founded, it would perhaps explain why the
finituhing craft», which etnergod as distinct occupations before
weaving, play aurh aiv unimportant rdle in the development of
capiUiliatio (Hmt.ri)l. Tho trade in finished cloth expanded
niuoh lotw rapidly than the trade in cmde cloth. The in-
du8tr>' i» A wholo gnnv much inorf rapidly in the thirteoith
and fourUxMith iH'utiiritvi thiui tho finishing departments.
Thp rraft-s of fuUrn* mid dy«'rs (luis grt^w less rapidly in num-
hors Htid in wealth, and n'Intivol.v to othor textile crafts thar
pnwt.im» dwliiMHl, Thii* is iwu-tioulwlj' noticeable in the case
of the lij'rjs of I'lu-is.
THE WOOLEN INT>L'STRIES : 1450-1750
205
JulHnj
^V The subordination of the fullers was furthered by the
"character of the occupation. The work was disagreeable
and in the early period involved little capital.
The cloth was phiced in a long trough with ful-
ler's earth, soap, or other cleansing and shrinking agents.
Whatever the composition of the mixture, it was never in-
viting. The fullers, with little or no clothing to hamper
them, then proceeded to tread these mixtures into the cloth.
Because of this feature of the occupation, they were fre-
quently called "walkCTS." In so far as any pressure was
apphed to the cloth in the early period it was merely the
pressure of the fuller's treading. Jean de Garlande says that
the fullers worked naked, and that they were a low, disor-
derly group of men. After the cloth was shrunk, it was
stretched with ropes and pulleys — the process called "row-
ing" — ■ and then dried on the grass. The fullers also went
over the cloth with weaver's teazels to raise the nap, though
this work ultimately became the work of a separate group
of workers called "burlexs." Fulling thus involved much
crude manual work, some of which was so disagreeable that
the occupation was confined to a particularly low ordw of
artisans. Before wea\*ing became a specialized occupation
much cloth was doubtless finished off by fullers on behalf
of persons who had done the weaving themselves. The craft
was therefore accustomed to the system of wage-work and,
though not exclusively dominated by such a system, it was
easy and natural for them to fall into the way of working
for weavers or drapers instead of for householders-
Capitalistic domination of fulling was also promoted by
the intn)duction of machinerj-. The dat-es of these improve-
ments arc uncertain, and we have no adequate n«w
descriptions of the machines, but we have uidi- "wUmw^
cations of the general tj^pes. The first change came with the
introduction of a hinged beam worked by hand, to dispease
irith treading out the cloth. An upright post was set up at
the side of the fulUng-trough. A hca\')' mallet was then
attached to the upper end of the post with a lunge. The
head of the mallet would describe an arc, and wouid d<&'^'^«x
me
INDUSTRUL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
a considerable blow on the cloth in the trough, beating it up
a^nst the tude of the post. The fuller worked the mallet
and passed the cloth along the trough under its blows. The
cloth could thus be subjected to more pressure than cotild be
secured by mere treading. At an uncertain date, not later
than the sixteenth century, a modificatiou of these fulling
mills was introduced which made it possible to apply water-
power. The hammer beam became a kind of trip-hammer
worked by a water wheel. The necessity of running water
for scouring and washing invited such an application of power,
and this machine was sufficiently within the compass of
sixteenth-century mechanics to make it fairly certain that
the 80-called "tucking mills" were pretty generally intn>-
duced during the sixteenth century. The other process that
fell within the province of the fuller, burling, was similarly
brought within the scope of machinCTy. The weavers'
te^azels were set on large drums which were turacd by power,
sometimes water-power, sometimes power derived fnHn.
winches. TTiese devices were called "gig mills."
The subordination of the dyers to the capitalists was less'
complete. There were greater opportunities for independent
work. In some towns the dyers constituted an
important group because they finished cloth
that was woven on the farms and in the vilhigcs of the coun-
trj'side, or even cloth that was imported from a great dis-
tance. However, much dyeing was done on the premises of
the capitalist employers by joumejTnen or ma.ster dyers who
were hired for wages. A small number of workmen could
handle the output of a large number oi weavers and the con-
centration made for efficiency. ^M
The worsted industry difftied from the woolen industry itt^
Bomc of the proportions among the various workers. M!ore
ThB wor»wd spinners were employed proportionately to the
ludiuttf weavers and fewer persons were nccessar>' in
the finishing stages. As spinning was relatively umikilled
labor it is obvious that the worsted industry could use a
lower grade of labor than the woolen induntry. Its competi-
tive strength thus lay in the greater economy of raw mat
Drdac
IBE WOOLEN INDUSTRIES: 1450-17M SOT
and ita Ereater Telianee upon cheap labor. When one coo-
nden that worsteds offered a greater variety of fabrics at
distinctly lower prices it is hardly surprising that the woolen
industry lost ground steadily, beginning at least as early as
the sixteenth centuiy.
PKOFOBTION9 OF WORZEKS IN THE WOKSTED InSUSTST *
Sumim at pinaiH trnftotitd
PwpadmfUO
Ptr 100 ■«■»».
or 11,000 Oh. ftctl
IITSS
7
2B0
267han4i
20
'■
26
15 hands
4
10
20
900
64
4
12
12
60
6
100
237 bands
6
6
s
120
Tlifuifan or doublen
12e bands
10
Bobbin-wisden.
■ ■
22
32 hands
> tamm: WenM laAulrt. 311. >1&
The preparation of the yam required four times as many
hands as the woric of the weaving department, and half of the
work of the weavii^ department could be done by persons
without much strength or skill. Little work remaincni to be
done when the cloth was taken from the loom. Conditions
within the industry were thus notably different from the con-
ditions in the woolen industry. The worsted weaver was
relatively more important socially and the yam-making more
of an independent business. The sepu^te organization of
the pr^aration of worsted yams might have wmtodnn
been due to these general features of the indus- "*^"'"^*
try, but in England, at least, it is more likely that the contnd
of yam-making by a separate group ci ca^dtalists was more
tos
INDCSTRUL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
largely due to the fact that the working-up of the English
wool into worsted yarn became cstabU&hcd on a laji;er scalo
than the weaving of woreteds. The supply of long combing
wool was large and for a long time the wool-growers remained
dependent upon a foreign market. It became possible, how-
ever, to get the spinning done in England long before there
were enough worsted weavers to utilize the entire Engli&h
supply.
There were differences between the two branches of the
woolen industry, but the development of capitalistic control
Dt*fm ta* followed the same general course. Integrated
dothiar* control was secured primarily through the efforts
of the mercantile cUss. The detailed reasons for the pre-
dominance of this class varied somewhat in different locali-
ties and in the different industries, but the drapers or clothiers
J)ecame the emjiloying group except in a portion of the east-
ern counties where the control of the supply of worsted yam
fell into the hands of a group of wool brokers who came to
be called " master combers." The position of the mercantile
groups was probably stronger in England than it was on the
Continent.
In these statements about spinners one must remember
that they were not specialized industrial workers. Spinning
was a by-emplo^inent, a casual source of reve-nue to house-
holds whose main concern was agriculttuu If we assume
that spinning employed between one half and two thirds of
the persons connected with the textile manufacture, the
dependence of industry upon agriculture will be readily
loduiHT lad apparent. The industrial population was not
■cibujnua distinct from the agricultural population even
in the eighteenth century, and the large numbers of persons
alleged to be concerned with the textile industry' are probably
to be explained in this way. A paniphleteer of 1679 deolarea
that 700,000 persons were at that time connected with and
dependent upon the woolen industry. A writer of similar
caliber in 1741 arrives at a total of 964,000. These figurea,
of course, seejn impossibly large in comparison with modem
figures and there is exaggeration in them, no doubt, but tho
THE WOOLEN INDUSTRIES: 1450-1750
«08'
totala must have been lai^e simply because so large & pro-
portion of the total population was more or less casually
connected with the industry.
No comparison can be made between such conditions and
those familiar to us. Occupational statistics of agriculture
and industry mean nothing at that time because the distiuo-
tion was not sharp enough to admit of statistical separation.
Even the skilled weavers did farm-work during the harv'cst,
and more or less gardening at all times. In the countiee
which produced coarse cloth, weaving and agriculture were
joint occupations. In sections that were prosperous the
I artisans who were most highly specialized consumed the agri-
L«ultural sur|)Ius on the spot and utilised the spare time of
phoae more directly at work on the land. Wlien tlw soil was
>boni the scant living offered by the land was eked out by
patient work at the spindle and loom in the evenings and dur^
the winter. TTie textile industries had thus become spe-
[«iallzed to a degree, but they did not become independent of
' agriculture or the household untO after the Industrial Revo-
lution.
m
The geography of the industry in 1550 is represented ai>-
pr<ixiniately by the map, which is based as far as may be on
specific references in the statutes and documenta of a similar
character. The difficulty in representing the location of the
manufacture hcs in the danger of shading large areas on the
baais of general references, and in the likelihood, on the other
hand, of undue emphasis upon weaving and finishing. The
industry passed through three stages of terri- BtuMiDtwri-
t tonal diffusion. In the earliest period, before »»fWdiflo*iB
the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, there waa much weaving
of homespuns in all the country districts. Coarse cloths d&<
si^ed for personal use were thus made, though in some coun-
ties there was a surplus for export. Such wea%'ing was not
really a specialized craft-industry. Beginning in the twelfth
century specialized craft-weaving became establiKhed in thQ
«to
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
mraits were incoiporatod during the period, ao that wearing
aa craft was definitely associated with the tiiwns. As early
as the middle of the fifteenth ccatur>- in Suffolk, somewhat
later in other coxmties, the industry began to spread to tho
amaller settlements, some of them fairly conHdcrable in
population, perhaps, but not possessed of corporate privi-
leges, ^'illagers took up wea%'ing, too, in a more Bystematic
fashion; a very easy transition in those counties connected
J/Atc^
^
' ' ■ — ^
n.m
m
6
n
m
\
Wt
^
"Wii^x ?^I^ .jL-^t r
*^'
I— /H
■^
^^
J
'■A
7 ^
;fe^^
!^^C^*^^^
^
-
-^
THE WOOLEN INDUSTRIES: 1460-1760 211
with the export of home^iuw. The growth of the industiy
rotiuired much more spinning to be done in the country, and
there were advantages in the close association of the vari-
ous branches of the industry.
The shaded portions of the map are intended to be re-
stricted to those counties and parts of counties in which in-
du3tr>' was defiuitoly spread through the country districts.
There are two types of industrial dc\'cIopment represented.
The Welsh counties, Pembroke, Caermarthen, and Cardigan,
manufactured frieses that were sold to drapers from Shrews-
bury before being finished. The drapers had them finished.
This represents a development of the old cottage locmeoa a lu
weaving for pereonal consumption into an ex- "'**«'' '"•'"••^
port industry. The same is true in general of the northern
counties, Cheshire, Lancashire, and the West Riding of York,
The shaded portions of the cai>tcni and western counties were
the seat of the broad cloth manufacture in the Broad-doui
main, though some portions of these regions ^*^'=^
were concerned cluefly with the making of kerseys. There
is scareely sufficient evidence for the state of the industry in
the counties of Norfolk, Kent, and Sussex, but there seems
to be ground for presuming that the industry was spreading
outside the towns. In Hampshire, Dorset, Berkshire, and
Woreoster there was much weaving and finishing done, but
almost, exclusively in the towns. All three stages in the
growth of the industry are thus represented in some part of
England in 1550.
The development of the country industry* was in a measure
unfavorable to the weavers of the large towns, 'ITicy were
obliged to compete with the country weavers, (H_.uh_
and this competition was tJie more severe be-
cause the country weavers were not working wholly on thdr
own ac(;ount. Most of them were weaving yarns given out
to them by the clothiers of the towns. These clothiers had
thus begun to develop the supply of chi-Ap labor found in the
country districts. The town weaver tiius found that the cloth
merchant was becoming a manufacturer who competed with
him instead of buying bis cloth or hiring him to do Ids vi«a.\v&v
J
812 INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
The weavers of the ton-ns, being oi^nized in gilds or othee
asaociatioDs, were able to bring pressure to bear on Parlis-
Th« WMTn'* mcnt, and in 1655 tho-Wcavcr's Act was passed
*" which was designed to afford them reUef. It was
provided that no clothier, outside of a city, borough, market
town, or town corporate, should have more than one loom,
or receive any profit from the letting of looms, or let any
house in which looms are set up. That no woolen weaver
outside city or town should have more than two looms.
That no weaver should have a fulling mill, or act as a fuller
or dyer. That no fuller or dyer should have any loom.
That persons taking up the occupation of clothier should have
no weaving done for them outside cities and towns. That
weavere outside cities or towns should not Iiave more than
two apprentices. That no one should be a weaver unless he
had served seven years as an apprentice.
This statute, if enforced, would have well-nigh put an end
to the capitalistic developments that had become established.
The industry would have remained in that state of disinte-
gration characteristic of the earliest stages of craft develop-
ment. The clothier was permitted forsooth to have one
loom, but that would have been smal! consolation. The
market towns were included within the area open to indus-
tiy, but this also was a trifling concession. The act was
never really enforced to its full extent. Appended to the
original act as a separate schedule, perhaps therefore ao
amendment, there is a proviso exempting all
the northern counties from all the prohibitions
of the statute. In these counties, York, Northumberland,
Cumberland, and Westmoreland, there was much cottage
spinning and weaving, primarily but not exclusively for
personal consumption. In the West Riding of York the
weavers were producing goods for export. The apprentice-
ship pro\Tsions would have workf?d great hardships in these
districts, and they were consequently exempted. Other ex-
emptions followed shortly which ultimately removed fnMn
the application of the statute most of the country districUt
in which the industry was established. In 1557-58 exemi^
THE WOOLEN INDUSTRIES: 1450-1750 418
(ions designed to cover cottage industry were extended to
Durham and Cornwall. In the more important clothing
districts, in which capitalistic methods were established, all
existing estabUshmente and practices were to be allowed
despite the prohibitions, and in certain specified diatricta
new eslablistiments might be set up by pei^ons who had
served an apprenticeship as clothier. The districts speci-
fied in the amending act were: the counties of Suffolk and
Kent, the town of Godalmine, in Surrey, and the towns
or villages near or adjoining the Water of Stroude in the
County of Gloucester. Clothiers were required to 8er\-e an
apprenticoship in the future, but thoee who had not served
an apprenticeship were not required to abandon their busi-
ness. These pro\'isions were included in a long statute on
the cloth manufacture, 3o that it would seem that the adroiu
nets of the capitalists in matters of high poUtics was consid-
erable, to say the least. Portions of Essex were exempted in
156$-50, and in 1575 the exemptions were extended to prac-
tically the entire west of Enf^and clothing district
This last statute was a straightforward piece of legislation.
The other acts were not very specific, a general formula was
provided, but there was no detailed description of either the
current practices of the clothiers or of the practices which
should be accounted lan-ful. The Statute of 1575, however^
contained a substantial statement of the condition of the
industr>' in these counties. The preambles of statutes ara,
on the whole, untrustworthy evidence, but in this case there
is suflicifrnt contemporary roftterial of other kinds to confirm
the general outline of this description.
Forasmuch a« divers and sundrj- pcrwms have hertofore of long
taine used and exercised the Feate and Mystery of cloth-miiking in
the Counties of Somerset, Wiltshire, and Glouceflter, Th« pvttio«-
and have at great coals and charges planted tfacm- «>" •*•»<»
selves SDd their dwpJlinR houaes dUpersedly throughout the said
oountoes, and neither in Cilif:<, Boniughs, Towns Corporate or
Market Towns, as might and may eervc most conveniently for the
use and exercise of the said Feat and Mj'Stery, namely about the
Rivera of Fromcwater, Kinggwoodwatcr, tiic RivBis of Avon, Willi-
bourne, and Salisbury boiunes, aQdSUoudwa\fiXt^VuK,«u&.«KN»c-
•u
INDUSnUAL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
ties of Somerset, Wiltshire, and Glou<%eter and the branches <X^|
the same waters; And also for that the said plac<!S oud waters are
very good and apt for Clothing, together with the great number of
Fulling Mills and other workhouses therto adjoining maintained
only by the Cloth-making in the \'illages and P&riahcs thereabouts:
And forasmuch also as a great multitude of poor people as Weavers,
Tuckers, Spinsters, and the like, have of long time heretofore and
at this presi-nt, do inhabit and dwell near unto the said places and
waters, by means of the great Clothmaking there, heretofore and
now used, and have been only relieved and sustained by the same;
and also for that great inconvenience might ensue within the said
I ootmticM of Somerset, Wiltshire, and (Jioucest«r, in removing and
' placing of such a multitude in or within any City, Borough, Town
Corporate, or Market Town, according to the meaning of the said
act [i.e., of 155S] . . . ^h
The body of the statute pro\'idcd that the prohibitions ol^'
the Weaver's Act with reference to the fulling and weaving of
woolen cloth should be repealed in ao far as they applied to^
the counties of Somerset, Wiltshire, and Gloucester. Clothiera
in these counties, however, were forbidden to make cloth
"except in such houses and places" as were devoted to thf^H
cloth manufacture for the ten years prior to 1555. Clothiers
in the future should not hold more than twenty acres of land,
and clothiers now engaged in this occupation should not add to
their present holdings, subject to a fine of six shillings eight
pence per acre per year for land held contrary to the statute.
iXiter 1650 there waaa tendency toward the concentration
of the woolen industry in the exempted districts of the eastem^l
, BHaMjoa ^^^ westpm counties, but this was partly an
' f" 'ss» outcome of natural economic forces. The ex-
emptions to the Act of 1555 are so numerous that one must
needs assume that all the important districts were ultimately
included in the exemptions. The vested interest argument
that led to the Act of 1655 was equally potent in nullifj-ing
it: wherever important changes were likely to be forced by
its provisions, the prohibitions were raised. The Act of
1555 might thus result in Oxing the existing atuation, but it
is harxlly likely that the location of the industry was signifi-
cantly changed.
The conditions of the time also tended toward stabilii
THE WOOLEN INDUSTRIES: 1450-1750 815
the industry in existing locations. The rise of the "New
Drapery" at this time subjected the woolen industry to
' pressure that became increasingly important. The industry
, seems also to have been affected by foreign compptition, if
[«onten^>orary opinion may be trusted. The Spanish trade
was accounted the cause of a decline in the early seventeenth
centurj'. The introduction of the East Indian cottons and
silks in the middle of the seventeenth century added to the
difficulties of the industry. The influence was felt by the
entire range of industries based on wool, but ^^^ .
most keenly by the woolen industrj'. The New
Draperj- stood up to the competition better. The woolen
industo' was thus subjected to various kinds of strain from
the beginning of the seventeenth centur>'. It is Ukely that
it ceased to expand at that time, and it is certain that its
growth was less rapid than the growth of the worsted indus-
try. It is difficult to date these changes accurately with the
information a\'ailable, but it is at least plausible to Buppo«w
Uiat the expansion of the industry which carried it into the
country districts of the west in the early sixteenth century
marks the climax of the development of the old drapery —
the woolen manufacture in its narrow sense. The rcwtrictive
legislation thus came at a time vhen the industry was
already at its highest point.
In Suffolk, Essex, and portions of the west of England the
decline of the woolen industry was obscured by a transfer to
worsted goods. In these counties particular towns or local-
itica lost ground, though the industrial character of the
county as a whole was not profoundly affected. In other
districts no new textile manufacture came in to replace the
woolen industry. Kent, Sussex, Hampshire, and Bcrk.shire
seem to have suffered severely, though some woolen manu-
facture lingered in these counties until the close of the eight-
eenth century.
i
t The Weaver's Act and the other le^Iation of the period
I afford unmistakable evidence of the existence of a puitiui&
out system of considerable proportions. Conditions would ^M
seem to imply that this capitalistic control was not new at ^M
that time, and various items of evidence indicate the existence ^^|
of the system a century or a centxiry and a half earlier. Aul- ^M
nagers' accounts for 1395 and 1396 STiggeet much. The auU ^M
nagcr was the official measurer of cloth charged with the duty ^M
of inspecting cloth as to width and length to insure compli> ^M
ance with the statute. His duties would thus bring him in ^M
touch with the entire induntry, and hU accounts should afford ^M
a clear indication of relative conditions. ^H
^H RsLA-nvs Scixs or the Cix>th MuniFACnmE: 1395-1396 ^H
^^^^H DintM
Sc. qS piecrt of tlo<S
ifUpcdH
N^- of pfriDiu
rrtptmtibit /at
ntnufaclun
pwH ptr pcrwm ^^H
^^^— B..«^ll.
783 (broad)
Xh*6 (dosens)
1300 (DSITOW)
2400 (narrow)
3&8A (bmnd)
120
4
9
8
11
e
7.5-11,5
133.8
300
saa
^f If we may assume these figures to be at all characteristic
it is safe to say that the putting-out system was established
B«dimin» <4 ^^ ^ considerable scale in portions of the west
tb« putiiDi- of England clothing district and in some towns
Mt trium ^j Essex. The dozens produced in Romsey were
short, BO that the scale of manufacture is really about the
same as that for broad cloths in SuUolk. The fact that the
manufactures in Essex, Coggeshall, and Braintree, were
working on narrow cloths also reduces the significance of the
' figures. These cloths were one yard wide as compared with
the yard and three quarters width of the broad cloths. In
terms of value of output, tJierefore, the manufacture in the
west of England was organized on an appreciably larger scale.
Detailed evidence of the character of the putting-out sys-
tem in particular places is not available until a much later
date. Some of the earliest evidence is from Colchester.
The trade ordinances of 1411 provided that no weaver should
be compelled to take any merchandise or victuals for wages
THE WOOLEN INDCSTRIES: 1450-1730 MT
aRaimit hia will. This may indicate a putting-out system, but
one cannot be certain. Other ordinances, made at Col-
chester in 1452, are more specific. They prescribe certain
weiRhts for the woo! given out by weavers to combers and
spinners
If these refereoCTs are interpreted in the light of subav
quent infonnation we may conclude that two forms of put-
ting-out were practiced at Colchester. There _ , ^
were clothiers or drapens who gave out yam to
poor weavers. There were also wealtliier weavers who put
out raw wool to be worked up into yarn. There is no reason
to presume that both systems did not exist thus side by side.
The existence of the putting-out system is compatible with
great diversities of organization even in a single locality.
The richer weavers here continued the traditions of pure
craft-work, so that it would seem that the craft-form existed
despite the development of the newer capitalistic form. This
was probably chararteristic of the eastern counties, and is
well illustrated by the aulnagers' accounts already cited.
The average output of the Suffolk manufacturer was six
pieces, but there were seven or eight of the hundred and
twenty listed who made a score or more pieces each. The
smaller master weavers thus made about five pieces, and the
larger manufacturers made twenty or twenty-6ve. The
richer weavers, who thus retained their independence, be-
came capitalists in a measure, enlisting the services of women
who did combing and spinning in their homes for a piece
wage. The poorer weavers became the employees of the
clothiers.
Pure craft-work could not long maintain itself. The
craftsmen in each industrj- moved up or down the scale soon
after the industry reached the maximum d^ree ^^^^^ |^^
of disintegration. This instability of the pure pna*t>f
craft stage is not adequately emphasized by ■'*°"'"*
BQcher and his followers, nor is the brief duration of such
arrangements fully appreciated by those who like to think
of the middle ages as the golden age of the artisan. Inde-
pendent craft-work was a short-lived form of orgfiniiaJtiaa
ei8 INDtSTRIAL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
in the industries of major importattee, and, even if the extent
of capitalistic supervision was moderate, the rise of capitalism
in this mild form was none the less an important social trans-
fonnation. Indcfinitcneiss of outline and paucity of informa-
tion have tended to obscure both the early date at which the
putting-out sj-stem became established and the extent to
which such arrangements dominated the chief industrial
districts.
The Statute of 1464-65 is our best source of infonnation as
to the extent of this system in the fifteenth century. UTiis
was a truck act, to use the modem expression, and while it is
not very specific in its terms it implies clearly that the entire
woolen industry was dominated by the putting-<iut system.
Complete description is not possible until the close of the
Bixtetaith century. The researches of Unwin in connection
with the Victorian Ctmnty History of Suffolk have brought to
light much new material, and, though the system was not
established as early in that county as elsewhere, conditions in
the late sixteenth century must have been fairly representa-
tive.
The firet stage . . . was the purehase of the wool after shearing.
This miKht be made by the nmuufucturiog clothier direct from the
SnfloU wool grower, but for a century before this period the inter*
broken vcntioa of the middletnan or broker bad been becom-
ing more and more necessary. As the industry expanded the wool
grower and clothier frequently found themselves in different coun-
ties, and had no tiine to seek ench other out. Even when they were
within reach of each other, capital was needed to tide over the
period of waiting. In some ca,te.i thi.s was furnished by the wealth-
ier wool growers or cluthiere thciiiSL-lves, but the capital of the
majority of either closa was not large, and the demand upon it waa
greatest at sheep-shearing time. The broker, therefore, who bar-
gained for the wocj beforehand, collected it and supplied it on
credit or held it over till it waa wanted, supplied an indispensable
link l)etwecn the iiiuall producers of wool und of cloth. . . .
Coming nejct to the clothier, into whose hands the wool directly
OP indirectly passed, wc have to do with a class of the most varied
_ . ,, status. Some of its menilXTs wt-ro large cjnployere
n*doihl«n , , , .... .- i_ .
of labor and at the same time merchants upon an ex-
tensive scale; othera only coutrived to keep themselves above the
■
THE WOOLEN INDUSTRIES: 1450-1750 219
level of the laboriDi; cIbas by dint of oonstaat alertnens aiul thrift
and thfi pooomioo of a minimum of capital. A petition of clothiers
waa preseated to tbc govcromcnt in loS5 against tho activititw of
UoeoMd brokers, complaining that as their own capital was not
great they bad to buy at accund, third, and fourth hand in the latter
end of the y«ar at excessive prices. Of 166 names appended to this
document, repnswntins; nine or t«n counties, forty-one were those
of Suffolk clothiers. No other county in the list {Norfolk was not
included) furnished men? than half that number; and do doubt tlie
petitioners, in tpiXc of protestations of poverty, were the repreaeo-
tativesof a more numerous claas. In the hands of theae eapitalista,
BRuUI or great, Iny the control and direction of the manufacture,
with the exception of the finjuhitig processes which were often carried
out after the doth had been diqmsed of to the merchaQt.
Although somic undyed cloth waa made in SuffoUc, tlie greater
part seems to have been d}^ blue in the wool, whilst a smaller
portion was further dyed violet, purple, or green after it had been
woven. . . .
The carding and spinning were mostly done by women and
diildrco in their cottage homes all over the countryside. "Tho
custom of the country is," says another petition of Cudloi ud
Suffolk clothiers in 1575, "to carry our wool out to "pinniiif
carding and spinning aod put it to divers and sundry spinners who
have in their houses divers and sundry children and servants
that do card and spin the same wool. Some of them card upon new
cards and some upon old curds and some spin hard yam and some
ioft ... by reason whereof our cloth falleth out in some places
broad and some narrow contrary to our mind and greatly to our
disprofit." . . . Aithou^i the preparation of yam was chiefly carried
on in the villages and smaller towns, it also continued to find occu-
pation for a comiderable amount of semi-paupcrizcd labor in the
larger towns. Spinning indeed was tlte main reeoiiroe of those
whose duty it became, under the New Poor Law, to liiid work for
the unemployed, and in institutions such as Christ's Hoepita),
Ipswieh (founded 1595), children were set to card and spin wool
from their tenderest years. . . .
The spinners, who never seem to have possessed any organiia-
tion of their own, were very liable to oppression on tlio part of their
employers, not only through low wages, but also through paj-ment
in kind and the exaction of arbitrary fines- It is not surprising,
therefore, to find them frequently accused of keeping back part of
the wool given out to them and of making up the weight by the
addition of oil and moisture to tlie yam. Tlic natural conuexioo
of these two evils found recognition in a Bill presiont49d to the
Parliament of 15d3, which while imposing fresh ^QaVt,ve» «.T\l'nix>£&
220
INDUSTRUL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
WMVon
ID spinning and weavinf^ proposed at the eame time to raise the
wages of spinners and wcraver^ by u tliird. The Bill foiled to paes,
but the regulation of wfLgcs in the; tnt«reetof the spinners ooDtinuod
to be ft proUem of poor law adminUtration during the next half
Dcnturj".
The yam voven in the country districts was collected by riders
sent out by tJic clotliiera and delivered to the weavers. The
weaver, though he too was dependent on the clothier
for employment, was not in so helpless a position aa
the spinners. The power of bis ornotnizution in the town, thoui^
weakened, was not destroyed. The line between the clothier and
the wejiver was, at first, notaborply drawn. The more prosperous
among the weavers gradually developed into clothiers, and SufTolk
was one of the countiea in which this tendency wa« allowed to have
free play, since it was exempted from the operation of the statutes
forbidding clothiers to set up outside the market towns. But
although a master weaver here and there might rise in the world,
the majority were sinking into the position of wage earners. A
petition of weavers of Ipswich, Hadleigh, Lavenham, Bergbolt, and
other towns in 1539 states tliat the clothiers have their own looms
and weAvero and fullers in their own houses, so that the master
weavers arc rendered de'>titu1e. " For f,!ie rich men, the clothiers,
be concluded and agreed among themselves to hold and pay one
price for weaving, which price is too little to sustai a households upon,
working night and day, holy day and week day, and many weavers
ore therefore reduced to the position of servants." As a rule,
however, the weaving continued to be done in the weavers' houses,
although perhaps in some caj«es the loom was the property of the
employer. Elaborate regulations both by Parliament and by the
local authorities were to insure that the right weight of yam ^ould
be delivered by the clothier, and that none of it should bo wasted
or stolen by the weaver. The fuller, who next took over the
cloth, was also employed by the clothier. It would be a natural
thing for a fuller with a Uttle spare capital to set up & loom to
hia house, and no doubt he did so, as we find it forbidden in later
ordinances, just as we find the weavers and shearmen prosecuted
for setting up as clothiere.
When tlie cloth was woven and fulled the clothier might have It
finished by the local shearman, but he more often seems to have
disposed of it to the merchant. Tlie two chief markets for the Suf-
folk clothier were London and Ipsn-ich. A good deal of Suffolk
cloth was bought by the London cbthworkers to fmiah, and some
was bought by the London merchants ready finished for export.*
> Oeorsc Unwio, La Uie V.C^. SnffM, a, 257-59.
THE WOOLEN INDUSTRIES: 1450-1750
«!?1
There are no concrete statements to indicate the scale of
these clothiers' operations until 1618. Reyce, in the Breviary
of Suffolk, written in that year, says:
It is reckoned that he which nuikcth ordinarily twenty broad-
cloths every week cannot set as few awork as five hundred pcreoos,
for by the time his wool is come home and is sorted SmU of
mjmibA, what with brcftkcre, dyers, wood-Betters, m«iiu*«tnrB
wringers, epinners, weaveis, burlers, shearmen, and carriers, be-
etdes his own large family, the number will soon be accomplished.
Borne there be that weekly set more at work, but of this uuinbcr
tbere are not many. '
There is sufficient evidence to show that this system was
common in the woolen districts of Bssex, and throughout the
weetem counties. In all essential details the system was in
vogue in the west of England la ISOO, and, as wid* t<xii« <*
the clothing industry had died out in the eastern *•• •'"*■
counties by that time, the Woolen Report calls the sj-stem
the "West of England Clothier System." In so far as this
is retarded as a definite s>'stom, its distinctive feature consists
in the precise extent of the domination of the industry by the
clothier; his control extended at least to both preparation of
the yarn and weaving of the cloth, together with incidental
dyeing of yam or cloth. If the finishing were done before the
cloth was sold it was done under the supervision of the cloth-
ier. Thus we can say that all the work done on the wool up
to the time of its reaching the wholesale merchant was
controlled by the clothier.
Toward the close of the sixteenth centuo' and in the early
decades of the following century, there were two other forms
of the putting-out system; one common in the west, the other
in the worsted districts of the eastern counties. In these
cases the industry was dinded into two sections, spinning
and weaving being separately organized. In the western
counties there were many poor people "that will not spin
to the clothier for small wages: but have stock enough to set
themselves on work, and do weekly buy their wool in the
market by \'ery small parcels according to their use, and
1 V.CJI. Suffolk, u, 202.
less
INDUSTRUL raSTORY OP ENGLAND
Poor dothlan
weekly return it in j'am, and make good profit thereof, having
the benefit both <A their labor and of their merchandise,
and live exceeding well. These yam makers are so many in
number that it is supposed by men of judgment that mora
than half the cloth that is made in Wilts, Gloucester, and]
Somersetshire is made by means of thcae yam makers and
poor clothiers that depend weekly upon the
wool chapmen which serves them weekly with
wools either for money or for credit." ' The poor cloUiicrs
refcred to were men whose means were not great enough to
enable them to dominate the entire industiy. The largo
clotliiers controlled only about half the woolen manufactxu*
of the west.
In the eastern counties there was also a place for the poorer
clothiers, but it was largely in the worsted industry, in which
the preparation of the yam was a special business. The
division of the worsted industry, however, was not entirely
due to relative wealth or poverty of clothiera, weavers, and
spinners. There had long been an export trade in worsted
yam from the ea.stem counties to the Continent. Spinning
thus came to be organized upon a re!ati\'cly lai^er scale than
weaving, weaving being definitely of subordinate importance
until the seventeenth century. A group of
master combers appeared in the eastern coun-
ties: persons who bought wool, put it out to combers and
spinners, and sold the yam in I^ndon or to exporters.
Worsted weaWng was done primarily in the towns by master
weavers of small means. They were dependent in a mea-sure
upon the supply of j-am produced by the master combers,
but they frequently bought wool on their own account and
put it out to be ^un. 'ITiere was therefore little capitalistic
control of weaving. This system persisted, or rather ac-
quired sharper definition, and is described in the Woolen
Report of 1806 as the "Master Comber System of Norfolk."
In the earlier period the system seems to have been more
widely diffused througliout the eastern counties,
> Extra«to boa « dMiBM&t ia &P.D. Jm. I, 1615, priat«cl by Uawia,
HuMr comttars
THE WOOLEN INDUSTRIES: 14S0-17S0 22S
This great development of putting-out involved not only
the establishment of a network embracing many cottage
worlcerB, but also implied the creation of quite considerable
central workshops to handle the business. Each large put-
ting-out establishment thus resulted in the creation of some-
thing that strongly resembles a sanall factory. The line
dividing the putting-out system from the factory ia at all
times vaCTe and mupt have been particularly vague at thia
time. It is thus entirely natural that there should have
been some experimentation with the factory system. TTio
number of concrete instances known to us is small, but the
fact is beyond question. The most notable of (,-(0^—
these early adventurers was John Winchcombe,
familiarly called " Jack of Ncwburj'" and duly celebrated in
prose and verse. The metrical version of his story confines
itself to 80 many round numtters that it would seem unwise
to presume accuracy in details. There may be some element
of legend in the numbers. The numbers given are as follows:
^m 200 weavers
^B^ 200 quill bo>-8
^^^^^ 100 womcD carding wool
^^^^K 900 girU ^piiiiiiiifi;
^^^^K 150 children picking
^^^^F SOshearaim
^^^^ 80 rowers
^^^ 40dyen
^^B _20 fullers
^^^^ft 1010 pereoDS employed
f These proportions are hardly in accord with the indications
I cited pnn'iou.sly. The force of weavers and quill Iroys is
I apparently excessive. Such, however, i« the legend, and
I fldiatever the prccLse extent of the establishment, there can
be little doubt but that Jack of Newbury was indeed experi-
menting with the factor)' system in the early years of the reign
of Henry VIII. Leland the antiquarian spe^ of one Stump,
a clothier, who leased the Abbey of Malmcsbury "to be full
of looms and to weave cloth." later the same person is
reputed to have leased an Abbey near Oxford agreeing to
employ two thousand persons " to succor the city ot Qti-ot^'
224 INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
Ashley has ioferred from the legislation of the middle of
the sixteenth century that there was & significant tendency
WMkBN* toward the factory e>'stem. It is difficult to see
of the faotorj the gTounds for tills inference, though there can
moTuiuDt ^^ ^^ doubt that there were sporadic experi-
ments. The putting-out sj-stem had disadvantages which
must have been keenly realized by the clothiers, but there was
at that time no clear financial advantage to be aecured by
collecting the emploj-ees in factories. The putting-out sys-
tem remained the dominant form of industrial organization
in both England and on the Continent until the Industrial
devolution. There was rather more experimentation with
the factory in France than in England, perhaps because the
experiments began somewhat later — in the seventeenth
century. But on the whole the factory was not an undoubted
success. Some of the French establishments maintained
themselves, but they were not independent of state subsidies.
The tape8tr>' manufacture at the Gobelins' is the best known
of these seventeenth-century factories, but there were other
tapestry manufactures and two or three cloth-making estab-
lishments. The latter failed after various vicissitudes. In
the eighteenth centur>' paper mills were established in the
Rhone Valley which were undoubtedly factories in every
aeiue of the word. But these isolated cases were not de»-
tined to exert any profound influence upon the general forms
of industrial organization. At the same time these early
experiment* are sufTiciently important to force us to recognise
that factories wi'ro not a novelty, first introduced at the time
o( the Industrial Revolutioo. It was a form that was weU
known, though it had not proved to be economically profit-
able on any extensive scale. Fuller knowledge of the forms
of organization prevalent during the seventeenth and eight-
eenth centuries will probably destroy all claims for the nov-
elty of the factories that emerge as a direct result of the
changes brought about by the ludutitj'ial Revolution.
*
I
CHAPTER IX
THE ENCIjOBURE MOVEMENT AND LAND REFORM
The enclosure movement was the transformation of the
methods of agriculture and field arrangementa wluch substi-
tuted fOT the open fields of the medieval period
the hedged and ditched fields of modem Eng-
land. The land of individual proprietors under the new
airangemeat was concentrated in the solid blocks of territory
that characterize the modern fannstcad. The enclosure is
thus closely associated with the break-up of the open fields,
and one tends to think of enclosed fields as alwaj-s succeed-
ing the older open fields; this, however, is not strictly true.
It is now rooognized that the open-field sj-stcm never pre-
vailed ^^tematically in the eastern counties, and it has
alwa>'s been known that enclosures were frequently formed
by clearing forest land or heath that had formerly been
used for pasture. Hedged and ditched fields might thua
originate in a variety of waj-s, and, in so far as they repre-
sented the original mode of settlentent or an improvement
of land that was regarded as " waste," enclosed fields can-
not properly be associated with the enclosure movement.
The changes described by the term " enclosure movement"
include three kinds or degrees of rearrangement of fields: the
Mattered strips belonging to the demesne farm ^^^
might be brought togeUier in solid blocks and
enclosed; portions of the common pasture might be enclosed
either by the lord of the manor or by certain villagers; the
open fields, or portions of them, might be divided among the
existing owners in solid blocks instead of scattered strips.
The variety of forms of enclosure constitutes one of the
difficulties in tracing the history of these changes. The
transformation ultimately involved a c<nnplcto abandonment
of the old agricultural technique, but the chatif^ ^«& \:i.<^
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
I
PurpotM
Budden even in particular localities. The earlier encloeures
were partial; they included portions of improved waste, lands
belonging to the demesne fann, parts of the open fields.
C<3nsiderai)Ie enclosure was possible witliout change in the
geneiral arrangements of village agriculture, and, as the initia-
tive was taken by lords of manors and the richer landowners,
the life of the village as a whole was not seriously affected
until the movement was far advanced.
The purposes of enclosure were economic: the new field
arrangements made it possible for the proprietors to adopt
better methods of agriculture. More diversity
in cropping and in rotations was possible, and
ultimately a new combination of arable agriculture with
grazing was developed. This sj'stem of agriculture is usu-
ally called the "Midland System," as it is particularly
suited to the tyx>es of soil that prevail throughout the Mid-
lands. There is thus a rou^ correspondence between the
area that is most appropriate to this mode of cultiire and
the area that was characterized by the open fields.
The land will hold a crop of artificial grass for sx or seven
years without notable deterioration, so that it is possible to
Th* "Hid- pursue a system of culture in which there is an
kod 8y««a" alternation between arable and grass. The farm
would be divided into portions of approximately equal size;
six or seven of these fields would always lie under grass, three
fields would tie under cereal crops. In the spring the field
that had lain longest xmder grass would be ploughed and
planted with oats, the field that had grown oats the previous
year would be plougjied two or three times and planted with
wheat, and the field that had borne its crop of wheat would
be ploughed in the fall after the harvest and seeded with
barley and grass in the spring. The grass in the fields lying
under grass was applied to the grazuig of dairy cattle, with
some cows and sheep being fattened for slau^tcr. "All
together," sa>'S Marshall, "a beautifully simple system of
management, and, being prosecuted on large farms, and by
wealthy and spiritod farmers, becomes a singularly interest-
ing subject of stud^-."
ENCLOSURE MOVEMENT AND LAND REFORM «87
It will readily be seen that such a system of fanning must
needs be carried on with relatively large farms. 'ITicrt must
be a constant proportion between the amount of . ^^
land under fjrasa aiid under arable cropa: assum-
ing a aix-ye-ar period under grass, the farm must consist of not
less than nine units, one third being constanUy under cereals.
The ultimate aze of the profitable farm was detenuined
jointly by considerations of economy in arable agriciUture and
in d^rjing. There were many local variations because of dif-
ferences in soil or differences in thecorrelation between grazing
and cereal culture. Experience with this sj-stem resu!ted,how-
ever, in the eatablishmeut of fanus varjTng in size between two
and three hundred acres. The virgate holdii^ of the yeoman
or \Tllein consisted of tliirty acres on the average, and it is
customary' to think of this as the small holding, the twenty or
thirty-odd acres that are needed to maintain a single family.
The type of farm that was established by the enclosure
movement was thus relatively lai^, and farming became
"c^italistic"; much of the product wa« raised for a market.
The change in the type of farm had certain social conse-
quences. Yeomen farming declined. The farmer became
more largely an employer of labor; he and his family still
shared the work of the farm, but they were assisted by hired
lai>orera who were likely for the most part to remain in that
position. The increase in the size of the pn)fitable farm
made it more and more difficult for the hired laborer to ac-
quire sufficient means to become the owner or lessee of a
farm; the demarcation between classes of society Th«b(««kto
in the village thus became more nearly per- «»«»<*>^>»*d«
manent and what is called the social ladder was broken.
The social aspects of these different sj-stema of rural life have
received much attention. It is frequently asserted that it is
peculiarly desirable to have a large class of peasant pro-
prietors, who work their own farm without m<H« than casual
hired labor. This may be true from a purely social point
of view and if the discu-ssion were confin^xl to merely social
arrangements the advocates of peasant proprietors would
have a very strong case.
L
INDTJSTRIAL HISTORY OP ENGLAXD
t
The agrarian problems, however, present many other con-
siderations. The pn)fitable size of farm must needs be de-
termined by the predominant mode of culture, and tiie most
appropriate mode of culture changes with variations in the
complex of economic conditions that can be briefly called the
conditions of marketing. Increase of population, improve-
ment* in transportation, changes in crojxs, better knowledge
of agriculture and of the relation of various methods to dif-
ferences in soil — all these changes will inevitably produce
changes in methods of culture and corresponding changes in
the size of farms. Growth of scientific knowledge of agri-
_ ,^ , culture points clearly to the conclusion that
there is no ideal sj'stem. The best system la
that one most carefully adjusted to all the circumstances of
soil and market.
The development of agriculture is thus likely to bring
more diverait)' of method, and, even in the middle ^es, there
was more diversity than was formerly supposed. The open-
field arrangements were capable of many diversities, though
the changes were not great enough to lead to significant differ-
ences in the size of the average holding. Ilom the purely
^rarian point of view there can be no presumption in favor
of the small holdings of peasant proprietors. Under some
conditions small farms arc best, under different conditions,
large farms are best. One may therefore doubt the expedi-
ency of any social arrangement that would require the adop-
tion of methods of agriculture that were economically un-
profitable, and it is certainty unsound to criticize the general
character of a change that resulted in a more intelligent ada{>-
tation of culture to differences in soils and market conditions.
The change in the methods of farming was both a cause
and a result of the enclosure movement. It was the purpose
Tnixittn oi of enclosure, but the purpose could not be ac-
ftogttti ri«ht« compUshcd until the open fields had been en-
closed. The change in the mze of farms preceded or followed
enclosure, but the transfers of property were not directly a
result, except in certain cases to be mentioned presently.
The actual enclosure award was designed to give each owner
ENCLOSURE MOVEMENT AND LAND REFORM
invciaely the same amount of land, or at least land of equiT&>
lent value; in so far as enclosure led to concentration of land-
hotding the small proprietors must needs be bought out
before or after the award. No generalization can be sug-
gested. In the early period, however, there is reason to sup-
poee that the lai^ proprietors gave much earnest attention
to the purchase of land with a view to subsequent enclosure.
Parcels of land adjoining their own would be bought at
every opportunity, and at times pressure was brought to
bear to induce owners to sell. In the period of enclosure by
act <rf Parliament it would seem that there was less attempt
to buy land prior to enclosure. Much land changed hands
immediately after the enclosure awards, and this feature of
the later movement was undoubtedly unfortunate. Land
was sold not so much because the owner really wanted to sell,
but becaxise the details of the award left him land that he
was not in a position to utilize effectively. A different policy
in the details of the awards might well have diminished the
extent of these transfers. But with all due allowance for the
unfortunate results of the policy adopted, one must presume
that the larger mass of transfers of property caoMiW
were the outcome of genuine economic causes, *'«>^««»
a result of an undoubted decline in the profits of yeoman
fuming that began at least as early as the 6e\-enteenth
century.
Until the last few yeois it was customary to divide the
enclosure movwnent into two fairly distinct portions sepa-
rated by an inter\-al of at least a century. It was C«itinohT0(
presumed that the movement which attracted """lo*""
so much attention at the befdnning of the !dxt«enth century
came to an end toward the close of the reign of Elizabeth, and
that there was little enclosure during the seventeenth cen-
tury. A second period of enclosure was notable after the
middle of the eighteenth century, when enclosure by act of
Parliament became common. It is becoming clear that the
movement continued without any great diminution in in-
tensity throi^out the seventeenth century. For reasons
which we do not yet understand, the evidence of these ea-
230
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGIAND
closures is scanty, but the extent of the movement ia no
longer subject to serious doubt despite the difficulty of exact
Btatistical statement. Apparently those enclosures were done
privately after purchase of titles, so that little record has
been left, no record comparable to those created by the proo-
ess of enclosure by act of Parliament, and no records similar
to the results of the inquiries of the early sixteenth eentuiy.
There was little public criticism of enclosure during the
seventeenth century and the movement thus dropped out of
sight.
Despite the vigorous criticism that was directed against
enclc^ure in the sixteenth century, there is no ground for pre-
PretnM of suming that the actiuU extent of enclosure* was
•aOiMkat lai^. Professor Gay says that not more tlian
nine per cent of the total area was enclosed in any one county.
The average for the midlands was about five per cent. The
criticisms of contemporaries were juiitified in many respects,
but it would be a mistake to suppose that the social problems
of enclosure involved at that time any large area of land in
any sii^o portion of England. The extent of enclosure be-
tween 1600 and 1750 is problematical, but very detailed
studies of the land-tax assessments for the County of Oxford
present results which are probably characteristic. The
county is fairly representative for the midlands generally.
In this county, 37 per cent of the arable area was enclosed
ultimately by act of Parliament; 53.6 per cent was enclosed
prior to 1758. With an allowance of 9 per cent for enclosures
prior to 1600 more than 40 per cent of the arable area would
be left unaccounted for except by enclosures between 1600
and 1758. In Oxfonlahire, at. leaat, it Ls safe to say that as
much land was enclosed between 1600 and 1758 as subse-
quent to 176S.
The period that inter\'cned between the early movement
and the parliamentary enclosure was thus characterized by
EuijMde^ ai^ amount of enclosing that beais significant
Dtu pMiiai comparison with the later movement But less
than one third of the townships of the county were entirely
enclosed in 1758. In this period as in the sixteenth century
EKCX06URE MOVEMENT AND LAND REFORM 431
the operations were carried out by lords of manors or by
various proprietors who were able to reach a private agree-
ment for the di^iiHon of lan<U which had come into their
hands. These operations thus resulted in a considerable
amount of enclosure without deetrujing entirely the open
fields and commons. The efifect of such enterprises was thus
leM serioua upon society as a whole. The lands of the larger
proprietors were separated from the lands of the small pro-
priutors, but this would not iuterfpre in any way with the
methods of agrictilture and mode of living followed by the
small proprietors of the village. The more important social
consequences of enclo.<mre would be confined to the compre-
hensive enclosure of all the lauds of the village. It is this
feature of the enclosures brought about by act of Parliament
that pvcs the mowmentsuch special importance in the period
subsequent to 1750. The private acts passed between 1750
and 1845 result«d in the enclosure of nearly DMin>ciioii«t
all the open fields' then remaning in England. *' ***" "•'<'•
These statutes completed the rearrangcmeat of the field
eystems that bad been begun in the closing years of the
fiiftecntb centuiy.
The special importance of enclosure in the midlands seems
to warrant the special emphasis that has been placed upon
the system of ciJture practiced there. But it should be
recognized that all the new sj'Btems of agriculture were de-
veloped by practical experience so that there is a certain
exof^eration in the implication that the desire to pursue
particular methods was the consciously felt purpose behind
the enclosing actinties of the earlier period. In the late
fifteenth century the enclosed land was pri- pNtunud
marily devoted to sheep pasture; Professor Gay •""•
believes that as much as eighty or ninety per cent was d&-
voted to pasture. Tweuty years later much more land was
devoted to arable agriculture.
The detailed hL<«tory of the movement at this period is
obscure, but it would seem that these changes indicate much
uncertainty of purpose. It may be that the midland s>'Htcm
was a compromise between tlie desire to secux^ th.«i ^^-ik\c(^
232
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
I
land that was particularly profitable for shccp-nuamg and
the necessity of having enouf^ grain to maintain the popula-
tion. The dearths that were a feature of the sixteenth cen-
tury may well have been a result of a disproportion in the
amounts of land de^'oted respectively to pasture and tillage.
1I.W lyttmn "^^^ correlation of these two puqjoses of Eng-
•iiymiT •■tib- lifih agriculture was accomplished in part by the
midland system and in part by the introduction
of the root crops. Theee new cropa took their place in the
rotation sj-stems that devdopod and afforded additional
facilities for the rearing of stock that were of great moment.
The new agriculture thus provided for some measure of com-
bination of arable agriculture and stock-raising, but the
result was achieved only by much experimentation with no
higher ideal in view than the maximum net revenue from the
land.
n
The simplest form of enclosure was what is termed enclos-
ure of "waste"; "waste" land was unimproved land, usually
woodland or marsh. Such land was used in a
degree for pasture of swine, especially beech
forest, and the villagers had certtun rights in the use <rf
woods with reference to collecting fallen branches or the cut-
ting of small firewood. The lord of the manor was thus under
obligations to the peasantry, and, though he was in a measure
possessor of such "waste" land, he could not do what he
choae with it. His action was restricted by the rights of the
villagers and he was not allowed to improve such land for his
own benefit if the pasturage of the peasantry would be un-
duly curtmled. Subject to this qualification the lord of the
manor might enclose such waste as he chose.
Land that had become a part of the general possessions of
tie village, whether as open arable fields or as common pas-
lughii af turo. nnght not be enclosed without the con-
**°^"'' sent of all the owners. Obviously the collective
owners must be deemed to have a right to rearrange their
holdings. They would have the right to choose between an
'Wut«"
ENCLOSURE MOVEMKO- AND LAND REFORM 833
arranRpment in scattered strips and a similar amount of land
in solid blocks. The open fields were subject to certain graz-
ing rights in the fall after the harvest, but it must needs be
within the power of the collective owners to renounce these
grazing rights over each other's land. It was usually pre-
sumed that the \'iUager8 would have cattle in proportion to
the extent of their holdings, so that the larger proprietors
would have relatively more cattle. This was not the case.
The poorer \'illagers had a disproportionate number of cattle,
and they would thus lose more by the renunciation of grazing
tights. For this cause as for others it was usually difficult
to bring the smaller proprietors to any a^cemcnt for the
enclosing of lands.
Enclosure by agreement was usually the result of a deal
between the larger proprietors of the village. If by the
natural course of events the strips in a fpven BociMm b^
field came into ihe hands of the lord of the •«»•«»"«
manor and one or two of the wealthier villagcre, they could
agree to rearrange their holdings so that each would have
contiguous strips, and, as the land was no longer subject to
redistribution, there was then no obstacle to the enclosure of
the respective portions of land. It can be readily imagined
that events were not always allowed to follow their natural
eouree. If some one or two recalcitrant small proprietors
still had strips in this field that was the subject, of interest
to the lord of the manor, it was quite possible that various
kinds of pressure might be brought to bear to induce them to
sell. "A steward," writes a contemporary (Edward Law-
rence, Duty of a St£ward to his Lord)
should not forget to make the best enquiry into the disposition of
any freeholders witliin or near any of his brdship's Manors to sell
their brill*, thmh« may use his best endeavors to pur-
chase them at as rcaaonahlo price as may be for his '''"
Lord's advantage- ■ . ■ Especially in nu^ manors where improve-
ments are to be mode by enclosbg commons and common fields.
If the freeholders cannot all be persuaded to aell, yet at least an
aKreement for enoloaing should be jiushed forward by tliu stcwurd.
The steward should endeavor tu by all the snail farms, let to the
poor, indigent people, to the great ones. But itisvu\<ii\afeXK>\ai&ib
INDUSTRUL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
farms all at oaoe on account of the odium and tho increase of tho
poor rat«s. It is more reasonable and popular to stay until such
fanna fall in by death. To facilitate this, noblemen and gentle-
meo should endeavor to convert copyhold for Lives to leasehold for
Uve8.>
The recommendations of this handbook for stewards are in
no respect unseemly, involve no downright injustice to tho
pea5antr>', though they cleariy favored the ungenerous policy
of changing the more secure to tcss secure tenures.
The oppnrtunitiRs for the abuse of power were large; prw-
Bure could be exerted upon tenants who held land under tho
AboM at DowM ^^^ precarious tenurea, a peasant's substance
could be joopardized by lawsuits, and many
could be intimidated by threats of lawsuits. Misfortunes
could be utUized to the lord's advantage. These practices
could hardly be carried out on any great scale in a particular
locality, but a peasant who was the unfortunate possBssor of
land that was strategically situated with reference to his lord's
farm mi^t well find hunself in a thoroughly unpleasant posi-
tion. Large acts of inju-stice to a class could hardly be done
in such a complex manner, but many acts of indindual ia-
jiistice were undoubtedly committed.
The method of accomplishing these earlier enclosures was
thus likely to confine them to portions of the village lands.
PtMcdenti In UuaDimou!> consent is difficult to obtain if any
FviiaiDMu considerable number of persons are concerned.
The possibility of a more expeditious procedure was not at
first perceived. In 1606-07 an act of Parliament was passed
providing for the enclosure of waste in certain manors of
Herefordshire. The act was carefully restricted and seems
to have been associated with special circumstances which
prevented it^ being drawn in consequence as a precedent.
An act of 1GG4 proWded for the enclosure of portions of the
Forest of Dean and parts of the New Forest, but this ngfiin
seemed to present a special case. In the reign of Anne there
were two enclosure acts, in 1709 and 1713, both providing fco*
the parting and enclosing of coumion fidds. These acts may
< Shier, C: Bngluh PeamKitrv md tit* BttOonn i^lAa Commm Fiddt, 1S3.
p
ENXLOSURE MOVEMENT AND LAND REFORM 235
thus be regarded as the betpnmng of the use of the act of
Parliament as a means of carding out a project for enclosure.
Sixteen acta were passed in the reign of Geoi^ I, and two
hundred and twenty-six in the following reign. The prece-
dent was thus r^idly established in the early eighteenth
century and by 1750 this device was brining the open fields
to an end.
The act of Parliament was a means of aocompliahing
enclosure without unanimous consent. The rights of the
minority were deemed to be inconsistent with ThMiyoftt*
the general interest and their refusal to roach •«i«w«««»
an agreement was rendered of no avail by the vote of Parliap
ment that public welfare would be best ser\'ed by the cnclo»-
ure. In theory there can scarcely be any objection to the
basb of the enclosure acts, and yet it was a theory that could
be abu^. Parliament was largely in the hands of the
landed gentry so that the interests of the various classes were
not likely to receive impartial and disinterested consider!^
tioo.
The consent of the owners of four fifths of the land was
required. The small owners were thus at a disadvantage
because they were voting as owners rather than individuals,
and in addition to this they were subject to alt the forms of
pressure that were in the power of the lord. The enclosures
of the period were the work of the large proprietors. Th^
reached a tentative agreement amoi^ them- Actad
selves, chose the attorney, and thu« defined the v^'*"*
general character of the project before they even called a
meeting of all the proprietors. The small holders had lit-
tle or no weight in determining the clauses of the act. One
must not forget the sinister influence of legal expenses to
the small holder. Id order to protect the property rights
erf all, elaborate legal formalities were requisite. The ex-
penses mufit need-s be home by the property and when the
amount of property invoh'ed was small the legal fees might
well exhaust the major part of the estate. Even with the
best of intentions it would have been difficult to do full jus-
tice to the small holders, and Parliament was not organized
936 INDtSTEL\L HISTORY OF ENGLAND ^H
sufficiently well to give effect to any clear policy on (bem
matters. Each act was a separate affair, assigned to a special
committee tliat might be conscientiouB or corrupt. Pro-
cedure before private bill committees was not carefully
standardized. Members were irregular in attendance and
careless in voting. The protection that the committee waa
presumed to afford the persona concerned, the guarant«c of
fair treatment, was not made effective. The poor peasant
proprietors were at the mercy of the commissioners, and
indirectly at the mercy of their wealthy neighbors.
These details of the preparation of the enclosure acta have
received little attention in recent times and received even
AbDiei In Its3 attention in the eighteenth century. A
puuuaant sj)occh of Lord lliurlow in the House of Lords
is therefore of great significance. The speech is ^ven in
indirect discourse in the Parliamentary History as follows:
His Lonlship next turned his atlenlion to the mode in which
private billa were permitted to make their way through both
bouaes, nnd that in nmttere where property was concerned, to the
grmt injur}' of many, if not the total ruin uf some private families:
many proofs of this evil had come to hie knowledge aa a member
of the other house, and not a few ia his profciwional cai-eer. H«
did not recollect the twentieth part of them, but he could not for-
bear mentioning a few. Through hi8 profe.ssion he had learned that
there woe a family of the name of Gardiner, in Walej), whieh had
been stripped of ite whole property by the compendious and certain
operation of .1 private; bill (riK'loaurc}. Thw surely must have pro-
ceedod from a criminal inattention. lie believed he might point
to one source of the evil, he rae-ant the facility, or rather rapidity,
with which privato bills were hurried throu)i;h Committees of the
other House, where it waa not infrequent to decide upon the merita
of a bill which would affect the property and interestRof ppn*fin.'*ir»-
habiting n district of several miles in extent, in less time than it
took him to determine the propriety of issuing an order for a few
pOUIKlfl.'
This speech evoked replies from various members of the
Lords, but the utmost extent of the criticism of the facts
presented was the genera! declaration that serious cases oS
' Tilt Partiamtntary Hinors of England from (Ac earlictl pmod (o At ytar
1S03 (Lumdon, 1SI4}, xxn, 5tf.
L
ENCLOSURE MOVEMENT AND LAND REFORM S37
injustice were infrequent. No evidence was presented to
meet the main charge of Lord Thurlow, that procedure in
committee was scandalously lax.
The opportunities for diilerencee of opinion in the inter-
pretation of proprietary rights were very great. The ri^ts
of common were particularly involved, and at p,obieiM
times there might be serious difficulty in the """'*
proof of claima to arable. Ilic proposal to enclose made it
essential to discover the precise nature of all titles to re^
property, and, inasmuch as many titles were defective, the
canvass of ri^ts in the strict sense would be to the disad'
vantage of existing holders. These discrepancies bctweeo
ri^ts enjoyed and rights possessed by clear title were most
serious with reference to the use of the common pastures.
The cottfigers had long been accustomed to put more cattle
out to pasture than they were strictly entitled to send out.
The WMJthier villagers made relatively less use of these com-
mons than was usual in the period in which the strict legal
rights were defined. Forage crops were more largely used
than in the early period, and the rich usually had some en-
closed fields which they were able to use exclusively. To-
ward the close of the eighteenth century, therefore, there had
come to be a wide divergence between the rights of commoo
and the use of the cimmona. Strict insistence upon the letter
of the law would amount to substantial dispossession of the
poorer members of the \i)lage, and unfortunately there was
a disposition to adopt the narrowly legal interpretation of the
right-s of property that were to be recognized in the award.
Apart from this matter of determination of titles, one other
aspect of enclosure was a serious menace to the well-being
of the poor. It was not essential to the larger purposes of
enclosure that the common fields be entirely broken up. At
least portions of the common pastures mi^it have been left
tinencloeed, without in any rtspect defeating the objects of
enclosure. It wa:; nut uece»sary to ati^uiuc that all proprie-
tary rij^ts, whatever their nature or extent, Q^j^rfthi*
must bo converted into terms of arable land.
Tlie policy adopted was on the whole more favorable to the
CS8 INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OP EXGLAND ^^
wealthy, but it is not clear that this viev was adopted with
any deliberate disregard of the larger problems of states-
mniwhip
*n» general mistakes of policy were probably the result of
indifference rather than consciously selfish class interest.
The growing dislike of the old open-field Byatem with its com-
mons might well lead to the disposition to do away with the
whole tangle of righta. Encloaure was regarded as a great
improvement in agricultural method, and, as the common
pastures were one of the least successful features of the sys-
tem from a technical point of view, it is not surprising that at
the outset, scarcely any one advocated the retention of com-
mons, in whole or in part. The oommona afforded acant
forage at the best; they were merely wild pastures; they were
frequently, if not usually, overcrowded, so that no beast
could secure a full ration. The comparison with the enclosed
pastures that existed were wholly to the disadvantage of the
commons, and one might well argue that the interests of so-
ciety required that the land should be utilized in the most
effective way.
The social consequences of the destruction of all the com-
mons were not foreseen in any targe manner. It was well
AetUsuoua understood that enclosure might result in an
'^•'*** increase in the poor-rates, but each locality was
dispoeed to assume that this situation would be temporary.
Those who were dislodged by the change would ultimately be
absorbed in other occupations or other regions. In a measure
this was true, but the poorer members of the open-field vil-
lage suffered a real social displacement. The classes that
constituted the chief source of supply of hired labor were UfH
rooted from the soil which had formerly afforded them partial
maintenance. As cottagers or squatters with a small garden
and a cow, these people were not wholly dependent upon
their wages as hired laborers. Continuous employment was
not essential. The enclosures deprived them of the com-
mons and thus made it impossible for them to keep a cow.
The expense of enclosure was likely to consume the greater
part of the garden, even if it bad been possible for them to
■
L
ENCLOSURE MOVEMENT AND LAND EEPORM iS9
prove title. This class of cottt^ers thus tended to become
an agricultural "proletariat," entirely dependent upon
wages, and so poor that they would be dependent upon oon-
tinuous emplo>Tnent.
The lota of all righta of pasturage was particulariy serious.
In many districts it became practically impossible for the
poor to get milk even if they had the means.
The only dairy herds were those of the wealthy.
The pro6ts of a retail diatribution of milk wera small, and
the notion of doing such a thing rdatively new. Many
owners of herds simply refused to peddle milk, and in such
communities it was not possible to buy it. By force of cir-
cumstances tea became the staple drink of the poor; even
young children were put on a diet of tea. The effect upon
the health of the population can scarcely be imagined, and
these unfortunate results of enclosure contributed some of the
darkest features of a period that must be regarded as pecul-
iarly diatrcssinji from the point of view of social well-being.
When Parliamentary enclosure had already made exten-
rive iru-oads upon the open fiekls and commons, a few writers
called attention to the unfortunate effects that Tounc-i
would result from a comprehensive enclosure, vtopo-i
Arthur Young, in a pampUet of 1801, advocated the reserva-
tion of sufficient common pasture to assure pasturage for the
cattle of cottagers and squatters. Such land or right of
pasturage was to be inalienable, a definite appurtenance of
the cottage. When land was not available for this purpose he
nocnnmcndcd that it be leased by the pari.sh. There can be
DO doubt but that these problems could h&vo been met Basity
at the time of enclosure had there been sufficient foresight.
In a few cases a truly enlightened policy was actually fol-
lowed; but, in the main, the narrow view was taken. This
was probably one of the most calamitous errors of social
policy in the lepslation of Oie period; more unfortunate even
than the poUcy adopted toward the poor, because this failure
to appreciate the position of the cottagers was in targe meas-
ure responsible for the great increase in poverty that marks
the close of the eighteenth century and the early nineteenth
century.
_J
S40
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
^
m
In the course of the last centxiry some attempt was made
to correct the mistakes made in the enclosure acts. The
pastures could not easily be restored; at all events Uttle
attempt appears with reference to the establishment of small
areas of common pastxire. In later enclosure acts portions
of the common pasturee or lands have been reserved for
public use, but parks and playgrounds have usually been the
object contemplated in these reserv'ations. The village has
become au annex of the industrial town and breathing-space
for humans baa become more important than grazing-land.
But it has bocn possible to get the farm laborer back to the
land by giving him a garden plot and some reasonable hope
of securing a small holding if he should desire it.
In this connection it is necessary to recognize that there is
a fundamental distinction between the ' ' allotment " or garden
Aiiotnenu uid pl"t. a^d the "small holding." The garden is
mmu hoidiiia merely supplementary to some other occupation,
a resource for the hired agricultural laborer, or for artisans
and K)i{)pkeepers. The small hol<£ng is presumed to furnish
occupation and maintenance to the bolder and his family,
and, ordinarily, all the work of the holding would be done by
them. Allotments arc therefore relatively small, ranging
from one quarter of an acre to ten acres. The smallest allot-
ments would thus be mere kitchen gardens barely sufficient to
supply the green vegetables for the family, and not requir-
iuK enough work to more than till the spare hours of a man
pretty steadily employed. The larger plots, ranging be-
tween five and ten acres, would doubtless be the main oe-
oupation of the holder, other work being subordinate and
casual. Under modern conditions such a holding would
probably be devoted in part to raising some specialty for
the market. There would be no sharp distinction between
the allotment and the small holding beyond the relatt%'e
degree of dependence or independence upon other employ-
iiH-nt. In the beat market-gardening districts ten acres, or
even loss, might well occupy a man's full time; in other ro-
ENCLOSURE MOVEMENT AND LAND REFORM 341
gions, a much lai^er area would be necessary to occupy and
Ruint^ the family. The distinction is therefore based
upon the economic results of operation rather than upon any
mere number of acres. But both phases of this back-to-the-
land movement are intimatdy related; if the hired man has
a garden he has some opportunity of improving his podtion,
gradually increasing the size of his plot until he becomes
practically if not completely independent of other occupation.
Allotments were »o closely r^ted to the welfare of the
agricultural laborers that th^ importanoo was recognized
almost as soon as the problem was created, gnij
Some of the landed gentry made experiments •"««•<•
with allotments on their estates. These private philan-
thropies began at least as early as 1770. The motives were
in part set&sh, as it was rect^nixed that the laborers were less
likely to become a charge upon the parish if they, bad this
meana of supplementing their wages. At the same time one
must regard the.se attempts as evidence of genuine solicitude
fin- the welfare of the laboring population, and as an indicsr
tion of the quality of statesmanship displayed by the leaders
of the aristocracy. In 179S a society was founded for " Bet-
tering the Condition and Increasing the Comforts of the
Poor"; its main project was the encouragement of this allot-
ment policy. In 1806 some provision was made for the labor-
ing poor in the enclosure act for Great Somerford (Wilts);
and in the period following the NiqK>leomc wars Lord Lans-
downe carried out a project on certain of his cntatea at Calno
with such success that the same policy was greatly extended
on his properties. Neighboring landowners followed his
example, and nearly one hundivd acres were devoted to such
purposes in the vicinity.
The Foor-Lan-s of 1818 and 1831-32 empowered pariah
authorities to enclose waste lands and let them to the poor in
portions of not leas than one rood nor more than
one acre. The new Poor-Law of 1834 and the '^'^'*^
general Enctoflure Act of 1845 made some provision for such
allotments, but the chief prepress was the result of private
initiative. These acts were penniitsive rather than compul-
J
i«r INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OP ENGIiAND ^M
Bory and were therefore significant in those districts only that
were dominftted by well-intcntioncd landlords. During the
decade, 1S30-40, the Laborer's Friend Society was active Id
this propaganda, disseminating information and ut^g land-
lorda to adopt this policy. The sodety established sev-
enty-foxir hundred allotments on its own responsibility; usu-
ally renting the land and subletting to the laborers. In the
period between 1843 and 1868 there was a great extension
of allotmcuts, though there were many regions in which the
poUcy made no real headway.
The first general act wholly devoted to this problem waa
the Statute of 1882, but this act should be regarded as a cuU
jLct* at tssi mination of the movement rather than the be-
ud 1887 ginning of reform. Hasbach even says that the
problem of the agricultural laborer was largely solved in the
period 1830-80; meaning, no doubt, that allotments had
become the rule rather than the exception. The statute was
Deoessary to meet the needs of districts in which the obsti-
nacy of particular landlords stood in the way of atlequate
provision for the needs of the agricultural laborers and arti-
flans. The Act of 1SS2 was for this reason a failure. It waa
merely permissive, and the movement had already pro-
gressed as far as was possible under a pormisavc policy,
lb* MnpoiMcj "^he compulsory principle was introduced in
v^^fi' 1887; landlords were required to sell or lease
land needed for these purposes. The statute marks the be-
ginning of a new phase in the social legislation of Great Brit>-
ain. For the first time, members of the aristocracy were
compelled to recognize the superiority of the needs of the
community in which they lived over their vested interests.
Many had always felt these higher obligations, but it was
becoming increasingly clear that the reoi^nisation of Eng-
land could not be accomplished by the spontaneous actiWtiee
of the best elements of the aristocracy. The principle of
compulsion that was apphed to this snoall problem has been
gradually applied in a constantly widening field, and the no-
tion of the superior claims of the general social interest has
thus become embodied in much important legislation.
EXCLOSUaE MOVEMENT AND lAND REFORM SU3
llie opponents o( these reforms have been dlqioeed at
times to declare that the acta were unneceesary because the
demand for allotments does not seem to be very n* ■<»»»■
great. The officials charRed with the adrainis- p"*^"""
tration of the acts are less inclined to measure the importance
of the acta by the mere quantity of land affected. In the
case of allotments, particularly, the extent of the movement
subsequent to the statute is no real index of the need of the
act. It is fairly evident that the main work of reform had
taken place prior to the oompulsory statute; its work was the
eompletioa of a reform already far advanced. The Act of
1887, too, was not wholly suited to the needs of the problem.
The procedure was complex and there were opportimitios for
the exertion of an unfortunate pressure upon the laborers.
Landlords who were definitely opposed to the policy could
Btill exert a repressive influence that might even stifle all
appearance of demand for allotments when a genuine de-
mand really existed.
The small -holdings movement presents a more complex
problem of policy. There is a difficult question connected
with the appropriate size of the profitable unit if ,ed fot moui
of exploitation. The desirability of allotments ''°""°«* '•*•
was undoubted ; the expediency of the small hold-
ing was highly questionable until the beginnings of the great
changes in the organization of English agriculture that were
tiie lesult of foreign competition. After IS80 whcab-raiong
became much less profitable because of the opening of the
American markets and the greater severity of competition
with southern Russia- The large farm devoted to grazing and
wheat-rai^g was no longer the best unit of exploitation:
crops and methods must needs be changed. The develop-
ment of hi^y specialized famung and of market-gardening
altere<l the economic conditions tliat had dominated English
agrictilture for more than a century: the small holding, that
had been without clear advantage, became a significant pos-
nbihty on many types of soil. The smaU-holding;!5 problem is
thus an agrarian rather than a social question. Some legal
problems are involved, because there was not enough mobil-
*
244 INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
ity of real property to insure freedom of competition among
the difFerent usee, but it is a mistake to approach tim ques-
tion as if it were primjirily a matter of purely social expedi-
ency. This error was made by nearly all the early advocatea
of small holdings, and recent literatxire is not entirely free
from these inherited misjudgments of the nature of the ques-
tion.
It must be admitted that there are grounds for supposing
that there are consequences of peasant proprietorship that
rMMii are socially desirable : the existence of a consider-
>•••*•**• able number of cultivating owners to constitute
the backbone of an agrarian middle class is undoubtedly
favorable to genuine democracy. The yeoman farmer can
rightly be r^arded as one of the bulwarks of English free-
dom. It is not wholly clear that the beneficial aspects of this
situation are wholly dt^pendent upon ownership, but if the
profitable unit of exploitation were small there would doubt-
less be a fair proportion of owners. The terms of the lease
may be particularly unfavorable to the tenant, and equally
unfavorable to the best interests of society; the two defects
arc likely to be closely identified. Leases may discourage
improvements and place a premium upon wasteful and un-
intelligent culture, but these difficulties can be remedied by
altering the terms of the lease.
The earlier literature of the small-holdings movement,
however, insisted upon two propositions: that the small hold-
Procrun ot tiM ing was a more profitable and expedient unit of
ntonun agricultural exploitation, and that there was
a "mag^o of property" which would make the slothful dili-
gent and convert barren wastes into well-tilled farms. Even
Arthur Young believed that the conticiousncss of ownership
would call forth unvisual ener^es; "Gi^'e a man secure poa-
aeeaion of a bleak rock, and he will convert it into a garden,"
be was wont to say. But the better thought upon agriculture
at the present time would not support these views. There
may be some advantages of ownenjhip, but no such magic
power, and it is dear to-day that there is no unit of exploita-
tion that is intriutiically better than any otlier. The advan-
ENCLOSURE MOVEMENT AND LAND REFORM t*S
tages of lai^ and small farms are purely relative. Such
social advantages as may be dependent upon the existence
of small fanns can be secured only under economic conditions
that favor the smnH units, and in actual fact the tendencies
vary io direction. There are periods of transition from
smaller to larger, and from larger to smaller units. Agrarian
changes arc not tendencies in a single direction, as aeems
to be the case in industry.
The complex relations of this propaganda to actual prob-
lems of agricultural technique have affected the history of
the movement. As long as the reform was without ^gnifi-
cant relation to profitable agriculture the agitation bore no
fruit; once there seemed to be a real place for the smalt hold-
ing some l^islative provision was made to enable people to
get out on the land. The present achievements arc the out-
come of the work of Jesse Collings, who agitated the ques-
tion in Pariiament throughout the eighties. In
1SS9 he brouf^t in a detailed bill which v.ag re-
ferred to a select committee. After important altcrationa
had been made in the text, this bill became law in 1S92.
The act was defective in two respects: it contemplated peas-
ant proprietorship, and its administrative mechanism was
inadequate. The demand for holdings comes in huge meas-
ure from persons who have not the means to buy the land:
at present, when prospective small holders may buy or rent,
barely more than two per cent actually buy outright. Some
who may buy ultimately do not purcha.se the holding at once.
Events have thus shown that the emphasis placed upon own-
ership by the early advocates of the movement had no real
relation to the needs of the case. The machioory of the act
left all the initiative to local authorities, who might refuse to
act or merely allege that no land could be had at a reason-
able 6gure. The act was thus of no avail in districts in which
it did not commend itself to the landowners of the neighbor-
hood, though it wafl in such places that it was most necessary.
In the Act of 1907 the initiative is placed with the central
authority. The Board of Agriculture appoints two or more
persons to be Small-Holdiogs CcoumisiiJoners, who are charged
246
INDUSTRIAI. mSTOHY OP ENGLAND
"n* Act ef 190T
with the study of the demand for small holdings in the sev-
eral counties, and the oonsideration of the ex-
tent to which such demand can be practically
satisfied. If it is felt desirable to proceed in any tUHtrict, the
County Council is infonned and requested to prepare a plan.
In cose nothing Is done within a speciflcd time, a scheme
would be prepared by the commisnioners. The plans must
be approved by the Board of Agriculture in either ease. It
is thus possible to overcome local oppoaition. Land requisite
under such a plan might be hired, or bought; and, in event of
local oppoiution, land might be acquired by compulsory
procees.
It is atitl too early to appraise the results of this act. The
commissioners feel that there is a bona-fide demand for land,
though many point to the statistics of applications as evi-
dence that the demand is trivial. It would seem that much
deference is still shown to the large landholders, so that there
are many who lack courage to f^>ply. It may well prove to
be a less far-reaching reform than was anticipated by the
earlier advocates; one mif^t even feel some certainty on this
score, and yet it is a significant reform, both on its own ac-
count and as part of the general reform of landholding in
Great Britain.
CHAPTER X
THE INDUSTRIAL RE\'OLCTION
TiTE great transfonnation of induBtjy that became notice-
able in England toward the close of the eighteenth ceotury
was characterised by Blanqui in 1837 as the BiM«ai**
Industrial Revolution with the intention of «**»««»"««•
attributing to it an importance coordinate with the French
Revolution. "Industrial conditions," says Blanqui, "were
more profoundly transformed than at any time since the
beginnings of social Ufo." It is o\idcat that he desired to
explain the difference in the outlook of the nineteenth cen-
tury in terms of these two revolutions; the Political Revolu-
tion in France, the Industrial Revolution in En^and, each
in its own way contributing to a break with the past so com-
plete that it is diilicult for us to reconstruct the social life of
the old r^^me. Although Btaoqui's conception of this move-
ment is Buperdrial in some respects, his appreciation of its
epoch-making significance b just, remarkable even, when one
eoDsiders that he was writing while the transformation was
sUlI in progress and before some of the very characteristic
features of the change had revealed themselves. It is not
pos^ble fcff us to-day to add anything material to his state-
ment.
The renaiBsanoe of urban life in the eleventh and twelfth
centuries had brought about a great industrial transforma-
tion. The artisan was freed economically and oaw mcui
politically. The di\Taion of labor was carried w*^""*"***"
much farther than it had been carried in the ancient world.
Some genuine reciprocity of trade between the towns and
the rural districts had sprung up. Differentiation between
employers and wage-earners appeared in the larger indus-
trial centers. That period marks the beaming of a new
stage in industrial history, but medieval conditions were
after all similar to conditions in antiquity. The differenoes
vere quantitative, and even the quantitative differenceB
948
INDUSTRUL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
were not great. The era of the Industrial Revolution
brought with it changes that are more nearly changes in kind.
We are thus farther removed to-day from the appreciation
of medieval conditions than the medieval burgher from an
inroived hm oi adequate appreciation of Gneco-Roman life.
• bMak with The development of hlstorieal study hiw doubt-
less made our notions of the past more accurate
than those of medieval students. Medieval writing seems
to us to lack historical perspective; the tendency to assume
that there had been no eescntjal change seems palpably
absurd to us. They did not feel the Roman past as some-
thing distant. It was as direct and immediate as their own
experience, and so when Dante quotes Vii^l as if he were a
contemporary, it is possible at least that it should not bo
interpreted by us as evidence of lack of historic perspective,
but rather as an indication of the closeness of the ties that
existed between the Roman and the medieval world. Both
of these periods seem very remote to us, and it is only with
deliberate effort that we can reconstruct their life. The
.transformation of social life at the close of the eighteenth
ecjitury became a forbidding obstacle to a vita! understand-
ing of the recent past. It is possible that the nearness of
events makes it difficult to see things in their true perspec-
tive, and yet it does seem that there arc grounds for the belief
that this change was indeed a social transformation of greater
magnitude than any of the industrial and economic changes
of earlier periods.
Although the term " Industrial Revolution" was first used
in France, the mgnificance of the change was noted as early
I>Mtiai!«ni in England. The results of the transformation
* o««k«ii were keenly appreciated by most of the writers
of the decade of the thirties. In Gaskell, particularly, there
is clear consdousness that the old industrial regime had
passed away to be supplanted by a new order. lie cannot
believe that the change is for the better. The gain in pro-
ductive power was undoubted; that was as clear to him as to
the most enthusiastic admirers of machinery ; but the serious-
ness of thu new social problems was equally clear and the
THE INDDSTBIAL REVOLUTION
reeourcee of tho newly rcfonncd Parliameat seemed utterly
inadequate to cope with the social reoi^nization that would
be necessao'- The change is reflected in somewhat hij^ier
coloring in Carlyle's Pant and Present, and there is a similar
drawing-back from what seems like chaos and disorder, from
an impending plut»K'racy that seemed worse even than a
wcU-ordcred aristocracy. There were, of course, many who
looked only toward the conqueHt of nature by the machines,
but the magnitude of the event seems really to be more com-
pletely appreciated by those who felt the oew social problems
so keenly that their tone is pessimistic.
Both in France and in England the magnitude of the event
was soon perceived, but the nature of the transformation was
very iuadetjuately understood and some of these Hi«i«adio«
misunderstandings are closely associated with "■»»o«'^'>"
the phrase "Industrial Kevolution." The term has cap-
tured the imagination, and despite misleading connotations
it will doubtless hold its place in the literature of the sub>
ject, but interpretation becomes more and more necessary.
The earlier writers were so powerfully impressed by the in-
ventions in the textile indutitries and the development of
the steam engine that they usually referred to the inven-
tions as the prime cau»e of the great changes. The great
iaventions become more or less completely identified with the
Industrial Revolution. Blanqui tn France, and Gaskell in
England, both thought of the movement primarily in terms
of the great. inventJons, and this view has found its way into
many soeondary books. The \iew is stated in its usual form
hy Gibbins. "The change," he says, "... was sudden and
violent. The great inventions were all made in a compara-
tively short space of time. ... In a little more than twenty
yeare all the great inventions of Watt, Arkwright, and Boul-
ton had been completed, steam had been applied to the new
looms, and the modem factory system had begun." This
conception of the Industrial Revolution exhibits all the
higher forms of historical inaccuracy. The movement was
not sudden and violent: the inventions were an effect no less
than a cause: and the enumeration of the inventions omits
J
iSO
INDtJSTRUl mSTORY OF ENGLAND
characteristically the most revolutionary of the textile in-
ventiona — Crompton'3 mule.
Arnold Toynbee developed another conception of the
movement in the Lectures on the Industrial Retolutum, which
Tombcc'* were published after bis death. Industrial
MuuBpuoD development and the changes in commejcial
policy were both carefully described, but the rise of the lib-
oal economic thought seems to have had the chief claim on
his attention. S\rhe Industrial Revolution was thus con-
ceived to be more largely a change in economic thought than
in industrial organization. The inventions and the growth
of the factory system were made incidental to the new out-
look in theory and in commercial poUcy. Toynbee's efforts
must command much sympathy, for tJiey unquestionably
gave wider significance to the movement, but it is unfortu-
nate that BO much emphasis tvas placed on the lim of the
lots«ez-/aire theory. The events of the last quarter-century
have carried us all so far from the older notions of unre*
strained indindualism that few of us would care to represent
the "syatem of individual freedom" as the foremost feature
of the Industrial Revolution. The views of Toynbee dom-
inate Cunningham's Growth of English Industry and Com-
merce, but such proUems are not feUcitously handled by
Cunningham. The fine judgment shon-n in the treatment of
problems of research and minute scholarship does not appear
in such generalizations aa find their way into the text.
The \'iew of the Industrial Revolution that has occupied
the lar^st place in recent writing seems to ha%'C drawn some
Kmphuis Bpoa inspiration at least from the writings of Karl
caftiatuiii Marx. This view is in a measure an outgrowth
<A the earliest interpretations of the movement, but, in.stead
of stressing the mech&nteal inventions, emphasis is laid upon
the factory system and the growth of capitaU<^tic organization
of industry. This characterization of the movement would
be wholly adequate if the older generalizations about indus-
trial development were sound. If it were true that there was
no capitalistic industry in the earlier periods ; if workmen had
never, or even hardly ever, been collected in small factories, —
L
THE INDUSTRUL REVOLUTION 851
these characterisations would be commandin^y signUicant,
The facte are othervise. ' There was a steady growth toward
capitalistic industry bated on free labor throughout the
middle ages, and, in the clasMcal period, slavery had opened
up other modes of capitalistic domination. The ci^>itali8t
became more important at the time of the Industrial Revo-
lution, and the lines between the cmployinf; and the wago-
earning classes were more sharply drawn, but the phenomena
were not new. Even the factory was not new. The experi-
ments of the Tudor period in Enf^and and of the reign of
Louis XIV in France had not been successful in any large
sense, but they showed tJiat there was disposition to organise
mdustry in that manner. \Miat was new toward the cloae of
the eighteenth century was not the factory, but the oondj-
tions"deaiined to malte the factory adominantfonn.of.Qi:giE^-
zatiooT^Toemphasize tEe factory only is thus to leave out
'the miost notable fact of the situation.
No singlo formula can adequately describe the complexity
<rf forces and reactions that gave the movement its profound
fflgnificance. There were changes in the rela- it^j^^rtw
tion between industry and agriculture, readjusts
mente in the textile trades broufdit about by the rise of the
cotton industry, technical developmente in the metal indus-
tries which gave the whole group of metal trades a more
important place in industrial society. None of these trans-
formations were sudden: there were many reciprocal influ-
ences, so that particular inventions were at once cause and
effect. The development of a mochanical technique was of
the utmost importance in both textile and metal industries,
but the older writers simplified unduly when they ascribed
Buoh exclusive importance to single inventions. It is welt
ImowQ to-day that no great mechanical achievement is the
result of a sin^e invention, though some brilliant conceptions
will frequently direct endeavor bo fruitfully into certain
channels that we think currently in terms of the controlling
patent or invention. But every great accomplishment is
really the achievement of a group of inventors, and con-
sists of a series of inventions. In the period of the Indus-
252 INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
trial Revolution mochanical achievement vas roiatively
slower than it U to-day. The struggle of inventors was
more desperate, and relatively less iruitful in results. It is
therefore peculiarly important to think in terms of pro-
tracted mechanical endeavor whea studying the rise of
the modem mechanical technique of the textile and metal
industries.
The inventive efforts of the period were stimulated by
commercial changes and by the reahzation of the importance
^ of mineral deposits whose signifiRance had been
well-nigh overlooked. A Commercial changes
were relatively more important in creating the new ootton
industry': the iron and coal deposits were the direct incentive
to the fundimicntal metathc inventions. In seeking so-
called primary causes for the Industrial Revolution one may
conceivably choose any one of three: the mechanical achieve-
ment; the commercial changes; or phyaographic factors that
were in a sense the basis of both the commercial change and
the development of the mineral industries. It is viser, per-
haps, to abandon the »e-arch for a single cause, recognizing
that the interplay of factors was in reality essential. The
oommoeial changes that underlay the industrial transforma-
tion were not specifically associated with England; they
might have stimulated industrial development in France.
The intensity and importance of the changes in England were
due to the unusual conjunction of factors making for change
in a number of related industries. All the factors favorable
to change were present in England, and the conjunction of
factors did not occur in any other country.
The development of trade with India had brought to
Europe the fine cotton fabrics that bad been known casually
chAoiai In tba to the ancicnt world, but almost entirely un-
tMtut tradM known to the middle ages. These cottons ^>-
pealed strongly to the consuming public and made then- way
rapidly. The woolen, Unen, and silk industries all suffered
frcHu the competition with these new fabrics and attempts
were made to restrict the use of cottons by protective legisla-
tioiL The rcsuriction was carried farther in England than
THB INDUSTEUL REVOLUTION
US
on the Continent, and, though some measure of success was
obtained at first, the failure was the more complete in the
end. The protective barrier erected for the benefit of the
woolen industry fostered the grow'th of a domestic cotton
industr>' which found an element of advantage in the climate
of which no one had been aware. The cotton industry was
thus a now industry in every sense, and because it was new it
was wholly free from the restrictive influences of craft cus-
toms and Ic^ative regulation. It was free to adopt any
forms of organization that might be convenient and suitable.
The f?rowth of the cotton industry was the occasion of many
changes in the textile trades: changes in the relative impor-
tance of the various textile products, changes in the fotma of
oi^omzation, and changes in the technique of production.
Hie diaoges in the metal industries were largely the out-
wme of the attempt to use coal as fuel. The forests were
being seriou-sly depleted by the demand for Tii«i»rt»i
charcoal, and cariy in the seventeenth century i"*'**"**
it was clearly recognized that the iron industries must needs
decline unless other fuel were found and made available.
There was coal in abundance. At some of the iron workings
coal was bedded with the iron and was a necessary but unim-
portant by-product. There was thus a strong incentive to
use coal. The eariy exi>eriments of Dudley were a direct
outcome of such circiiniHtanccs. The difficulties were great:
mechanical and metalturgica]. Successful utilization of coal
would be possible only in an entirely transformed iron in-
dustry; an industry' with much more mechanical equipment
and more exact mctallur^cal knowledge. The great achieve-
ments of the Industrial Revolution were made possible by
several generations of patient endeavor in the metal indus-
tries, and thi.^ portion of tlie story of the movement has been
least adequately treated in the general accounts. There has
been a disposition to repaid these matters as excessively
technical for general treatment in economic history, but this
transformation of the nwtal industry is of fundamental im-
portance and it seems unwise to omit the salient features of
the development.
9B4 INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
As a result of these changes the metal industries became
much more sif^mficant than they had been for oenturies.
The B«« poii- "^^ ^''" effectfl of the change have appeared only
aoa of tbt netai in the last half of the mncteenth century, but
tndujMM ^^y ^^ undoubtedly a result and should be
regarded as a part of the Industrial Revolution. In 1700
the metal industries were of very subordinate importance in
all European countries. The textile group was by far the
moet significant of the general groups now utilized in classi-
fication, and among the textiles the woolen industries (i.6.,
both woolen and worsted) were for in the lead. The cotton
industry was of subordinate importance, almost negligible.
The l(>ather industrica were probably more important than
metals in France and in En^and, and thou^ in Germany the
metals were in all probability a greater factor in general in-
dustrial development we have no grounds for supposing that
metaU outranked leather even in Germany. The relative
position of the different industries in 1700 represents the
culmination of the general factors in industrial development
that became notable in the twelfth and thirteenth centuriea.
Throughout the long period of five centuries the textile in-
dustries had grown in importance as speciaUzed occupations.
All three branches of the old textile trades had shared in the
prosperity, though in znany waj's the woolen industry had
undergone the most considerable transformation. The de-
velopment of the ^Ik indi^stry was, however, a notable foSr
ture of economic growth in Italy and France; comparable in
magnitude and character of technical advance to the develop*
ment of the woolen industries in northern France, Flandera,
and England. The Industrial Revolution brought a twofold
dislocation: the rise of the new cotton industry resulted in
the subordination of all the other branches of the textile man-
ufacture to cottons — cotton was king; the reorganization of
the metal trades gave them an entirely new place in the social
order, raising them from a relatively low rank to substantially
coordinate importance with the textile trades. The changes
in the textile trades took place very early in the course of
the general movement, the rise of the metal tradee to their
THE INDtJSTRUL REVOLUTION
new pofiiUon took place only Id the latter half of the oine*
teenth century.
Statifitical c^-idence of these occupational chanRes is natu-
rally difficult to secure. Attention has already beeo called
to the absence of a sharp distinction between the scuimiui
industrial and the agricultural population, and J"""**'"*
for that rcaaon alone no complete comparison could be in-
stituted. Furtliermore, there are no enumerations of popu-
lation for the period prior to the Industrial Revolution.
Statistical demonatration is thus confined to the comparative
method, a means of reaching judgments that is sonKwbat
unsatisfactory and subject to many elements of error, but
nevertheless a more adequate basis for opinion than more
guess-work. Occupational statistics arc available for Great
Britain quite early in the nineteenth century, but the clas-
nficatioQS in the earlier decades are not satisfactory and
the enumerations were not very accurate. The figures for
1851 are the earliest figures that are thorou(^y , _, , , .
.... .n. ■ > .1 ... ^i, Enjluid fo list
aviulable. The groupmg of the population had
been affected by the Industrial Revolution at that time.
The new cotton industry was well established and some of the
newer occupations in the metal trades were bepmiing to be
important, but it is po6»ble that the relative portion ctf
textiles and metals had not been greatly changed at that
tjme, though it is certain that metiUij were a more important
group then than they had been for two centuries or more.
The figures for Prussia in 1855 are perhaps more character-
istic of the groupings of the people prior to the Industrial
Revolution. At that time scarce any great
changes bad taken place in Germany, conditions
were not very different from what they had been for at least
a century, and with reference to such a matter as the relative
importance of different occupational groups it would seem
almost safe to assume that conditions in 1S55 were represen-
tative of the period following the Thirty Years War. In so
far as it is wise to include non-European countries in the com-
parison, the results of the census of oocupatioos in British
India are particularly significant. British India m 1901 was
L
«56 IXDUSTRUL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
still predomiiuiQtly an agricultural country. The propoiv
tions of industrial to agricultural population must bear very
close comparison with the proportions for England and the
continent of Europe in the seventeenth and early eiglitccnth
centuries. The deniuty of population in India was greater
than in Europe, but wc have no grounds for supposing that
conditions were not comparable: the normal den^ty of pop-
ulation for India is considerably greater than the normal
density for Europe; both countries were utilizing all their
resources and there is therefore a very direct ground for
drawing a comparison between Europe in the seventeenth
and eighteenth centuries and India at the present time.
The subordinate portion of the metal trades is clearly ap-
parent in all three countries. Conditions in Germany and
Sdmit tMtiiM* in British India probably represent some of the
eittbsMhiM variations in occupational groupings that are
likely to be found in different places or in different stages of
what we will term the "medieval" or intermediate industrial
order. The large number of persons engaged in the p^ept^■
ration of food and drink in India would seem to represent
a condition that must be most charaetaristic of the earlier
stages of development even in this intermediate period of
industrial growth. One is tempted to draw comparisons
with the large number of persons enumerated among the
crafts engaged in the preparation of food on the Paris tax-
rolls of 1296. The three groups, foods, leather, and textiles,
were of about coordinate importance, each constituting
twenty per cent of the total number of persons enumerated.
It would thus seem that the crafts occupied with food and
drink arc among the most iinportjint in the earlier stages
of craft specialization. The importance of the groups con-
cerned with leather and wood in Germany is doubtless
highly characteristic of occupational groupings in medieval
Europe. The relatively large number of pcreons not speci-
fically classified U the outcome of the large number of sub-
sidiary emplo>'mcnts that carmot be brou^^t within the
modem classifications. Many iwrsons were concerned with
petfcnming various personal senioes, and, though these peo*
THE INDUSXaiAL BEVOLimON
9fft
OccoMTttntxL Gbotipinqs m Ehquhd and OKBHunr: 1S51 amd 1855*
i>nHria,lSU
ptrtent
total
q^pnnu
lotal
Foodt
1,720
378
366
833
322
287
166
GO
30
1,168
36.78
7.86
7.38
6.Q0
6.70
6.87
8.4S
1,04
.62
24.29
417
81
173
IIS
113
IBl
124
34.41
6 68
14 37
IJIMflm
9 82
CU7, stone, etc (buildiiigine.)
0.32
15 77
10.28
4,808
100.00
1,312
100 00
• Tha flcnna lor Sin^wid an from tba Caii«iu tor IStI, PsimWiim TMm, toI. d. |iait L
p. e. ThcfliuTH for Pni«U in Crom Dietmioi, StaiiMk iln prmiiudM SlaaU (Barllii, ISOt],
400. Tha itAtca oorend by tha BDumarmtion an; PmaMl*, Town, BrAadooburc. Poinaraiil>(
BUaua. Buany, Waatphalia. ud the Rhlas ProTlnM.
t ThiabswHasnlsniakUubWtotbapnpumtiaaoI too(lpmliioti,drinka,>BdMbMaa.
It uoludta »11 kfnDuItunl work.
BamBB Ikdu: 1001 *
Omr
Textiles, etc
Food, eto
Lutber
Metals and predous stones. . . .
Clay, stone, and building
Wood, cane, leaves
Ught, firing, forage
Drug?, (cams, dyes
Learned and artistio profesBions
Gooeral labor
Totals
TkntamdM
afptrtam
62,379
Pirent^
una
11,214
21.41
16,768
31.99
3,241
6.101
3,710
7.09
3,723
7.11
3,790
7.24
1,461
2.70
466
.86
4,928
9.40
3,100
6.92
100.00
• tmpTiai QoMtUtir <4 liiia (Oxford, 1B07), i, 490.
pie do not constitute an important class at the present time,
they were relatively important in the earlier period. Per-
sons engaged in the manufacture of wares that are composed
of mixed materials are difficult to classify, and, as these
tables have beoi prepared from tmclassified lists of crafta-
men, it has seemed safer to include under the general head-
858
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
:
ings only those craftsmen whose relaticm to the occupor
tional fETOup was uninutakable.
The occupational groupings at the bc^mung of the tfren-
tieth centiiry show the full measure of the changes brought
oroupiiica about by the Industrial Revolution. The Cen-
tal leoT-io guj, of Production in the United Kingdom taken
for the year 1907 reveals an iron industrj- of fully c(xirdinate
importance with the textile {pY>up. The net value of the
product is somewhat greater, the average number of persona
employed somewhat smaller. In Gennany somewhat less
complete statistics point to similar conclusions. The metal
trades seem to be of coordinate importance with the textiles.
In the United States the ceni^us of 1909 reveals an iron in-
dustry that v/as leading the entire field in respect both to
values of product and numbers of persons employed. The
new industrial order thus represents an entirely different
grouping of the industrial population.
These changes in the relative importance of the different
liiitiifcj wfri industries were accompanied by a general in-
***•"""' crease in the numerical importance of industrial
occupations as a whole. Prior to the Industrial Revolution
OccuPATiONAi. GaooMMoe js TBM Unitkd Kinodoh: 1907 •
Of<tp
Jiunt nf
Imw)
t
Food, drink, tnd to-
bftooOk ...-.>..-....
TttlJiM ud dotblng. .
AUmUb
Timbw
Laatbor
Pkpcr and priBting —
OMiaioAlii
dfty, stone, tud build-
ing
MioM and quMTiu . . . .
MisccllftDeoiM
FubUeutiUUea
Toteta
197
3S3
303
34
36
2U
53
49
28
3
30
1,028
ffniUifrnt 0/
Mttlma)
Par tml at
MalMlpkl
SOS
141 9
lU 8
31.4
8 6
33 «
31-5
«0 4
119.5
4.4
45.9
713-1
13.61
19 95
33 IS
3.03
1.32
4 73
3.03
8 40
Ift.SO
.63
6 46
100.00
Ifo. tf
4«3
2,000
1,653
339
SI
335
137
T25
065
4(1
342
6,984
PvnatW
«.M
38-79
33.67
3.43
1.30
4.63
1.82
10.40
13.83
.66
4.00
100.00
I iguMfc CooMwi Pbpmi. i»a-ia (Od. uao), en, i. il
p
THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
CocDPA-noNAL GnouPTxnB IN Gbmunt: 1907 *
an
Qfo^rpt
Pboda, fte.
TunOM ftad dothing
AUiBet&la
Wood, nunufaoturen of wood, and by-pioduetB.
LcAther ,
Paper and prjoting. ..,,,.,.,.,.,,,.,.i......
Clii^iiiiaJs, etc
StonR ond outh (inctudes " Qu&tri«"}
Building.
MilM>
Totali
1,239
2,393
2,067
864
206
438
173
770
1,IW3
860
10,662
Ptrttnttf
11.73
23 es
19.47
8. IS
1.96
4-15
1 63
7 39
14.80
8.15
IW.OO
• SMMU d— Dniudtm Stitkt. BvuJ 31*. 1. OttnrlititM auri^tMliiHt. t-O.
OoccpATiOKAL GaoupiNoa n* THB United Statbh: 1909 *
»M*
IWWM
ffTtml
Cm of
Volw of
produel
Ptrttnl
Ptnmd
addtd
by nnmr
411
1,437
1,779
907
309
415
77
337
842
1«6
520
6.2
21.7
37 0
13.7
4.7
6.3
1.2
3.6
5.2
2 S
6 0
3.187
1.741
3.313
714
609
451
136
857
183
in
748
3,fl37
3,0,54
1,682
992
1,179
674
1,430
531
416
1.470
19 0
11 8
26 1
7,7
4.8
8.7
8.3
6.9
3 6
2 0
7.1
19.0
43.0
54.8
32.5
61.7
72.4
Stow, day, mod ^ms.. . . .
39.4
es.4
57.5
49.1
6,«15
100.0
12,143
30,673
100. 0
• Canwu t* »10. nit. U, T*bl* T.
industry employed a much smaller proportion of the popu-
lation than agriculture. The conditions suRRCst^d by the
figures for British India and for France in 1866 probably rep-
resent the extremes: it is hardly likely that agriculture fu>
nished eniplojinent to more than 64 to 65 per cent of the
population of any maturely developed section of Europe prior
to the Industrial Revolution; it is equally probable that the
agricultural population did not fall below 50 per cent. Franco
was at all times possessed of important export industries, but
aOO INDtTSTBUL BISTOBT OP ENGLAND
OCCUPATIOITAL DlTIBIOire OT OHS POPDUnOIT
A. Cowttriet tut gifpiifiemtiy influmnd by the Indiatrial BeootvHM
British India: 1901*
Onap
Adminiatntioii bjuI defeme
Apioultun.
Fenonal, hotnehcdd, ftud niiltBiy servioe. . .
OftTB of UUDUdfl. ., ,,,,,
Eartbworlca and geoeral labor,
IVade and commoroe
Indiuti;
Misoeluoeoiu a. ,
Ttotab.
newOMda i|/ jarnu
«,eo7
191,601
10,707
8,970
17,963
7,726
61,642
6,911
295,222
Pa- (Ml
1.00
64.08
8.63
1.32
6.07
3.61
17.49
2.00
100.00
• /■w*iillOliiMMra^Jiid(>(Oll(>I<I.IKtT),L«Be.
Fbancii:
1886*
OMl«
nautmii of rtrtm
Pttml
7,231
4,647
972
909
62.2
33,6
7.0
7.2
13,849
100.0
• UnltM Slii«M>(«M dH RhhhhM OMraJ d> b J\W^ liM «r*iM l> J W<ri, 10OS (Ful^
IMCO, toDu I, !!• pwtia, p. SI.
B. Counlriet in vMA Ae inflvenet of the InduBtrial Rax^utioa appean in
a modente dtgree cnly
The Gbshah Ehfibb: 1895 amd 1907 *
Oviqi
I^mmtdi qf pMiM
189B
IMT
PmcuU
1SS6
1«DT
Agriculture
InduBtTy
Commerce
Peraonal service and artistic
pTofeaaiona
Fne profeflaiona and public
■once
18,501
20,253
6,966
880
2,098
17,681
26,386
8,278
792
2,626
Totala.
47,704
65,^3
88.78
42.45
12.64
1.86
4.88
100.00
31.72
47.33
14.84
1.41
4.70
100.00
• eutMiiAmM'jtmA/ar tttPmHtlitatUk (lUU, U-U.
IHE INDUSTBIAL BEVOLDTION
FuMci: 1901 AND 1906 •
■n
Oow
Thamaadt of vtrtmt
ArcMt
urn
IWB
imt
isoa
Fishing tmd agricultun.. . . ,
8,244
6,993
1,881
1,621
8,866
7,224
%068
1,626
44.0
S7.3
10.1
8.6
44.8
3S.8
10.5
8.3
Tn»*l.
18,739
19,773
100.0
100.0
• JUnlMi auUMtam (Pwb. MS), bm* i. n* partis p. K.
If Die. The figures for the United Btfttoa are not taafy oomparable u tba
unakJUed laborers an not Buffidentlr well daaaified. Maoy engaged in agii-
eulture or industry appear waier the general heading " DomeHtic and I^ncnal
Sarvioe."
C. Qrtal Britain, npmentiag tite most extreme t^eda ttfthe Indtubiti
RevolvHon
Gbxat Bbitaim: 1811 and 1821
•
Omp
rtoMdi tf familin
Ptrtmt
ISll
lau
1811
isn
898
1120
619
978
1360
612
86
44
21
8S
46
21
2643
2940
100
100
*Cmmt^fOmtBl«B^m,ISet,PeplJm^mrM^^,nLIl,s^tt1.p.td^.
ENOum) AMD Waub: I89I and 1901"
Onuf
TkmuimiM <tf pmamt
Artm
wn
ISOl
1801
imi
020
1,900
1,399
1,336
7,336
972
1,994
1,868
1,162
8,360
7.16
14.78
10.80
10.33
66.96
6.78
13 91
12 97
8.04
68 30
12,897
14,826
100.00
100 08
• Bciiwn, J. A. : a>«lMlw «f M«Ani 0***"-^ M4.
m' INDTTSTMAL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
the proportions shown for 1866 probably represent as hi^ a
proportion of indufltrial workers as can be presumed for the
preceding century. Even in the most highly developed in-
duHtrial sections, agricutture was thus the chief interest and
employment of the people. Directly or indirectly, national
wealth was dependent upon agricultural reHources.
Leading medieval industries with their specialized indus-
trial population were dependent upon an agricultiiral surplus.
nabMitef Much industry was really a by-«mplojTnent,
MtJ-wMi used by persona whose chief occupation was
'****** agriculture to supplement their income from the
land. Even when industry was a definitely specialized occu-
pation, the artisans were obliged to Uve as close as possible
to the farms which produced the necessities of life. No di»-
tinction could be drawn between bdustrial aud agricultural
resources. The extractive industries were of definitely sec-
ondary importance. The mineral resources of England were
thus of casual significance only throughout the middle agee.
The fertiUty of France, on the other hand, was the basis of a
great industrial development. In the middle ages, France
was the most highly developed portioQ of Europe, and eco-
nomically the most proeperous. Some of the Italian Repub-
lics enjoyed a high degree of prosperity, but this was not
shared by Italy aa a whole, for reasons that were partly poUtJ-
cal and partly economic. The cities of the Low Countries
enjoyed periods of great prosperity, but in so far as this well-
being had a solid foundation it rested upon the agricultural
wealtti of the country, and the easy access to the surplus
grain supplies of the countries of the Baltic.
The rise of the new metal industry during the Industrial
Revolution completely transformed the relation between
^gi,„^ ^ industry and agriculture. Industrial develop-
■ourceaand mcnt came to be dependent uoon mineral ny
sources and climate. Industry was set free from
its dependence upon agriculture, both as to the details of
location and aa to the extent of possible development. Indus-
trial wealth became, for the first time, antithetical to agri-
cultural wealth. The siguificance of mineral resources will
THE INDUSraiAL BEVOLUTION
be readily apparent to all, and this aspect of the miRratJon of
iiidustrj' from southern and eastern England to the north of
England and to Scotland was eoon appreciated. The coal-
beds of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Lancashire, and the
midlands afforded the power which was so necessary to the
new industrial technique. The significance of climate was
fully appreciated only at a relatively late date. The older
types of mill with stone walls, wooden floors, and relatively
httlc ventilation minimized the difliculties of a technical na<
ture. The workmen knew that moisture was favorable to
spinning and they secured a measure of empirical success by
diligent use of a plain watering-can. The evaporation of
water from the floor of the room is wholly adequate from the
Btandpoint of spinning and wea\'ing, though it is neither agree-
able nor healthy for the operatives. There was little exact
study of the relation of humidity to spinning and weaving
until the latter part of the nineteenth century. The new
steel construction had made the problem urgent, and at-
tempts to reduce bronchial and pulmonary diseases had stim-
ulated exact keeping of hunudity records.
The diflicultiea that arise from low humidity appear most
obviously in the development of free electricity in the rooms
of the factory. A somewhat extreme case is HooiUMrla
cited with reference to a factory at Glasgow. «"*" •<*«'<«
"The accumulation of electricity in one room in particular,
in which was a large caat-iron latlie, sliears, and other ma-
chinery driven with great velocity by belts, was so great,
that it was necessary, in order to protect the workmen from
unpleasant shocks, to connect the machinery with copper
wire with the iron oolumns of the building, and then when
a break in the wire was made at a quarter of an inch, the
succession of sparks was very rapid." " I have seen mills
of recent construction," saj-s Jtobson, "especially fireproof
mills, where every shaft, column, and beam of the fabric of
the mill was charRcd with electricity to such a degree that
cotton fiber stood out from the ironwork to the distance of
at least three inches, radially to the center of electric attrac-
tion." The electricity is usually developed by the friction
Sftt
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
between belting and pulleys and drums. The effect on the
manufacture is twofold; the product is inferior, and the costs
of manufacture are greatly incrcAsed. Electricity is devel-
oped chiefly when the atmosphGn! is dry, so that relatively
high humidity offers a solution for most of these difficulties.
Careful teirts made by Mr. Dobson of yams spun at 31 per
cent relative humidity and at 50 per cent relative humidity
EffMt M revealed a difference of five pounds in the tensile
■traaphefjOT strength of the latter. Number 40 yarn spun
at 31 per cent humidity tested 46.66 pounds, similar yam
spun at 50 per cent humidity tested 50.66 pounds. The
mechanical C|ualiUes of the yams are also affected by humid-
ity. Yam spun under relatively unfavorable conditions is
less even in sisc, and baa more loose fibers attached to it.
Much fiber is also thrown off by the machines as waste, and
when conditions are distinctly unfavorable as to humidity
the amount of waste literally clogs the machine. An Ameri-
can firm, for instance, found that it was impossible to use
in their mill a machine that could be operated successfully
in England. Low humidity thus results in positive break-
down of machinery unless the speed and character of the
work are modified. Climate thus becomes a deciave factor in
the development of the modern textile industry. Only the
coarser grades of stuff, whether cotton or woolen, can be
made when climatic conditions arc unfavorable. The finer
grades of yarn and cloth are being made more and more
largely in those districts whose chmate is favorable, and
there is reason to believe that to-day climate is at least of
coordinate importance with power in determining the loca-
tion of the major textile districts of the world.
Some writers are inclined to doubt the importance of cli-
mate, on the ground that artificial humidification presents
Aitifldai hn- a complete solution. It would seem that the
midiBcattaa placc of artificial humidification might easily be
misunderstood. Even when general conditions are favor-
able, some artificial humidification is de^rable, if not actu-
ally n(VTes.-yiry. One might even say that there has long been
Bome attempt at artificial humidificatioo in the mora impor-
THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
teff
taut textile districts. In sa far as there is novdty it lies in
the attempt to control this factor with scientific accuracy and
certainty. The use of the watering-can is as old as the spin-
ning industry in Lancashire. In the districts favored by
climate, more signiticaut results are possible with humidifi-
cation than in unfavorable districts even with the best appa-
.ratus. The difference in climate would thus seem to be one
'of the most nearly permanent bases of industrial location.
Although the subject is rather technical, the following
passage from Mr. Dobson's study will perhaps be of interest:
In making a oomparison bctwtco one district and another, as re-
gards its cApabilitie« for manufacturing, there are several points
which must be carefully weighed iii all c-a^tct;: the compuiMaet
first beiDK the question of mean tcmperaturo, the wnoni iwom
second, the extreme range of temperature to which it is subject,
and the third the weight of aqueous vapor per cubic foot of atotoa-
phere. I append a table of statistics with regard to the forf(;oing
conditions, and will endeavor to dethice the comparative values for
the purpose of manufacturing — say cotton spinning, in each case.
1 have taken official meteorological records of twelve parts of the
world — the 10th, 11th, and 12th beUig respectively, Boston
^laas.), Bolton (lancashire), and the district near Lille. I will pro-
ceed to show why, and to what de^jee, each is favored by it«
climatic peculiarities lor this particular indualrj*. I have given in
each case the monthly maximum and minimum temperature, and
the mean monthly maximum and minimum of ndativc humidity,
and. also, the calculated annual mean. The latter is of little value
as a factor in the problem, as, of course, extremes of conditions
of humidity would not iifTcct tttc annual mean; although one con-
dition or the other, or txith, mi^ht be very prejudicial to the work-
ing of the fiber. And I may state as a principle, that the less the
range of temperature, and the more regular the degree of humidity,
the better the conditions. Thus, for instance take the contmat
between Boston and Bolton. I find the highest mean montfily
htunidity in Boston to be H5 per cent, against Bolton, 93. 1 per cent;
the lowest monthly mean <% per cent, against one of 69 per cent.
Moreover, comparing the annual mean htunidity, Boston has 74.5
per cent, while Ikilton has 81.9 per cent, the contrast showing an
immense advantage in favor of Bolton. Again, take the range of
temperature — in Bolton it is 62.8 degrees, whilst Ln Boston it is
02 degrees. When the temperature in Boston is minus one degree,
the absolute amount of vapor in suspension would be practically
«8S
INDUSTRIAI. mSTORY OP ENGLAND
nil — about half a Rrain per cubic foot of wr; oonse<iuentIy when
the air a heated sufRciently to allow of Bpiiming opcratioiu! it woiUd
be absolutely neccasary, even for coDnderations of health alone, to
impart artificial humirlity. The climatic conditions of the district
near Lillc will be cecu to more nearly reeemble tliOBB of Bolton.'
Mineral resources, unlike climate, are a sEngulaHy capri-
cious basts of industrial location, and some discussion of the
Amkbuurot subject is perhaps desirable, test it be supposed
nittMiiUpMiu ti,at these newer considerations in industrial de-
velopment impose a rigid determination upon the world.
Apart from the changes that must always turn upon the
gradual diffusion of technique, the metal trades introduce
many elements of induistrial instability. The economic signi-
ficance of deposits depends upon conditions of utilization.
Deposits tliat are absolutely unworkable under particular
conditions may become of incalculable value by reason of
minute changes in processes of reduction and utilization.
Similarly, deposits that have been valuable In a given period
may cease to be of practical significance because richer de-
posits are opened up or made available. All of these possi-
bilities arc illustrated by Uie history of the Iron trade in the
nineteenth century. English ore-beds are in most cases mod-
erate in extent and richness, but ntuncrous and peculiarly
available because of the proximity of the coal. The immense
ore deposits of Lorraine and Ltixembui^ were well known
but were of low grade and contained enough phosphorus
to render them almost valueless. The basic modification
of the Bessemer process made it possible to utilize these
deposits. Simultaneously, extraordinarily rich deposits of
pure Bessemer ore were discovered in the Lake
Superior district of the United States. These
two deposits of ore dominate the industrial world to-day.
The industrial prestige of England has been destroyed by the
rise of Germany and tJie United States. The dislocations in
the metal industries have occasioned real disturbances of the
general politicaJ and economic equilibrium.
There is no reason to suppose that other generations may
■ I)ob»sa,B.A.;HmiiUyinCManSpiWiiivOAuuibnUg, t901},lS-16.
Altrnpt cb«nsM
i
S
I
!
I]
I*'
So*
II
III
i>
If!
11
11
II
il
]l
s| js jif|<«,M|m
iSis
1^
iisfillllilfilfilllllilliii
8XSX8 a
SPSSIS 8
^"rf^
uxaa s
pessi! a
9
li^xaia s
•v-r--
e38{!ri s
a
Hi
8 8 8
i i a
8 B
8 8 8
I! 8 •
a - "
8 S S
8 8 8
II!
Ill
>: •« 4
88S
II-- I in ss
gar.
88e
888
i^tSS
-fl"
'sa
888
III ,
268
INDUSTRIAL HISTOHY OF ENGLAND
not witness dislocations fully as startling. There arc vast
deposits of ore in Neu'foundLand, rich in iron but at present
unavailable because of the presence of titanic acid. A dis-
covery, somewhat similar in general character to the discovery
of Thomas and Gilchrist, would produce important disturb-
ances in the iron and steel trade. The ore deposits of the
■Western world are coming to be fairly well known; there is
to-day some measure of certainty, but economic availability
depends upon many factors that are wholly uncertain. Sud-
den disptoccmentB of industry are thus characteristic of the
world created by the Industrial Revolution. There is less
stability in the present economic system than there was in
the system based on aji;riculture that was supplanted.
These disturbances of the economic equilibrium are com-
parable to some of the caprices of commercial development
during the middle agea and in the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries. Purely political factors were in many cases suf-
ficient to divert and concentrate in particular localities a
stream of commerce that was rather small in volume and
consequently capable uf finding adequate facilities in any one
of many localities. The instabilities of Italian commerci^
and industrial growth may be traced to such sources; alter-
nations of prosperity and decay in the Low Countries may
also be ascribed to political factors. The present relation
between economic and political factors is the reverse. The
■ni«b«UoM ccouomic change exerts an influence upon the
of po*« balance of political power. Thus, the Indus-
trial Revolution was a factor, not necessarily the sole factor,
in the loss of prestige by France in the course of the nine-
teenth century. Economic changes were a factor in the im-
perial prestige of England in the latter half of the century.
The economic rejuvenation of Germany has been of impor-
tance in connection with the disturbances of the balance of
power in Europe. The achievement of political stability
will be a matter of great difficulty as long as the underlying
economic basis of political power is subject to such momen-
tous changes as have taken place in the last generation.
p
TBE INDUSTRIAL BEVOLXTTION
The emancipation of industry from cliwedependenrfiupon
a local Durplua of food products has resulted in greater coo-
centration of population. The increased oppor- p^^^^
tuDitica for industrial employment created new
opportunities for agriculture. The importation of food
products becamo essential to some repona. They were able
to draw from a more remote frontier. Growth (tf popola-
tjon Id Europe and in England has thus been accompanied
by proportionate growth in the frontier countries. The in-
dustrial and the agricultural population became eeparsted
territorially, and, by this new division of labor, cxpauaion was
possible of which no one dreamed at the beginning of the
ninetoentlt century. The dismal forebodings of the ^lalthu-
dans seem very remote to us, and it is equally difBcuIt for us
to appreciate Liebig's feeling that the application of scientific
theory to agriculture would be of inestimable humanitarian
worth by reason of freeing the world from the prospect of
indefinitely incrcaang pressure upon food-supply. We have
become so accustomed to rapid growth of population that we
cannot enter into the older point of view without determined
effort.
The calculations of Gregory King (1693) may therefore
serve a useful purpose, presenting the best ,^^ ^^
judgment of the time upon the existing popula- '
tion of England and his expectation of increase.
Tiw Population or Esoland, its Histoht akd itb Fctcbb —
Greookt Kiko: 1603
1800 2,860,000
1400 3,300.000
IBOO 8,840.000
leOO 4,830,000
1700 S.BflO,flOO
ISOO 0,420.000
1900 7,350,000
2000 8.280.000
2100 9,205,000
2200 10,115,000
330O 11.000,000
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
Thb PoFDUiTiON or Emglind akd WAtEs: ITTO-lBIl
JMilBQlW bated on the iaptitiuil
rcputeri*
Ptrmmt
a,475,000
6,240,000
6,5&5,000
5,706,000
0,0&(,000
6,467,000
6,736,000
7.428,000
7,953,000
8,675,000
0,168,000
CmfMrtfwtu
1801 8,«92,000
1811 10.164.000
1S21 I2,0O0,0(H)
1631 13,HSI6,000
!8« 15.914,000
18fil nsri7,iX)0
1861 20,066,000
1JS71 22.712,000
1881 25,974.000
1891 29.002.000
1901.. .i....... 82,527,000
1911 38,070,000
ef Uu Antvrrt oM &«<■»>■ (C«iucu toaij. /Vrfiii^iury OtttnatUH*. nil. Tb>
r (ammlMt Itoat Scum publiilwd in Itn,
It will be obsen'cd that King's estimate of the population
for 1700 is slightly larger than the estimate made lat«r by the
census authorities in 1821, but the discrepancy is not large
considering the uncertainty attending all such computations.
King's rate of incrcaec was based on English figures for a
century or more, and while his materials were defective to
the last degree vo should hardly be warranted in declaring
his forecasts foolish. He expected the population to be
almost stationarjv The population of France has been in
fact about as nearly stationary as he anticipated. The dis-
turbing factor in his calculations wa^i not an error in the prob-
able rate of increase, other things remaining the same. This
was one of the many instances in which thin;^ refused to re-
main the same. The normal density of population for the
essentially agricultural civilization of the intermediate period
and the older expectations of increase ceased to lia\'e any vital
signiBcance for the world created by the Industrial Revolu-
tion. The expansion of Europe, in population as in influ-
ence, was one of the most unexpected events of history, and
Thf fhiBft^ these forces were mutit remarkably manifested
•"•'••* in England. The economic changes that made
this growth possible effected a complete transformation in
the outlook upon life. The sense of the limitation of human
THE mOUSTBIAL REVOLUTION OTl
activities by nature that cast a pontive ^oom over the early
nineteenth c«ntury has disappeanKl, and at the outbreak of
the Great War the confidence in human powers and the sense
of nia8t«ry over nature had reached a climax.
The Industrial Revolution was thus a revolution in every
sense of the word, except that of suddenness of transition.
But the extraordinary character of the trans- ■n,iBaamM
formation must in itaelf be sufficient to convince R"oiuiioo
one that such changes in the matters of doily life
could not take place suddenly. Particular machines can be
brought to public attention within a brief space of time; the
form of industrial organisation can be changed, though that
would inevitably require a longer period. But the Industrial
Revolution was more than any such formula could possibly
imply. The "Great Inventions" were merely a stage in a
long development of a new mechanical technique, neither the
beginning of the new order nor its culmination. The rise of
the modern factory system was only one of many results of
mechanical change, industrial dislocation, and commercial
development. The abandonment of the idea that the Indus-
trial Revolution was sudden involves a considerable read-
justment of chronology for the entire movement. The study
must be carried farther back into the past and continued
down nearer to the present time. The establishment of e^-en
approximate limits is obviously difficult.
There is a growing disposition to carry the beginnings of
the movement back to 1700, treating the date as an approxi-
mative roimd number. The date is wholly satisfactory
except for the metal trades, in which the abortive experi-
ments of Dudley are pretty clearly the beginning of the story.
This case illustrat^a the difficulty of finding the bepnnings of
a change in industrial technique. There are many begin-
nings, many meanings of new, many degrees of iwvelty in
invention.
Patent law is by oecefflity constrained to assume that an
Invention can be exdumvcly the work of an mdividual ; the
historian who gives heed to all the facts must needs admit
that most achievementa are not the work of a ^ng|e lodir
ens
DsDUSTRIAL mSTORY OP ENGUND
vidual. There is a difTerenoe between an inveottoQ aod a
mechanicat Rchievement; the latter phrase implies that the
aSeJi is practically useful. Now, an individual can certainly
invent something that is distinctly new, but it is rare that
any single individual can compass a notable mechanical
achievement by methods that are wholly, or even primarily
new. The larger acfaievemeuks arc the result of endeavors
StaiM in exerted over a perceptible period of time, usually
toreottM by eucccssive inventors. In the early daj-s of
mechanical endeavor, this preliminary struggle
is particularly long. The entire process of invention may
be diWded into three stages, which have a certain degree of
lo^al and dramatic sequence. The bepnning of everj- mo-
ohanical achievement must be a matter of pure conception.
Before any contrivance can be made it must exist more <a
less completely in the mind of its inventor. The conception
becomes entirely real when a small experimental model can
be built, but any one familiar with the history of any in-
ventive achievement knows how great may be the difficulty
of converting the model into a practicable device of com-
mercial importance. Many details of construction that are
of no moment in connection with the model may offer almost
insuperable obstacles to the building of full-sized machines.
Both aeroplane and aut^jmobile were seriously handicapped
at the outset by the inadequacy of the motor avail^le.
There was enough power to demonstrate the possibilities,
but not enough to insure reliability. Watt found it possible
to build a model of his condensing engine because all the parts
could be made of the softer metals and with considerable ac-
curacy. Smcalon, a contemporary engineer who was shown
Prtcticai the model, said that it was wonderfully perfect,
'''**^''** but declared that it could never be built, and
Watt's long struggles in the maiihine shop testify eloquently
to the keen appreciation of Smeaton for the difficulties of
en^pne-building. Cylinders could not be made of sufficient
accuracy of bore to work effectively, and every detail from
piston packings to valve construction presented an individ-
ual problem. The period of struggle with details of cod-
^^smi
THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION «7S
ction must needs be present in every mechanical achiev&-
ment: present in some degree before the full consequences of
the invention can be realized. At timca the interval may be
short, and the struggle not very dtHicult: Vi'hitney's cotton
gin and Crompton's mule afford illustrations of maohinca
that became economically Higmficant almost immediately,
but even in these caaes it was some time before the machine
reached a stable form.
When the technical difficulties have been overconw the full
measure of the importance of the original conception is re^y
achieved, and with this stage of development the cosmMdai
great financial rewards are usually associated. •««•"
The inventors who win great wealth are, in most instances.
Inventors who have participated in the last stages of the long
chain of correlated inventions so that they really receive a
tevard for the work of their predecessors as well as for their
own work. Arkwri^t's conversion of a model spinning
machine into a commercial success which made him wealthy
furnishes a perfect illustration of the poissibitities of deriving
benefits pretty directly from the efforts of others. In many
cases the connection might be lees direct, and mig^t be more
Deariy free from alt suggestion of imscrupulous exploitation
of other people's ideas.
The commereial value of an invention depends largely
upon the ease with which the idea can be utilized. The most
brilliant conception is of little immediate use if sawndtoi
it is weUnjgh impossible to embody it in an *n»«tew
actual machine. The commereial availability of an inven-
tion is thus measured in no small degree by the effort required
to make the eonception a reality. If it is po^ible for ao in-
ventor to make drawings of his machine, having ready at
hand firms of machine-builders capable of executing the de-
signs, the inventor is benefited directly by all the mechanical
achievement of a century or more of struggle. Hb innova-
tion can become immediately useful on a large scale. The
devices perfected by Professor Pupin to facilitate long-dis-
tance telephoning probably brought their inventor larger
rewards than the onginal inventors of the telephone 8ecvu<ui-,
«n
INDUSTRUL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
ftnd though it Beems iUofpcal that the subordinate invention
should yield larger returns than the principal invention it
should not be a cause for suqirise. The commercial value
of inventions thus depends in part upon the technical equip-
ment of society. The individual working in comparative
isolation may conceive great things and struggle patiently
toward their accomplishment, but the final accomplishment
must involve more than the efforts of detached individuals.
[The conception may be, indeed, the work of the indi\idual,
but the accomplishment is the work of society in its organ-
ized entirety.
The history of the Industrial Revolution is therefore some-
thing more than a chronicle of various lndi^'idual inventive
CnmniatiT* acliievcments J it is a record of the development
*<iwt of a new quality of technical equipment, and
the mechanical technique was acquired slowly and painfully
with the same successive stages of effort that appear with
reference to each single invention. There is thus a period of
conceptions, a period of struggle, and a period of achieve-
ment. The early eighteenth century was in general a time
of conceptions, experiment that were important, but for the
most part devoid of large commercial significance. It was so
in the metal trades, and in the textile trades; new things were
done, but no great results were achieved. The late eight-
eenth century and the eariy nineteenth century was the
period of struggle. The biographies of the inventors of this
generation are closely similar. Most of them are poor, and
few achieve even financial competence. The daily incident
of their lives is the struggle to realize great ideas with woe<
fully inadequate means, financially and technically. Begin-
ning perhaps with the decade of the thirties financial returns
become more usual, and in Sir Henry Bessemer we find one
Socuiwiatfi- °f ^h® fi™t inventors to acquire a truly lai^
rtdnai icoea- fortune. The latter half of the nineteenth cen-
turj' is thus the culminating achievement of
the century or more of effort that preceded, and though the
fortunes of the inventors of the period are due in part t<> their
qualities oa individuals, they are also in part attributable to
tbe
THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
275
tbe general equipment of society that has been so laboriously
created.
Treatment of the Indufitrial Revolution has frequently
Blighted both its beginning and its end; there is a great temp-
tation to presume that the struKles with tbe new technique
are alone worthy of serious attcntjon. It is easy to street
the early period because we know relatively little about it,
and because it is not always interesting to bother with ua-
successful inventions. The closing years of the nineteenth
century, on the other hand, seemed to be more nearly related
to the future than to the past, until the Great War made us
realize that we have been living through the close of a great
period in history.
It is quite unconventional to suggest that the period of the
Industrial Revotution should include the whole of the nine-
teenth century, but there seems to be warrant timcj«m«<
for it in many respects. At least some portion *• ******
of this generation of great achievements must needs be in-
cluded in the history of the Industrial Revolution if the nar-
rative of the movement is to have any fitting climax and
conclusion. This dating is thus defeasible on artistic
grounds. It b also defensible on scholarly grounds. The
change in the relative importance of the metal trades is most
certainly a feature of the Industrial Revolution. It is thus
reasonable to conceive the movement as incomplete and un-
finished until this change has taken place, and, as has been
shown already by the statistics of occupations, the metal
trades do not become fully cocirdinatc in importance with
the textiles until the close of the last century. Both of these
reasons are relatively independent of tbo occurrence of tba
[ War, so that we may feel some assurance in presuming that
the outbreak of the War will serve naturally as tbe line of
L demarcation in economic as in political history.
CHAPTER XI
THE EAST INDU COMPANY AND THE VESTED INTERESTS
The companies formed in England and m Holland to trade
frith India ultimately had larK<^r ^significance than the some-
what similar company of the Portuguese, because both
English and Dutch became connected with different portions
of India. The Dutch and the English became interested first
in the islands of the Javanese archipelago and the English
•H. — ^ ^^ ^^ became interested in the easterly coast <rf
conUnental India, a conne<:tion made peculiarly
important because of its relation to the textile manufactures.
It thus iiappened that a trade undertaken with reference
to ^ices came to have a profound influence upon European
habits of consumption and upon European industries. The
textiles were in the main cottons, but there were also types
of silks that had not been manufactured in medieval Europe.
The history of the East India Company is therefore a pecu-
liarly important chapter in industrial history because it
brought about the changes in the textile markets that were
a fundamental feature of the Industrial Revolution.
During the medieval period cotton and cotton goods were
known in Europe, but not generally used. Cotton was culti-
CottoDiaincdi. vatcd in Gpain by the Moors and somemanu-
•rai Swop* factures of cotton were developed by them, but
apart from their enterprises little cotton was grown within
the boundaries of Europe and little was imported. The
Venetians and Genoese brought small quantities of cotton to
Europe which was made into coarse fabrics, usually mixed
with linen. It was this cotton manufacture that spread
north from Italy into Switzerland and Austria, but at no
time did this type of textile become a significant competitor
of either linen or silks. Cotton manufacture of thus general
type exit;ted in England from an early date, but few detfuU
of the history of this industry are known to us. These fab-
rics were used only by the poorer classes of the population.
J
*
THE EAST INDU COMPANY fJT
The types of cotton goods now familiAr to us were produced
in India early in the Christian era, and became known to
Europe by repute. They were described by Marco Polo and
other travelers, but did not enter into commerce.
The determination of the approximate date of the signifi-
cant introduction of these &ne cotton goods into Europe is
of considerable moment with reference to the
influence of the East India Company's com-
merce upon English industry. The purpose o( the earlkr
Indian vo>'ages is a matter of special interest. The ships
carried out general cargoes of British and foreign goods and
brought back spices. Trade was lai^Iy confined to the Spice
Islands. In 1608 trade with continental India began. The
natives of the Spice Islands were not particularly eager for
English goods, but were particularly anxious to get Indian
textiles. The En^ish agents at Bantam wrote home: "that
the cloths and calicoes imported from Cambaya were in great
request and if the factories could be furnished with them
they could be profitably exchanged for pepper and finer
spices: the factors therefore reeommendecl that a trade should
be attempted at Surat and Cambaya; that two ships should
be employed to purchase goods at those ports to be sent for
sale to Bantam and the Moluccas, which would increase the
general profit of the aimual voyages." '
Tbeee recommendations met with the approval of the
Governors aiul in 1609 the ships sent out were instructed to
buy raw silk, fine book calicoes, indigo, cloths, and pepper.
In September, 1612, the first English factory was «stjU)li^ied
on the coa.st at Surat, apparently to give more stability to the
trade between the coast and the Spice Islands. The textiles
secured on the continent were used primarily as trade goods
in the Islands, though consignments were sent home. The
continuance of this sj-stem was interrupted by the strug^e
with the Dutch for supremacy in the Spice Islands. The
Dutch claimed exclusive rights of trade. They had secured
points of »trate^ importance, and, backed by significant mili.
tary force, they proposed to expel the English from the Islands.
' Bcuee: Jmalt, i, U6.
L
878 INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
The Dutch projects culminated in the massacre at Am*
boyoa in 1623. The small English trading post was raided
and all the persons found there executed shortly after on
trumped-up charges. It was alleged that they were con-
epiring against their Dutch neighbors. The necessities of
European politics obliged the Dutch Government to make
promises of appropriate reparation. Nothing was actually
done until the time of Cromwell, but the Dutch were forced
to abandon their monopolistic claims and recognize the exist-
ing situation in the lidimds.
These events made it clear to the East India Company that
there would be Uttle opportunity of expansion in the Spice
Ti)»cMt-«MM Islands, and, while it is difficult to be certain of
'"^ official motives, the establishmeuts on the cast
coast seem to have acquired a new importance after 1630.
The trade begun at Surat in 1612 was slow to develop on
account of the difficulties of transport from the interior, and
the famine of 1630 made it impossible to secure cottons at
adv'antageous prices. Eaat-coast goods could still be pro-
cured and the factories established there came to play a
greater part in the operations of the company. Tlie corre-
spondence of the company and its agents shows that there was
coming to be a real demand for Indian cottons, and though
indigo continued to be the chief importation from the con-
tinent of India the textiles came to be something more than
a superior kind of ballast.'
The first symptoms of distress in the woolen and alk indus-
tries of England appear about the tame of the Kestoration,
conpctidMi *"*^> ^o^i^S for 'lie slackness of the East In-
witii -njoiM* dian trade prior to the grant of Cromwell's
""" **"" charter to the company, this pre-ssure would be
essentially consistent with the development of the trade ol
the company. The nature of the competition that affected
the established industries was not immediately understood,
and the pamphlet literature of the period affords ample evi-
I Th« revords al ttie Eiu^h fnotcries in ludia. now ftrtulable in print for
the lint hnlf of the tovrnlecath century, nmke it poMihle to tra«o the develop-
ment of this rariy trftdo in b«cttt]«« in dotaiL Poster, W. : Tht Bi^Uth FaOariM
in India (Oxford, 1906-15}; S vols.
k
THE EAST INDIA COMPANY •»
denoe that the coosciousnesa frf trouble preceded approda-
tion of ihc underlying cause by a comfortable marKin. The
w(»o!en interest was prompted to demand protection, but
even the petitioners were very uncertain as to what the in-
dustry was to be protected from.
The first indication of clear understanding of the menace of
the East Indian commerce appears in a pamphlet of 1678,
The Ancient Tradea Daxiyed cmd Repaired Again, -j^^.
This loosely reasoned pamphlet contains a pas-
sage which refers to the clianges in con<%umption: "Instead
of green say," the author writes, "that was wont to be
used for children's frocka, b now used painted and Indian
stained and striped calicos; instead of perpetuana or shalloon
to line men's coats with is used sometimes a glazened calico
and sometimes a bengal." A few years later, in polonucs
between Sir Josiah Child and the Turkey Comi>any, the
whole situation was further cUscussed and the relation of the
East Indian trade to the pressure on theEn^h textile indus-
tries clearly recognized by both sides. One may conclude that
the vogue of the East Indian fabrics, cottons as well as silks,
bad become definitely established at least as early as 16S0,
though the more voluminous pamphlet literature is at least a
decade later.
The agitation for protection was carried on somewhat sep-
arately by the silk and the woolen interests; and of the two
pvups the silk weavers were the most active in p«iii»n» im
the early period. The protests against the im- **««"<">
portation of nlks and calicoes by the East India Company
were submitted to Parliament in November, 1680, and,
though there was some debate, nothing was done. This pe-
tition of the silk weavers, however, marks the beginning of
the protective policy that dominated English commerce and
industry until the establishment of free trade principles in the
middle of the nineteenth century. In 160G-97, a bill was
introduced to prohibit the wearing of all East Indian and
Persian wrouglit silks, bengals, dyed, printed, and stained
calicoes. Prom this date the industrial interests were ac-
tively devoted to the advocacy of proteQt.wft\;R>^*s>Kft.
INDUSTRL\L HISTORY OF ENGLAND
It will be observed that this protective system vaa founded
on principles that were in nearly all respecta di£Ferent from
the principles governing the policies of Colbert.
The French statesman was eager to foster new
industries. Parliament in England was accessible to almost
any suggestion that an established industry was endangered.
The Knglish protective system, therefore, was specifically
designed to maintain vested interests: it was directed against
the great transfonnatton of habits of consumption brought
about by the trade with India.
Somewhat has been made of the relation of these policies to
party politics. Professor Ashley has shown that the pro-
p«» ud tective policy was established by the \\Tiig8, and
that the Tories, or at least some of them, advo-
cated free trade. The tendencies of party politics admit of
relatively ample explanation. The charter of the East India
Conipfliiy represented an exercise of the royal prerogative of
which Parliament was always jealous. The cbarlvr could be
defended only upon the constitutional assumptions of the
Tories. The merchants interested in the company wero
originally Wbigsand remained Whigs until after the Restore
tion, though at all times the company had been obUged to
defend itself by appeal to the more extended theories of royal
prerogative. The company had always been dependent upon
royal favor. Josiah Child perceived the intimate depend-
PoutiMot ence of the company upon the predominance
tiM compuir of Torj' influences and at his auggestion the pol-
itics of the company were definitely changed, though not
without a serious conflict among the directors. In the latter
part of the seventeenth century, therefore, the Tories were
the supporters of the East India Company and the Whigs its
opponents. This alignment of parties, however, was more
largely due to personal and constitutional considerations
than to any conscious thou^t of the merits of free trade and
protection.
The problem of commercial policy bad occupied a con-
spicuous place in political discussion throughout the seven-
teenth c^tury, and, in a casual way, the doctrines associated
THE EAST INDIA COMPANY 281
with the mercantile theory appeared in the discussion. The
narrow formulation of mercantilism by Adam Smith haa
effectively concealed the actual complexity of motives that
underlay discussions of policy in this period. Consideration
of the East Indian trade involved all the larger problems of
commercial policy, and with a few exceptions the polemical
literature connected with the East India Company covered
the entire discussion.
Some of the notable mereantilistic fallacies were closely
asaodated with some incidental features of the trade of the
company. This is particularly true of the EipMt«f
aUeced identification of money with wealth by '*'*^°
mercantUistao writers. The East India Company did indeed
export con^derabte quantities of coin and bulUon, and this
export of bullion was the subject of much criticism during
the first half of the century. Malyncs's pamphlet, The
Ccmker of England^s CommonweaUh (1601), presents this criti-
cism. The same ideas appeared in a number of later pam-
phlets, none of them quite as famoxis as the first . This objec-
tion, howc\'cr, vBs decisively answered by Thomas Mun,
whose reply contained a significant analysis of the mechan-
ism of international payments. The form of presentation is
unfortunate, as s>'stematic exposition was subordinated to
the polemical necessities of the moment, but all the es^ntial
features of the modem theory were embodied in Mun'a
statement.
Mun'B first pamphlet appeared in 1621; in 1628 he wrote
the petition and remonstrance submitted to Parliament by
the company. This last document contains the
essential material of the most famous of his
writing, the pamphlet, EnglandLS Treasure by Aer Forraign
Trade, which was written in its final form immediately after-
ward, but not published until 1664. The significant feature
of Mun's writings ia the clear consciousness that money is not
wealth, and the recognition of the inaccuracy of the phrase
"balance of trade." M in modern treatises, the movement
of specie between countries is ascribed to a number of debit
and credit items of which the trade balauccft qx% •si^'i <&'^>a
«8«
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
emong several. Some of the items specifically suggested by
Mun arc; charges for shipping services, expenses of foreign
want, remittances to foreign countries by priests and Jesuits,
travclcre' expenses, arabassadors' expenses, gifts to strangers,
and the like. There is thus in Mun's work the same concep-
tion of a bahmce of indebtedness that is the basis of the mod-
em theory of foreign exchange. We cannot be entirely cer-
tain of the impression made by these writings, but on the
whole one may well question the existence of serious confu*
sion between money and wealth in the latter part of the
neventeenth century, and the doctrine of the "balance of
trade" was certainly of subordinate unportance m the last
half of the century. It did not dominate the thoufdit of the
more important writers.
When the first effects of competition with these Indian
textiles began to be felt, the writers most closely associated
BauoMoi with the woolen interests were disposed to find
•**• the explanation of the distress in the competition
with France. The pamphlet of Samuel Fortrey, England'a
InUrest and Improtvment (1663), is fairly typical of this view.
EnglLiih maniifacrturcrs were represented as being at a disad-
vantage with French industries and some attempt was made
to prove that France was a source of trouble by casting up
a balance of trade between France and England. In so far
as the balance-of-trade doctrine appears in this controversy
it is in connection with this allegation of danger from com-
petition with France. When it came to be understood that
the real difficulty was to be attributed to the Fast Indian
commerce the balancc-of-trade doctrine was Uirgely aban-
doned by the pamphleteers, to be revived for a brief time
when the commercial clauses of the Treaty of Utrecht were
under discussion in 1713. The substantive protective meas-
ures were based on the alleged necessity of protecting " vested
interests."
The significance of the woolen industry in the minds of
Tbf HviknM contemporaries is indicated further by the im-
'""' portance attached to the Methuen Treaty <rf
1702. Portugal was presumed to be a singularly important
$
THE EAST INDU COMPANY
market for n-oolens, partly because Fortui^ was dependent
opon imports for her domestic consumption and partly be-
cause of the export* of goods to the Portuguese cotonies.
Both France and En^and were anxious to secure this market,
and it was felt to be a matter of first-rate importance that
England should secure preferences. Accordingly, Kngland
granted preferences to Portuguese wines at a very substflntial
sacrifice. The Portuguese wines were always to pay one third
less duty than the like quantity of French wine-s. British
consumption, up to that time, had favored the French prod-
ucts; these preferences of the Methuen Treaty, however, cur-
tailed leRitimate trade in French wines and brandies, and led
to the well-known smuf^ng trade that flourished until the
early nineteenth century.
The European problem was brought up again in 1713 by
the conferences upon the commercial clauses of the Treaty
of Utrecht. The conclusion of the treaty with pr,_„p^
Prance would have required the abandonment of t««j wnk
the policy of protecting the woolen industry.
The issue that was joined with reference to this measure was
thus curiously interwoven with the controversy that had long
centered around the East India Company. The persistent
dread of French competition was a heritage from the early
misunderstandings of the nature of the pressure from which
the woolen industry bad suffered for many years. The do-
ciaon of the issue turned in no small measure upon general
political considerations. The Whigs, who were incidentally
protectionists, were on the whole the predominant party, and
the menace of a Jacobite restoration proved to be a funda-
mental source of weakness to the Tories. The problems of
commercial policy became a party issue when the highest
stakes of politics overshadowed all minor issues. The litera-
ture on these commercial questions consequently seems bar-
ren and meaningless, for the ultimate decision was only casu-
ally affected by the merits of the discussion. The action
taken undoubtedly tended to conceal the considerable amount
of good free-trade thought to be found in the writings of the
defenders of t^ East India Compaa;^ .
INDUSTEUL HISTORY OP EXGLAXD
In view of the general victory of the protectionists in 1703
and 1713 it may socm strange tJiat the demands for proteo-
g^,^,^^ ^ tion against the East Indian fabrics did not meet
•iWMM ot with more auccess. Bills that advocated com-
**"***' plete prohJIation of aX\ importat ion of East Indian
goods were introduced into Parliament as early as 1697, but
none of the measures passed. The company v.-m ably de-
fended at that time by Charles D'Avcuant whose essay on the
East Indian trade was inspired by the bill. The essay shows
a dear perception of the general benefits of free trade, and
many of the specific allegatiooa of the woolen manufacturers
wore successfully answered. Althou^ the general prohibi-
tion was not approved, some concession was made to the silk
manufactiuers, partial protection being afforded by the Acta
of 1607 and 1700. In all probability the tenderness wit^
which the East India Company was handled was chiefly duo
to the large sums of money that had been lent to the Govern-
ment. The intimate financial relations between the Govern-
ment and the company are probably the real explanation of
tie incomplete success of the protectionist group.
The a^tation of the woolen interests continued and began
to assume an acute phase m 1719. This finally resulted in
the passage of the Calico Act of 1721, "an act
to presen'e and encourage the woolen and silk
manufactures and for the more satisfactory emplo>'ment of
the poor, by prohibiting the iise and wear of all printed,
painted, flowered or dyed calicoes in apparel, household
stuffs, fxmiiture or otherwise" after December 25, 1722.
This act made it unlawful for any person to use or wear any
calicoes under penalty of forfeiting £5 to the informer and
paying a fine of £20. Merchants were not alIowe<l to sell any
calicoes, or any furniture upholstered with calicoes. There
were some exceptions, but it is not easy to appreciate their
exact nature.
The extension of the act to goods partially made of cotton
was of serious moment to such ootton manufacture as then
eidsted in England. Somewhat later, when the native cotton
industry b^an to assume larger proportions, an attempt was
nwCallMAct
TH£ EAST INDU COMPANY
made to enforce the act agabst the dmneetic production of
cotton goods. This resulted in appeal to Parliament by the
cotton maouf acturers, and, as they abo constituted a " vested
interest," they secured relief. The Manchester jbe h>»-
Act was pa^cd in 1735, providing that the <*««"*«*
Calico Act should not be interpreted to prevent the wearing
or use of any stuff of lim^ yarn and cotton wool manufac-
tured and printed or painted with any color or colors. ThU
statute covered the coarser fabrics that had long been made
in England. There were thus exemptions to cover some (rf
the Indian products and the domestic goods which were con-
stantly being improved under the stimulus of the new de-
mands.
The protective system was thus developed with the ex-
plicit purpo^ of nuuntaining the woolen industries, but in
accomplishing this end the home market was m sxpocoiiou
thorou^y protected against competition with •** "•"*•
British India that significant opportunities were created for
a native cotton industry. These opportunities were cmpha-
Hzed by the exemptions. A calico printing industry became
established in England at an early date. The importation
of white goods seems to have been posdblc at all times.
East Indian yam was imported, and muslins, neck-cloths, and
other exempted goods were manufactured in England.
Although the detailed history of this drastic statute is un-
certain, and the effect of its prohibitions qualified by smug-
gUng, there can be no doubt but that these protective meas-
ures were ultimately more significant to the infant cotton
industry than to the "vested interests" of the woolen manu-
facture.
There are few instances in history of so great a discrep-
ancy between exi}ectations and results. The poUticians at
the beginning of the ei(^teenth century were ver>' anxious
to further the conamercial advantage of England as against
France. They presumed that this could be done only by
protecting the woolen industry from the joint competition of
France and the East Indian trade. The industrial supremacy
did in fact pass from France to Enj^d in the course of the
sw
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF EXGLAND
oontury, but in an entirely unexpected manner. The de-
velopment of the cotton industry in Enf^land under the
AainUnt Shelter of pfotectjon was an event of the first
*^""^ magnitude, and, though the annals of invention
generally distract our attention from these matters of com-
mercial policy, the signlBcance of protection to the growing
cotton industry cannot be overlooked. The Calico Act was
not repealed until 1774, when it actually began to stand in
the way of the expansion of the En^isb cotton industry.
It is a strange coincidence that Crompton's invention should
have followed so closely. The mule made it possible for tha
English manufacturcra to compete with East India, not
merely in printing and finishing, but in spinning all grades of
yarn. The industry was thus freed and made independent
of a protecting influence only when it had attained a deilnite
mechanical superiority.
It would be too much to say that the cotton industry was
created by protection, but the cotton industry was certainly
the outcome of a demand for cottons created by the East
Indian trade which was partially obstructed by protective
measures. If the demand for cottons could have been con-
tinuously gratified by importation from India it is hard to
believe that the English cotton industry could have made as
favorable a growth. Protective measures were thus a part
of a highly complex situation. The woolen industries guned
some temporary relief from competition with cottons, but in
the end the domestic cotton industry was able to compete
more keenly and disastrously than any foreign industry could
have done. We are probably only now witnesdng the final
readjustments of the textile trades to the changes tJiat began
in the seventeenth century with the introduction of the East
Indian cottons into Europe.
i
CHAPTER XII
THE NEW COTTON INDUSTRY
^P The changes In the habits of consumption that followed
the introduction of East Indian cottons into Europe laid the
foundations of a new cotton indusby, but the ia-.nHom
development of an industry capable of dominat-
ing all branches of the cotton trade was made possible only
by a complete technical transformation of the old hand proo-
eeses of manufacture. The inventions were not the original
cause of the changes in the industry, but they wore essential
to the full realization of the new opportunities. The oon^
manding success of some of the inventions and the obscurity
of the early history of the first attempts to apply mechanism
to this industr>' have fostered the natural <lispa6ition to pre-
sume that the achievement of mcclianical technique was
accomplished without any considerable struggle. It is fre-
quently suggested or implied that the history of the Great
Invcntiona differs in this respect from the ordinary course
I of mechanical development. But this is an error. Inventions
in the cotton industry as in other fields of enterprise were
achieved only after appreciable cCforts and the full signi-
canee of the new dRvirea was re-alized only after a consider^
able number of complementary inventions had been appUed to
the perfection of the original machines. The early machines
were a great advance over hand processes, but for more than
a generation important mechanical improvements were made
in their construction and operation. The transformation of
the industry was not teally sudden and violent as was alleged
by the PArlier isTiters on the Industrial Revolution.
The first successes of inventors were with spinning machin-
ery, and the entire process of spinning was
brought within the scope of machinery long be-
fore weaving by the power loom was at all practical. Spin-
fty*t*w**J
98S
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
'
ning bad become specialized into three stages before the in-
troduction of machines. The cleansed cotton fibers were
carded and reduced to an orderly parallel arrangement in a
ribbon or sliver. The sliver wa.4 then formed into a loosely
twisted strand, so weak that further drawing and twisting
was necessary before it could be used in weaving. The
intermediate product was termed "rovinga" to distinguish
it from the finished j-arn. The process of spinning, though
lengthy and somewhat specialized, involved only two types
of operations : the carding of the cotton fibers, and the draw-
ing and twisting that was repeated several times in the
course of preparing yam or thread.
The development of carding machines was the work of the
inventors of spinning machines, and there is a rough identity
Cacdins in certain of the mechanical principles used.
■*'*'"• All the machines utilized cylindrical rollers, but
the form and character of the rolls were by necessity adapted
to the somewhat different purposes to which they were
applied. The problems of carding were in general relatively
simple, though the details of the process admitted of much
refinement in the technical details.
Spinning involved a number of serious problems, and two
distinct types of machines were ultimately produced which
were posstMscd of such varied merits that both types have
always been employed in the industry. The bobbin and fly
frame system of the throstle proved to be particularly well
adapted to the preparation of rovings, so that the intermedi-
ate processes have been dominated by this type of machine.
The coarser yarns can also be spun with this type of machine,
but the finer yams can be spun only on the mule.
These two spinning machines are based on essentially dif-
ferent principles. Throstle spinning is usually termed the
Cootintioiii uui continuous process; mule spinning, the intcr-
inianninaii mlttcnt process. On the throstle all phases of
'"" the process proceed simultaneously and contin-
uously: drawing, twisting, and reeling on the bobbins. The
mule forms the thread during the run of the carriage away
from the rolls, accomplishing thedrawingand twisting at the
THE NEW COTTON INDUSTBY
■
Tlislhfaall*
L
same time, but the reeling of the finished yarn upon the bob<
bin is accomplished during the return of the carriage toward
the rolls, so that act\ial spinning is intermittent.
The continuous process was first to be developed. It
represents in many ways a particulariy brilliant mechanical
accomplishment, for it departs in all its details
from the proceasee of spinning on the hand
wheel. The essential feature of this process is the accom-
plishment of the drawing-out of the sliver or roving by
passing it through a series of
rollers revolvinR at different
speeds. The adjoining sectional
view of ArknTight's spinning
frame illustrates the arrange-
ment of the machine in a some-
what improved form. There
are four pairs of rollers, A A.
The upper rolls are kept in con-
tact with the lower rolls by the
weights, B B, and, supposing
the rolls numbered from left to
right, the second, third, and
fourth pairs each revolve more
rapidly than the preceding pair.
The sliver or roving was thus
drawn out in the course of its
passage through the rolls to a
deigree of fineness that could be
regulated by variations in the
speed of the rolls. Leaving the
rolls, the sliver or ro\'ing passed downward to the flyer and
bobbin receiving the twist necessary to form it into yam by
reawn of the rotation of the flyer, C. The finished yam was
reded upon the bobbin, D, by reason of a difference in speed
between the flyer and the bobbin. It is poswihie to accom-
plish this part of the process either by dri\'ing the bobbin
faster than the flyer and thus drawing the yam from the
flyer to the bobbin, or by driving the flyer faster than the
Ra l.TBBTBBonts
, asth
890 INDUSTHIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
txibbtD 80 that the yarn would be deposited upon the bobbio.
It will be obWoua that the machine will cither produce rov-
ings from slivers of carded cotton, or finiafaed yarn from
roviugs.
The distinctive feature of the throstle lies in the successive
accomplishment of drawing and twisting. This results in
subjecting the silver or roving to its chief strain and tension
before it has received the twist which imparts strength, It
was thus fnund to be especially desirable to pass the cotton
successively through several machines so that some twisting
Tras done before all the drawing was accomplished. The
specialization that already existed between the prcparatioD
of rm-ings and the finishiug of the yam was thus gradually
carried farther, and the quality of yam considerably im-
proved by better management of the machines. But even
^ when the throsUe is most carefully used, it is
incapable of producing tbc finer grades of yam.
It is not possible entirely to avoid the effects of performing
the drawing independently of and prior to tlic twisting.
Yam is graded in terms of the number of hanks per pound.
The hank repreeients a standard length so that differences la
wei^t are in fact indices of the fineness of the yam. The
number of hanks per pound is technically called the " count"
of the yarn. Now the throstle is effective for counts up to
forty, though there is some competition between the mule and
the throstle in spinning forties. The mule, on the other
hand, now produces counts for general commerce as hi^
as three hundred and fiftj , and for exhibition purposes some
extraordinary achievements have been accomplished.
The first use of rollers in spinning was the joint work of
two men, Wyatt and Paul, whose separate contributions to
wtatt' EUima *^® inventions cannot now be very successfully
ascertained. It is alleged by Wyatt's son, in
testimony ^ven as late as IS 17, that his father was the real
inventor of the process. " In the year 1730," he says, " living
then at IJtcti£eld, my father first conceived the project and
prepared to carry it into effect, and in the year 1733, by a
model of about two feet square, in a smail building neeu-
b..
r
THE NEW COTTON INDCSTRY
an
Sutton Coldfield without a single witness, was spun the first
thread without the intervention of human fingers. . . . The
cotton wool had been carded in the common way and was
passed between two cylinders from whence the bobbin drew
it by means of two distaflfs." Wyatt, himself, in two letters,
claims credit for the invention, but not sole credit. He says,
in 1741, " tbe engine owed the condition it was thus in to the
superintendency of John Wyatt." In another letter he says,
"I am the person who was the principal agent in compiling
the spinning engine-" According to his account, hopes of
securing financial support induced him to enter into partner-
ship with I^^wis Paul, a foreigner more capable of making
promises than of canying them out. It is implied that Paul
secured so great an ascendancy over Wj-att that the patent
finally taken out in 1758 stood in PaiJ's name. The acquisi-
tion of patent rights in this machine and the invention of other
machines by Paul constitute a serious obstacle to the claims
made by Wyatt and his son.
The relations between Wyatt and Paul are most adfr-
quately revealed by Paul's will and the letters addressed to
him by various correspondents. From this evi- Reuaom
dence it is possible to reconstruct a fmrly plausi- ** ^"^
ble account of the relations between the two men. Paul was
an inventor of small means engaged, when we first hear of
him, in the manufacture and sale of an instrument for pink-
ing crepes and tammies for burjing cloths. Wyatt was a car-
penter, who did some work for Paul on the spinning machine.
Wyatt was apparently better supplied with fimds than Paul,
for the latter liccame indebted to liim for £800. In the fall
of 1741 Wyatt was working on the carding machine more or
less under the direction of Paul, though he made a number of
suggestion.'? and improvements. The following spring Wyatt
found himself in need of money and made a determined
attempt to force Paul to pay his debts. The biUs were put
into the hands of an attorney, but Paul wa.-^ practically bank-
rupt. Wyatt recognized the necessity of compromise. In
a letter of T^farch, 1742, he says, "The money is what I want,
or at least what would please me best at present, but to be
202
INDDSTRUL HISTORY OF ENGIAND
plain, I am in some doubt of baling money from Mr. Paul,
and, if spindles must at la»t be my share, 1 would be willing
to have as many as would attach my sole attending." Wyatt
was ^ven three hundred tspindles. The papers going with
them suggest that the work of designing the machine was
essentially Paul's. The deed for the spindles was accom-
panied by a covenant in which Paul agreed "to turn over the
plans for erecting the spindles, which he, Lewis Paul, hath
gone by, and to ^ve Wyatt, his agent or his workman, such
further instructions for the erecting, making, and perfecting
of the said machines as ehall be re(]tmite and needful."
It is fairly clear that the initial impulao came from Paul,
although it is possible that many auggeations were made by
Wyatt in the course of executing Paul's designs. It is by no
means inconceivable that a craftsman of Wyatt's caliber
should have an cxa^erated notion of the importance of his
contributions, and such presumptions would cover most of
the discrepancies in the various accounts.
In August, 1748, Paul took out a patent for a carding ma^
chine, and in 1758 a second patent for a spinning machine,
which is accorapaniod by fairly complete draw-
ings. It is a reasonable presumption that this
spinning machine was no more than a development of the
earlier machine on which Wyatt and Paul were working Id
the thirties. The wording of the text of the earlier patent
indicates no essential difference in principle, so that the speci<
fications of 1758 may bo regarded as representative of the
earliest de\*ice for combining rolls with the flyer and bobbin.
It will be observed that the drawings are incomplete. The
rolls and flyer which are shown in profile give the essential
mechanical features of the machine, but there is no indication
of the method for feeding the sliver or roving into the roUs.
The general form of the machine, too, makes it
difficult to ima^ne precisely how this might be
accomplished. So far as one can judge by the drawings, the
fimotions of the rolls were different from tiieir later functions
in the develojied throstle. There was only one pair of rollers,
so that the drawing-out of tJio roving was accomplished by
PiDl't pttati
PlobabU defact
THE NEW COTTON INDUSTRY
293
tendon between the roDs and the flyer, instead of being the
work of different pairs of rolls. The motion of tho flyer thus
accomplished the double task of drawing and twisting the
roving. The separation of the drawing and twisting which
Fia. 3. Paitl's SpDnmro Mii:nt)a, 1768
became characteristic of this general type of machine does
not appear in this early form. The description of the procees,
B0 "qpinning by rollers," used by Paul, is not accurate.
Id Arkwri^t's machine there were at least two pairs of
rolls revolving at different speeds so that the drawing-out of
the ro\'ing was accomplished between the rolls; the partially
finished yam was thus subjected to no appreciable tension
between the rolls and the flyer. Without more positive evi-
dence we can only surmise, but it would seem Ukcly that the
commercial f^ure of Paul's machine was due to the excessive
strain placed upon the roving by his neglect of the pos^bility
of accomplishing the drawing-out process by means of rolls.
At the same time it is no more than just to his memory to
say that he conceived the general piinciplcs of spinning by
machinery.
MM
INDUSTRLAX HISTORY OF ENGLAND
Bicbi'i ttorf
i^
In 1741 a mill was erected at Birmingham, supplied with
motive power by a winch worlced by two asses. Ten girU
ThefirM were employ»Hl. This establLshment was not
w*«^"^ supported with mifiicient funds and was aban-
doned in 1743. A larger establishment was set up at North-
ampton with access to water-power. These works had two
hundred and fifty spindlee and employed fifty hands. They
were financed by Mr. Cave, the friend of Dr. Johnson, and
to the best of our knowledge these works were operated for
twenty or thirty years. There are reasons to believe that
Aricwright actually saw this mill at Northampton, but it is
not possible to prove either the nature or the extent of Ark-
wright's familiarity with Paul's accomplishment.
Before Arkwright's perfection of the water-frame other
inventors worked on the spinning problem. The Society of
Arts offered prizes for a spinning machine, and
a number of machines were submitted to ita
oommittee between 1761 and 1767. Most of these projects
were of no substantial significance, but the efforts of one
H^hs (Hayes) were of real importance. At the trial of the
patent cases in 1785 Highs declared that he made n)llers for
the spinning of cotton in 1767, two years before Arkwri^t's
patent was taken out. He did not follow up his invention for
want of money. It was represented only by a model which
had been made for him by a clock-maker named Kay. This
dock-maker called Arkwright's attention to the matter, and
his knowledge of the model of Highs seems to have been the
beginniDg of the water-frame, if not the actual basics of the
design.
Arkvrright had been brought up to the trade of a barber.
He had little or no education, but seems to have been aggres-
sive and alert. Discovery of a chemical process
for dyemg hair led to the abandonment of the
general practice of his craft for the olhcd occupation of wig-
making. Much of his time was spent m collecting hair at
county fairs. He alleges that the years following 1761 were
spent in experiments with spinning machinery, but there is
more reason to believe that he continued his wig-making
likwililii
•.n»:
THE NEW COTTON INDUSTRY 285
until 1767 when he fell in with Kay at Warrington. Kay
told btm of Highs's machine and agreed to make a model.
Arkwright abandoned his former business and set to work
on the spinning problem, apparently as much from the point
of view of a, business man as an inventor. As Kay was un-
able to make all the parts, the serv-ices of a smith and a
wtttch-toolmaker were secured. ArkwTight went to his old
home, Preston, to raise money for the undertaking. He suc-
ceeded in interesting a liquor-dealer named Smalley, and a
demonstration was given in the parlor of the Free Grammar
School. Smalley was much impressed, but fear of rioting
induced them to move to Nottingham. Through Smalley's
influence funds were obtained from local bank- n, waM-
ers, but their support was withdrawn when un- ^■°»*
expected difficulties delayed the perfection of the machine-
However, this support was not witlidrawn until Arkwright
and his project had been commended to the attention of Need
and Strutt, machine-makers. Strutt was a mechanician, so
that his study of the model resulted in a number of help-
ful suggestiomi. The machine was fmishcd and patented
in 1769.
A mill was set up at Nottingham driven by horse-power,
but water-power was found to be more practicable and a
larger mill was established at Cromford in 1771. hibm*
Three years later, after an expenditure of '*''»«^
£12,000, some profits began to be realized. The mil) became
fairly successful, but other manufacturers refused to buy yam
of Arkwright, and it proved to be necessary to find means of
the product of the mill. The partners began the manu-
facture of stockings and turned later to the weanng of cali-
WJCS. Their ri\'als complained to the excise officials on tho
ground that these caUcoes were made in contravention of the
Calico Act. A considerable slock of goods accumulated and
the partners went to Parliament for relief, securing the repeal
of the act despite the etroug lobby run by the Lancashire
manufacturers. Although Arkwright could hardly be called
the inventor of the spinning machine, be must be recognized
as the founder of the modem En^ish cotton industry.
_of ArJ
•ttaing
L
M6
INDUSTRUL HISTORY OF ENGlA>rD
PitcaiauiU
The nwghboring manufacturers began to build and use the
machines; all the ^Vrkwiighi machines, carding, drawing, and
roving machines as well as the spinning frame.
jVrkwright finally brought nine suiki, and the
manufacturers formed an aasociation to defend the cases,
one of which was selected for trial. The defense of the manu-
facturers was that the specifications were so obscure that
there was a manifest effort to withhold knowledge of the
machine. Mechanics were produced who swore that the
machine coxild not be built from the specifications in the
patent. Both judge and jury agreed upon setting the patent
aside (1781). The case was brought up again upon appeal.
The Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas expressed
an opinion that was favorable to the sufficiency of the speci-
fications. The manufacturers joined again in the prosecu-
tion of the case, which was finally ai^ed before a special jury
in June, 1785. In this trial it was contended that the inven-
tion was not the work of Arkwright: that the idea was not
original with him, and that the invention itself was not really
his work. Failure to disclose the invention in his specifics^
tions was also alleged. It was at this trial tliat Highs was
brought in as a witness. The manufacturers succeeded in
establisOiing their case to the satisfaction of the jury, and tlw
patents were thrown open.
The use of the new machines was undoubtedly extended by
tliis additional facility afforded to ail alike. The effect of
Th» pMtMi the cipening of the patents was rolat ivoly greater
*^'' than it would be to-day in any industry because
scarce any of those machines were at that time the object of
special cnpneering designs or of particular craft skill in coo-
stniction. The water-frames as then used could be built by
carpenters and blacksmiths, and it was this ease of setting
them up that had been a OAuse of Arkwright's difficulties.
A manufacturer who succeeded in enticing away some one or
two of Arkwright's workmen could pro<^luce machines that
would be substantially the equivalent of tlic originals.
The water-frame was a mechanical means of doing what
had long boon done — spinning relatively coarse yarns for the
THE NEW COTTON INDUSTRY 897
manufacture of calicoes. The yarn was sufficiently strong
to enable the weavers to dispense with the linen warps that
had been used, but on the whole the novelty of Arkwright'a
accomplishment lay in the application of machinerj- to the
work that was then being done by hand. The development
of the intennittent process of spinning which cuhninated in
the invention of the mule really introduced a new product.
In 1763 muslins began to be manufactured in EugUnd by
Jos^h Shaw of Bolton. This manufacture vaa wholly d^
pendent upon importationH of yam from India, but despite
this handicap the industrj' made some substantial progress.
There was available at this time for the purpose of spin-
ning by the intermittent process only the small machine
intnKiuced by Hargreaves, iLsually known as the
"jeimy." It was little more than an enlarge-
ment of the conventional hand wheel, but it enabled a single
workman to run a number of spindles instead of one only.
The machine was in no wise automatic and involved eo much
attention that it was not a great cxtcn^on of the power of the
firmer. The accompan>-ing cut shon-s the jenny in its im-
proved form. There is a box (4-4) beneath which contains
rovings: a carriage (5-5) with a movable clasp bar (16) capa-
ble of holding firmly the rovings which pass through it to the
spindles (3-3). The spindles are rotated by means of the
large wheel {B-B).
The jenny was worked by one person, who took up his position
in Eront • f the frame. The rovings were then drawn between the
"doTo" of clasp bars of the carriage, and altachtid to the xpindles,
the carriage bavinK first been pia<^ in pcksition for commencing
work that was at the end of its traverse, nearest the spindles. The
bottom bar ha\'iQg been lowered, the carriage was dniwii away
from its position, until a proper quantity of rove to form one
" draw," or length of yarn, had ix.-cn given out, wtiich was regulated
by a mark on the side of the frame. The lower bar was then raisod,
the rove held, ant! (lie spindles Ket in motion by the spitmer turning
the wheel. If, ut t)M> same time commencing to draw ihc carriage
further out from its potiitton near the spindloH. Thu« the atlcnua*
tion and twisting of tlie rove went on simultaneously, until the
lequiaito degree of fineness was attained, when the outward traverse
of the carriage was stopped, the spindles being k^t in operation for
<98
INDCSTKIAL HISTORY OF ENGIAND
a short time longer, in order to impart sufficient twist to the thread.
In the yarns intended for warpa this was much more than for wefts,
in wliich the aatne degree of strength was not required. When this
twiflting had been coiii|>Iotcd, the carriage waa shghtly backed, the
guide or faUer wircj 12, was gently brought down upon the threads,
Fio. 3. luFKOvKD MODiBL or HAnORKAVEs's Spinxino J&kkt
rby means of the cord, 7, depreaaing them to the required level: tha
wheel, U, was then turnt-d slowly round, cau^ng the t^pindles to
wind up the thread aa the carriage returned to its first position.*
mu
n«iBtu«
■^
Crompton, who developed this machine into the present
mule, was brought up as a jenny spinner. Work on his
Invention was beRun about 1774 and experimen-
tation continued for about five years. He
finally produced what was at first known as the "hall-in-tho-
wood" machine or "muslin wheel." The name "mule" was
given it later bocaufie it combined features of both the jenny
and the water-frame. The mule differed from the jenny in
two respects: the place of the clasp was taken by two pairs of
rollers, and the spindles were pUced upon the carriage. The
rollers were apparently inspired by the water-frame, though
> Mwsdea, R.: Ct41en Spituting (Loodoa, 1886), 205.
^
THE NEW COTTON INDUSTRY
899
they sen'ed a different purpose, lliey were feed rollers
rather than drawing rollers. The annexed cut shoe's a side
view of the machine greatly simplified. The rovings at A
are drawn off by the rolls and in that man- ^^
ncr fed into the machine. If we ima*^e the "'*" ""
process to begin with the carriage near the rolls at L, the
carriage would then recede from the rolls at a rate of speed
proportioned to the speed of the rolls. A certwn amount of
ro\'ing was thus drawn in. While the carriage is retreating
k
Fio. 4. CxourroK'n Mcl>
fkom the rolU its speed is sufficiently great to subject the
roving to some tension at the same time that the roving ia
being twisted. Sliortly before the carriage reacihcs the limit
of its run, the rollers etop so that the process of drawing out
tiie ronng ts completed after the yam has been otherwise
finished. At this stage the yarn is capable of bearing con-
siderabte tenwon and therefore fine yams could be produced.
When the carriage reaches the full limit of its run, the spin-
dles are p%'en a reverse motion so that the completed yam is
reeled up as the carriage returns toward the rolls.
In the ori^nal mules these various phases of the process
required the constant attention of the operative. The self-
actor accompUnhed thuse operations automatically, and the
delicat« mechanisms required to perform them make it one
of the most remarkable of all the early mechanical inventions.
Crompton's first machine was built of wood and carried
an
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
Tb* podoct
only twenty or thirty spindles, but with these machines he
was able to spin yam to the count of sixty, a de-
gree of fineness that equaled the East Indian
yarns usually imported. The product was rapidly improved
and the best East Indian yarns siuiKissed. By 1790 Robert
Owen was able to produce counts as high as two hundred and
fifty and three hundred, though it was not customary then
to produce such yarn for general commerce.' In 1851
samples were spun for exhibition purponeB that would be
graded as seven hundreds. The mule thus exceeded all
potssible accomplisliments of the human hand. The finest
products of the Indian spinners were introduced into general
commerce and yarns could be produced that suri'a-'*sed the
inpoftaiiM of utmost known to men. The mule thus achieved
•'""'"'■ a distinction that is within the scope of few
inventions, and it must certainly be deemed the most remark-
able of the textile inventions. Its development, too, was
fundamental to the establishment of all branches of the cot-
ton manufacture in England and Europe. But for thia
machine Europe would have always been dependent upOD
India for yarn and goods, excepting only the coarse grades,'
The future of the cotton industry was tlius profoundly influ-
enced by this invention, though the use of the water-frame
in preparing roviugs makes it impossible to ascribe the great
changes that took place to ^ther invention exclusively.
Crompton received but little benefit financially from his
invention. The workmen in the vicinity had long known of
bis experiments, and he was thrc&tened with violence soon
after the completion of his mxJe. He felt that there was no
choice but to destroy the machine or make it public. No
attempt was made to secure any patents, but the original
machine was sold to a number of manufacturers to be used aa
a model in the building of others. They Umk the machine,
but Crompton never received the sums of money promised
by them. In 1812 the pressure of necesaty moved him to
apply to ParUament for a pension and on recommendation
of the committee a grant of £5000 was made.
> Podnora, F.: Lif* t^ Sobtri Own, i, 47.
THE NEW COTTON INDUSTRY 801
The last of the textile inventions was the power loom.
This was the work of a clerRinan whose attention was called
to the problem in an entirely casual manner by _
TiM BOW lOQin
a manufacturer. A friend enfiaged in the indus-
try happened to remark to Cartwright upon the dispropor-
tion that had come about between wearing and spinning by
reason of the spinning inventions. The influence of the re*
mark is dcscrii>Gd by Cartwright as follows:
It struck me that as plain weaving con only be three movements
which were to fallow one another in suocestiion, there would be Uttle
djfliciilty in producing: them xnd repeating them. Full of these ideas
I immediately omptoved a carpenter aad a smith to cany them into
effect. As soon as thi% machine wa.'< iiiiif<hed, I not a H-t^aver to put
in a warp which was of such material as sail cloths are usually made
of. To my great delight, s piece of cloth, such as it was, was the
product. The reed fell with the weight of at least half a hundred
we^t and the springs which threw the shuttle were strong enough
to have thrown a OmKreave rocket. In abort, it required the
strength of two powerful men to work the macliine at a slow rate
and only then a short time. I then secured what I thought was a
most valuable property by a patent on April 4, 1785. This being
done, I condescended to see how other people wove, and j'ou will
guess my astonishment when 1 compared tbeir easy modes of oper-
ation with mine. It was not until 1787 that I ooD^rfeied my inven-
tion and took out my first wca\'ing patent.
An attempt was made to set up a factory with power looms
at Donca«ter, but the concern was not suocessful. In 1790
a Manchester firm wi^ a license from Cartwright set up a
weaving factory and spent much money in attempting to
improve the power loom. They met with little suoccas and
the undertaking was finally abandoned after the destruction
of the first mill by a fire.
The chief defect of the early loom was the absence of any
mechanical contrivance to dnss the warp as it unrolled from
the beam. The difficulty was overcome in part p«tfeciioa oi
by dressing the warp before it was wound on the "" "^^
beam at all ; a loom with such au attachment was brought out
by the finn of lladclifTe and Ross. The invention waa really
the work of an employee, William Johnson, a dissipated
weaver of volatile temperament, brilliant in conception, but
L
Mi
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
tacking in the concentration required to give effect to his
ideas, RadcliHe was very anxious to develop weaving to
check the exportation of cotton yam which was beginning to
be considerable. His experiments began in January, 1S02,
and the machine was patented in ISOiMM. Three patents
were taken out by Horrocks in the years 1803, 1805, and 1813.
His loom was compact and strong; it was finally made an
efficient machine and became ultimately the basis of the
modern power loom. Horrocks himself, however, failed and
Bank into poverty. The idea was developed by Sharp and
Roberts, machine-builders, who placed a much-improved
model of the Horrocks loom on the market in 1822. This
machine was a commercial success; the first loom really
capable of competing with the hand industr>'. The signifi-
cance of the invention is shown by the immediate increase in
the number of power looms in use.
\ Ndubebs or PovEB Looua
1813 1820 1839 1888
England 2,400 12,1{)0 45,500 8S,000
Scotland t 2,000 10,000 15.000
It will be observed that no considerable use was made of
the power loom before 1820, and that the use of the loom
developed rather r .pidly in the decade following the introduc-
tion of the Sharp and Roberts loom of 1822. The power
loom, however, did not attain even approximately its modem
form until 1841. Kenworthy and Bullough of Blackburn
then brought out their improved loom equipped with self-
acting temple, stop, and taking up motion. The labor of
weaving was reduced by nearly one half and a greater quan-
tity of high grade cloth was produced.
II
The relation of the development of machinery to the
growth of the industry is moHt clearly shown by the statistics
that are available, despite their many deficiencies. The in-
oomplctent'ss and uncertainty of much of this information
makes it impos!^ible to reach certain coDclusiooi; with refer*
THE NEW CXnrON LNDUSTRY
808
to many matters of detail, but the tardier facts in the
aacsioa of the industry appear in such striking fashion as
to admit of little reasonable doubt.
The older writers were incUnod to date the expanfflon of the
industry from the period of the great inventions, represrat-
ing this expanaioD as a result of the development sivaMiaa at
of mechanical processes. Presumptions against *• •^"•"J
Buch a view are suggested by the hiatorj' of the development
of the trade in cotton goods, but without some means of de-
termining the quantitative changes and the rates of expan-
Bion at different periods, these presumptions could scarcely
suffice to establish the larger outhncs of the history of the
industry. Graphs I and II present the rates of expansion in
the industry, as measured by the consumption of raw cot-
ton and the value of merchandise exported. The supply of
raw materials is imported so that the figures for the quan-
tities imported afford a fairly accurate idea of the quanti-
tative expansion of the entire industry. The figures for
the values of goods exported are obviously subject to ele-
ments of error that do not exist in statistics of the wei^t
of imports, but the importance of the export trade in fin-
ished good^ makes such figures an interesting supplement to
the other series.
The graphs have been plotted upon a logarithmic scale in
the vertical dimension in order to represent the rates of ex>
'pension as distinct from the absolute quantlta-
tive increase. The more usual arithmetic scale
U sufficiently representative when the absolute quantities
compared do not vary greatly, but no helpful comparisons
can be made by such a scale when the differences between the
largest numbers and the smallest numbers arc as great as
in these series of figures. The exports of manufactures in-
creased one thousand-fold between 1710 and 1800: under
such conditions an increase in the early yeara of the cen-
ttiry that would represent a doubling of exports coiild
scarce be perceived if compared with the large volume of
exportation at the close of the period. For the purposes
of studying the chronology of the industry, the rates at
8M
INDDSTRIAL HISTORY OP ENGLAN'D
growth are more important than changes in the absolute
volume of production or exportation.
Graph I indicates that the expansion of the industry began
MMDingot about 1740. Marliines were not sjgnificaDtly
applied to the industry until the decade of the
OnphI
THE NEW COTTON INT>USTRY $m
t.Beventies, but the hidustTy had already by that time onder^
'gone a great expansion, llie rate of growth between 1740
and 1770 was greater in the export trade, than in the industry
as a whole: imports of raw cotton trebled, exports increased
tenfold. These rates of expansion were somewhat less con-
siderable than in the next three decades, but the difference 'a
not a8 great as might be supposed. We tend to compare abso-
lute volumes as distinct from rates of change.
We may therefore say with some confidence that the inven- ]
tioos were a result of expansion In the industry as well as a
cause of further growth. They were a response to a definite
and consciously felt opportunity.
Graph II is interesting in connection with the di»eua-
sions ns to the proper termination of what we may call th6
"period" of the Industrial Revolution. Unless q^^„
the term is used in the very narrow sense of the
period of the Great Inventions, there is no justification in
L FiotntEs roR Gkapbs I and II
iKTons or Raw Cotton and Expobtb or MANurACTURsa*
ITOl l.a 23
mo 7 6
mo 1.9 w
1730 1.8 18
1741 , l.« 30
1T5I aO 45
1704 3.9 200
1788 230
1771 te««n«a C ymn) 4.7
1778 (■TerUB ft ymn) 0.7
1780.;.. .rr...:..... S5S
1786 18.4
1787 1,101
1790 31.4 1,003
1800 fiO.O 6,408
1811 01-8
18ZI 120.0 10,000
1831 280.5 17,300
1841.. 480.9 93,400
1861 700.1 mOOO
1881 1261.4 40,800
1863 S33.1 86,700
1871 1676.1 72,800
1B8I 1876. 1 79,000
18*1 1701.8 72,700
Appcodlx, TiblM I aod a.
ing the period of the movement as the entire interval betweeo
the old order and the cHtablishment of a fairly stable relation-
ahip of the different aspects of industry under the now order.
We are here concerned with the textile trades alone, but it is
perfectly evident that the cotton industry was expanding at
subfitantially the same rate as in the preceding decades until
1871. Since that time the more important changes have
taken place in the metal trades, but it must be evident that
there can be no question of any &tabiUty in the textile tradea
until the last decades of the century.
The expansion of the cotton trade during the greater part
of the nineteenth century was due jointly to the continued
BiH of oi* improvement of the fundamental machines and
cotton [adMtTT to the displacement of the other textiles. Tha
changes in the costs of spinning are presented in subsequent
graphs, but unfortunately it is not possible to make any
THE NEW COTTON INDUSTRY
807
simple statement with reference to the costs of weaving.
The dements of the comparison are too complex because the
goods are not so completely standardized. The changes in
the relative positioQ of the various textile industries are indi-
cated by Graphs III and IV. In Graph 111 the rates erf
growth of the Industries are shown in so far as the changes can
be expressed by the values of goods consumed at home or
exported. This also is a ratio chart drawn to a logarithmic
scale, so that the comparison should be made primarily
L
«*M»'i».r
HOME ^UNO £J(P0/i7Za
mtt
8oe
INDUSTRIAL HISTOEY OF ENGLAND
XL FiauBEs poB Gbapb III
RZLATTTE PosmOK OF THB BsmSB TaXTTLB iNstrsntoES •
■
Valmttn
V^B-I*>^
BrparU
If MM teHmmpUam
Woolen
Cotton
Linen
Woolen
Ck>lton
Linca
Woolea
Cothm
lintm
3.T0O
3eo
700
15.011
49,000
0.119
21.877
7fl,000
6,907
13.100
1868-61
600
3,800
24,«»
28,000
9,381
31,623
1882
30,000
u.ons
• BlitDD. T. : C«Kn Tmdf nf Onal SrAMn. IIS, IM 11.
between the de^^es of inclination of the various lines. It is
unfortunate that no figures were available for the long period
between 1783 and 1859, and especially so in view of the fact
that this period was the time of greatest change in the rela-
tive position of the industries.
Hie cotton industry displays a rapid expandon; the UneD
industry shows some growth especially in the export trade;
but the woolen industry' makes no notable expansion except
fai the export trade. These ratee of growth may be correlated
with the growth of population, ^ten the population of a
country is increasing as rapidly as that of England in the
eariy nineteenth century some growth of essential industries
ia to be expected. The very slow growth of the woolen in-
dustry therefore indicat-es a condition that must have been
dtabcartcuiug to the woolen manufacturers. The change is
perhaps concealed in part by changes in the charactcp of the
goods. It became necessary to abandon the manufacture
of the most expensive woolens and to give more attention
to cheaper grades. The actual quantitic^s of goods produced
probably increased more rapidly than the values. However,
it is not possible to evade the general conclusion tliat the
cotton industr>- rose rapidly to a position of preeminence
amoDg the textile trades.
THE NEW OOITON INDDSTRY
800
Hiis appears in a different group of figures in Graph IV,
ft ocHDparisoQ of the relative amounts of raw material used,
pound for pound. The comparisoQ seems rather crude, but
it avoids certain elements of error involved in figures of
III. FiocHES roB Gbaph IV
pBOPoBTiONS OF New Matkkulb constmkd bt tbz Vabiocs Texulb
Ihdubtsieb*
CMm
ir«i
Ha
rwoi
1« OS
41,47
6R 40
6G.3A
42. IS
25.48
17.43
30.90
1
41 ."77
33.06
14.18
12. 7S
100
100
100
100
• BUiMO. T.; Cs«m IVa* rfOrm antofa, 110.
VfthiCB. The figures have been reduced to percentages. It
may be observed further that there are figures available for
the years 1^9-31, so that the material is in that respect
more satisfactorj* than the material embodied in tiie preced-
ing graph. The inclusion of these additional figures in the
series, however, does not change the general aspect of the
lines. The growth of the cotton industry proceeded without
aio
INDUSTRUL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
interruption or much change in rate, from the close of the
Rf^teenth century to the mid-nioeteeDth. It became more
definitely dominant than any of the industries had been id
the earlier period. The position of flax and wool here indi-
cates that the change in the basis of comparison results in
Blight differences. They seem to be nearly coordinate in
importance in 1798, thou^ in the preceding graph the
woolen industry was palpably the more important.
Graphs V and VI show the changes in the pric«a of raw
cotton and of the two grades of yam that became character
istic of the new industry. The arithmetic gcale has been used
in these graphs as absolute comparisons are essential. These
Bgures are somewhat conjectural, being computations by
EUiBon ttom the beet data available for the years mentioned.
IV. FiouHB* TOB Graphs V amd VI
FuaB AMD Cosn im MAKOia Nuubsb 40 Tabn
StlbwimM
CW«/mIi«i
InAor an4 aptlal
WbiUi^i
JMHM
tkiilimfft
pm«
•uaitei
pMa
1779
16
D
a
0
14
0
178*. ....
10
11
2
0
6
u
7
6
8
4
4
3
1812.....
a
0
I
6
1
0
IBSa ....
1
2
0
7
0
6
isaa ....
0
11
0
6
0
4
IWO.....
0
10
0
7
0
8
Pucks akd Costs in Makimo Nuubss 100 Yaien*
1
AUAwirte
CMo/oMm
Lobar and capttid
1
•Ultavi
pmm
•MUiWI
PBW*
MBinei
|MU
177BL....
38
0
4
0
M
0
17M.....
19
0
3
0
15
3 6
7
2
8
0
4
* 2
1612....
S
2
3
4
2
10
8
4*
1
U
2
21
2
4
0
11
1
5
1881....
1
10
0
B|
I
01
• EIUM>a,T. : CoUMTMrittf »MSriI«<«,«l.
THE NEW COTTON INDXJSTHY
811
e-aa^^j
■ ' One'
Coital na^CWOn
/779-tOat
■■■■IP
s
The high cost of ootton in 1799 in the figures for Number 40
yarn does not seem wholly consistent with the figures given
Id the other table. The prices quoted for 1799 in the former
instance arc presumed to reflect war conditions, but it is not
R
Ct^m*
^^"
■J
"* fax
Coufft
1
StUmf /her ef Cotibft mm MOJOO
Oftt/
j^
iff
»
to
«
t
r.
I
\
•.^ortA
■^ ^"
\
— -
^
^-
' J
7P im 1199 MO* l«tf MM >«J
V 4M» itij* ««■ ^iv
1
31S
INDtJOTRUL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
e^APH /vo y
to.
lA30RC0S7S,0r
amnsffmoA
Prtoetef yan
m
very ptauslbte to suppose higher costs for the coaise than
for the fine yams. For that year Number 40 is quoted
higher than Number 100. With reference to the dating of
the changes in the in-
dustty these details of
costs are not as signifi-
cant as the relation of
the prices of tbesecounts
of yam to the prices of
the counts used before
the introduction of ma-
chinea.
The prices of grades
of yam that were used
in the ear^
Uer period,
for the purposes that
were substantially the
same as those to which
these counts were ap-
pUed, are noted on t^e
graphs. Neither forties
Dor one hundreds were
commonly used prior to
the introduction of ma^
chinery. Twentj'-fours,
twenties, and sixteena
are mentioned in con-
nections which seem to
suggest that they occu-
pied the place in the
trade that later came to
be dominated by the
forties, but weft spun at ^fancheste^ about 1760 was graded
between fives and sixteens. The first effect of the intro-
i duction of macWnery, therefore, was not so much to reduce
the costs of the ultimate products as to improve the charac-
ter of the goods. The di^}lacement came earlier in the fine
K»
VO
«o
«
as-
■#0» ao'
/oo'
'SO* /s?<}*
THE NEW COTTON INDUSTRY
313
V. FloDsn ros Gbaph vn
Costs op Labob «s Potnro or Yabn. Band Moi-e, 1812; Sei»*
AcroRg, 1830; axo Hand Si-isnebs in Indu*
Cnnaaftm
OSU
12
as
34
78
son
7
19
fi9
138
40
S2t
143
300
635
• SiihulU*-aiurT«rDiU: TUCtttm Tnid bt Or*at Brit&lm,ii.
yarn trade, if we ouiy trust the figures presented, and there
would seem to be so grounds for doubting this conclusioil.
It is wholly consistent with the general characteristics of
the product of the mule. The greatest changes in the prices
of the high counts took place before 1800, whereas the great-
est changes in the prices of the lower counts took place
between 1800 and 1829. The inSuence of the inventions
upon the prices of the product was thus much less sudden
than is Anqueatly auppoaed.
The afasohito differences in the costa of production are also
shown by Graph VII. It will be observed that the intn^
duction of the self-actor mule did not result in coa in Brc-
any startling reductions in the costs of produc- ""^ "^ ^^'^^
ing the lower counts, although large ecoDomies were realized
in the production of one himdred and fifties and two hun-
dreds. The more interesting comparison Ues between the
oosta in India and in England. The mule could produce
one hundreds cbci^}cr than the Indian hand-spinners pro-
duced forties; one hundred and fifties, cheaper than the
hand-epinners could spin eighties; two hundreds, cheaper
than the Indians could produce one hundreds. Further^
more, the costs of producing the higher counts by hand will
be seen to be substantially prohibitive. It is thus the dis-
tinction of the new cotton industry that it brought to the
maeses of the people better goods than e\'en the licb had
been able to afford in the earlier period.
CHAPTER Xm
THE REORGANIZATION OF THE METAL TRADES
I. A New Fuel and a New Fcrnacb
The development of the iron and steel industries in Eng-
land is usually associated with the change from charcoal
fuel to coal and coal products. In some of the
A iMW row
industrial histories the change of fuel ia alleged
to be the primary change. This is a serious misconception.
The fuel vras, indeed, changed, but the change in the fuel
was only a part of a general transformation of the technique
of ore reduction and of methods of preparing the various
classes of iron products. The changes in technique embraced
a comprehensive transformation of nearly all the mechanical
and metallurgical aspects of these processes. It is fairly
certun that the attempt to use coal products aa fuel was the
stimulus to many of the changes, but it was not the sole
stimulus, and the transformation is very inadequately de-
scribed in terms of the change in fuel.
In the broadest sense the transformation of the industry
was a substitution of indirect proca'^ses for direct processes.
There was an increased specialization which carried with it
important technical advantages. The introduction of ooke
as the primary fuel was an essential feature of the change,
but great mechanical improvements were no less necessary.
The dir«t process gets its name from the production of
malleable iron as an immediate result of the process of
smelting. Malleable or wrought iron is iron
*" that is nearly, if not entirely, pure. It is free
from carbon and from other substances that might impair
the toughness which is the distinctive feature of this product.
When iron is combined with a high percentage of carbon it is
known as cast iron. It is eiud to be impossible for iron to
cont^ much more than five or tax per cent of carbon, but
k.
THE REORGANIZATION OP THE METAL TRADES 8W
more than two per cent is sufficient to make iron brittle and
undcairable for purposes requiring great tensile strength.
Steel is a combination of iron with relatively moderate
percentages of carbon. There is, therefore, a wide range in
the qualities and properties of steel, because minute varia-
tions in the proportion of carbon occasion great
transformations in the ph>'sical properties of
the metal. Some tj-pes of iron begin to exhibit character-
istics of steel when the carbon content rises above 0.3 per
cent, but most types of Iron fail to exhibit these properties
until there is at least 0.6 per ocnt carbon: the types of steel
most frequently used contain between 1.0 and 1.5. per cent
carbon. Two per cent of carbon seems to bo the limit be-
tween steel and cast iron. In the modem industiy the
varieties of stee! have been increased by the addition of
minute proportions of the rarer metals, titanium, vanadium,
and the like. The difHculty of producing steel lies in the
control of the carbon content, and, though steel was un-
doubtedly known as early as any of the iron products, it is
only within the last centuries that the deliberate production
of steel was at all successful.
The indirect process is so called because the product of
smelting is ca^t iron. This cast iron is ill suited tat mai^
nsM. Medieval cannon, various kinds of oma- nubuunet
mental work, and much kitchen-ware came to »"«"•
be made of cast iron at an early date, but the uses of cast
iron are strictly limited. It is necessary to subject cast iron
to further processes to elimitutte the carbon and silica and
convert the preUrainar>- product into wrought iron or steel.
Processes of smelting whicli result in the production of cast
iron are termed indirect processes, because the production
of cast iron is not the ultimate purpose.
The primitive iron industry and the iron industries of
western Europe down to the period of the IiKlustriat Revo-
lution generally utilized direct processes, and tii« dirKt
even when the ironmasters of Europe began to p"«*"
get cast iron in their furnaces, it was produced for specific
purposes and was not as a rule the basis for subsidiary cQ.&De-
sie
DflDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
ing processes. One may say, therefore, with little exag-
geration that the indirect processes were not used prior to
the Industrial Revolution. This long predominance of the
direct process is to be attributed to tlie small size of the
furnaces used in eariy times and above all to the limited
possibilities of producing an artificial blast. These furnaces
were wasteful because the relatively low temperatures ob-
taizuLble were not sufBcieat to separate all the metallic iron
from the ore. It was because of these low temperatures, too,
that the product of these furnaces was characteristically ex-
tracted in a solid mass: red hot but not a liquid. Any furnace
will produce cast iron when the temperature obtained is suf-
ficiently high to melt the iron. Cast iron is therefore drawn
ofF as a liquid; nm into beds of sand to form the "pigs" of
commerce.
, Yta. K. Oeuxmo Furnack. Vertical Section TBROuan Tin
TwYER. (Prom Swedenliora't plate)
'm* furniu* n* oTdin&rtly kbout \3 Sect high, T%s lump of Irob produMd
in tmdtina ww ailhilnwa ihiouid> *n uinnlnc >( obs aid* laot ihovn in (ba
«ul) whirh wnA flllmi Wih Tixwr wUtttm cluHctM If'^ Grinc KnI oacr* thvi t.5
lent (il Iron rould bn mvlr wtdily, uiil in norkia* up tb* "owsuad" or
"bluom" Uur* vm • kw ol Item tatoMpa tviit.
The irregular shaped mass, or bloom, extracted from early
furnaces was seldom homogeneous. It wa.s likely to consist
of a shell of steel and a core of pure malleable iron. The
selection of aU^l for tools and cutlerj* was therefore a task
requiring nice discretion, and the careful testing of swords
THE REORGANIZATION OF THE METAL TRADES 317
lb
and other Buch apparatus was a particularly vise bit of
caution on the part of any buyer. The defects of early steel
products were due to the uncertainties of producing steel.
It was not possible to produce any particular grade at will
nor was it possible to produce any considerable maw of even
quality. The steel industry of the middle ages was wholly
empirical. All these nncertunties were overcome when
production became indirect. Economies were also realized,
as a result of the larger mze of the furnacee.
Fm. 6. FusNicz KTTB WATEB-Buiwnra AvFARAtn
(Daupkini. tigUetiUh omtvrff)
n» CMatneUaB at lb* turnuo lUSm ia bwhs portSnilun from Ikat el Um sum haMn C^Uba
f umm, but (ha mdchaniun for bInaiiiK ia ba**! tuma Uh CiUltiB priMlftei
The low open-hearth furnace maintained itself in Sweden
for a long time, and the annexed cut of the Swedish furnace
18 fairly typical of the highest development of this most
primitive tj-pe. In Catalonia special kinds of stewiaf
blowing apparatus were developed which made "»««»
it possible to achieve higher temperatures despite the small
open hearth, so that the effect of the furnace became sig-
nificantly different. Small quantities of steel could be
produced.
The small water-powers that were available in Spain led
to the perfection of a blast created by a small stream of water
falling intermittently down a pipe. (See Fift. 7.) Tti!K«.i*
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
a scries of boles near tho top of the pipe; the Sow of water
being checked, air flows in which is carried down by the
water that is immediately admitted. The excess water
flows off from the bottom
of the lower tank and the
air in the enclo^ space
above is driven with
some considerable force
through the vent, or tu-
yere, which leads to the
furnace. This was prob-
ably the best device for
creating a bloat known
to the middle ages, and
tiie superiority of the
Spaniish steel products
was largely due to the
temperatures obtainable
in this water-blown fur>
nace.
The first great improve-
ments in smelting fur-
naces were made in Ger-
many. The
height of the
furnace was increased and
the shape altered. The
opening at the top was
made narrow and the
greatest diameter of the furnace placed about halfway be-
tween the top and the bottom. The furnace was fed from
the top so that the metal was kept in contact with the fuel
for a longer time. The increased height tended to increase
the draft, and the greater capacity of the furnace made it
easier to achieve high temperatures. This form, known in
England as the bloomery or bi^ bloomery furnace, produced
either cast iron or wrought ii-on, according to the details of
the firing. Apparently, however, cast iron was not produced
Pio. 7. Dbtail of Watbr-Blotino
ApPAitATiitt {Dauphini)
The pii<a HB ia 37 [nit hiah >iiil I loal 4 indioa ia
dliinotM. The tu—i i-nir MuA (wl hijih ami fl f»M
Id i!iuui>(rr. Uufllo* of fup^rttuoui wnttr iapToridod
lot by llm cliAMibnr QHS, luil Ili« Uul i* aurtal to
tb» tuntat by tha lityw iiO.
tiinuc*
I
THE REORGANIZATION OF THE METAL TRADES 819
unless it was Intended to be used without refining. The
German iroiunasters were on the verge of introducing the
indirect process, but did not actually abandon the direct proc-
eea when wrou^t
iron was dtisired.
Ae long as chai^
coal was EllKtolatfai
used as "*•
fuel this double use
of the high bloomery
furnace was wholly
feasible. The at-
tempt to use coal, or
rather coke, for fuel
made it increasingly
difGculttoavoidget-
ting cast iron as the
product. Thechange
in fuel, therefore, ex-
erted a notable pres-
sure toward the in-
troduction of the
4y8t«inatic use of the
indirect processes
and thus the devel-
opment of the indi'
rect methods was
substantially an
English achieve-
ment. The scarcity
of timber for the preparation of charcoal became a serious
problem by the sixteenth century. There were a number oi
statutes prohibiting furtlicr cutting of timber for use in iron
furnaces and some statutes prohibiting the establishment of
Bmelting works. Despite these measures the iron industry
continued to expand throughout the early part of the seven-
teenth century, but a decline Mt in at that time which
continued until 1740 when the introduction of coke as fuel
ila. 8. A NiinuKQiAN UuMMcnv VvuxjiCS
Total bri^t rt {um«it. SO (iM. Th« nrndunl tmvutti 19
to 30 i«n> nvkliT' bat only two tbinla id Uiia uuoust in>
NravnbL* lA "■■n****** Iran.
890
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
arrested the decline. The transforaiAtion of the industry
was thus a neocssity which became increfudDgly imperious.
The earliest developments were the results of Dudley's
experiments in the seventeenth century. His first trials
Dudiar'a ^'cre made in 1610 when he took control of his
**'*'*''»*"'■ father's foundry after graduating from Oxford.
Wood was scarce, and there was plenty of cool. The foundry
was located on a coal-field, the coeJ and iron being bedded
together so that it had been necessary in the past to produce
a certain amount of coal in getting out the iron ore. 'With
the Bccond blast he produced iron at the unsatisfactory rate
of three tons a week. He wrote at once to his father, direct-
ing him to secure a patent, and the first patent was issued
in 1622. In the following year floods ruined the works, to
the joy of the neighboring ironmastere whose works had
escaped. Dudley's ndghbors claimed that his iron was of
inferior grade and the matter was brought before the King
and Parliament. A test was instituted and, though Dudley
succeeded, the following Parliament abolished all his pat-
ents. They were subsequently renewed, but the charcoal
ironmasters drove him out of Worcester County. He moved
to Himley in Staffordshire and made pig iron there, but had
no means of converting it into wrought iron and was obliged
to sell it to the charcoal ironmasters. Another furnace was
sot up by him at Hascobridge. His bellows were larger and
he produced seven tons per week. A riot was finally organ-
ized, his apparatus was destroyed, and he was forced to de-
sist. In 1660 Dudley petitioned for a new patent, but even
then he was unable to rival the charcoal furnace in output.
The details of his process are not accurately known. We
do not know in what form he used coal, whether raw or as
coke; and we do not know the character of his blowing
apparatus. There is reason to doubt the commercial suo-
cese of his undertaking even at his period of greatest pro»-
perity. After his death nothing further was done for a con-
siderable period. It seems likely that eoko-making became
nmre common and that its applicatioas were better known,
but it was not applied directly to smelting.
THE BEORGAXIZATION OF THE METAL TRADES SSI
Hie development of this iwv process as a commercial
undertaking was largely the work of the Darbys, of whom
there were three generations. At their works
at Coalbrookdale were initiated the fundamen-
tal features of the modem iron industry. The first Abmham
Darby proposed to undertake the making of kitchen-ware.
As the processes then known m England were ill-adapted to
the purpose, be made a trip to Holland in 1706 where be
mastered the process of making castings in sand. Upon his
return in 1708, he took out a patent, but his partners refused
to embark more capital in the business and he was obliged
to set up independent works at Coalbrookdale in Shrop-
shire. He began to use charcoal for fuel, but the scarcity of
wood forced him to experiment, with coke. Apparently the
coke was tised only for roasting the ore preparatory to smelt-
ing. It was difficult to produce a strong enough blast to get
the necessary heat from coke and some of the ore was left
unmelted.
Abraham Darby, the second, assumed control of the works
about 1730, and, as the supplies of charcoal were fast failing,
he determined to apply coke to the entire proc- skomm with
ess. His experiments took place some time "*'
between 1730 and 1735, and a moderate degree of success
was obtained. The blast apparatus was apparently not
eignificantJy changed. It was produced by a pair of bellows
coupled and worked by a water wheel. He got additional
power through'the use of an old Newcomen en^ne to pump
the water from a lower to the higher level. He then leased
additional properties and erected seven furnaces with five
fire enfpnes to run water wheels. In 1754 the first of these
new furnaces was blown in, and in December, 1756, the work
of the furnace was declared to be "at the top pinnacle of
prosperity, twenty to twenty-two tons a week, and sold off
as soon as made at profit enough." lliese experimoits of
Abraham Darby, however, were a beginning of many things
cather than the end of a transformation.
The furnace was a commercial success, but left much to
be dfldred in its mechanical aspects. Tlie leather bellows
S22
INDCSTRUL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
which had been more or less efficient when charcoal waa
used were barely adequate at the best under the new con-
ditions, and tantalizingly imperfect. There was an obrious
need of better blowing machinery and significant improve-
ment was possible only under a new principle. The main
problem, however, centered around the conversion of pig
Via. 9. Blast Fubnacb {Ebtne VaU, Monmottththirt. ISBO-W)
Venirs] je^Uon. «<llb BHtloDi of ilfrrca for hoAtlne tbc bl^vl. If*l(bt
ol (uinua. A3 (net. Tha iicoduct til a iibM furajKa Tvisi iKmnliiia Is tint
dM^ «h«;v. and dcuila of mBnuffirmnil- Pwrcry jcivtv monnla 4>f a fiimiuv
(■bout IMD) thBtpriKluiwItitlnig* IMIlonaof bt*)' Itnn wnlily, «m»na
UAloitt; but UiCH BguKfl Hem to be highv ihui the «v«rftgB fof that Uiu&
iron into wrought iron; there was some knowledge of the
methods of refining, but there were no processes that could
be applied on a large scale.
The blowing apparatus was perfected by John Smeaton
Tb* biowint u> l?^'}- ^is v/oA was donc largely at the
•'*°" Carron Works in Scotland. These wore the
first works iu Scotland to use coke as fuel, but their success
THE REORGANIZATION OF THE METAL TRADES 3«3
was moderate and the proprietors were becoming dia-
couraged. They were on the point of returning to charcoal
when Smeaton completed his cnmprwwed air pump. The
first pump consisted of four iron cylinders, four feet six
inches in diameter, fitted with pistons having a stroke of
about four feet six inches. The machine was driven by
water-power and produced an almost constant blast with a
pressure of two to three atmospheres. The furnace which
had fonnerly yielded ten to twelve tons now produced forty.
I'la. 10. DsvKUJtKU CvLLSiiuiuu. llLuwUio Enuixe
This new principle in blowing was rapidly extended through-
out the iron industry. Steam engines were applied in a
number of cases to driving the pump though water-power
was most advantageous.
The perfection of the steam eniQne was inspired in part by
these new demands upon it, and in part by the increased
development of pumps generally. The Newcomen engine
was used increasingly in the iron industry, but in most cases
it was not possible to apply the en^e dinwtly to the air
pumps. The engine was used to pump water to drive
wheels that worked the blowing cylindcxa.
L
SM INDUSTBIAL mSTORY OF ENGLAND
II. Jauhb Watt and the Steam Enoinb
TTie story of Watt's engine is not directiy a part of the
history of the iron inciuMtry, but the invention is more
closely related to this mechanical development in the iron
trade than it is to any other sin^e episode. Watt's engine
was detlnitcly the outcome of an attempt to improve the
nawcMDM'a Newcomen engine, and the essential principles
•°<'°* of his Invention are most readily understood
when approached fnsm that point of \iew. The Newcomen
engine was first patented in 1705. It was, properly speak-
ing, an atmospheric en^ne rather than a steam en^ne. The
motive power really came from the difference between the
pressure of the air on tlie upper side of the piston and the
partial vacuum produced in the cylinder by the condea-
aation of the steam. Steam was therefore an incidental
mechanism, a means of producing a rather incomplete vac-
uum. The enj^ne worked at very low pressure. The pis-
tons were lai^. In the later period they sometimes reached
six feet in diameter, and they were usually four or five feet
in diameter. Newcomen's fir^t engine made six or eight
strokes per minute, and his later improved model as many
as ten or twelve. The engine was considerably modified
after the first patents, but by 1718 had acquired a standard
form which it held for many years. The enginee were badly
proportioned, however, and were frequently unsafe. Smea-
ton revised many detuls, improved their proportions, and
increased their efficiency very notably. ^
Watt was brought up as a tool-maker: in the phraseology
of the time a *' mathematical Jnstniment-maker," in our
own tcrminolt^y a maker of scientific apparatus for astro-
-.^. ^., Domical and physical experiments. He set up
his shop nithin the university precincts at
Glasgow and found much of his trade in repairing apparatus
for the college laboratories. His attention was directed to
the steam engine as early as 1759 by a student in the univer-
sity, Robinson. He had made some study of chemistrj- and
became interested in the problems of heat. His work with
I
THE REORGANIZATION OP THE METAL TRADES
Dr. Black led to the discovery of latent heat , and these inter-
ests determined the character of his approach to the problem
of the steam engine.
Setting to work in 1763 to repair a model of Newcomen'g
enpne belonfpng to the college, he made a systematic study
of its problems. After experiments he came to the conclu-
sion that about three fourths of the heat supplied to the
engine was wasted. This appalling waste was due to the
alternate heating and cooling of the cylinder.
The essential idea of his invention was a simple reaction
from this realization of the wastefulness of Newcomen'a
engine. He says (17dS): "I had gone to take connpdoaof
a walk on a fine Sabbath afternoon. I had "*">««>••
entered the Green and pa^tsied the old washing house. I
was thinking of the engine at the time. I had gone as far
as the herd's house when the idea came into my mind that
as steam was an elastic body it would nish into a vacuiim,
and if a comicctiou were made between the cylinder and an
exhausting vessel it would rush into it and might there be
condensed without cooling the cylinder." ' This notion of
a separate condensing chamber was the germ of an entirely
diETerent machine. The initial proposal was merely to save
wasting heat by alternately beating and cooling the cylinder.
The ultimate result was to apply steam alternately to the
different sides of the piston head thus converting the old
atmospheric engine into a genuine steam enfdne. The live
steam acting on the piston head would usually be at a
pressure of 8>c^'eral atmospheres and the partial ^-acuum on
the other side of the piston bead was, if anything, more
complete thtai in the Newcomen engine, so that Watt's
engine was immensely more powerful as well as being more
economical in heat and fuel.
The valve structure of Watt's original machine sceme
crude and imperfect to us to-day, but w© can easily fail to
understand the brilliance of Watt's conception and above
all is it easy to lose sight of the extraordinary advance
mechanically. ' The best indication of the quality of Watt's
S26
INDUSTRIAL mSTOHY OF ENGL.\NI>
I
work is the comment made by Smeaton when he first saw
the engine at work. "It is," he eaid, "a very remarkable
invention, but notwithstanding ite excellence it can never
DifflcuitiN of be brouglit into general use because of the dif-
eii«iiw-biiudii« ficulty of getting its parts manufactured with
sufficient precision." ' The truth of thia comment was
p^fully borne out by Watt's subsequent experience. In
letters written during the work on the eng^, Watt writes:
"You ask what is the principal
hindrance in creating engines?
It is always the smith work."
Some of the first cylindera cast
for him were one eighth of an
inch wider at one end than at
I"P~Ti[M. % the other, and in one cylinder
^ if-.- -.{ of eighteen inches diameter there
iM ' T^vl *^ '^" error of three eighths of
dn an inch.
kl—^BLL The description of the trials
r.0. II. a«.*«at™ us™ bt i"*^ so"^'' significant detaUs. In
Watt in Experiments to Connection with the first trials,
DBMo««TR.iT« ma AovAN. Watt writes to Dr. Small, Sop-
mo Cbambbb tember 20, 1769:
The trial hfis not been dcciBivc, but I am still allowed to flatter
my.setf with hopes. . . . The adjusting and fitting all the parts to*
gethcr took longer time than we thoi^ht of, but after much doaa
labor we got it brought to trial about a fortnight ago. After the air
vttus pumped out, the piston of the cylinder tiescended about two
feet and stopped there, bt^'iiig unwilling to go any further. Steam
waa admitted and it descended. On the second trial, it came down
only a few inches. I thought the bucket of the pump was in fault.
The water being let off, and the bucket drawn the leather was then
found to be flyped, that is, turned up at the edge. On exuniining
the piston of tJic cylinder, the pasteboard used for leather there was
torn. It was conjectured that the jacket hole might not be in the
8«ttiBi op tb* center of the cylinder, and that we endeavored to rco-
•"•i"** tify, three ply of pasteboard was put on the piston
instead of one. A double leather was put on the bucket and wc again
■ SmilM, S.: ItidwUriat BUigrapky, 180. The oriiiiaal reforoncc is in indirect
diBooune.
THE REORGANIZATION OF THE METAL TRADES S«7
set to work. . . . After some strokes the piston failed and oil came
througb the condenser. The piston beinif drawn, cork was put OQ
ia the same manner as the pasteboard. The oil pump was ex-
amined And the pao-
sage thFou^h which
it should di:«<:t]argo
its oil found too
small. ... On put-
ting in the cork the
pbton in descendinK
did not apply itttclf
to the (^linder in
one place on one side.
On examia&tion the
Q'linder was found
to be oval in that
place either from
Bome inaccuracy in
making or from some
injury in wtUng it
up. . . . The leather
of the bucket was
lengthened. The pis-
ton waa changed for
two-ply of paste-
board sened togeth-
er. TTie pump then
threw good water.
The engine went as
Tvcll AS cTCr, but al-
ways waited a little
at the top. '
Fro. 12. SetTnoH or an ENcrm sst up bx Watt
AT Chacewatss in CoKNnAU., 1777
£isbaI/iDC vuloua laptavconnli am tha Ent aoM «l lii*
I
I
The difficulties in building the machine led to the part-
nership with Boulton. Watt desired to set up a complete
machine shop for buildinR tJie enKim^a so that they could
train their own wcjrkmen and develop tools for the purpose.
It was therefore wholly in accord with Smeaton's prophecy
that Watt found it quite as necessary to devote his brilliant
energy to building the engine as to inventinK it. Even at
the best, the enjpne of the period fell far short of realizing
the merits of the design.
> MuirhcMl: Wdfi Mttkmieal Itmntimt, i, 0047.
S28
mOUSTMAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
*
Tooli
It ms a matter of tho utmost difliculty to sot an cn^nc to work,
and Bometimee a matter of equal difficulty to keep it going.
Pwtirtwt Thou(;;h fitted by competent workmen it often would
troubi* not go at all. Then the foreman of ihn factory at
which it waA made waa sent for, and he would almost live beeide the
ei^^e for a month or more, and, after easinft her here and wrewing
her up there, putting in a new part, and altering an old one, pocking
the piston and ti^tening the valves, the machine would at length
be got to work.
We have heard of a piece of machinery of tho old school the
whwla of which, when set to work, made Buch a clatter that the
owner feared that the engine would fall to pieces. The foreman
at last gave it up in despair saying: " I believe we better leave the
cogs to Kittle their differences with one another. They will grind
themselves right in time." *
The defectiveness of these machines is to be attributed in
the main to the inadcciuacy of tool-making equipment. AU
these matters are substantially dependent upon
the character of the lathes available for use.
The lathe in it« early form was no more than a device for
turning the work. The tools had to be held against the
work by the workman, an<l scarce any one could achieve
wgnificant accuracy when the harder metala were involved.
Ivfetai- and wood-working were I)oth at a very low ebb, and
England was far behind France in these respects. The im-
provement of the lathe, however, was achieved independ-
ently in England.
In 1794 Maudelcy developed the slide rest which became
the bepnning of notable departures in tool-making and
metal-working. The slide rest was merely a deWce for
holding the tool against the work, but its significance could
scarcely be overestimated. "It is not saying too much,"
TbatiM* ^y» Naysmilh, "to state that its influence in
'••' impro\Tng and extending the use of machinery
has been as great as that produced by the improvement of
the steam engine. How could we have good steam engines,
if we had no means of boring a true cylinder or turning &
true piston rod, or planing a valve face?" The lathe was
■ &iuIo>,S.: litdttilTial Biogmphv. 181, Mid not«.
THE REORG.YNIZATION OF THE METAL TRADES 390
brought to some measure of efficiency by improvements of
Clement and assumed stable fonn by 1818.
The details of the tool-making inventions are so technical
that general description is scarcely posaible, but the progress
of mechanical development cannot be adequately appre-
ciated unless the d'-te and significance of these highly tech-
nical inventiona are clearly recognized. Watt's desperate
struf^c with his invention was wholly due to the absence
of such facilities, and the rapid mechanical development of
the nineteenth century was made possible by these sub-
sidiary inventions.
III. The METALLUItQICAL PROBLKUB OP THS IrON
Indcstrt
The introduction of remodeled furnaces and the new fud
resulted in the systematic production of pig iron. The in-
duiitry thus faced an intricate metallurgical problem: eoo*
Fro. 13. TBI Rkvbshuutokt Fubmacb
b
Domical conversion of pigs into wrought iron or steel. There
was no chemical knowledge at all Kiifficient for the solution
of these problems. The accomplishments were thcrufore
slow and hesitant. The conversion of pig iron into other
forms required reheating, and as the iron already contained
too much carbon, it was out of the question to bring the
metal again mto direct contact with the fuel. The elimi-
nation of the carbon could be brought about only by some
focm of combustion, most readily produced by stirring the
S30
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
molten cast iron in a shallow furnace over which were passed
the heated gasta from the fire. The rcverberatory furnace
Tiw reT«rb»r«- was used as early aa 1766, when it was patented
tstr (umic* ^^y ^|jg brothers Thomas and Goorgc Cranage.
The process of puddhng was occasionally used at Coal-
brookdale, but not generally introduced. The Cranages do
not seem to have developed puddling. In 1783 Peter
Oniona patented a reverbo-atory furnace and a puddling
process. The specifications contain an unusually complete
description of the process:
There are two furnaces iisc<I in this operation or laveotloi), to wit,
a comniou furnace, in which tht- iron ore or metal is put and there
smelted or melted, and another furnace which is made of stone and
brick and other materials, as usani, and fit to resist the force of fire,
and bound with iron work and well annealed, and into which the
fluid iron or melftl is received from tJie common furnace or smelting
blsGt in its hot liquid state, and when ku reix-ivod is worked or re-
fined as follows: A quantity or stream of cold water must then be
run or be put into the ciBt«m or trouRh under the ash ((rate of the
refining furnace, and the doors thereof closed and luted with sand
or lomc, and the fire place filled with fuel of pitKioal, eoaks, or wood
charcoal, from timL* to tlmti as occjision require;*, and llicn the com-
mon bellows, cylinder or usual machine for blowing or pumpinft air
into the space below the ash grate through the tubes, is begun to be
worked, and the fire excited by the air until the cavity is suiBcieotly
heated, and iheii the hot liquid iron metal is taken and carried in
iron ladles from the above couuuuu furnace and poured Into tJie
re&ning furnaoe tiirouKh an iron door or apperature raised by a
lover; then the eaid apperature us stopped, and the blast of air and
PuddUiw *^^ ^^ ""^ """*" '^^ metal becomee loss fluid and
thickens intf; a kind of paste, which the workman, by
opening the door, turns and stint with a bar or other iron in.stru-
ment or tool, and then closes the apperature agiiin, and must apply
the blast of air and fire until there is a ferment in the metal: and
if no ferment ensues, then he miist turn or convey the blast of cold
air through the tul>e u[k>u the matter, which will cxeite a kind of
fenoent or scoriafication in the matter or metal ; and as the workman
Btire or turns liie mefaJ it will discharge or separate a portion of
scoria or dnder from it, and then the particles of iron will adhere
and Bcparate from the scoria, which particlcti the workman must
collect or gatlier into a ma** or lump, and then shut the door and
beat the innw until the same become of a white color, and then take
%
THE BEORGANIZATION OP THE METAL TRADES SSI
or convey out of the furnace, with a bar of iron or ton^, the said
mass or lump to the forge huomer, and there by repeated blows,
I Bquceae or beat out the remaining ncoria or cinder, when a mass of
mallcublc iron will be formed into an octagonal or other bar called
a kiop, which bar may be then or at any time heated in a fire, and
worked by the workman and the forgo >inmmi>r iuio rods aad bars
of iron, for various purposes.'. . .
This description covers all the essential features of the
proce^ that is usually aisociated with the name of Henry
Cort, and it is not easy to discover now pre- ^ ^^^
cisely what was the original contribution of
Uie various indi\iduflls. Cort's refining or reverberatory
furnace differed from that of Onions in a number of details,
80 that <me may perhaps a^uroe that in this case, as in many
others, the bare abstract idea of the process was the least
original feature of the invention. The great difficulties
seem to have been encountered in the perfection of the de-
tails of the process, and in this respect there can be no doubt
of the significance of Cort's work. It was due to his energy
that this process became a commercially important method
of refining pig iron.
The next Bt:^;e of the process of refining was also notably
transformed thouf^ not invented by Cort. The iron taken
from the puddling furnace had to be worked
under the hammer partly to clear it of certain
residual scoria and cinder, partly to shape it for further use.
This work, especially the shaping of the malleable iron, has
come to be done by rolling milk: series of notched and
grooved rollers which impart to the hot metal the sliapc of
the space left between the rolls. The use of rolls of this
^fpe for the fliaping of metal was suggested as early as 1728,
but the moderate mcthauical e<iuipment of the time con-
fined the use of such apparatus to the preparation of small
pieces, such as bolts and bars. The ase of rolling mills thus
developed gradually. The final extension of the process to
the welding of composite bars and the iUiai>ing of all ty|)es
of material was the work of Puniell and Cort.
. 1 BritM Pateitk, vol. 14, oo. Um
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
Until these mills were introduced nothing could be accom-
plished that was not within the scope of hammering. The
trip-hammer was an established feature of ttie industry', but
its limitations were v&y considerable. The rolling mills
SbMt iroii
Via. It. Pi;ENBU.'fl Rotxs
introduced a number of new products. In the first place it
was possible to work up iron bars of varying composition,
relatively hard grades of iron or steel for the wearing surfaces
while pure wrought iron was put in the center of the bar to
increase its tensile strength. Structural use of iron in the
half century that followed was largely dependent upon the
increased delicacy of manipulation thus made possible.
The most unique product of the rolling mill, however, was
its simplest product, sheet iron. The use of plain rolls set
at varying degrees of closeness made it possible
to produce large sheets of malleable iron. This
led to the construction of tanks, boilers, and iron ships, and
all these developments followed very rapidly upon the intro-
duction of the rolling mill. The first iron vessel was a canal-
boat, built in July, 1787, by John Wilkinson of Binninghaiu.
This boat was seventy feet long and six feet eight inches
wide. It was made of plates five sixteenths of an inch thick.
Stem and stcni posts were of wood. There was a good deal
of canal-boat buildinf; at that time, and it may be that we
are not well informed as to all the details of these early
experimeDta. ,
SS4 INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND ^B
Xlichard Trevithick developed many applications in the
use of tanks and boilers. Strangely enough people hesitated
to MB6 iron tanks for containing drinking water. About
1808 accidental discovery that water standing in an old
boiler had no unpleasant taste or smcU led to on extensive
development in the use of iron for the construction of storage
tanks on shipboard.
The use of iron in shipbuilding is advantageous because of
its greater strength and also because it increases the carrying
capacity of the vessel, bulk for bulk. The hulk of a wooden
vcssc] weighs about 55 per cent of its total displacement;
tJie hull of an iron vessel, about 35 per cent; and of a steel
vessel, only 25 per cent.
I IV. Sm EjiNnY Bessbmer
The career of Henry Bessemer is dgmficant in two re-
spects. His career as a whole represents the culmination of
BMMBMf't tihc clmnges wrought by the Industrial llevolu-
•"•*■ tioD. He is one of the first inventors to achieve
great wealth. This aspect of his career is therefore trf sig-
nificance in tracing the general industrial change, and in
Btudying the relation of improved social technique to indi-
vidual qualities. Bessemer typifies the period of achieve-
nient as dramatically as Watt and Crompton represent the
unremunerated struggle of the early period. Crompton re-
ctuvcd nothing for hit invention until a Parliamentar)' pcn-
aion was granted him late in life. Watt achieved a modest
competence. Bessemer made se\'eral fortunes.
Beasemcr was bom in 1813 in a small town in Hcrtford-
■bire. His father was a manufacturer of gold (chains which
were executed with steel dies. The boy was given oppor-
tunities for a good deal of mechanical work. He rec^eived
Bomc training in lathe and shop work, and did amateur work
of variou-s kinds. His chitT interest at this time was mould-
ing and the making of castings of fra^le things. The de-
velopment of some of this work led him to the discovery
that the embossed stamps used by the Government Revenue
Department might easily be counterfeited, and be was at
THE REORG.\NIZ.\TION OF THE METAL TRADES 885
much pains to ioRtruct the Government in means to prevent
it. The Government utilized his process and his kiuRht^
hood was conferred on htm nearly a generation later in
recognition of thia assistance for which he had never re-
ceived any adequate financiaJ compensation. This work on
the Government stamps was the first of his adventures in
London, the beginning of an attempt at earning a lining by
invention.
It would be somewhat of an exaggeration to surest that
Bess«ner deliberately embarked upon a career of profes-
sional invention, but while the design was never . ^ , _
BAitj projects
consciou.<Oy formulated in his mind the de-
scription of what ho actually did can hardly be expressed in
other tenos. His mind was full of schemes: economical
methods of sawing plumbago and compressing the dust to
make lead pencils, type-casting by machinery, a type-setting
machine, a method (or embossing velvet by a cylindrical
press. These were the more important schemes which filled
the year 1838. The velvet embossing proved to be a suc-
cess and might have constituted a permanent employment,
but Bessemcr's mind was too fertile in new schemes to
limit his attention to any single business.
Shortly after the ranboselng of velvet was successfully ac-
complished Bessemer had occasion to do a little gilt letter-
ing for his sister. She had a>>ked him to decorate the cover
of an album of sketches, and his attention was attracted to
the character of the stuff sold him in the shops for this pur-
pose. He bouglit this gilt powder at a price which would
be consistent with the price of gold, but B<?ssemer Busi)ecte<I
its genuineness and was moved to apply the acid test which
revealed the fact that this gilt powder was mere ^^
bronze. The discovery challenged his atten-
tion. It seemed so particularly worth while to know how
one might convert braes into a substance having the value
of gold. It seemed almost like the transmutation of metals.
He discovered by a careful search in the BritiMli MuM'um
that the bronze powder was manufactured by a most labo*
rtoua band process. Little sheets of bronze were hammered
sw
INDUSTRUL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
out betwocD gold-beaters' skitui, and the brome leaf thus
obtained was subsequently pulverized.
Now it seemed to Bessemer that there could bo do great
difficulty in preparing bronze powder by mechanical means.
He proposed to himself to rule thin shcots of bronze in a
croBs-hatcheci pattern so that there would be a large number
of little particles standing on end. These would thtm be
shaved off with a knife and there would be a bronze powd^.
Experiments revealed the fact that bronze powder could bo
obtained, but it was wholly unlike the bronze powder of
commerce; there was no brilliance, none of th© gilt quality.
The failure of this attempt seemed complete, but his at-
tention was called to the value of microscopic examinatioD
in a wlioUy accidental fashion and he was moved to compare
under the microscope the bronze powder of commerce with
his bronze dust. His powder was really a mass of crude
little Bha\'ings, bright on one side and hopelessly dull on the
other.
This gave him a sufficient start and the process was trAns-
formed and developed with a view to obtaining this sli^tly
* iBwhBnif ■ different result. The character of these new
P**** features is not wholly revealed in the auto-
bioRraphy. The process was deliberately kept secret.
When the plans were perfected, Bessemer decided that the
process was too simple to be adequately protected by patent^
and consequently resolved to secure the benefits of his in-
vention by absolute secrecy. This involved the mainte-
nance of secrecy in getting the machinery built as weil as
secrecy in the operation of the works. To guarantee secrecy
during the building of the machinery it was necessary to
award the contracts for the various machines to a number
of firms, giNong each firm a contract for the parts of several
nmchincs and thus wittiholding all knowledge of the purpose
for which these various parts were to be used. This was, of
A tart of su- couree, a very severe test for the various ma*
chiMabop* pijing ahope. It is very rare that a shop ia
required to rely entirely upon drawings, and there is usiuJly
opportunity to test the accuracy of the wurk done by partial
THE REORGANIZATION; OF TIIE METAL TRADES 337
or complete assembling of the machine. Bessemer bad drawn
out bis machine in complete detail and the various shops
were charged with executing the designs.
To insure secrecy of operation the machinery was de-
signed to be completely automatic. There would be noth-
ing to do but feed the machines and take away ^^ ^.ttorj
the product. The factor^' could thus be oper^
ated with an engineer and Bcssemer's brothera-ui-law; and
the engineer was not to know any secrets. The boiler-room
was separated from the business part of the factory by a
brick wall with no opening except what was indispensable
for the transmission of power. The freight entrance was
provided with double locks and door, a kind of air chamber
in fact to which the draymen were admitted only after the
inside door had been carefully locked antl from which they
were carefully excluded before that inside door was ever
opened. For forty years no one other than the three racn
ever cnwsed the threehold of that factory. The machinery
was designed furthermore with reference to being set up by
these three men without further assistance and this required
a number of special features in design for the heavier castings.
In 1843 the various part£ were delivered at the outer
door and the machines assembled by Bessemer and hia
brothers-in-law; the power was gotten up, and finally turned
on. The results were rather different from those that char-
acterized the assembling of early steam engines in the days
of Watt. These machines whose entire plan had been known
only to the inventor had been so carefully executed that
there was no signihcant change to be made in CDinpi«t«
any respect The process was a complete sue* •«*«•
cess mechanically and economically. At a cost of about
twenty-five cents a product was secured that would sell for
very nearly five doUara. The only obstacle to complete
domination of the market was sufficient knowledge of sundry
metallurgical details that would be necessary to produce
the difFerent colors of fplding powders. Bessemer proceeded
to place his product through a broker at a little leas than
the cost of production in Germany where the hand-made
INDDSTRUL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
biter««W
powder came from. He was peraonally w-aJted upon by
rcprejientatives of the German trade, and it was intimated
that such severe competition could me-an nothing but dis-
a»t(!r to atl. Bessemer failed to see any imminent disaster
and refused to put the price any higher.
The German trade was practically killed, but before (he
Germans abandoned all hope an attempt was made to icam
the secret. An agent came from Niimberg
and attempted to study the in-going and out-
going employees and employers at the factory. Hie em-
barra-ssmeut was the failure to see any employees, but ho
finally pitched upon the en^eer and endeavored to secure
information from him. The enpneer promptly iufonned
Bessemer of these attempts and at Bessemer's suggestion
agreed to arrange a meeting between the German agent and
Mr. Bessemer himself. At the appointed time Bessemer in
taiit<-ful workingman's attire met the agent in a neighboring
aie-house, and, for a consideration, imparted some very
wonderful information on the subject of bronze powder-
making. Thu? information was of such a remarkable char-
acter that when Mr. Bessemer happened to pass through
NQrnberg a good many years later he was waited upon dur-
ing the first evening of his stay by a representative of the
Police Department. He was told that the authorities would
assume no respondbility for his personal safety xmless he
were willing to be escorted by a bodyguard of gendarmes.
So Mr. Bessemer and his party saw Uie sights of Niimberg
under escort.
The bronze powder establishment indicates to a remark-
able extent the technical advance in mactiine-building that
took place between 1800 and 1S40. In 1800
the designs could not have been executed. The
possibility of meeting such a test even with relatively
siiDple machinery is the first decisive indication of the af^•
proaehing maturity of Uie mechanical technique which is
the characteristic featiu^ of modem industrial develop-
ments. The achievement of such technical results, too, was
profoundly ugmficant to inventors. Unless something
AnllMlca*
»
^
THE REORGANIZATION OP THE METAL TRADES 338
Btartlingly new were done it was no longer necessary for an
inventor to wear out Iub life building \m machine. The
profits of invention were thus brought more nearly within
reach of the inventor who began to feel the economic ad-
vantage of improvemeots in machinery which In the old
days was seldom if ever resized by the inventors thcm-
sdves, and even if some gains were forthcoming as was the
case with Arkwright it was never the full measure of the
mechanical value of the inventions. Before the inventor
could achieve significant success it was essential that the
society around him should be able to execute and utiliae
new ideas. No great mechanical achievements were possible
until the general mechanical capacity of the age had attained
significant standards of accuracy and versatility.
The eigniticancc to the inventor of delegating the execu-
tion of designs must be fully eWd^t. Until the ^ort ctf
building a machine can be transferred to other in,mtof
shoulders, further invention is practically im-
poisiblc. The powers of an inventor can thus be given a
more adequate expression in conjunction with significant
technical capacities in society at lai:ge, and this was the
case with Bessemer. The bronze powder establishment
afforded him more than a comfortable maintenance, and he
straightway created laboratories and drafting-rooms for the
development of new ideas. The enumeration of all his
projects would be tedious. A good many matters were
studied that led to no particular conclusion, particularly
problems connected with glass-making. Bessemer came
upon a number of important ideas, but developed none of
them. In connection with the Co'stal PaJace Exhibition of
1851 a prize was offered for a new type of cane-sugar press.
'Bessemer was interested in the project and turned in a
jiachine which won the competition. Tlie alTair does not
seem to have engaged bis attention for very long and the
idea of the machine is essentially simple, hut it reduced the
weight of the sugar press to an extraordinary degree and in-
creai%d ita effectiveness in the extraction of juice. The press
is still used, though it is not now the most oonamoo form of
prees.
J
840 INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
In 1853 he began some experiments with projectiles. He
proposed to develop a rifled projectile to be discharged from
ProjaeiiiM smooth-borc guns. Instead of establishiriR the
•Ad cau rotation of the projectile by rifling on the barrel
of the gim he proposed to accomplish the marae object by the
action of tlie gases on slots cut in the bottom of the pro-
jectile according to the principles of the whirligig water
fountain. By properly designed slots the tangential force
of the escaping gases woiild set up the desired rotary motion.
To demonKtrate this principle Bessemer prepared a dummy
projectile that would fit the ordinary water tumbler so that
he could demonstrate his new idea at dinner parties. It
proved impossible to interest the British ordnance author-
ities in this project, but he arranged for a meeting with
the officers of the French army and in December, 18M, a
test was made at VersaJUes. Some projectiles prepared
by Bessemer were shot from ordinary cannon with results
wholly in accord with Bessemer's statements. The French
officials, however, declared that such departures b artillery
were not then feasible as the castr-iron guns were not strong
enough to stand the higher charges used.
This suggested to Mr. Beesemer the desirability of im-
proving the quality of iron and steel. At that time there
stMi-nuUiu ^^ "" ^*^^' ^^''*'6 f*"" structural purposes.
Crucible steel of very high grade could be pre-
pared and the less reliable kinds of steel from which crucible
steel was prepared were attainable, though at high cost.
Steel cost two hundred and fifty to three hundred dollars per
ton. He set out in his experiments with the principle of
adding earbon by the fusion of small quantities of crucible
Bted with malleable iron in a reverberatory furnace. Hia
chief problem was to secure a sufficient degree of heat. In
order to raise the temperatxirc in the furnace a hot-air blast
was tximod in to assist in the combu.ttion of gases that usuaUy
escaped. This general process is in substantial outline the
open-hearth process usuaUy known as the Siemens-Martin
process. BessMner patented the process and the originality
of his work can scarcely be contested, though he abandoned
THE REORGANIZATION OP THE MET.U, TRADES S41
this line of development when the idea of decarburization
was FiigRested.
The fundamental suggestion for his converter came to
him incidentally. A hole in the furnace had been stopped
with a piece of pig iron and he observed that it souvtijon for
was very completely free of carbon alter a con- **" w*"'"'
sidcrable heating of the fumaco. These tendencies had
been observ-ed by otheiB in connection with the use of hot-
ak blasts, but no particular consequences drawn from them.
It then occurred to him that he could accomplish more than
mere production of steel from malleable iron and he now set
to work to produce malleable iron from pig iron without
puddling or rolling. He proposed to accomplish this by in-
ternal combustion. The principle is precisely the same as
that of puddling, though Bessemer proposed a very much
more intense kind of internal combustion, a process suf'
ficiently v^rous to dispense with all stirring by hand. The
first experiments were conducted in crucibles that were
heated externally and after some mcxlerate success he set to
voric to create a sufijcieutly powerful bia«t to develop in-
ternal combustion adequate to maintaining the metal in its
liquid state.
An experiment was tried with results equi^'alent to the
eruption of a small volcano. The violence far mirpassed
anythmg that Bessemer had expected. The „ _, _,
results, however, were merely typical of what
ia happening now in thousands of Bessemer converters,
portly after the blast is turned on there is a tremendous
shower of sparks produced by the combustion of the silicon.
This is the impurity that used to be hammered out of the
iron at the forge. After an inter\'al, the violence of the
dispky abates and finally ceases. An interval of relative
quiescence is followed by a more considerable display of
fireworks. The metal in the converter boils violently with
explosions and there is a great display of sparks. This
display is the result of internal combustion of the carbon
and when it ce&ees the ur blast is promptly shut off. The
product is pure malleable iron. The first ti'^a^ \.vA\>!«k^
J
INDUSTEUL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
MS
an ingot weighing about mven hundred pounds, purer than
could be produced by puddling.
These experiments were concluded in August, IS56, and
THE REORGANIZATION OP THE METAL TRjIDES 843
shortly afterwards Bessemer read a papa- on his process at
the mectiDg of the British Association for the pnuic ■&-
Advancement of Science. The paper was re- ""^w*"""*
ceived with great excitement and many ironmastere applied
at once for rights to utilize the
process. Presently complaints be-
gan to come in. Various iroomas-
tera declared that the process was
a fraud and would network. They
spoke of Bessemer with real bitter-
ness and the attitude of the iron
trade changed from one of uncriti-
cal praise to equally uncritical hos-
tility. Bessemer repeated his testa
with the same results. It then
occurred to him that there mi^t
be some difference in the results
c^tained with different kinds of pig
iron.
The experiments when tried with British p^ iron pro-
duced significantly different results from the earlier experi-
ment in which Bes.semer had used the finefit umitatioiu oi
Swedish pig iron and it was discovered that the "^ v"x>—
presence of phosphorus in some of the British ores made
them wholly unsuitable for this particular process in the
production of either malleable iron or ste^. Strangely
enough many of these English ores were capable of produc-
ing good puddled iron, but Bessemer recognized that the
commercial use of his process would attach special value to
Don-phosphorus-bearing ores, and, with the aid of a group
of friends, concessions in non-phosphorus-bearing ore-beds
in both Kogtand and Spain were at once obtained. Vilth
proper pig iron, malleable iron or steel could be produced for
about thirty-five dollars a ton. The development of the
process, however, required a great deal of application. AH
the details — form of converter, lining, production of blast,
and the like — required careful development, and Bessemer
said later that if he bad known as much about the iron bua-
Via. 17. VwiTiCAi. SscTsoN or
TDK Bbsskukb Coxvektbk
SM INDUSTEUL HISTORY OF EXGIAND
ness when he began ax he came to know shortly, he would
scarcely have had the courage to attempt the project at
all. The details of the converter were not perfected until
1859. In tiie inter\'ening period experiments were tried out
with a great many different forms and types, but the coin
verter of 1859 was substantially the modem f<niD.
The announcement that the BeBBem^ process was re-
stricted to ores free from phosphorus at once challenged the
pho.pbora»- attention of the iron trade. There were aig-
bMriss oiM nificant deports of pbosphoriis-bcaring ore in
En^and in the Cleveland district and most German orca
were phosphorus-bearing ores. After the announcement of
the BesBemcr process the price of pig iron prepared from
Beasemor ores was double that of phosphorus-bfaring pig
iron. Under these circumstances there was a great premium
set upon any development that would modify other ores or
processes so as to render them auitable for xxse in the con-
verter. There was deliberate cjcperimentation. One of the
leading metallurgists of the time said in 1872 that he had
made over a thousand experiments to remove the phosphorus.
In 1878 at a meeting of the Iron and Steel Institute Mr.
Bell read a paper proposing a method for the removal of
phosphorus. The process had not been perfected and
proved to be incapable of complete success, but the paper
called forth statements of a simultaneous discovery of an
Thomu and adequate process from Mr. Snetus and Messrs.
OikkriM Thomas and Gilchrist. Mr. Thomas had set to
work from the point of view of pure chemistry. The phos-
phorus was present in the ore as an acid and it was his con-
viction that the phosphorus could be made to combine with
lime or manganese. The difficulty was largely to give the
lime sufGcient hardness to make it a practical lining for the
converter. After laboratory expmments on a small scale
he joined forces in 1875 with a cousin, P. C. Gilchrist, who
was a chemist at an iron-works in Wales. Tentative trials
were made for a year and a half. In June, 1877, the director
of the Blaenavon Works gave them facilities for experiments
on a larger scale. The process of preparing the basic lining
wm perfected.
THE REORGANIZATION OF THE METAL TRADES 345
In the vlnter of that same year patents were taken out
and a paper prepared for a meeting of the Iron and Sted
Institute at Parts in February, 1S78, but the paper was
scarcely noticed. The discovery was announced to the
manager of some of the Cleveland iron-works and further
experiments were made. A public demonstration was given
April 4, 1879, which attracted great attention. Ironmasters
came to Middlesboruugh from Belgium, France, n* bute
Prussia, Austria, and the United States. p"««
Shortly after this there iras a meeting of the Iron and Steel
Institute at London in which the young chemists read a
paper and discussion was held. After the meeting, Middles-
borough was again besieged and the process again studied.
The process was perfected in its mechanical details as early
as 18S1; simultaneously, in England and on the Continent.
Patent rights were purchased by Gennan firms and some
attempts were made to manufacture by the process outside
of the patent. The validity of the patents was attacked,
but successfully defended and under that patent the iron
and steel industry assumed its present form.
The most dramatic consequence of this technical develop-
ment was the bringing into the market of the great masses
of the Lorraine ores; up to that time practically valueless.
By reason of the successful development of this process they
attained commercial significance and the immense quantity
of them at once rendered them the most important single
source of iron in Continental Europe. This immense supply
of iron became the basis of the development of the iron
industries of Germany and resulted in the displacements
between Great Britain and Gennany that have had such
serious political consequences.
L
CHAPTER XIV
THE RISE OF THE MODERN FACTORY SYSTEM
I. The Definition of a Factort
Description of the geness of the modem factory is dif-
iicult becaufio all historical accounts are so profoundly
influenced by the definition of the factory. Accounts that
may SGcm to differ in important details represent merely
different conceptions of the thing descrilwd. It would seem
dearable that the matter be approached from a purely
hi^tftrical point of view, without the prejudices created by
elaborately formulated notions of the factory. It is of
course imposiable to avoid definition even in a purely
historical account, but if the ideal of historical investigation
is achieved these definitions will be an interpretation of
events that occurred rather than an artificial form or mould
into which events have been crowded with IVwrufiteaa
indifference to the adaptability of the events to the mould.
The preconceived notions that are most likely to cause
confusion appear both in popular conceptions of the factory
Common ajid in some special wTJting. These views are
daoaitioa* therefore peculiarly dangerous. The presence
of machinery in the factory and the relatively large scale of
production both seem to be highly characteristic features, so
that it is not strange to find those elements cmphaaizod as
the fundamental features of the factory. The early English
factory acts; Dr. Vte, a sympathetic obscr\*or; and Marx, a
most bitter critic were united in the opinion that machinery
made the factory. It became necessarj- to distinguish the
tool from the machine, but though there were difficulties
they did not seem insuperable. This was lately in accord
with the opinions of the average citizen. In the words of
Marx, the instruments of labor employed the workman;
instead of being the foundation of the industrial process the
workman became an incidental feature of the productive
THE RISE OP THE MODERN FACTORY SYSIEM S47
gyBtem, his irambere determined by the needs of the ma-
chines, his skill subordinated to tho ingenuity of the new
contrivance. Ure describes the factory in less forceful lan-
Ruase, "a vast automaton, composed of various mechanical
and intellectual organs, acting in uninterrupted concert for
tho production of a common object, all of them being sub-
ordinate to a self-regulated mo^-ing force." IjCgislative defi-
nitions and census enumerations generally define the fac-
tory in terms of numbers; it is of course freely recognized
that such definitions are somewhat artificial, but it is none
the less easy to assume that the essential feature of the fac-
tory consists in the number of hands employed.
The other aspect of the factory has also been the basis of
distinctions from the out^t : the factory workers are gathered
together in buildings or rooms wholly devoted itDntwn md
to their work; the establishment does not serve '"*'^'»*'"'
as a home for either employer or emplo>'ee. The aggrega-
tion of workers created new problems of discipline. Wien
work was done in the household no regularity of hours was
necessary. The craft-worker enjoyed considerable freedom
as to the manner and time of doing such work as was nec-
essary for his support. Even when the putting-out system
had become elaborately organized it was not possible to
exert much pressure on the workers as to the time of finishing
the work allotted to them. The aggregation of the workers
in factories made it possible to Improve the timing of the
productive process; tho vrork could be made to fiow along
without interruptions: no group of workers need be oblige<L
to wait for the group engaged on the earlier stages of the
work. The division of labor that existed under the putting-
out system could thus be more effectively carried out, but
on one condition — the subjection of the whole body of
workmen to a systematic schedule.
The organization of factories thus gave a different mean-
ing to the relation between the capitalist employer and
the workman. The dependence of the worker c^taikm
on the capitalist was not increased; under the *"'»•■
putting-out sj-stem every possible degree of dependence
84B
INDUSnUAL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
existed: at an early date it became common for the capitalist
to own the machines or tools, and in the later phases of this
system the capitalists owned the entire e&tabli3hmcnt. The
Hand-Loom Weavers' Commissioners reported that a firm
at Newark, Notts, employed about one hundred weavers
in cottages; "the sj-stem is for the manufacturer to build
cottages adapted for weavers, and filled up with looms, and
to let these cottages at a moderate weekly rental: every
weaver taking a house and not having a family sublet
portions of the cottage." The gathering together of such
cottage workers into a factory involved only one change;
the introduction of discipline. The capitalist employer be-
came a supervisor of every detail of the work; without any
change in the general character of the wage contract, the
employer acquired new powers which were of great social
significance. He acquired authority which waa irksome to
the men and almost certain to become the source of much
frictton.
It is doubtless possible to exaggerate the extent of the
increased authority of the employer under the factory sys-
tem; the small master of the earlier periods
undoubtedly exercised some supervision over
his journeymen and apprentices, but in theory his avithority
was that of a parent or fellow-workman, and it seems likely
that in actual practice supervision amoimted to nothing
that would imply a different relation between master and
journeyman. The capitalist employer of the putUng-out
system certainly exercised no powers of supervision. It was
therefore an essentially new thing for the capitalist to be a
disciplinarian.
The irksomeness of discipline to the workmen would seem
to exphun the slow development of the factory system. Ex-
HoMUtirof perimentation with the factory system begins
a*m«a in England as early as the sdxtoenth century
and in France in the seventeenth century, if the presence of
power machinery is not made the essential test of the fao*
tory. The relative failure of these early attempts is cu-
riously puzzling. In England actual l^ialatiun in the mtcrcst
H««po>wwa
THE RISE OP THE MODERN FACTORY SYSTEM S49
of the older sj-stem must have played some part in prevent-
ing a significant development of factories, but the usual
futility of legislation to check a powerful social tendency
makes one hesitate to account for the late development of
factories solely, or even primarily, by reason of antagonistic
legislation. Toward the close of the scvcnteentli century
the restrictive legislation was still in force, but there were
developments toward the factory even in those trades and
areas that were included within the restrictive laws. Fur-
t^ennore, there was little legii^Iative restriction in France,
and yet the sporadic experiments with the factory system
led to no large change in industrial organization. Facto-
ries became permanently established only when there were
special features which overcame the social and economic
drawbacks.
Although wc cannot be certain, there is reason to believe
that the factory system did not afford a significant margin
of profit as compared with the putting-out system imtil
machinery became relatively elaborate. The factory thus
held out little hope cd special profits to the capitalist in the
early period, and, as it was bitterly opposed by the men,
there was no general tendency to substitute the factory for
the organization of cottage industry under the putting-out
Bj-stem. Unfortunately, wc cannot determine the relative
importance of these two factors in the post- ^ ^ _«— w
ponement of the factory development; but the
late evidence makes it clear that factories developed slowly
even after they had become profitable to the capitalist.
This was notably the case with weaving factories; the baud-
loom weavers could not be induced to forsake the freedom
of the old system under which they had enjoyed more in-
dependence even than farm laborers.
Speaking of the oonditions in Coveotry, the special com-
missioner writes:
With all it8 u£iial dietnwi and depjadntion, tlw trade of Bb^
band weaviDg (requiring a rHjiiiiimiii of strci^^ and ikiU) ofFera
half the liberty of eavaee life, for which the uninstructed man is
almoet tempted to sacrifice half the enjoyments tA the civiUzod.
S50
INDUSTMAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
Thug, there is a well known feeling nmong the farm laborers, the
brick-layers, and other ordtnarj' art.izan» in this district, that it ts
very hard on them to be turned out at early houni every day in-
stead of bcinK able to take what hours they please, like the ribbon
weaver, and like him, take sairti Monday,' and saint 'Hiesday too
if they choose. Precisely the counterpart of these feclingB is also
found in the other sex. Notwil h.staiidinR the wretched state in
which, until recently, the trade had long been, it was itii[K)ssil>io
for respectable families to procure domestic servants There is
the greatest difficulty in prevailing upon parents to let their chil-
dren come to service. The young women look down with scorn
upon it, and prefer the liberty of the Monday and Satunlay, the
exemption from confinement, and the little Query, with the liberty
to wear it, which the loom furnishes them.
From all sections of England there came similar testimony.
The great attraction of hand-loom weaving was the degree
signiacaaca of freedom enjoyed, the weavers refusing to
at nxthiowi let^vQ their cottages for the factory even when
the factory offered higher wages. It would seem that the
discipline of the factory was not merely a dintiugubilung
feature, but an obstacle to the introduction of the system.
Machinery became important in the development of the
sj'stem because its introduction ultimately forced the work-
man to accept the discipline of the factoty. As long aa
there was some measure of freedom of choice between cot-
tage and factory the workman preferred the cottage. The
general development of the factory thus required the ex-
istence of commanding economic advantages, advantages
so great as to destroy any real freedom of choice on the part
of the worker. The development of the factory is thus
closely associated with the introduction of machiner>', but
it would inevitably distort one's conception of the rise of
the system if the use of machinery were made the character-
istic tfist of the existence of a factoiy. Machiner>' made the
factory a successful and general form of organisation, but
there can be a factory "without machinery."
The factory "without machinery" was not as conspicuous
> Mood&y was uiuiUIy devoted to Retting new work from the cftpitAUst
•Bjdoyor, m Hut do ctafl-work vta done.
L
THE RISE OF THE MODERN FACTORY SYSTEM 351
in the earlier phases of the movement as it became later; the
lo^cal order of devdopment does not 0)incide uaotte* wtot-
with the chronological growth of the new sys- *"" "•ehiotrr
tern. Before power-loom wea\'ing became significantly es-
tablished, many manufacturers collected hand-loom weavers
fat factories, so that the transition in this branch of the
textile trades took place just before the introduction of the
new machinery. Ilie development of what is known in
the reports as the "shop loom" was accompanied by an
increase in the division of labor which separated the oper-
ations requiring skill from the work that demanded tittle
special training. The work of the old craft-weaver included
tibree distinct operations; winding or quUUng, the initial
preparation of the warp; the putting of the warp on the
toom beam; the actual wearing, or passing of the shuttle
through the warp. The two preparatory processes required
considerable skill, the work with the shuttle demanded little
more than reasonable ingenuity.
There is abundant testimony in the reports of the Hand-
Loom Weavers' Commission to show that the weavers most
frequently referred to were practically un- owkfli^dkbar-
Bkilled laborers. One manufacturer declared •" " '•"■'•
that an apt person who bad never seen a loom would be
able to figure out the nature of the operation in the course
of an hour without any help, and, with a week of practice,
might become a perfect journeyman worker. These lower-
grade workmen were given prepared warps, and, although
there is no documentary proof, one would suppose that this
development led soon to the gathering together of workers
in the shops or factories of the capitalist employer. There
were ob\ious advantages: the master would know the nature
of the work in process, he would be better able to chock
the output of the individual weaver, and in most cases the
weaver would have better equipment than if left to his own
lesources.
In Gloucestershire, the shop looms were introduced in the
course of a strike. The master weavers, presuming that the
manufacturers were wholly dependent u^qd. \iiS£m.,'«*aK*. -;«&-
SRS
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
in a body; the manufacturers then faired the journeymen
Xnmbar oi formerly employed by the master weavers and
Aop loom* ggt them to work on looms set up on the prem-
ises. The master weavers were left almost entirely without
work. In 1840 there were 824 looms actively employed
and 230 idle looms in the 43 wearing factories of the country.
The total number of hand-looms is not given, but the major
portion of the hand-looms must have been in the factories.
In the Coventry ribbon district there were 645 hand-looms
in factories, 1264 hand-looms employed by capitalists out-
eide the factories, and 121 looms in the hand« of independ-
ent mastera. At Norwich, 656 hand-looms were in factories
out of a total of 3398 for the district a« a whole. The
same system was in use in the woolen district in the west
of England, though no figures are a\'ailable. Tlie power-
looms were beginning to appear in these districts, but in
1840 the power-loom was not beyond the experimental
Btagc in the woolen industries.
II. Legal Obotacleb to the Establishment of the
Factory System
The legislation of the Elizabethan period was designed to
prevent the growth of factories; several features of the not-
able statutes would technically interfere with the establish-
ment of factories; each craft was to be the exclusive occupa-
tion of persons trained in the craft; persons engaged in fio-
iahing operations were forbidden to have looms, and vice
vena; further extension of the industry in the country dis-
tricts was forbidden; the number of appren-
tices was limited. Of all the^ restrictions the
limitation of the number of apprentices was perhaps most
important in the late seventeenth century. The tendencies
toward the factory system manifested themselves chiefly in
the increase in the number of unskilled workers who would
be called apprtmticcs, though their relation to the master
was essentially different from that of the apprentice of the
earlier period.
The national system of apprenticeship that was eetab-
Appc«Dtic«iUp
THE RISE OP THE MODERN FACTOEY SYSTEM 3SS
lished by the Statute of 1563 began to lose its force in the
following century. The disorders of the civil R«iiiiatiaM
wars were a great blow to the old organization """"^
of industry and trade. The number of artisans was greatly
reduced and it was necessary to relax nmny of the pro-
visions of the statutes. After the Restoration an attempt
was made to revive all the features of tlie system of strictly
regulated industry, but it was too late. The trades were too
largely dependent upon the workmen who had never served
a real apprenticeship; legal fictions were introduced. For a
period the illegal workmen were fined, sometimes after in-
dictment, sometimes periodically assessed small sums to buy
off indictment. Toward the close of the seventeenth cen-
tury the status of illegal workmen was further improved.
A man was to be accounted master of hie craft if he had
exercised it for se^'cn years, so that an ill^al workman who
escaped indictment for seven years became a fully estab-
lished craftsman. The gilds and companies still maintained
their rules, but the enforcement of the rules was becoming
increasingly difficult. The compulsi\'e elements in the sys-
tem were largely gone by the beginning of the eighteenth
ccntxuy. The old legislation thus ceased to be an effective
obstacle to the concentration of workmen just at the time
that it was coming to be profitable. Young persons and
imskilled hands could bo collected by employers despite the
opposition of the adult workers who still adhered to the
older rules.
The history of the knit«tocking industiy affords the beet
illustration of thia type of development. Tlio introduction
of the stocking-frame made it possible to utilize Knii-wocidai
a lower grade of labor, and this new labor force '^»*n'
was brought into the industry under the guise of apprentices.
Capitalist employers utilized such hands in preference to the
journeymen and small masters who had been trained to the
ctaft. The journeymen demanded that the limitations of
numbers be enforced. The courts recognized the justice of
their request; the Statute of .\ppreuticcs was applicable to
the craft, but the masters (i.e., the capitalist «.m\>Wi<ec^ ^£<i^
354
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
nothing to enforce the law. Frame-breaking began in 1710,
and, despite heavy penalties, continued sporadicfUly through-
out the centiir>'. In all probability certain rudimentary
forms of the factory became established in the industry at
an early date, thou^ they did not secure exclusive control
of the industry as a whole.
A more determined attempt to secure the enforcement of
the old rules was made by the woolen weavers of the Leeds
TrmiM* district toward the close of the century. The
at Leoda factory sj-stem began to appear in this district
about 1796; the capitalists employed women, children, and
some journeymen who had served no apprenticeship. The
cloth made in this region was sold at the Leeds Cloth Hall,
and until 1796 no cloth was admitted that was not made by
a master weaver who had sen-ed seven years' apprentice-
ship. In that year the trustees of the Hall voted to admit
cloth made by any one who had worked five years at the
trade; sbortlj' after, any one was allowed to sell cloth at the
Hall. The craft-weavers were thus forced to compete with
the new sj'stcm of manufacture. They formed an associa-
tion for the protection of their interests which was called
the Institution. This organization was maintained despite
the Combination Laws.
The weavers were not quick to underetand the merits of
their case. The capitalists were guilty of illegal practices,
pToiteotioD. b"*' "o ^u*** '^^^ brought until 1802-03. The
loquifT, wid initiative was then taken by men in the west of
**^*'^ Enf^and. The master manufacturers were sued
for infringement of the Statute of Apprentices. They re-
plied by having a bill introduced into Parliament pro\'iding
for the suspension of all restrictive legislation pending in-
quiry. The small masters of the Leeds district joined in the
opposition to this bill, but the bill was passed. The organ-
ization of the journeymen was improved and funds were
collected to present the case to Parliament. The master
manufacturers withdrew and formed a separate organization.
The continuance of the annual acts suspending the restric-
tive legislation created much aDtagonism among the journey-
THE aiSE OP THE MODERN FACTORY SYSTEM S5S
men and in 1S05 there was some violence. In the following
year the Select Committee on the Woolen Trade reported in
favor of a repeal of the regulative legislation, and in 1813
and 1814 the old IpgiKlation was repealed.
The opposition of the journeymen had thus accomplished
nothing more than the clearing of the statute book of the
obsolete laws. The factories that had already begun to
fq>pear could now develop without fear of legal interference
of any kind. The repeal of these old laws was defended by
the manufacturers on the grounds of a laissez-faire policy,
but one should avoid assuming that Parliament thereby
adopted the policy. The laws were obsolete and their
repeal was desirable on such grounds. Parliament, how-
e\'er, had already passed the first act to regulate conditions
in factories and was soon to proceed further with such legis-
lation; it would thus be imfortunate to regard the ex-parte
defense of a measure by the manufacturers as an indication
of a policy maturely and deliberately adopted by Parliament.
III. The Rise asd Phoqress of the Factory Ststkm
The history of experimentation with the factory sj'stcm
in the eighteenth century is still obscure; we have many
Bcraps of information, but no grotmds for believing that our
information is at all comprehensive. The disposition to aft-
sociate factories with establishments using power machin-
ery tends to distract attention from instances of factories
which were not based on any tools or mechan-
ism other than the old hand-machines. Cooke-
Taylor is disposed to regard the silk thron'ing mill of John
Lombe (1719) as the "first" factory in modem England.
The mill was a new departure and it is likely that it does
mark the beginning of factories in the silk industry. After
that date smne Bilk throwing was probably done in such
mills. A mill established in 1753 was still running in 1816,
and at the bediming of the mncleenth centurj' there were
in ail eight or ten silk mills. It is likely that enough finishers
were collected in establishments of the drapers and clothiers
to constitute "factories." Without careful research it is not
J
3SS
)DSTRIAL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
safe to make many categorical statements about the earliest
factories. There was a conHiderable (wtablishniont in York-
shire for making alum in the early seventeenth century,
and various paper mills were set up in the latter half of that
century. Potteries are not suflSciently described to admit
of certain classiiication.
The movement that ultimfttely tronefonned the oi^ani-
zation of the textile industries did not befpn until after 1770,
B»etnnine»in whon thc dcvclopmcnt of carding and spinning
th* aihw lex- machinery gave an impulse to the systcnmtic
** establishment of factories. These factories ap-
peared first in the cotton industry, but shortly after in the
woolen and worsted industries. Factories based on power
machinery were largely confined to these preparatory proc-
esses and to the printing of calicoes. The weaving of tex-
tiles and the finishing of the woolens were not affected for
a considerable inten'al, not significantly until after 1830.
It is thus possible to distinguish two periods in the develop-
ment of the fnctorj' sj-stem in the textile trades: in the earlier
period the factories were supplementary to the older putting-
out system that maintained itself in weaving; Jn the later
period, the factory gradually became thc predominant mode
of organization in the textile trades and ultimately the pre-
dominant form of industrial organization. The length of the
period of transition is easily underestimated.
ArkwTight's first spinning mill was established in 1771; in
1780 there were about twenty water-frame spinning mills in
England. Thc failure of Arkwright in the defense of the
patents led to a considerable increaae in the use of the frames,
and it is said that there were one hundred and fifty water-
frame mills in operation in 1790. The development of fac-
tories in the woolen industries seems to have been largely
Biib«-*quent to 1790, thougli it is dilTicuIt to be certain of
the probable date of the establishment of weaving fa<:torie8
in the west of England based on hand-looms. There were
several tj-pes of factory; some devoted to preparatory proo-
eesea, cardiiig, slubbiug, and spinning; some devoted to weav-
ing on hand-looms; some devoted to finishing the cloth on
THE RISE OP THE MODERN FACTORY SYSTEM S57
pg mills and shearing frames. Coi^ierattve or joint-stock
milU for linisiiing became very common in the West Riding
of Yorkshire, enabling the small master weavers to compete
BUOOeBSfuUy with the larger manufacturers. But the nmnbor
of factories in the woulen iiidu-stries does not utit
Beem to have been very great at the time of the i^»ww
Woolen Report of 1806; (here, was much uncertainty as to
the proper definition of a factory, but even with due allow-
ance for such element* of error there is no ground for sup-
posing that the new system was more than barely launched.
The earliest statistics with reference to factories appear
in the Report on Children in Factories made in 1S16. These
figiu«s are incomplete in many respects; they do not pretend
to include all the factories, and the classifications according
to age and sex are not uniform; yet, wiib all these short-
comings, these figures afford notable evidence of the gca-
eral composition of the factory population. About half the
mills in England were reported and apparently all the Scotch
mills except the cotton mills at New Lanark. The state-
ments are s«-om statements and thus represent the situation
in the mills to the best knowledge and belief of the owners
and managers. In some cases only approximations are
given, but as a rule the figures submitted were prepared for
the committee with some care. There is evident purpose on
the part of the committee to seciu^ statements from all
sections in which factories existed, and under such circum-
stances one may feel confident that the figures are fairly
representative.
The striking featxu* of these statistics is the largo number
of women and children employed. Adult male woHiers were
predominantly employed outside the factory, p„ponk,n,o(
and their abaence appears in the low propor- own. wonun,
tions of males in factories compared with the
industry as a whole. The best wholly contemporary com-
parison that is possible.is in the woolen industry of the west
of England. We have a cansful statement of the numbers
of hours' labor of men, women, and children required to pro-
duce a piece oi broad cloth, at various dates between 1781
358
INDtlSTRUL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
and 1828; we have also a Brtatcmcot of the proportions of
Wooiaa i)erBon9 employed in twenty-eight woolen uiills
induMn in Wiltshire. Between 1805 and 1820 the labor
of a man was supposed to constitute 37.2 per cent of the
labor in the industry, hour for hour. In the mills reported
in 1816 adult males (over 18) constituted 27 per cent of the
labor force. The proportion of males in the mills was thus
confflderably below the proportion for the industry as a whole.
RfLATn-E Lbnotd or Tnts stxnt bt Mbn, Wouen, and Cbildkkn in
THE MANtJTACTUEB OF FlNE BbOU> ClOTH •
Piricd
Mm
VflBM
CkiUrm
Total
1781-1796
31,79
40.50
37.20
39.9
25.28
20.10
21.20
is.e
42.93
39.40
41.5
41.fi
100
100
100
100
• RcporlonBMid-LoaisWcoTcnnMO). PmI tl, 430-41.
With reference to the other industries it is not posi^ible to
draw an accurate comparison, as we have no statistics for
the industry as a whole at this early date. The later fiRUree
from the reports of the factory inspectors, however, probably
afford a basis for rougb comparison. The Bgures for the
woolen industry covering the period between 1796 and 1828
show no profound change in the proportions between men,
women, and children ; it would seem likely that similar con-
stancy of proportions would appear in the other industries.
The first introduction of machinery resulted in a note-
worthy change in the proportions of men, women, and chil-
dren, but after this the proportions fluctuated within rela-
tively narrow limits. In the period between 1835 and 1895
the proportion of adult males in cotton factories was never
lower than 24.1 per cent nor higher than 28.8 per cent; it
would therefore seem likely that these proportions represent
the normal conditions of the industry. The cotton industry
Tiwconoo became a factorj- industry much earlier tlian
i^"**^ the other textiles, and there is nothing improb-
able ID the assumption that the proportions in factories
w
*
I
THE BiSE OP THE MODERN FACTORY SYSTEM S59
□onnal as early as 1835. In 1816 the adult mal(x in
Scotch mills constituted only 17.7 per cent of the total
number of employees, and in a group of six mills in Notting-
hamshire 18.54 per cent. The other English figures do not
distinguish between nialc» and females over eighteen.
The relatively low proportion of adult males is probably
due to two factors; the late extension of the factory system
to the branches of the industry that were the ^f^ ^^ „„
chief field for the eraplojincnt of malts, and the renuintii out-
mdisposition of the males to enter the factories.
These two factors exerted considerable uiflueuce on each '
other. The late development of factories in wea^Tiig was
admittedly due in no small measure to the restlessness of the
hand-loom weavere. It was not possible to bring them into
the faetories until the improvement of the power-loom drove
the hand-loom from the field, and in some branches of the
textile industries the band-loom held its own until 1850 and
even later.
The worsted industry was one of the last to be brought
under the factory system, and the gradual entry of the men
into the factories is clearly indicated by the chanpng pro-
portions of adult males. In 1835, only 10.7 per cent of the
factory hands were males over eighteen; in 1856, 20.6 per
cent were adult males, and after 1885 the proportion rose
to 25 per cent. These changes can hardly represent changes
in tlie general proportions in the uidustry at largo, and as
we know that the factory system was only gradually being
extended to this particular indubtry it is likely that these
changes are a rou^ measure of the transition to the factory.
The oubitanding feature of the earUer phases sodd
of the factory movement was thus the relatively p""««
large measure of dependence upon women and children as a
labor force. \\Tien the factory was concerned primarily
with the preparatory processes, the number of adult males
necessary was small. In the earliest period the number of
veiy young children was considerable. Appreciable num-
bers of children under ten were employed. The social prob-
lems created by the factory were thus rendered peculiarly
4
860
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
acute, because the persona first gathered into the factories
were those least able to make any effective protest.
The initial problem of the factory owner was to recruit a
labor force, and, as children were dewrable, it was possible
for him to utilize the laws providing for the apprenticeship
paupar of paupef chUdfen. These laws went back to
•pgraDtJcM thg daj-s of Hcory Vin. It was pronded that
vagrant children should be arrested and bound as appren-
tices; sons of \-agrants might be apprenticed until the age of
twenty-four, daughters to the age of twenty. These pro-
visions were continued without much change until the Re*
form of the Poor-Law in 1834. These indentures were fom-
ilar to the indentures for ordinary industrial apprentices, but
the overseer of the poor stood in place of the parent, and the
payment of a small foe might easily acquire a somewhat
different meaning in the case of paupex children.
The theory of pauper apprenticeship was sound, but in
practice the dence was hardly more than a method of un-
Ti„OT, tad loading the children upon some person willing
P"*"** to take a chance of getting enough work out
of them to pay for their keep. All pretence of obligation
to teach them a trade was abandoned at an early date.
When the law of settlement of 1691 raised obstacles to the
free movement of the indigent cla-sses a regular traffic in
apprentices sprang up which continued without much dimi-
nution until the close of the eighteenth century. Some
attempts were made to regulate this traffic in 1767 and again
in 1778, but these acts were mere palliatives. When the
cotton factories were established in Lancashire, Yorkshire,
and Scotland they were at first filled with pauper appren-
tices from London and other targe towns. At London a
rcgiiiler was kept and part of the fee was withheld to be paid
only at the conclusion of the period of apprenticeship, but
this was no guarantee of good treatment. In Owen's nuUa
at New I^anark, some care was taken of the welfare of the
apprentices, but the extent of these humanitarian efforts
does not seon very considerable in comparison with modem
standards. Unfortunately wc have no means of dctermin-
THE RISE OF THE MODERN FACTORY SYSTEM 361
ing the precise extent of Ruch apprentim^hip, nor the dat«
of its substarttia] disappeiuiiDcc in the factories. It was
declining in the early years of the nineteenth century, and
waa probably of subordinate importance in the recniitinR of
the labor force after 1816. The conditions of child labor in
general were sufficiently bad to make it needless to distinguish
between the "free" children and the paupers.
The social problems of the factory had reached forbidding
proportions long before the factory- became the character-
istic form of industrial organization, and, be- ntt^fona
cause o( the attention pven these matters in «"=■?«««
Parliament and in public agitation, there is real danger of
misjudging the progreas of the movement toward the factory
system. This danger is increased by the character of sta-
tistical material available for the study of the industrial
population. The factoiy inspectors' reports begin in IS35,
and after 1838 these reports become trustworthy and com-
prehensive for the regulated establishments. They con-
stitute a continuous series of figures to the present time,
organized with reference to classifications that are essientially
in accord with modem problems. It is therefore tempting
to confine studies of the industrial population to these
figures, despite the fact that they do not include the entire
population and despite changes in factoiy legislation which
gave the inquiries a wider and wider scope. Occupational
statistics are published by the Cen-sus Office and in a mea-sure
these figures afford some indication of the relative numbers
of persons employed outside the factories, but the clawifiea-
tions do not alwa>-s coincide exactly with those of the factory
return. The census does not distinguish between persona
employed in factories and persons employed at home, except
in 1001, so that the only comparison that can be made is
between the totals reported in the factoiy return and the
totals reported by the census enumerators.
In 1841 the census reported 377,000 persons in the cotton
industry- as compared with 259,000 persons reported by the
factory inspectors in 1838. About 70 per cent (68.7 per cent)
of the cotton operatives were thus employed in factories
ses
INmCSTMAL HISTORY OP EXGLAND
at that time. The woolen and linen operatives were about
evenly divided between the factories and various fonas of
Growth at the cmpioyment in their homes. Only 40 per cent
fMtory lyium ^f (jj^ gJUj workeis were employed in factories
at that time. No fundamental change bad taken place in
1851 ; there were more factories ia the cotton industry than
in other textile employments, and in the other trades nearly
one half the workers were in non-regulated establishments.
The factory legislation defined the factory in such a way
that wc may well suppose that certain establishments were
not regulated, though they were factories in all essential
features, and yet it would seem likely that the factory was
merely one of several forms of induetrial organization. It
was attracting the most earnest attention of the people, but
it was not at that time a predominant form.
By 1871 the factory bad become the characteristic form of
organization in both the leading textile trades. Eigbty-
Vnaotaiauit in ^'K^'t pGF ccnt of the persoDS enumerated by the
tsniica uid census in the cotton industry were employed in
" ' ' factories; seventy-eight per cent of tlie persona
employed on woolen goods were in factories, and the factory
inspectors actually reported more persona in the worsted
industry than were enumerated by the census. The silk and
linen industries were declining in importance botJi relatively
and absolutely, so that the somewhat smaller proportion of
factory workers in those trades can hardly bo drawn in oon-
eequence. The factory had also become the predominant
form of organisation in the meta] trades; seventy-five per
cent of the persons enumerated by the census were in fac-
tories. In the clothing trades and in tJic leather trades the
factory system bad made little progress. The tailors and
niiUinors were stiil outside the factories; likewise the boot-
and slioemakers, the saddlers, the goldsmiths, the watch-
makers, and ihe cutlers.
The extension of the factory s>'8tem to the lewer industries
EitM*iDi> 10 took place in the follon*ing generation. The
oUiR ioduwrie. careful occupational enumeration of 1901 shows
the final triumph of the factory. The enumeration diit-
THE RISE OP THE MODERN FACTORY SYSTEM 368
tmguishes persons working in factories and persons working
at home. This is in many respects a more satisfactory dis-
tinction than the numerical distinctions common in fVancs
and Germany. Persons working at home, whether for an
employer or on their own account, are certainly not factory
workers, and at the present time it ia probable that any
estaljlishments outside the home should be included in the
classification of factories. The clothing trades have been
least dominated by the factory, but even in that group,
seventy per cent of all the workers are employed in factories.
In the other groups only a small residuum is still employed
at home; in textiles, 1.9 per cent; in metals, 2.8'2 per cent; io
the precious metals, 9.3 per cent; wood-working, 7.26 per
cent: skins and leather, 10.54 per cent. In all probability
small numbers of workers nil! always be able to maintain
their independence in these various trades; in some trades
more easily than in others, but to a certain extent in all
trades. At the same time it must be evident that this sur-
vi\ai of domestic employment is quantitatively unimportant.
T^e factory has not made its way quite as rapidly in Europe
as in England, but the home worker is becoming the excep-
tion in the major European countries.
IV. Artisans and Machinkrt
It is customary to associate the distress among the artisans
in the early nineteenth century with the introduction of
machinery and the rise of the factory system. •• Pkiu ot
The violence that was not infrequently directed t™"'""!! "
against machines would seem to lend color to this \-iew, and
the conception of the Industrial Revolution as a sudden and
violent change would make it seem logically necessary that
there should be pains of transition. The dbttress of the
early years of the century is undeniable, but it would seem
that the causes of the distress were much more complex
than the conventional views would lead one to suppose. The
development uf the factory system and the introduction of
new machinery were both very gradual. Some of tlie most
notable mechanical achievements probably exerted no
304
IXDUSTRUL mSTORY OP ENGL\NI>
pressure upon the workman; the spinning inventions, the
steam engine, and the stee! inventions created opportunitica
for employment that had not previously existed. The
energetic individual, of the humblest extraction, thus found
openings that were unrivaled in dramatic possibilities. It is
hard to believe that tlie individual of significant resourceful-
ncfis did not find abundant chances for betterment.
The case of the craft-worker — the skilled workman
brought up to a craft that required years of training — was
TbBiidiisd undoubtedly different. But the effect of the
crefunan great transformation on these workers was by
no means a mere displa^-ement of men by machines. In the
textile trades, craft-skill could easily be transferred from
one class of goods to another. The weaver could work on
cottons, woolens, or silks, and there is clear ground for sup-
posing that the more highly skilled workmen did change
from one t>'pe of goods to another. Even at the period of
greatest distress among the hand-loom weavers, the skilled
workers were able to earn satisfactory wages, and the work
requiring both strength and skill was well paid.
The difficulty in analyzing the conditions in the textile
trades is lai^ly created by the introduction into the in-
dustry of a large number of imskilled persons.
The early years of the century were character-
ized by periods of great expansion and prosperity. The
demand for labor was keen ; the increased specialization in
the process of production and the relaxation of the old laws
of apprenticeship made it possible to utilize a grade of labor
tJiat had not formerly been used in these trades. Many
Irish came over to England and became weavers. Persons
wlm had never seen a loom came to the textile districts and
established themselves as weavers. When the periods of
expansion came to an end the trades were overcrowded.
New ideas with reference to the paj-ment of wages re-
sulted in wage reductions, as well as in tack of emplojinent.
The attractions of cottage industry prevented these hands,
or many of them, from transferring to other employments.
After 1840 the development of power-loom weaving made
ThD nnKltilleil
worked
I
THE RISE OF THE MODERN FACIXJRY SYSTEM 365
the over-«upply of unskilled weavei» a serious matter, but
even then the machines did not supplant trained craft*
workers in the sense that mif^t be inferred from many
accounts.
It must be remembered, furthermore, tJiat these were
years of distress in the agriciilturat districts also, and that
the condition of the agrioultiiral laborer was other <.u«.i
equally desperate. It is unfortunate that the »'d'»"*"
entire social quesUou has not been studied as a whole. The
inciuiries of the Poor-Law Commissioners suggest other cx-
jdanations for the distress among the working classes. Great
displacements of population took place in this period. Tho
northerly counties of the present manufactiuing district
grew rapidly in population, the older industrial districta
barely held their own or actually lost groimd. The agri-
cultural counties lost also. Much migration was necessary,
but the poor-laws presented every potsiible obstacle to mi-
gration of the working classes. The law of settlement
tended to immobilize the population. There auf^t be work
enou^ to occupy the poor of a parish, but they could not
take the job unless it could be held nithout aeqiiiring resi-
dence in the other parish. The unfortunate effect of such
regulations at a time of great social change can hardly be
imagined. The inquiry of 1833-34 revealed the „
, , , r • I 111 I Tb« poot-Uwa
fact that a number of parishes had been aban-
doned to the poor by the owners of property. The rates
had increased portentously and in some instances the prop-
erty-owners simply abandoned the parish. Such conditions
were not the result of industrial or agrarian changes; they
were merely the result of unfortunate social legislation, and
it is extremely difheult to know the extent to which the ills
of the period can be justly ascribed to bad laws. It is
difficult to belie\'C tliat the distress of tlie time was in any
sense a necessary outcome of industrial change. Proper
regulation of the purely social problems of the factories and
the factory towns would inentably follow the emergence of
new problems by a more or less considerable inter^-al, but it
is hard to find concrete e\idence to support the ooncluMon
that economic distress, "pain of transition," was a necessary
feature of the Industrial Revolution.
The modern industrial eystem, however, has changed the
position of the artisan. In a sense there is little place for
the artisan of the old type. Modem industrj- does not need
mere acquired manual dexterity, but rather capacity to
accept rcaponsibiUties. The well-paid worker of the present
uichiaery time IS paid for a different kind of qualities. In
■nd the mta t^g qj^j gyst^ni acquired skill was paid for. To-
day, essential human qualities are paid for; powers and
capacities that can be improved by training, but not in any
real sense created by training. Modem industrj- has its
great rewards for the man. The introduction of machinery
has not made men slaves; it has emancipated them and
placed the emphasis upon the fundamental character of the
individual. It must be confessed that modern conditions
reveal an immense mass of irresponsibihty and great de-
ficiencies in hunmn qualities. The old distinctions between
the skilled and the unskilled might better be abandoned for
distinctions between the responsible and the irresponsible.
CHAPTER XV
THE RISE OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINIMQ
CoLLEcnvK determination of wa^ must be associated
with the attempts at administrative participation in the
regulation of wages by various groups of magistrates; by
the municipal officials in part, and in part also ti>« Botnt*
by the (county officials, the latter acting under «* *ppr«a««
the Statute of Apprentices of 1563. The wage clauses of
tbia famous statute have been tbe subject of a deal of cod-
troverey, and it is not yet dear that all of the controversial
points have been settled; but the larger outlines of the sub-
ject are now fairly e\ndent, the purposes of the statute
roughly known, and its success at least partially understood.
Memoranda in I^rd Burieigh's pajwrs indicate definitely
that the wage clauses were designed to afford a means of
adjusting the wages of laborers to the rising scale of prices
which was exerting such serious influence on the welfare of
the lower classes. The mechanism of the statute was not
Dew. Handbooks prepared for justices of the peace bdicate
that some administrative intervention in wage contracts was
well established in law and custom, but the establishment of
rates of wages by jusLicea of the peace as conceived in the
Statute of Apprentices involved some new elements or at
least new purpoees.
Even if wages bad been in tbe past somewhat r^julated
in proportion to the prices of grain, the result^! of adjusting
wages to the price of grain would have been iner,,,,^*
very different at the close of the sixteenth cen- »<'p«r *»€••
tury. The rise in prices meant that tbe main- '^'
teoance of the old principle would bring about a significant
increase in the money wages of all classes of artisans, The
accomplishment of the purpose of the Statute of Apprentices
in tbe period immediately following its enaittxasaA. tonsX
M8
INDrSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
remain at least doubtful, and it would Boem that there is a
presumption against the view that it was in fact a means of
bringing about a generai increase in money wages. The
statute remained, however, a possible recourse in labor dis-
putes and as actually administered tended to provide for a
fonn of compulsory arbitration. This much at least is true,
that even in tlie early period and most particularly in the
eighteenth century the wage contract was not a purely in-
dividual contract. The laborers were not organized in
elaborate associations, but the individual wage-earner waa
not obliged to bargain with his employer as an isolated
individual.
There is little adequate evidence of what was taking place
among wage-earners in induntry in the seventeenth and eight-
eenth centuries, but a number of instances are suggestive.
Some instances of wage diuputea in London toward the close
of the seventeenth century have been brought to notice by
Unwin. There are references in the records of Parliament
tnpciTtuit to conditions among the wage-earners in the
•piMdM ^i„th districts of the west of England in the
early eighteenth century. We ha^'e fairly adequate evi-
dence for the silk industry of London during the late eight-
eenth century, and some casual evidence with refcrcoce
to other in<luHtrial wage-earners. In all these oases there
was organization among the wage-earners and some organ-
ized attempt at the determination of rates of wages. The
legal rights of the wage-earners were uncertain and the spirit
of much of th(- negotiation very different from the spirit of
modem unionism, but in the larger sense of the word, one
must regard these episodes as indicative of tendencies to-
ward collective action.
In the fall of 1667 the journeymen felt-makers of I^ondon
appealed to the aldermen against the wardens of the gild.
TtMlondan The joumc^inon had become a substantially
'•"•"■""•^ permanent class of wageMSLrners employed by
the masters of the gild. Under such circumstances there
was no real provision for protection of their rights and
intereata. Appeal to the municipal suthoritica was the only
»
k.
THE RISE OP COLLECTIVE BARGAINING 368
Bolution. The aldermen in this instance proposod to amend
the gild statutes; wage-lists were to be made each year by
the wardens of the gild and submitted to the aldermen of
the city. This arrangement was obviously in the interests
of the wardens and designed to prevent the jounieymen from
forcing increases of wages by concert«d action. There is
thus an intimation at least of collective action among the
jovimeiTnen. In the latter part of the century much more
definite evidence of the activities of the journe>'men ia avail-
able. In 1696 the felt-makers' gild drew up a scale of
wages for the jounieymen with the provision that if the
joume>'men did not accept the masters mi^t employ
joumejTnen from out of town. The journe>Tnen struck
«nd forced a compromise. The revised wage-list was pre-
sented to the aldcmicn and agreed to. It will be obser\'ed
that the municipal authorities were summoned to give added
sanction to an agreement that had already been reached
between the wage-earners and their employers.
In the west of England the situation was different because
gild organization was not important in the industry. A
witness testifying before Parliament said:
The weavers have many clube in several places in the west of
England, partieulariy at Exeter, where they make by-laws some
of which he has seen, which by-laws are among WMmn* dubi
othor things to appoint places of meeting, fix their •" •*• "•«
ofGcers, make alluwanoes to tiavcliiig workntcii, and ascertain
their wages. Several weavers have brought home their work
and durst not go oa to serve their master for fear of other weaveta
of the club who have deteirod them therefrom, and be believes
that one of the oocaakms of the late riots that ha\-e happened
has been that the masters have refused to raise the workmen's
wages to what prices they please. He was present at a great mob
in the town of Crediton (];)evonshire) consisting of weavers and
others coDoemed in the weaving manufocturo who were headed by
a captain and Uireatened their masters U they refused to raise their
wages. They carricii aVn>ut with them a chain of 8er|i;e out off from
a loom and declared that they would do the like to the pieces of
serge of other masters. When the coostables had seized some of
the ring leaders and had brou^t them before two justices of the
peace the mob bursting into the house, insulted the justices, threw
sUhkb at thuu, forced them to &y and rescued tlte v'^^'^^'^^^-
.
870 INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
Another witness said that the weavers complained of pay-
ing them in truck, but he "believes that this is not the cause
of the rioting because they usually begin in the spring when
there is the greatest demand for goods and the most plenty
of work. He has known weavers who would willingly have
worked for him at the wages he gave, but the club threatened
if they did so to pull them out of the house and coolstaff
them, upon which he was forced to pay them the prices
demanded to save his work from being cut." '
The remedy proposed was an assessment of wages under
the Statute of Apprentices. The list was published, but was
never enforced. The masters objected on the ground that
it was not sufficiently detailed.
Similar difTicultics occurred in 1756 and an act was passed
providing for the assessment of wages by justices of the
Tbi Act peace. A wage assessment for Gloucestershire
of ns6 TYag made, but protests were received from the
master clothiers and the Act of 1756 was repealed. Sidney
Webb declares that this statute marks the beginning of a
policy of "administrative nihilism" based on the notion of
absolute freedom of contract. This, however, would seem
to bo an untenable interpretation of the statute. There
seems to be no adequate grounds for supposing that the
repeal of the act implied anything more than a return to
existing customs and the existing customs suggest that there
was much collective action between the clothiers and the
weavers.
In connection with the petition of the clothieis one ^IVHIiani
Dailaway testified that he had never heard of any rate for
CiuionuiD wages being made by the justices of the peace
oboewwr- before 1727 when a rate was made of which ha
had seen an attested copy, but the rate was
never complied with to his knowledge. Continuing his
testimony he declared that he had been in business for ten
years and had never varied in his prices. The rates were
settled according to his belief by "some clothiers and some
weavers." Others testified to substantially simitar facts,
* Ccmmottt JcnirnaU, xx, M&, 1^ April, 1728.
THE RISE OF COLLECTTVE BAEGALNTNG 371
rand it woiild eeem that there must have been some measure
of collective action prior to 1756. It would bo whoUy war-
rantable to suppoee that reference to administrative au-
thority was due to a desire to make the rates more bind-
ing. There would seem to be no grounds for assuming that
H the absence of statutory enactment would disturb existing
customs. In other industries at least there is clear evidence
■ that no policy of administrative nihilism was adopted, and
in short there is adequate reason for bdieving that the
tendency toward collective bargaining clearly apparent in
the first half of the eighteenth century continued without
serious interruption throughout the latter half of the century.
I The unrest which had become a serious problem in the
woolen industry socms to have attracted little more public
attention, but in the silk iodusto' &nd most par- spiui&dd*
ticularly among the silk weavers of London at ''"^
Rpitalfields there w^as serious trouble throughout the years
11705-70. The difficulties were partly due to pressure
created by competition with French silks, and rioting, which
was serious in May, 1765, was finally brought to an end by
the imposition of protective duties. The trade, however,
continued to be disturbed partly by reductions of wages,
partly by certain dislocations in the industry. The intro-
duction of a new type of ribbon loom caused ognificant
trouble. Throui^out 1768 there was sporadic trouble,
violence was done to the property of master weavera, and
some cases of violence to peroons are recorded. We are
very ill-infonned about the details of these mattere; the
evidence available comes largely from the Annual Register
whose accounts are tantalizingly brief. In August, 1769,
it is stated that the handkercliief weavers had taken up a
subscription of sixpence on every loom to sup- wmtm^
port their cause against the masters. One of ''°**
the master weavers, "that paid satisfoctor)- prices, insbted
notwitbatanding that his men should not belong to the sub-
scription society and not pay such sixpence, and armed bit)
B people to deferid their looms against the body. The club,
H determined to support the plan they had on foot, assembled
m iNbUbTHlAL HISTOBY OP ENGLAND
themselvee to compel said master's men to pay the mib-
Bcription. There ensued a bloody fray in which many of
both sides wexe woundpd. Work was cut out of fifty looms
belonging to the master wca%'er above mentioned and shortly
after out of a hundred other looms."
Further cndcnce of the organizaiion of the men is afforded
by the incident in September when an attempt was made to
arrest an entire meeting. An officer with a party of soldiers
invested an ale-house in Spitalfields "where a number of
riotous wea\'cr8, commonly called cutters, were assttublod
to collect contributions from their bretheren toward support-
ing themselves in idleness in order to distress their masters
and oblige them to advance their wages." The raid resulted
in an armed fight; the soldiers were finally obliged to fira
upon the weavers of whom they killed two and captured
four.
The ultimate result of this period of riolence was the
Spitalfields Act of 1773, passed at the request of all the man-
TfctSpitii. ufacturers in hopes of bringing about better
hUt Act: relations with the men. The act provided that
"" the wages of journeymen weavers within the
limits of London should be settled by the mayor and alder-
men, and in all places in the county of Middlesex by the
justices of the peace. The authorities were to issue wage-
lists, however, only upon application. Any wage-list estab-
lished by them was to be printed three times in any two
daily newspapers published in London or Westminster.
The list would then be compulsory upon both weavers and
journeymen. Master weavers paying more or less wages
would be fined £50, the proceeds of such fines being dis-
tributed among distressed journeymen. Jounieymen weav-
ers, who i»hould ask or take greater or less wages, or
enter into combinations to raise them, or assemble to pe-
tition on the fcubject of Ihcm in numbers of more than ten,
except when going to the magistrates, were subjected to a fine
of forty shilUnpp. This act was subeequently extejided to
apply to all aspects of the trade including mixed goods and
to women as well as to men.
I
THE RISE OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING 878
The text of the statute might seem to imply that the
wages were actually declared by the magistrates. The ex-
ceptioD in the clause relating to journeymen Atormot I
not obsemng the act shows that some form wmpotoocy J
of organized acti\'ity on the part of the men was '
oontonplated. We have adequate indication of the actual
methods of administration employed in the testimony taken
before the Lords Committee in 1823 with regard bo the effect
of the statute. Mr. Hale testified:
A committee of mutens generally met a oommittcc of jouraey-
m«n, perhaps three or four or five on each side, and, after they
hiivc argued the niattcr, they come to an agreement as to what
they think should be a fair price for kbor. It is then taken before
a magistrate who ratifici< it and it becomes by law a fixed price
until altered by subsequent agreement. If wc cannot come to an
agreement we go before the miyp.'ttTates at Quarter Sessions. Wb
each of us take witnesses on eaeh i^ide and after iiuitiial deliberation
and viewing the meaaure in alt its oonsequoncea on both sides the
magi»tratea dctcnninc it. Of two instances of disagreement, in
one case the magistrates decided iu favor of the empl^erx and in
one case in favor of the workmen.
The continuity of administration is significantly indicated
by the testimony of Mr. Butkeridge. "He had been en-
gaged in the trade upwards of fifty years, first as an oper-
ative weaver, later as a master." He says: I
I have assisted in forming all of the list prices that have been made
since 17S4; a general one in 179.^, another in 1800, in 1S02, in 1804,
an explanatory one in 1805, and tlic last, a general u^a i
one, in 1806, and then, by the desires of the masters pnbUUitd
and the men, tbc masters in particular, compiled the present book
of prices. I
IVfr. Buckeridge thought the act had been a succees, pre-
venting cither weavers or masters from taking an imdue
advantage of the other.
The statute was thus a device for collective bait^ainimg
with magisterial suponision which was designed primarily to
insure obser\-ance of the lists, but it is import UMbirf lU
tant to recognize that the magistrates looked ■>»"«'«<r««
upoD the facts of the case more largely with reference to
^S mU&STEULHl!
maintaining a deBnite status than with reference to pos^Ie
increases in wages. According to endence brought out
both in 1818 and 1823 the principle followed was "to fix
prices 30 as to afiford the journeyman if he can get full work
the income of other like skilled craftsmen calculated by the
price of bread." The statute was thus an embodiment of
the policy represented by the Statute of Laborers which
despite its alleged intent had become a means of maintaining
a Htattis rather than a means of shaiiog in the benefits of
possible progress.
We must remember that the problem of wage determiik-
atioD did not at that time raise the issue of sharing in the
gsjns of an improving technique. There had been no change
in technique sufficiently great to create the presumption of
a real increase in social well-being, and, although changes
Eighteeiith. ^^'^ beginning to take place at the close of the
tentun waiB eighteenth century, public opinion was slow to
*** *°" realize the magnitude of the transformation
then in process. The notion of a status to be maintained
remained the predominant feature in public opinion until
aft^" the Napoleonic wars.
The Fignificance, and even the emergence, of new ideas
is clearly indicated by the sequel to the history of the wage
regubition in Ix)ndon afforded by the conditions at Coventry.
The ribbon manufacture became established at Coventry
Btbboa muuK ^^^^ ^^^^^ *^® prohibition of the importation of
u<tai»M fon^ign silks in 1766.' The trade increased
slowly and without any great change until the
period of the Napoleonic wars. In this early period the
organization of the trade was simple and conditions were not
unlike those prevailing among agricultural laborers. The
price of wea\'ing remained unaltered for many years and
any reductions in the prices paid would have been of all
measures the measure last contemplated by the manufac-
turer. The old relations between the employer and the
employed had apparently established a public opinion as to
' 71)0 history of tho tradtr iit told in the Uoport of th« AasiiUnt Commto-
■ioaor to the Royai Committee ou Ut-ad-Loom yfmwn.
THE RISE OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING 875
their relati\'e position and comforts which kept the price of
labor unaffected by the excess of bands. The larger portion
of the trade was generally out of employment se\'cjal montlis
of each year, but no nKluctton was attempted in the prices
paid for weaving.
The first departure from the old system was at the big
purl time which commenced in 1812. This was a period of
great expansion due to the sudden and great demand for
ribbons with large purl edges. The demand for goods was j
so great that the persons ordinarily employed in the industry I
could not supply the trade and many hands were called in
from other trades. The masters began to bid against each
Other for workmen, offering high prices without any regard
to the old customs. The men found conditions con»cHt«
favorable, and early in 1813 the single hand- wfooby J
workers as a body petitioned the mastera for """ '
higher wages. The petition was granted and a list prepared
which was signed by all the principal masters of Coventry.
The list was printed: the first printed list of wages known in
the Coventry trade.
These conditions continued until the end of the war. The
return of the soldiers and the general disturbance of trade i
completely disorganized conditions at Co%-entry. The '
putting-out sj-stem gave place to the factory system, and,
at times, power machinery was substituted for hand-looms.
These changes were indirectly results of a great expansion
following 1812, for at that time the mauufactureni l^gan to
set up looms in their shops. I
The depression of the period 1816-20 resulted in further
experiments with collective bargaining. In 1816 the framo<
weavers assembled and organized as "The City of Coventry
Weavers' Provident Union for Trade and Burial." The pur-
pose, according to the constitution, was to assist persons
who were out of work or compelled to receive half-pay. The
price of labor, however, was very unstable, and, after a scries
of reductions, meetings were held by both masters and men
and deputations were appointed by each side in September,
1816, to prepare a list. The list was not maia^^isi<A Snx ^
8fS.
INDCSTRUL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
foitnight, and a meeting of the deputations from each side
was again held, and after deliberation the list was sent up to
Attempn to London to be registered in the Court of Chan-
•afo[c«i<*u pgjy^ i^ being supposed that the agreement
would be legally binding on all who had .signed. This, how-
ever, was of no avail. Other expedients were adopted like-
wise without rosults, until finally the weavers determined to
petition Parliament for an extension of the Spltalficlds Act
to Coventry.
The petition was submitted early in 1818 and a committee
appointed to consider the subject. The pnssentation of thia
petition is a curious indication of how little the workmen
realized the chang<s that hod taken place in pubUc opinion
aince the Spitalfields Acts were passed. To them the statute
was merely a means of giving vahdity to mutual agreements
that were difficult to enforce. The relation of the statute
to the old ideals of rigidly defined status was lost sight of.
In the evidence given before the Parliamentary committeo
these other aspects of the statute quickly came to hght and
the inquiry resulted in making clear to all that the statute
was no longer adapted to the needs of the time, not so much
because there was not still need of collective action, but
because the mechanism of the statute was ill-adapted to the
increased complexity of the problem. The Coventry pe-
tition was denied. The action of the committee led to dis-
satisfaction in London. The masters felt that the justices
were favoring the men because great concessions could bo
Rcped of ih« forccd from them before the magistrates. The
BfittiMd* Act Xx>ndon masters petitioned in 1823 for a repeal
of the statute and in 1824 the act was repealed.
After the failure of the petition of 1818 the Coventry
journe>'men and masters rcsmned their efforts at list-making.
In 1819 a list was framed that lasted after a fashion for two
years. Then there was no general list until 1826, when a
list was framed that was partially successful and not wholly
abandoned until 1828. A list made in 1829 was a complete
failure. In 1831 the persistent under-paying by some
firms forced the others to protest and finally resulted in a
THE RISE OP COLLECTIVE BARGAINING 877
I
■
■
I
I
1
general reduction of wages. This led to a strike. There was
Bomc violence and much unrest. Committocs of manufac-
turers and weavere came togetbra* to revise the list. The
masters made a resolution to pay by the piece and not by
the day, and finally voted to establish "a permanent com-
mittee of twraty manufacturers to watch over the general
interests of tlic trade and adopt such measures as they con-
ceive will prevent encnuichmeota on the part of any manu-
facturers or any infringement of the spirit of these resolu-
tions by which temporary conditions may be obtained to
the injury of the trade generally." The conmiittec noadc its
first report in 1S32. The dllliculliee of maintaining the lists
were serious, but the later developments in the trade were
based on this foundation.
These epi.sodes in the silk trade are sharper in outline
than somewhat similar episodes in the Frame- Work Knitting
industry and in the woolen industry. The or- other i»bor
ganiration of the workmen in both of these in- o'B«=^"'i'»»
dustries was less exclusively an attempt to make wage-lists.
In both cases attempts were made to enforce the Statute of
Apprentices against the employers whose factories were
really contrary to the provisions of the old statute. The
chief result of that aspect of these agitations was the inquiry
of 1806 and the subsequent repeal of the Statute of Appren-
tices in 1813. These associations, however, did at times
become involved in pure wage controversies. The unwilling-
ness of Parliament and the courts to co5perate in ^ving
effect to the Statute of .■Apprentices mi^t seem to indicate
an attitude of undue favoriii^m, but it muiit be remembered
that the famous statute was not only obsolete, but rapidly
becoming a serious obstacle to vital changes.
n. The Combination Laws
In view of the continuity of growth toward collective
bargaining in the silk trades and the frequency of the organ-
ization on many other trades, it is peculiarly difficult to es-
timate accurately the significance of the Combination Laws
of 1799 and 1800. These drastic statutes would, if literally
S78
INDUSTRIAL mSTORY OP EXGIAND
interpreted, prevent any notable development of collective
EDiotMowni action and it would thus seem that the presump-
of tba Gnnbi- tion must be against their literal interpretation.
Furthennore, it was asserted by the clerk of
Hume's committee in 1824 that the Act of 1800 "had been
in general a dead letter upon those artiKans upon whom it
was intended to have an effect, namely the shoemakers,
printers, paper-makers, shipbuilders, tailors, etc., who have
had their regular societies and houses of call as though no
euch act was in existence. In fact it would be almost im-
possible for many of these trades to be carried on without
such societies which are in general sick and relief societies,
and the roads and parishes would be pestered with these
traveling trades, who travel for want of employment, were
it not for their societies who relieve tramps."
The Statute of 1799 seems to indicate in its dctdl that the
intention of the framers was to insbt upon notions of status
p,j^j^^ in order to prevent the dislocations in industry
of ihe Act which were likely to be the result of attempts
'"^ to improve conditions. The act included a
clause directed against the employers so that there would
seem to be a fau-ly strong case in favor of these ultra-
conservative aspects of the statute. In section 15 ' it is
provided that nothing shall be construed to extend or repeal
the powers given to the justices of the peace in exiaUng
statutes touciiing combinations of manufacturers, journey-
men, or workmen, or for settling disputes between masters
and their journeymen, or the rate of wages to be paid to
such journeymen. This clause would seem to be a guarantee
for the maintenance of conditions as they had existed
throughout the eighteenth century. The other clauses of
the statute which have attracted more attention are directed
toward the newer practices. The objection seems to be not
to the collective character of the action, but to the unreason-
able desire to change established conditions of status on the
part of either masters or men.
The first section has a very sinister sound if not viewed
* Tlie wording ia slightly cociduiued.
THE RISE OF COLLECTIVE BABGAINING STB
from the Btondpoint of this problem of public opinion. "All
oontracts previously made between joumej-men, manu-
facturer, or other workmen for obtaining an advance <tf
wages, lessening or alterinR their usual hours of work, de-
creasing the quantity of their work, preventing or hindering
any persons from hiring whom they choose, controlling or in
any way affecting any person or persons carrying on any
manufacture, trade, or business, sbaU henceforth be iltef^,
null, and void." The animus of this section is the absence
of re^tration of these acta before the ma^trate. 1
The very famous prohibition of combinations in section 8
is an unavoidable consequence of reasoning based on con*
captions of status. If no member of society rbtwa-
had legitimate right to expect significant im- caption ei m
provement in material welfare an attempt to
secure a higher standard of living by means of the strike
must necessarily be regarded as a seditious and wicked thing.
We have become so habituated to cicpcctations of improved
etaxkUrds of Uving that it is hard for us to recognize that
such expectations were sincerely regarded with apprehen-
sion. In a measure the statute was an attempt to strengthen
the hands of the magistrates in the enforcement of wage-
lists based upon existing standards of living. It was designed
to make it easier to compel joumej-men " to work for reason-
able wages," and in view of the cwt4Hns of the period there
can be httle doubt as to the *n«tftrting of the word "reason-
able" in this statute.
The Statute of 1800 adds no significant prohibition to the
earlier statute, thou^ some of its clauses would remove any
posable doubt as to the illegality of any associa* Th« Act
tion of working-men. Societies for the collec- •* '***
tion of funds for the benefit of fellow-workmen were defi-
nitely forbidden. This particular prohibition contains some !
elements of panic growing out of the dread inspured by the
French Revolution. It was feared that gome of the work-
men's societies possessed political significance. These feats
were probably ill-founded, but their existence is none the hsti
an explanation of the drastic character of the later statdtA,
This portion of the statute w&a certakA'^ ivoN. «G&.cACft^.
880
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
The Statutes of 1799 and 1800 were only part of the legal
basis fur the restraint of the associations among working-
men and the theory of conspiracy was probably
more important tluui the Combination Laws
themselves because the penalties were rather more severe.
The prosecution for conspiracy rested on certain verj* old
statutes, a statute of Edward I (1305), and a statute of Ed-
ward VI (1549), both embodying the notion that certain
kinds of associations could be deemed conspiracies. The
carUej of these statutes was not very clearly appUcable to
the problems arising among wage-earners. The statute of
Edward VI, however, was pretty directly aimed at crafts>
men. The primary purpose of that statute, however, was to
prevent the increase of prices to consumers. The craftsman
of that time was more nearly a producer than a wage-earner,
but that statute contained certain general clauses against
ocnnbinations to raise wages. Both of these statutes had
been forgotten, but were discovered early in the nineteenth
century by energetic lawyers employed by the manufactur-
ers, and this new departure gave the situation of the wage-
earner a much more desperate appearance. These doctrines
arc usually thought of as common-law doctrines, though they
rest in large measure upon statutes.
ni. The Laws of 1824 ano 1825
The disadvantageous position of the wage-earner in this
period was remedied largely through the activities of a
timti» master tailor named Francis Place. He had
**•*• achieved a very considerable success in business,
and, despite serious handicaps, had educated himself. He
had been in contact with nearly all the radical elements in
the intellectual life of En^and, including the very scholarly
group associated with Bentham. He also nwuntained a vital
interest in political concerns throughout his career, and, after
attracting attention by organizing the artisan vote in the
Borough of Westminster, exerted a significant influenoo upon
the politics of his locality. Because he was self-educated, he
was mora active as a thinker than be was successful in ex-
I
I
THE RISE OP COLLECTIVE BARGAIMNG 381
HiiUbraiy
I
I
I
pressing opinions in literary fonii. In making stnmgth out
of weakness he developed a peculiar talent for organizing
agitations in which his direct action was scarcely evident.
In modem political language he would be tenned a "master
lobbjTSt."
The library in the rear of the tailor shop of this eccentric
character was the center of the most practical radical under*
takings of that quarter-century. The librar>'
was unique in many respects. It was in part a
collectioD of Parliamentary papers at a time when such evi-
dence received tittle if any attention. There was also a col-
lection of materials connected with working-men's associa-
tions of all kinds; clippings from newspapers concerned with
working-men's aETairs, and summaries of cases in which
working-men had been prosecuted. In so far as this collec-
tion was concerned with the (>>nibination Laws it was the
result of activities deliberately begun in 1814.
In 1814 [he sayn] I began to work seriously to procure & repeal of
the laws against combinations of workmen, but for a long time
made no favorable proKre^s. As often as any dispute arose be-
twi-cn iimsU'r ftini nic:i ur whoii any law proceedings were liad and
reported in the oewspapers I interfered sometimes with the masters,
sometimes with the men, ver>' Keiiemlly as far as I oould by menu
of some one or more of the ncwspapcnt and Hoinetimes by acting
as a pacificator, always pushing for one purpose, the repeal of the
law8. I wrote a ^cftt many k-tters to trade BOcietius in London
and as often as I heard of any dispute respecting the Combination
Laws in the country I wrote to some of the parties, stated my
purpose and requested information.
In 1818 he abandoned bis business to his son and devoted
all his time to agitation. A small newspaper called The Gor-
gon was subsidized by Bentham and Place and ^((,^0^ ,
distributed among the trade societies. This
proA'cd to be the means of enlisting the interest
of Mr. Joseph Hume, a member of Parliament of Place's
temperament, a professional agitator, an indefatigable advo-
cate of reforms to which Parliament as a whole was indiffer-
ent. Place supplied Mr. Hume with much information and
most particularly with a maaa of manuscript which waa
Um Combine
tioaL«in
S82
IN'DCSTRUL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
transmitted by Hxune to M'Culloch, who embodied the pro-
gram of the radicals in a notable article published is the
Edinburgh Review in 1823.
The agitation was brought into Parliament rather unex-
pectedly. Hume himself seemed unable to make much prog-
Biia*'* ress in Parliamentary agitation, but the matter
«»ninittee was brouglit up by other people and it was
agreed that a committee be appointed in the following ses-
sion (1824) to inquire into the entire problem. ProA-ision
was madfi for the appointing of the committee February 24,
1824, and at first it. was scarcely possible to get twenty-one
members of Parliament sufficiently interested to sit as mem-
bers. ■Within three days it had attracted so much attention
that members of Parliament were scheming to get appointed
to it and it finally consisted of forty-eight members. Tho
success of this conunittee and its popularity were largely due
to the elaborately prepared mass of evidence brought before
it by the energy of Place.
Deputations were sent up by the working-people from aU
over England, and Place opened his house to them.
I had all the town and country delegates under my care; I heard
the story which every one of these men had to tell ; I examined and
cross-exiuiiincd, took down thu particulars of each ca»e and then
arranged the matter aa briefs for Mr. Hume, and, as a nik>, for the
guidance of the witnes.ses a copy was gjvcn to each. . . . The work-
men were not easily managed; it required great care and pains
and patience not to shock their prejudices so as to prevent them
doing their duty before tho committee; they were filled with false
notions, all attributing their distress to wrong causes which I in
tbia stage of the businesa dared not attempt to a-move.'
When the committee's work was done, the problem of got^
ting the bills through the Houses of Parliament required
Tbebiiuio similar ddicacy end manipulation. "I had stilt
''•''^•" one fear," says Place, "namely of speech-mak-
ing. I was quite certain tliat if the bills came vmder discus-
sion in the House they would be lost. Mr. Hume had the
good sense to see this and wholly to refrain from speaking on
* All thew citatioiM arc from Ibe chapter in Wallaa's Lije i^ Phtt,
B the
P Hu
THE RISE OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING 883
I
them." The details of drafting were largely dominated by
Hume and Place. They prepared the draft of the bill, but a
barrister went over the manuscript and gave Place other ap-
piehenaons, but fortunately the barriflter felt that his duty
was done once the bills were printed and thereafter gave him-
self no further concern about them. "We now got them into
our hands," says Place, "altered them as we liked, had man-
uscript copies made and presented them to the House. No
inquiry was made as to who drew the bills. They were
found to contain all that was needful, and with some assidu-
ity in seeing members to induce them not to speak on the
several readings, they passed the House of Commons almost
without notice within, or of the newspapers without." The
scheme was nearly wrecked in the L«rd.s by Lord Lauderdale,
who perceived that the bills bad not been properly printed,
and if pressure had not been brought to bear upon him the
case would have been lost, but he was finally persuaded to
hold his tongue and the three statutes were passed: An Act
to Repeal the Laws Relating to Combinations of Workmen;
An Act to codify and Amend the Laws Relative to the Arbi-
tration of Disputes between Maatera and Workmen; and An
Act to Repeal the Laws Relative to Artisans Going Abroad.
The anticipations of the radicals with reference to the re-
peal of the Combination I.aws were rather different than one
might suppose. In the writings of Place in par- BnwcttHou
ticular there is little evidence of an appreciation "^ ***■*•
of the importance of organized collective bargaining. Place
felt that the organizations of the workmen were lai^y de-
fensive meaaun's against the tyranny of the law, and it was
his opinion that the repeal of the obnoxious laws would di-
minish concerted action among the laborers. He seems to
have doubted the possibility of any great increase of wages.
He believed that wages were at times unduly held don'n by
the masters with the assistance of the repressive legislation,
but he was too deeply imbued with the theory of Malthua to
beUcvc in the possibility of great material improvement in
tlie condition of the wage-earners through the n-age con>
tract. He believed, however, that the repeal of the laws
3M INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGL;VND
WQuid pronH)te better relations between the mastcre and
their men, doing away with demonstrations of %-iolence
against the masters and against machinery. "Combina-
tions," Place wrote, in 1825, "will soon cease to exist. Men
have been kept together for long periods only by oppreesion
of the laws, these being repealed, combinations n-ill lose the
matter which cements them into masses and they will fall to
pieces. AH will be as orderly as even a Quaker could desire.
He knows nothing of the working people who could suppose
that when left at liberty to act for themselvce, without being
driven into permanent associations by the oppresaon of the
laws, they will continue to contribute money for distant and
doubtful experiments, for uncertain and precarious bene-
fits." This strange misconception of the vitahty of working-
men's associations must undoubtedly be attributed to the
erroneous theories of the radical group which led them to
assume that improvement would be posjuble only through a
reduction in the relative numbers of the wage-earning classes.
The accomplishment of 1824 was too complete. The ex-
isUng laws were swept off the statute books. The period
KMoHsof happened to be one of industrial stringency and
''^^ the woritmen utilized their newly acquired lib-
erty to engage in strikes and boycotts on such a scale that
the employers were induced to believe that immediate res-
toration of the old laws was essential. The employers pro-
pared to duplicate the achievements of Hume and Place. A
committee was to be secured which was to serve as a vehicle
for putting their bill through the House in a similarly expedi-
tious manner. The Government itself selected the members
for the committee which was regarded as a purely formal
preliminary to the introduction of the drastic bill prepared
by the employers.
The activities of Hume made it necessary to appoint him
to the committee and a campaign organized by Place made
Am* it poesible for him to outwit the employers.
'^"•"•''*^ The committee at first refused to take evidence
from working-men, but the motion for the c<tmmittee had
been injudicioualy worded and it proved impossible to ci-
J
THE RISE OF COLLECTIVE BAEGAINING 885
elude woridng-men. The matter was forced on the attention
of the committee by a carefully oi^;anized campaign; peti*
I tioaa drafted by Place were sent up in great numbers from all
I parts of the country. Workmen were kept in the passages
L leading to the committee rooms. Others were stationed on
[the roads leading to the Houses <rf Parliament. Great
masses of c%idence were introduced: the allegations of the
employers were shown to be false and the committee was
[finally induced to report against the employers' bill.
The bill finally enacted differed only in modcrat« d^reftJ
ffrom the statute of the previous year. The e.'wential guaran-
tees were embodied in the Statute of 1825, but ti>« Act
I the new act did not pve working-men the com- •*'•*» J
Ijilete immunity from prosecution that had led to the great
[increase in strikes. Under the new statute certain kinds of
^ftcts were designated as unlawful if undertaken by combina-
tions of working-men. It was unlawful to ent«r into a com-
>inatinn " to induce another to depart from his service before a
I the end of his term," or to use Wolcncc or threats toward an- '
[other on account of his not conforming to the rules and r^u-
lations made by any union. It was likewise unlawful for a
combination of working-men to urge any one to refuse work
that was offered. Under the Statute of 1824 the unions would
have been protected in attempts to introduce the "closed-
shop" principle; the new statut* ga\'e the men guarantees
for the open shop, but specifically forbade the doing of
things that would be essential to the closed-shop pohcy.
The Statute of 1824 had guaranteed immunity from prose-
cution "under Common or Statute Law," the new statute
omitted all reference to the common law.
kWorkmen could therefore be prosecuted for
^conspiracy if the purposes of the combination were not re-
stricted to the determination f)f the rat«s of wages and the
hours of work. Because all statutes against combination
were repcalc-d this prosecution would necessarily rest upon
common-law doctrines, so that the provisions of this statute
BCt up a sharper distinction between statute and common-
law prosecutions than had previously existed. i
I >
Onlnlinia
SStt
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
Prosecutions for conspiracy became a serious menace to
the members and leaders of unions. The trial of the five
judjdij la- Glasgow cotton spinnerg in 1837 and of the offi-
tNprvtatian pgpg Qf ^jjg friendly Society of the Journeyman
Steam Engine Workers in 1846, tended to emphasize the im-
portance of this offense. The hostile tendency of judicial
interpretation was further indicated by the opinion given by
Justice Crompton in 1856. All combinations, he declared,
which tended directly to impede and interfere with the free
course of trade were not only illegal, but criminal. The
qualifications embodied in the Act of 1825 were thus a very
serious matter to the unions. Some of the tendencies of in-
terpretation were checked by the Statute of 1859. which de-
fined more closely the offenses of molestation and obstruc-
tion, but a new doctrine then appeared — the interpretation
of the agreement between the workmen as a conspiracy in
restraint of trade, so that the constitution of a union would
be dasdfied as a non-enforceable contract. This theory
struck at the integrity of all workingmen's societies that
were in any way connected with activities designed to im-
prove conditions of employment; the societies found it diffi-
cult to protect their funds, as ofGcers could not be sued for
emljezzlement. The position of the unions was Uius wholly
tmsatisfactory until the Act of 1871 gave than an assured
status.
The Act of 1871 provided for the registration of trade
unions, and, when registered, gave the union the right to
Tfc. Act hold small amounts of property. Trustees had
•* ** the right to defend the property of the union in
court, and officers of the union were bound to render account
of all funds. A regiatcred trade union thus possessed some
of the privileges of a corporation without being incorporated.
This anomalous position was desired by the friends of the
unions: full corporate capacity was not deemed desirable, as
it might open the way to suit by some member excluded from
working contrary to the interests of the union. The Act of
1871 thus afforded the unions means of organizing for the ac-
compUiilimcut of the purposes that were made legal in 1825,
I
CHAPTER XVI
THE PROTECTION OF HEALTH AND WELFARE
BY THE STATE
I. Obstacles to Reform and tite Reformers
The difficulties that beset the history of oil problems of
state policy appear in a peculiarly intetwe form with refer-
ence to the development of the regulative Icgis- Mtoee^
lation that now governs the life of the working ««"*«■
claases, protecting them from vicious exploitation by land-
lords and employers. The disposition to assume that Par-
liament adopted a systematic and thorough-go ing policy of
laissez-faire at the beginning of the nineteenth century t«nds
to distort the early history of this entire mass of legislation.
Delay that waa due to the inadequacy of governmental ma-
chinery is frequently attributed to positive unwilUagnesa to
take any steps in this direction, and the fumbling uncer>
tajnty of the first statutes is assumed to be exclusively due
to the desire of employers to retain unfettered control of
their business, although it is admitted by all that Parliament
did not possess the information requiate. Actual knowledge
of conditions in the factories and towns was deficient, and
likewise scientific knowledge of the principles that should
properly constitute the basis of regulative legation.
Villages had grown into towns, and towns of five or six
thousand inhabitants had suddenly become towns of twenty,
thirty, or forty thousand. These new towns Hawton-
were scandalously constructed: the buildings <'"'«»•
were unsubstantial and pro\'i8iona for Hanit«tion were al-
most entirely neglected. Even the rudimentary pru\'ision
for drainage then practiced in the older towns was not made.
There was much overcrowding. Houses were huddled to-
gether, back to back, and then filled with tenants from cellar
to garret. The workers, who lived under these debilitating
conditions when "at home," were collected in factories oc
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
mines for thirteen, fourteen, or fifteen hours per day. Be-
fore the rise of the factory it had been customary to work
more or less regularly from daylight until dark, acd in most
crafts night work was not actually prohibited. When the
factories were established the long hours of work were car-
ried over to the new system without any realization of the
crucial import:ancc of the regularity imposed by the disci-^
pline of the factory.
The condition of the manufacturing population between"
1815 and 1S40, both in factories and in their own houses, wi
Adminiitr«itv» probably more unfavorable to the health
<iiffleuiti«i well-being of the people than at any period t
fore or since. The actual extent of these evils can hardly
exaggerated; but it would seem unfortunate to represent
them as the result of a deliberate policy. The neglect <^H
, regulative measures was not the result of a policy of non-
interference in the sense that might readily bo conveyed by^
much writing of the Fabians and persons of kindred s>-mpaj^
thies. The unreformed constitution of England was ill-
adapted to these new problems of administration. It had
no means of carrying out a policy of regulation other than
the local officials of parish, county, or town. There was w
central administrative 8>'stem. The old regulative legisU
tion concerning the working classes had lieen adminiatei
by the justices of the peace or by special officials appoint
in the parishes. The existing mechanism of local govern-"
mcnt was thus scarcely adequate for more than the simplest
problems of a rural community.
The development of an effective administrative regulation
of industry and of social conditions was slow because it was
bcoBptUbU necessary not merely to secure the adoption of
[hnnehMot new policies, but to create an administrative
system capable of giving effect to the new ideas.
The obstacle to reform was in part the inertia of opinion with
reference to problems of social poUcy that were distressingly
new, and in part the genuine difficulty of creating an admin-
istrative system that should he adequately coordinated with
the mechanism of Farliomcntary government. Any student
%
I
■
■
PROTECTION OP HEALTH BY THE STATE 88ft
of the institutional history of France under the Third Re-
public will appreciate the extreme difficulty of securing
proper correlation between the legislative and administra-
ti%'e branches of the Government. There is an inherent in-
compatibility between admiiiiatration of a cejitralized tj-pe
and the fundamental ideas of Parliamentary govcrmncut.
Administrative departments cannot be independent of Par-
liamentary control, and at times it is well-nigh impossible to
conduct efficient departments subject to the incessant med-
dling of Parliament. If one is willing to recognize the reality
of these constitutional problems, there is justification for re*
garding the history of the nineteenth century as a period of
definite and persistent growth toward eEFective central con-
trol of matters pertEuning to the welfare of society in general,
with particular emphasU upon the welfare of the lower
classes. Much yet remains to be done, but it is possible now
to perceive the larger outlines of a centralized adminstrativd
system.
The resistance to this accomplishment baa been serious,
and it would be undesirable to convey an impression that
might cause it to be minimized, but, at the same time, it is
important to recognize clearly the nature of the resistance.
There was much casual reference in Parliamentary debate to
the catchwords of the laissez-faire policy, but these refer-
ences appear on both sides of the house, and Empirid*m
there is a disposition among many students of ''«»i'^»
social legislation to attach small importance to thcac al-
leged principles. Scarce any of the major enactments were
advocated or opposed on well-defined issues of principle.
Substantive legislation was at all times frankly empirical:
particular evils were dealt with in such measure as they were
brought to the attention of Parliament. It would thus seem
that the principles of laissez-faire were, of all obstacles, the
least important. Ignorance of the facts and lack of proper
administrative officers were, on the other hand, fundamen-
tal. The chief difficulty in opinion lay in the bias of Kng-
lishmen, both members of Parliament and the squirearchy,
against central government.
990
INDUSTRI.\L HISTORY OP ENGLAND
1- I
..J
L
This viev waa most energetically expressed by the group
of idealists who developed a cult of a political philosophy
9?^^ fro'i^ studies in Anglo-Saxon law. They de-
buioii clared that the essence of EngU^th polity lay in
the ri^ts of local self-government. They opposed adminis-
trative centralization both as a bad policy and as an uncon-
stitutional encroachment upon the rights of EngliRhmen
Toulmin Smith became the leader of this group, and his boo
Local Government and Centralisatum affords a significant op-
portunity to appreciate the extent to which old traditions
became an obstacle to reform even when they did not be-
come the basis of a consciously adopted political ideal.
It was genuinely difficult to induce Parliament to create
official positions that might result in a real control over local ■
authorities or local funds. The reforms of the poor-laws B
proposed in 1832-33 by the commission of inquiry were nidi- "
cally amended, in fact wrecked, by the unwillingness of Par-
liament to delegate sufficient authority to central oiBcials.
The factory inspectors appointed under the Act of 1833 ara^M
usually regarded as the first agents of a centralized adminis-^1
trative service: the beginning of the invasion of the sphere h
of authority long guaranteed to local officials. The socialfl
transformation brought about by the Industrial Revolution "
created problems that required a complete reorganization of
the government. The reform of the House of Commons as a
legislative body is well known. The development of a cen-
tral administrative system is less consciously recognized as a ^
feature of the past century. H
The development of this administrative organisation was
the result of pressure brought to bear upon Parliament from
TwoKboois the outside. The advocates of iucrejUied cen-
a( ftorm ^^ authority used much the same methods as
were followed by the advocates of laissez-faire poUcies in the
field of commerce and fiscal lei^lation. The two move-
ments really proceeded simultaneously in their earlier do-
Tclopments, though the free-trade agitation achieved
spicuous results more rapidly.
i
PROTECTION OF HEALTH BY THE STATE 391
England was indeed fortunate [myt Rcdlioh] id the tlmost
BimultsDeoua RUccesa of two very di^erent, but not neceH«irily
couflicting niodijs of thought. Th« first is (he Manchester r^chool,
usually associated with the names of Mr. Cobdcn. and Mr. Bri^t
ud with the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846. The (tecond is the
philanthropic or socialistic school, usually osMciated with the
name of Lord Shafteebtiry and with the introduction of factory
legiT^latioR. . , . Public Health Lcgislittion and Chadwirk's hilmrs
may therefore be regarded, not only aa a natural development of
the work of local authorities from their early dutiea of keeping the
peace, maintaining the roads or supporting the poor, but also a*
aymptomatio of a more general movement for extending the sphere
of internal administration and of multiplying the supi-rvigory
powers and positive dutiea of the State in relation to ita citizens.'
Although Shaftesbury and Chadwick were closely associ-
ated in a common cause, and at one time colleagues on the
Board of Health, their purpones and ideals were g^^,^^.
widely different. Anthony Ashley Cooper,
later the seventh Eart of Shaftesbury, was a member of a
historic family whose members had been conspicuous in
government and society for a century and a haU. He bad
the capacities and the opportunity for the political career
that was open to members of the aristocracy, but he soon
withdrew from the ofHcial posiitions which would have led by
Datura] sequence to ministerial responsibility. He was in-
cUiied to devote himself to a.stronomy, and, if it had not been
for certain coincidences, the scientific bent of his mind might
have gained permanent ascendancy. It so happened, how-
ever, that his attention was directed at the critical jimcturc
to the problems of lunacy and ultimately to the factory ques-
tion. The provision of better care for the insane was the be-
ginning of his philanthropic work, but he had not at that
time made any decision as to his life-work. The larger issuo
was presented to him by the invitation to undertake the di-
rection of the Factory Bill in the House of Commons. He
then realised that identification with the movement for re-
form would enlist him in a cause which would require his best
energies and entail the sacrifice of not a few connections with
his own chiss. The task that was astnimed at the time was
* Redlich, J.: EittrluA Local Gatrnrntnl (Londoo, 19031, v, \2A.
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
Hi* attltuds
tewtrd tttont
eonBciously recognized by him as the befpnning of a life*
work.
The character of his contribution to the reform movement
reflects in great measure the circumstances of thia decision.
With Shaftesbury reform was not a matter erf
principles, but a recognition of specific evils bj
a quickened social conscience. His work was empirical. A
diligent and fearless investigator of concrete evils, he was
conscious of no political principle in the abstract sense of the
term, but he was convinced that any government was morally
responsible for the continuance of preventable evil that had
once been brought to its attention. His distinction lay in
the untiring energy with which the social condition of the
laboring classes was studied, and in the warm-hearted sym-
pathy that enabled him to establish vital personal friend-
ehipK with people of a class that was far removed from that of
his birth.
Edwin Chadwick was of middle-class origin, and imlike
Shaftesbury, was uncompromising in the advocacy of a defi-
nite principle in the work of social reform.
Chadwick contemplated a career in law, but
devoted a portion of his energies to the writing of review
articles. His attention waa drawn to problems of public
health by an allegation of one of the Government actuaries
that the expectation of life had not increased among the
members of the middle class despite the improvement of the
general conditions of living. The subject was at first stud-
ied with the detjiched interest given to mere stuff for an arti-
cle. "But as the labor progressed a new train of reasoning
came into his mind, which in the end developed into what ho
called the 'sanitary idea,' that is to say, the idea that a man
could, by getting at first principles, and by arriving at causes
which affect health, mould life allogether into its natural
cast, and beat what had hitherto been accepted as fate, by
getting behind fate itself and suppressing the forces which
led up to it at their prime source." '
■ RjchardMD: Tiia HtoUJi 0/ A'olton*; a Kaiiea 0/ 1A« Workt tff Edwin Chad-
wick, I, xxvii.
Clud<rick
I
PROTECTION OF HEALTH BY THE STATE 393
This essay appeared in the Westminsler RevUw in April,
1828, under the title " Life iVssuranc«," and was followed tho
^biext year by articles in the London Review entitled " Preven-
'^tive Police" and "Public Charities of France." These three
articles contained the essential principles of a definite ad-
^Sninistrative policy based upon the example of France and
Gcnuany. Energetic central contni! of matters pertaining
to the public health was recommended in hopes of signifi-
cantly increasing the expectation of life of all classes of the
community. These articles brought Chadwick more promi-
nently to the attention of the circle of the philosophic radi-
cals; Bentham, James, and John Stuart Mill. It is doubtful,
however, if these ideas would have become more than a per-
sonal opinion had not official position brought CMkui J
Chadwick into daily contact with the problems p<^*«* \
involved. He was admitted to the bar and was not indis-
posed to devote himself to the general practice of law when
the constitution of the Commission on the Poor-Laws led to
his being offered the position of Assistant Commissioner.
After some hesitation he accepted and for twenty-two years
was acti\'ely concerned as investigator and administrator in
tho rcorganizati<m of poor-relief, factory inquiries, and the
development of systematic protection of the health of the
public. Although he usually held offices that were techni-
cally subordinate, he cterted a controlling influence upon
legislative and administrative policy. The sliaiply defined
conceptions that he brought to his task proved to be an ob-
stacle to his permanent enjoyment of official position. It
was politically impossible to give full effect to his ideals of
B ftdministration. He desired a greater measure of central
^■authority than public sentiment wa-^ prepanni for, and thi^j
^rtogether with an unconcilJatorj' attitude, forced him to r&-i
tire from public life. The Board of Health, organized in
1848 largely as a result of his influence, Iwcame so unpopular
that it was discontinued in ISM and Chadwick was sacrificed
to popular clamor.
tin the common judgment of the lime {says Sir John Simon] it
ins he who upeet the coach. As the credit of having originated
INDDSTRUL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
tho Board of Health had been due to him, so to him v&s nscribct^i
Cbanc- with every dcpreciative term, the policy which had
Urfuflon brought it to an end; and Mr. Chivdwick bore ia'
! tiiose days the distinction which hiut boen many a reformer's crown
hot laurel, that he was among the best abtuod men of his time . . .
In the earlier stages of Mr. Chadwick'o career, when the c— cooe
of his work was to force public attention to the broad facte and
consequences of a great public neglect, it mattered comparatively
•little whether, among his eminent qualifications, he possessed the
'Quality of judicial patience; but in hie subsequent position of
authority, demands for the exercise of that virtue were great and
constant, and Mr. Chadwick sccnu not to have been gifted with
the quality in degree sufficient for administratii'e sucoeiB. . . . Ho
perhaps did not sufficiently recognise that the case waa one tn
which deliberate national consents had to be obl.'iined, and id
which therefore no real, no permanent, success could bo won, ex-
cept in proportion aa tho people and their representative bodies
should have made way in a necessarily gradual process of educa-
tion. He could not have advisedly thought it possible to anatch
his verdict, and to revolutionize national habits by surprise; but
he probably hoped to achieve in a few years the results which
ten times his few years could see acliieved; and where othont
sides were hanging back, his ardour seemed ready to unde
the work of alt. . . . Mr. Chadwick, beyond any man of his time,
knew what large additions of human miHcrj- were accruing day by
day under the then almost universal prevalence of sanitary neg-
lect, and tho indignation which he was entitled to feel at tho
ipectacle of so much needless human suifering ia a not ignoble
excuse for such signs of ovcreagcrncss as he may have shown.'
Tliis judgment by a successor in the work of sanitary re-
form reflects more completely than any statcracnt by an un-
asnmcnce officjal person the conviction of the reality of the
e( ch«a»iek'i obstacles to reform that lay in the mere inertia
""* of common opinion. Furthermore, tho experi-
ence of the generations that followed has shown that this de-
votion to the old traditions of local sclf-govemment was not
without meaning, and, thovigh it is not always possible to
respect the tradition, it is none the less assured that central
control is not a remedy for many types of difficulty. Sir
John Simon felt convinced that Chadwiek underestimated
tile value of the cooperation of local authorities, and there
' SiinoD, Sir John: SnglUh Sanitary IntbttUiont, 23L
;; but
ihnobfl
onal^l
irtak^B
I
PROTECTION OP HEALTH BY THE STATE 905
as an clement of exaggeration in some of Chadwick's views,
but despite extravagances in detail Chadwick's faith in the
supoiorily of central administration has been justified.
H. Sanitation
The eanitary condition of the towns of the United King-
dom at the beginning of the nineteenth century showed no
esBential or systematic improvement over the conditions
that hat! prevailed for a century or more. There were be-
ginnings of a new order, indeed, but by reason of deficiencies
in technical knowledge and the absence of systematic and
comprehensive application of what little was known, the
"improvements" resull«! at timoM in intensification of the
old eWl. Sewers had existed in the larger cities 3^^
for a long period^ but these drains wore designed
to care for surface water only, a function that was discliarged
imperfectly enough because of the inadequacy or absence of
pavements in the city streets. In many towns uncovered
ditches were the only provision made for surface drainage,
and in some cases the authorities were satisfied that, they had
done all that was requisite when they had improved the
courses of small brooks or streams that seemed to be well
located.
. The waste from houses, under these circumstances, was by
"necessity turned into cesspools, the details of whose con-
struction was largely left to individuals. The hodm
results can be imagined. Conveniences were of *•"•
the most primitive description. Toward the clo«e of the
eighteenth century, water-closets were gradually introduced,
but imperfections of desiRn made them less effective than
they might have been, and their chief value from the point of
view of public sanitation was destroyed by the absence of
any general system for the removal of waste from houses in
streams of running water. At the close of the eighteenth
century the public sewers began to be connected with private
houses, but there was no notion of creating a general system
of public sewers for the removal of waste. While MedicAl
Oiiicer of the City of Lofldon (1S48-51), Dr. John Simon sue-
t
ceeded in abolishing the private cesspool within the limits of
the "City," but it was "still almost universal in the metropo-
lis, — and in mansions of the West Kud [was] regarded aa
equally sacred with tho wine ceUar." At its best, the older
Rj-st^in Ls not incompatible with pubUc health, and as now
administered in many Continental cities it is free from the
evils that were responsible for the fevers that destroyed the
li%-es of so many and lowered the standards of health of the
entire community.
The evils of the early nineteenth century were primarily
due to the inadequacy of the means for the removal of waste
in tho poorer quarters of the towns. A great mass of mate-
rial was collected in 1840-42 by the Poor-Law Commis-
sioners, most of it being a reiteration of identical abuses,
inadequacies, and neglect. From Liverpool, Dr. Duncan
reported: ^_
The sewera^ of Liverpool was so very imperfect, that aboii^^
ten yciire ago a local act was procured, appointing commis.-*Joner8
Liverpool with power to levy a rate on the parish for the con-
ta "840 struction of sewers. Under that act, which expires
next year, about £100,000 have been expended in the formation
of Hcwcrs along the main streets, but many of these arc still ua-
sewered: and with reRarrl to the Btrecta inhabited by the working
classfs, I believe that the great majority are without sewers, and
that where they do exist they are of a very imperfect kind unless
the ground haa a natural inclination, therefore the surface water
and fluid refuse of every kind Ht!igiiiit<! in the street, and add espe-
cially in hot weather their pestilential influence to that of the more
Bolid filth already mentioned. With regaid to the courts, 1 doubt
whether there is a single court in Liverpool which couwtunicates
with the street by an underground drain, the only means afforded
for carrying off the fluid dirt being a n.^rrow, open, shallow gutter
whif^h sometimes exists, but even this is very generally choked up
with stagnant filth. 1
There can be no doubt that the emanations from this pestilential
surface, in connexion with other causes, are a frequent source
BCFect «Q of fever among the inhabitants of these undrained
lieaUh localities. I naay mention two instances in corrob-
oration of this assertion: in cunseqiieRCC of finding that not less
than sixty-three caaes of fever had occurred iu one year in Union
Court, Baoastre Street (containing twelve houses), I visited the
r court in order to ascertain, if poflsible, their origin, (uifl 1 found
the whole court inundated with fluid filth which h»d wjzfd through
the walls from two adjoining ash-pits and oeeepools, and which
I had Qo means of escape in consequence of the court being below
the level of the street fwd having no drain. . . . The house nearest
the ash-pit had been untenanted for neariy three years io conso'
I quence of the filthy nuitter oozing up throuf^ tbo floor, and the
occupants of the adjoining houses were unable to take their meals
without previously closing the doors and windows.' . . .
The remedy for these eviJs was to be found in the develop-
ment of the more economical sj'stcm of removal of waste by
means of a continuous flow of running water pmpoMd
through properly constructed and ventilated '•'<™»
sewers. Cliatlwick was con\'inced that such a s^Tttem of sew-
age removal wotJd be cheaper in the end than any sj-stem
dependent upon the emptying of private cesspools by any
fonn of hand labor or by mechanical dences. The initial
costs would of course be high, but the moderate daily charge
would in his opinion more than warrant the great outlay.
The use of ^azed earthenware conduits in cstablishinR con-
nections between houses and the main sewera constituted an
important technical detail, rendering these smaller conduits
entirely inofrensi\'c and sanitary.
The inadequacy of existing methods of caring for these
problems was first brought generally to the attention of the
public by the Poor-Law Commissioners in the Finti»-
rcport previously cited. The ofScers in charge '"•**•
of relief di.scovered that fevers and other preventable di»*
eases were among the most frequent causes of destitution
among adults that were in general ablo-bodicd. The prema-
ture death of the bread-winners or long-continued debility
would inevitably bring an entire family upon the rates.
These cases of destitution were clearly due to the general
conditions of life, which were forced upon the poor by no
choice of their own. It was an unescapablc hazard. Re-
ports made ui 1838 and 1839 by the Medical Officers for the
Metropolis were communicated to the Ministers, and, in
' Btjtort from lAe Poor-Law Communontr* m an /nfuiry into On Sanitarv
CmdMoH ^ tile Lalxnirint PoptJatim oj Gnat Bntam (iomlon, 1842), 31.
sas
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
Atigust, 1839, the Poor-Law Commission was ordered to uw
its agencies and staff in making an inquiry into the sani-
tary conditions affecting the kboring classes throughout the
United Eangdom. The Commission collected detailed re-
ports from its medical officers and from its inspectors. lo
1842 a general report, largely the work of Chadwick, was
submitted to the Govcruracnt.
Although it is hardly likely that the conclu^ons of Chad-
wick's report were doubted, a Royal Commission was ap-
pointed in 1843 to consider the same subject. The Com-
mission soon came to regard Mr. Chadwick as a colleague
working with them confidentially, and at no stage in their
proceedings was there any exhibition of a contentioa-j spirit
between the Royal Commissioners and the Poor-Law Board.
Mr. Chadwick, in fact, informed personal friends that he ac-
companied sevwal of the comraiasioners on their toura of in-
spection and actually drafted the first report as well as the
recommendations of the second. Chadwick's report and the
reports of this Commission made a deep impression upon the
public mind so that there was no question of the ne«l of 1^-
islation. A bill was introduced in 1845, but political exigen-
cies delayed the passage of general public health letpslation
until 1848.
The Public Health Act of 1848 made less generous provi-
sion for the needs of the time than the reception of the re-
PobUc H»«iih ports would lead one to anticipate. A General
Act: 1S4S Board of Health was eetabUshed, but the oppo-
Htion forced the Govenuncnt to limit its cxiiitence to five
years, a device which gave factious opposition an imfortu-
nateiy strong point of vantage m attacking the Board. Ix)-
cal Boards of Ih^tb might be set up in towns of more than
throe thousand inhabitants, in places showing an annual
mortality in excess of twenty-three deaths per thouRand.
The General Board was ^ven power to require the locality
to acquire the sanitary powers provided in the act for Local
Boards. The duties of the General Board consisted prima-
nly Id the supervision and control of the Local Boards. The
greatest deficiency in the act lay in the inadequacy of provi-
PROTECTION OF HEALTH BY THE STATE 390
don for expert asmstance: no provision was made for penna-
nent ofHcials possessed of training in medicine or civil en-
gtncoring. Two years later the need for medical assistanoe
was met by attaching a salaried medical officer to the Cen-
tral Office of the Board, but the engineering profession was
never adequately represented. The Board was required to
consult particular engineers with reference to each proposal,
and, as the engineers consulted in this manner must needs be
engaged in private practice, there were opportunities for an
engineer to secure in official position knowledge that would
bo of advantage to him in his private capacity. The mem-
bers of the profession came to feel tiiat the preferments of the
Board created an unfair competition in the profession, so
that the full Influence of the professional group was soon
directed agwnst the Board.
The Board possessed sufficient authority to make itself
thoroughly hated by the local authorities, who were indiffer-
ent to the health of the public, without having „
any means of requiring these local omcials to
make use of the powers that they could be obliged to acquire.
The natural tendency of this relation between central and
local government was not tempered by Chadwick's distrust
of local agencies, so that the unpopularity of the Board grew
rapidly to serious proportions. As the Board was not di-
rectly atisociated with any nunistcrial position it was without
defense in Parliament. In the be^nning the attack was a
personal attack upon Chadwick rather than upon the idea of
a General Board of Health, and it Ecemed likely that the
Board could be saved by sacrificing Chadwick to his enemies.
The temporary character of the provision for the Board,
however, prevented the realization of these hopes. The old
Boaid was allowed to lapse, though its more important du-
ties and powers were shortly after provided for by an annual
act. This temporizing with the opposition was in the end
responsible for a confusion of administrative jurisdictions
which ultimately did serious injury to the cause of sanitary
refonn, and the history of this legation thus illustrates to
a remarkable degree the power of petty selfish interests to
400
INDITSTRUL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
thwart wdl-conceived deagns for reform despite deep coo-
victioQS of the need of reform measures on the part of ma^^
active agencies. ^^
Despite the partial reconstitution of the Board of Health
in 1858 under the Local Government Act of that year, the
period from 1854 to 1871 can best be regarded
FonsdiHou
"f*!*^ „ as a sort of interim characterized rather by
the development of the techmque of super^nsion
and administrative control than by actual administrative
work. Chadwick had been guided more largt-ly by abstract
principles than by technical knowledge. The medical fra-
ternity and especially a number of its members who held
various official posts furnished in these years a mass of tech-
nical knowledge concerning the prevalence of disease, and
the causes of endemic and epidemic diseases. They began
to form a body of statistical knowletige and to develop a
technique in the collection and interpretation of statistics
that was fundamental in health administration. The offi-
cials of the census cooperated in giving such form to the pub-
lications of that department as would be most illuminating
in the study of mortality and its causes. Consciousness of |
the imperfections of knowledge as well as lack of adequate
powers directed the attention of those most concerned with
the work toward the laying of foundations for the future. .
The defective organization of the service was for these rea^|
sons no calamity during these years; but it is difficult to re^^
gard the legislation of 1872-75 with similar complacency.
It was then high time that the hopes of the preceding years
should be fulfilled, and it was no longer possible to excuse
further delay on grounds of ignorance of the proper means tq^
secure the desired end. ^M
The knovra deficiencies of the local authorities in carrying
out sanitary reforms resulted in the appointment of a Royal
CommiMi^ Conuuission in 1868 to investigate conditions
»* '•" and to recommend new legislation. The report
anphasizcd the utter inadequacy of laws that merely created
opportunities for the acquisition of powers by local authori-
ties, and the ineffective admioistratioa of powers acquired
PROTECTION OP HEALTH BY THE STATE 401
L
was likewise pointed out. The Commissioners were dis-
poeed to believe that there were too many local bodies poe-
aeescd of similar or overlapping powers. The closely related
1 jurisdictions of health and poor-law authoritiee presented, in
' fact, many instances of ill-defined correlation. The existii^
I central authority was deemed to be unduly diffused among
officials associated with different departments of the Govern-
' ment. The Pri\'y Council, the Local Government Act Office,
, the Poor-Law Board, the Board of Trade, and the Home
I Office, all participated in the supervision of matters cloeoly
iielated to the public health. The Commission therefore
reoommeoded the coni^>1idation of all these related functions
ID one office, whose political head should have a seat in Far-
! liament. It was suggested that (he Health Department and
the Poor-Law AdminiBtration should have separate perma-
nent secretaries and thus be maintained as independent de*
partments in actual administration, although they were un-
der one political head. There was nothing unstateemanlike
in this rcconunendation, and if it had been carried out to the
letter much good might have been done.
The text of the Act of 1871, however, was not very specifio
with reference U) the departmental organization of the office,
and Mr. Stansfeld, the chief of the new office, Thsnow
took more authority mto his own hand than "^''^
was contemplated by the Commission. He had formerly
been connected with the Poor-Law Board, and upon his ap-
pointment proceeded to fill nearly all the places under his
direction with persons selected from his old department.
The intentions of the Commission were thus disappointed:
instead of a Health Department and a Poor-I>aw Depart-
ment reepODsible to a single political head, the President of
the Local Government Board, there was m fact a Poor-Law
Administration charged with the supervision of the entire
mass of sanitary legislation.
This substantial suppression of a distinct PubUc Health
Office was made possible by the admini.'^tra- AoUmiiona
Uve confusion that followed the discontinuance °»'»'»k*
of the first Board of Health. There was no f^up at ^cx-
MS
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
manent officials sufficiently organized to resist this disastrous
intruwon of purely persona] questions into the large prob-
lems of administrative organization. The medical staff that
had gradually grown up in the purlieus of the Centra] Gov-
ernment was not associated with the new department in any
permanent or helpful way. /Uthough tJie adminiatration of
the office required expert medical assistance of the highest
quality, no appointments were made from the medical fra-
ternity, and acting officials were gjven the most limited
opportunities of making themselves useful. The same dis-
regard of professional medical assistance characterized the
appointments of the local authorities, whose action was, in
large measure, a reflection of the influence of the central
office. The administration of public health leKislation thua
fell into the hands of a group of poor-law officials most of
whom were without medical training.
The law-s relating to public health were revised and codi-
fied by the Statute of 1875; so all the external appearance of
final achievement was given to the legislation of
the period. The details of correlation between
central and local authorities had been worked out, and the
development of grants from the revenues of the Central Gov-
ernment in aid of local rates had removed the chief com-
plaint of local interests. They could no longer plead in ex-
tenuation of their conduct an inability to provide financially
for the schemes of improvement imposed upon them by the
central health authorities. These were, indeed, substantial ao-
compliahmcnta, but it is none the less Important to recognize
that opportunities were lost of creating an administrative
jurisdiction that would have been better able to accom-
plish the primary ends of social improvements in thcac dircc-
Uons. The high death-rates that shocked the early investi-
gators are still to be found in many districts, and it is still
common to find portions of cities with annual death-rates of
over thirty-five per thousand, as compared with a general
death-rate of nineteen or twenty per thousand for England
and Wales.
One cannot feel that the legislation of the years 1871-75
Codilicatioo
PROTECnON OF HEALTH BY THE STATE 403
was in any adequate sense a fulfillment of the preparatory
work of reform that had been accomplished with distinction
under the direction of Chadwick in the forties and under the
leadership of the most public-spirited members of the medi-
cal fraternity in the years following the retirement of Chad-
wick from office. The progress in combating preventable
diaease has been slower than might have been antic;ipated.
^le shortcomings of the work of 1871 were peculiarly un-
fortunate because the departmental organization became
sufficiently fixed at that time to render further reform espe-
cially difiicult. There has been in recent years considerable
agitation for a Public Health Office, and, with the beg^-
nings of a general reconstruction of the Cabinet following
the armistice of November 11, 1018, this has been one of
the first reforms to be enacted into law. The Ministry of
Health Act of 1919 provides for the appointment of a min-
ister and the transfer to him of most of the functions of the
President of the Local Government Board. It will be his
duty "to take all steps that may bo desirable to secure
the effective carrying out and coordination of measures con-
ducive to the health of the people," including the prevention
and cure of disease, the collection and preparation of infor-
mation and statistics, and the training of persons engaged in
health service. It is now believed that this minutter will have
authority over the adminbtration of the poor laws, and some
concern is felt in many chiles lest the old system be entirely
supplanted and transformed. It is possible, however, that
subsequent legislation will make definite provision for the
care of the poor.
III. Housi.vo
The health of the population is no less intimately depend-
ent on the general condition of its house accommodations
than upon the general sanitary arrangements for the care of
streets and the dispojiul of waste. The explanation of the
persistence of high death-rates in urban districts is to bo
found in the multiplicity of possible causes of prematiire
death. A satisfactory state of public health can hardly be
Bocured until all preventable menace to life is removed. The
INDDSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENG
housing problem is doubly diflScuIt because it has increased
in complexity with the progress of the urban movemont, and
the general tendency toward greater concentration has cre-
ated untoward conditions of congestion more rapidly thao
the legislative and administrative rcfonm could suppress the
old evils.
Attention was first drawn to this aspect of social reform
by Shaftesbury (then Lord Ashley) in 1851, and it was hia
Th« TonBM unique experience to superintend the passage of
**' the bill through both Houses of Parliament, as
his succession to the earldom took place in the inten'al be-
tween the adoption of the bill in the Commons and its presen-
tation in the Ijords. The act was permissive only, enabling
local authorities to erect model cottages or tenements. The
first considerable attempt to grapple with the problem came
in 1867-68, when the Torrens Bill was introduced. This
was directed against individual buildinRS that were unfit for
human habitation. The bill contained pro\'ision for the
condemnation of buildings upon reports by the medical offi-
cer of the locality and by engineers. The local authority
was then under obligation to recommend suitable repairs if
there was any possibility of putting the building into shape.
If this were impossible, or if the owner failed to execute the^
repairs within a specified time, an order for the demolition of^|
the building could be issued. Provision was made also for
the erection of a suitable building to replace the condemned
structure, but this clause failed to pass, and no such powers
were conferred upon the local authorities until 1879. Proi
en* I
rum ^1
dure under the Torrens .\ct (Artisans and Laborers Dwellings
Act, 18G8) was complex and many of the legal proxisions
were obscure. The act consequently failed to accomplish
all that had been anticipated. M
It should be observed that the machinery of this act, as of"
other housing acts, was to be set in motion primarily by the i
reports of the medical officers of the various local areas, soH
that the inadequacy of the medical mspectiou provided by"
the Local Government Act of 187! was re-sponsible in part
for the small number of condeouiations of buildings. Medi-
M
PROTECTION OF HEALTH BY THE STATE 405
Ical officers engaged in private practice, holding a public posi-
^on at the pleasure of a local authority, were not free to exert
themselves on behalf of the public in ways which might con-
flict with the private interests of their patients and employ-
ers. Much good was accomplished tmder the statute, but it
did not become the basis of syBtematic reforms in all urban
districts as had been hoped.
*The Act of 1875, introduced at the instance of Mr. R. A.
Cross, endeavored to deal with the othej- serious aspect of
Urban housing: the congested area, rendered coagMi*d
unfit for habitation, not by overt structural de- ■""
fecta of particular houses, but by the arrangement of the
streets and houses in the entire district. Narrow streets,
courts, longer passages that were prevented from becoming a
thoroughfare by the closing of one end by perhaps no more
than a single house, — all these slum conditions would re<
main a serious menace even if the individual buildings
should pass inspection. Under this act certain portions of
London were remodeled. Streets were widened and addi-
tional entrances were pro\nded for inner blocks.
Since the passage of this act no fundamentally new princi-
ple has been incorporated in housing legislation, unless one
were to interpret in such light the provisions for the prepara-
tion of systematic phws for the development of urban areas
on which no buildings at all had been erected at the time of
the preparation of the plan. The numerous enactments
since 1875 have been predominantly legal and adminlstra^
tive: several amending acts, 1879, 1880, 1882, and 1885; com-
prehensive amendment and codification in 1890; and further
amending acts in 1900, 1909, and 1912. These sm*u
acts have been directed toward the simplifica- •»»"•
tion of procedure and have made the obligations of the local
authorities imperative in many instances in which they were
fonnerly permissive. But despite the intentions of the cen-
tral authorities, various interests are sufBciently powerful to
prevent the granting of vital powers. It was suggested, for
instance, that a clause be included in the Town Planning Act
of 1909 providing that once in five years a complete cvir>i^
408
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
should be made, under the direction of Borough or County
Councils, of all houses below a certain assessed value. Such
comprehensive surveys are an essential basin for any en-
tirely adequate rcfonn, but the clause was rejected and in
scarcely any district have such surveys been made. The
attitude of the Central Government is indicated by the re-
port of the Land Inquiry Committee appointed by Mr.
Lloyd George, when Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1912.
Laws embodying a consistent policy have been placed on
the statute book; sometimes by one party, sometimes by the
OteuciM other. The issue has never been a party quca-
hi MiooB ^jpQ Curiously enough there is abundwit con-
Bciousncss on the part of members of Parliament that the
statutes are not effectively administered, and there has been
not a little tendency to put the blame on the landlords.
Much responsibility should rest on their shoulders, for the
local authoritiej? have represented propertied interests and
have constituted a last bulwark of aristocratic privilege.
There has been little opposition to the wTiting of these laws
into the statute book, because many of those interested
knew that large reforms could be thwarted, just as they
knew that small reforms were politically expedient. Thia
lefd^lation thus constitutes a part of that opposition between
class interests of which Parliament is gradually becoming
the theater of conflict.
The present housing crim is partly due to these essen-
tially restrictive laws, and partly due to the influence of the
methods of assessing real estate. Provision for the condem-
nation of buildings and d^nition of building standards
graduaUy reduced the rate of new buUding. Lajid costs re-
mained high because it was easy to hold land for speculative
increases in value as long as unimproved land was asiit'ssed
at purely nominal figures. It has thus come about that
there is an actual dearth of housing accommod&*
tion throughout the greater part of the United
Kingdom. Knowledge of the fact does not allay the class
feeling that was already sufficiently well defined. Together
with the land question with which it is inextricably associ-
hoiuM
PROTECTION OP HEALTH BY THE STATE 407
Iated, this housing question is one of the most serious issues
between Conservatives, Kadicats, and Socialists. The ac-
tual dearth of accommodation gives color to the assertion
that private initiative has failed, so tliat public endeavor is a
necessity. The criticisms of the Socialists and Radicals are
undoubtedly sound in most of their details, and yet one is
inclined to doubt the necessity of the conclusion that "pri-
vate initiative" has failed. However, it is difhcult to form
opinions about such matters at a distance from the localities
concerned, and it is entirely possible that tha« is no signifi-
cant hope of enlisting the activities of a group of private
capitalists other than that which has in fact failed to meet an
urgent public need.
I
IV. Factory Leqisiatio.n
Regulations of conditions of employment in factories fall
into three groups: regulations designed to protect women
and children; regulations designed to assure rca- Prindpi** of
sonable safety, with reference to macliinery and '•»■'«''>'»
especially with reference to certain occupational dangers in
what areclasseda8"dangerous trades"; regulations of hours
of employment and other conditions for adult men. Direct
regulations of this third class have been avoided in English
kfn-'ilation, as in this country, though there is no possible
doubt of the compietencc of Parliament to make such regula<
Uons. It was hoped that the famous Ten Hours Act of 1847
would in fact constitute a regulation of the hours for adult]
men as well as for women and children, hut means were
found of maintaining the hours of the men, and the act was
for a while practically nullified with reference to the pro*
tccted classes for whose benefit it was designed. In 1850 the
definition of the limits of the legal working day actually r&-
Bulted in a restriction of the hours worked by adult men, and
B there can be no question of the intention of the framers erf
' the act to accomplish that end. But Parliament has not
been willing to legislate specifically for men except with refer-
Ience to "dangerous trades"; there is a feeling that the princi-
ple of individualism should be maintained, in form if not ia
I
♦08 INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
fact. This disposition is due in part to the desire to find the
essential legal basis of these curtailments of individual free- ,
dom in the doctrine of the police power, and to the intention
of keeping the laws within the most certain aspectn of that
authority of the State. The Factory Code of to-day thus
concerns itself with women, "young persons," and specific
occupational dangers. This tegi.slation has been consciously
founded on the poUce power from the outset, and though its
development has at times been slow it has progressed on the
whole as rapidly as conditions of administrative control and
knowledge of cvile made legislation practical.
At the outset, some trace of lau&ez-faire doctrine may be
seen in the disposition to limit administrative interference to
^^ the protected classes, but the validity of the
noD-intcrfercnce theory was quickly disposed of
in the debates of the forties, and in the general history of
factory legii^tation the argument from laissez-faire principles
was not important. The question of principle i,vas well ar-
gued by Lord Howick in the debates on the Factory Act of
1844:
I contend (he aays) that you altogether misapply the maxim of
leaving indiuU-y to it^lf when you use it as an arKumont against
regulations of which the object i», not to inorciuic the productive
power of the countrj'. op to take the fruits of a man's labor and
give it to another, but, on the contrary, to guard the laborer
•gainst himself, and the community from evils against which the
more punuit of wcaltli affords us no security. . . . There is an
important distinction which has not been sufficiently adverted to
in thcao dobatw, bctwc-eii restrictions imposed upon industry with
the VLiionary hope of increasing tho nation's wealth, or with the
Wtjust design of taxing one c\asn for the benefit of another, and
those of n'tuch tho aim is to guard against evils, moral or phynicol,
which it is apprehended that the absence of such precautions might
entail upon the people. '
In suggesting that the principle of regulation of industry
according to the dt)ctrine of the police power was adopted at
an early date, it is not designed to minimize the importance
of the ten hours movement nor to give an impression that
' CStod in Hutohioa aud Harrison: ffutory of Faetoqi LrfMUunA, 03.
»
PROTECTION OP HEALTH BY THE STATE 409
there were do obstacles to be overcome. It does seem deeip<
able, however, to point out that all estimates of the relation
of legUlation to the difficulties created by social t.ji,ta«od
change require that there should be some corre- •°'' th«t«c-
lation maintained between the progress of the **
new problem on the one hand and the progress of legislation
on the other hand. lo the history of factory legislation this
correlation has not been carefully worked out, and there are
many difficulties in tracing the actual progress of the factory
movement. Regulation uf industry in the humes of workers
was very nearly if not entirdy impractical, so that the pre-
dse dating of the progress toward the factor^' sj-stem be-
comes a crucial matter in the judgment of the growth of the
Factory Code. It would seem that the extent and character
of the early factory movement has been frequently mis-
judged by the wTiters that are most severe in their atrictiiree
upon the slow development of factory legislation. Judg-
ment of the ten hours movement involves a somewhat differ-
ent issue. It is not clear that the leaders in Honn
Parliament were swayed by personal intejcs'ta in '** **"*
the matter. "While there were members who held intense con-
victions on both sides of the question, the leaders and appai^
ciitly a majority of the ITouse regarded it as a matter which
could not be proved either way. Contemporary judgment
of a positive character was based on sentiment or self-inter-
est; many stood aside. The ultimate passage of the Tea
Hours Act illustrates the susceptibility of Parliament to any
persistent pressure. For the most part Parliament is not an f
obstacle by reasin of its principles, but by reason of its iner-
tia. The achie\'cment of this particular reform was particu-
larly difficult because the case could not be presented with
much appeal to persons who were inclined to yield only to
arguments which seemed to be certain and definite. The
situation was comparable with the present issue of the cifd^t-
bour day. Despite the possibilities afforded by studies of
industrial fatigue, according to a technique that is now well
understood, we do not now know what limits of working
hours are really desirable. Many are inclined to sus^tect ^W^
410 INDUSTRUL HISTOEY OP ENGLAND
Bincerity of the demand for "short" hours, and it is not yet
possible to define the limits that would secure maximum
efficiency.
The early Factory Acts, including under the phrase all acts
passed prior to 1833, were designed to remedy the flagrant
evils th^it were the outcome of the peculiar de-
pendence of the eariy factories upon child labor.
There was no clear evidence of any consciousoess of a general
obligation to care for the public health, but merely a recog-
nition of certain special obligations. The condition of pau-
per apprentices made obvious claims upon the attention of
Parliament, for these pauper children were really wards of
the State. The Act of 1802, which bore the title, 'Health
and Morals of Apprentices Act," is therefore a regulation of
factory conditions in a somewhat incidental manner. It is
not an act tliat called in question the police power in the
sense that became important nith reference to the general
factory legislation, and it can hardly be considered to be
the beginning of the Factory Code, Its provisions could
not be applied to what were called free children, children
sent in for the day by their parents. For the apprentices
working hours were restricted to twelve per day. Ni^t
work was gradually to be discontinuetl, and to cease entirely
by June, 1804. All apprentices were to be instructed in
reading, writing, and arithmetic, and each child was to re-
ceive one suit of clothes per year. Factories should be white-
washed periodically, and should be properly %'entilated.
Separate aleeping-i^iartments were to be provided for the
two sexes.
Dependence upon pauper labor became inconsiderable in
the couree of the decade following the Act of 1802, and with
reference to children as a class most of the older evils were
increasingly conspicuous. The investigation of the condi-
tions of child labor in factories (1816) marks the true bcgin-
Act of iSio "'"^ **' ^ conscious responsibility on the part of
the State for those of its subjects who were un-
able to protect their own interests. The Act of 1819, which
PROTECTION OF HEALTH BY THE STATE 411
rvr&a the result of the investigation, was lees drasUe than
the bill originally introduced, but the essential principle waa
written into the statutes. The act applied to cotton milU
only. Children under nine years were not to bo employed
at all, and those under sixteen were restricted to twelve
working hours. The allowance of an hour and a half for
meats limited the gross time of attendance at the factory to
thirteen and one half hours. The administration of the act
I was entrusted to the justices of the peace who were pre-
sumed to appoint certain of their number to be inspectors.
The administrative details design«>d to give effect to theae
provisions were somewhat amended in 1825, 1829, and in
1831, but the actual content of the acts was not significantly
H changed.
The need of more comprehensive handling of the new proh-
^ lems was brought to tlie attention of Parliament by the in-
I troduction of a bill by M. T. Sadler in 1831. The manufac-
turers urged the appointment of a Select Committee of the
House of Commons, hoping to secure recommendations that
were more acceptable to them than the provTsions of Sad-
ler's measure. The results of the hearings in London were
a dlyippointment to them, however, and they moved for a
Royal Commission of investigation clothetl with authority
to proceed to the factory districts and study the problem on
the ground. The reformers and the operatives distrusted
this committee at first, feeling that its composition had been
unduly influenced by the manufacturers, but the presence of
Edwin Chadwick on the committee was a guarantee that the
interests of the public would receive adequate attention.
The report of the committee insiBted upon the need of re-
form, though the details of the recommendations were not
identical with those of the earlier proposals.
The Act of 1S33, which followed, marks the b^^iming of a
new phase in factory legislation. The great departure lay in
the provision for more efficient administration TiMAct
of the laws. The supervision of factories waa •• '•**
put in the bands of itinerant inspectors, responsible to the
Home Office. Their powers were co^Mtlinate with thoaa ot
412
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
the justices of the peace, who were unfortunately allowed to
cxerciac a joint control over factory contiitions which for a
time nvillified the efForts of the inspectors. The appointment
of the inspectors, however, was of the greatest iiniwrtance,
for their systematic tours of inspection afforded means of se-
curing information of the greatest value in the clahoration of
the Factory Code.
The regulations formerly applied to persons under sixteen
were applied in the act to all under eighteen. Employment
of children under nine years was prohibited except in silk
mills, and between the ages of nine and thirteen only half-
time was allowed. The age linuts of young persons and
children thus assumed permanent form. The working hours
of young persons were limited to twelve, and it was subse-
quently admitted by Sir James Graham in 1844 that the
Ciovemment presumed that these limitations would in fact
apply to all operatives, men as well as women. The failure
of the act to achieve this end vaas due to ttie omission of
sufficient restrictions to prevent the employment of pro-
tected, persona under complex and evaave relay systems,
which complied hterally with the statute, though they were
wholly contrary to its intent.
These difficulties were met by the Act of 1844. The
twelve-hour day prescribed for protected persons was to be
T*« wMfc- deemed to begin as soon as any protected person
i**^ began work. Hours of work and meal hours
were to be regulated by some public clock. The act further
provided for the inclusion of all women in the class of pro-
tected persons, and hence subject to the same regulations as
young persona between the ages of thirteen and eighteen.
For the first time also regiilatiuus were made to insure the
safety of operatives. The employment of young persons to
clean and oil machinery while in motion was prohibited, and
it was required that the more dangerous types of machines
should be encased in protective coverings. Interference by
the magistrates with the work of the factory inspectors was
brought to an end by the withdrawal of all their powers. The
hands of the inspectors were strengthened in a number of
respects.
FBOTBCnON OF HEALTH BY THE STATE
The hours of work for protected persons were limited to
tm hours by the Act of 1847, and its effective application
was secured in 1850 by the restriction of the time of employ-
ment to the period between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. With this ad-
dition the chief outlines of the Factory Code assumed per-
manent form. The accomplishments of the next generation
lay in the regulation of dangerous trades and in the extension
of the system of regulation to factories in all branches of
industry.
It would be inta«sting to correlate the extension of the
Factory Acts in 1867 and 1878 with the medical knowledge
of occupational diseases on the one hand, and Ezittuaion
with the spread of the factory system on the ^ p^oeifiM
other hand. It is the impression of the writer that the rapid-
ity of the development of the factory system la frequently
«aa^;erated, but without specific studies of the various in-
dustries no conclu^ons can safely be drawn. The terminol-
ogy of the period is terribly confused. The word "factory"
is used ordinarily In a much more restricted meaning than is
now common among economists. The statutes adopt formal
definitions based upon the use of power, or upon the number
of operatives. Popular usage at that time seems to have
reflected these definitions.
In the hosiery and lace trades the term "warehouse" was
used to designate an establishment that seems to be a factory
in all essential respects. Power was introduced in hosiery-
making in 1846, and, in 1862, 3800 steam-worked frames
were known to be in use. To what extent the esiieiitiiU fea-
tures of a factory system appeared in the industry prior to the
use of power, we arc not now in a position to state. In some
trades, notably in calico printing, the establishment of the
factory system must have preceded significant regulation by
a considerable interval. It is thus unlikely that any single
generalization would apply to all the industries that were
brought within the \*iew of the factory inspectors by the acts
of the period 1S67-7S. However, it seems likely that small
workshops were common if not predominant in a large part
of the industrial Geld even then, and one may perhaps infer
4l4
INDUSTRUL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
that such shops had given place to factories in other portions
of the field within a decade or two. The fact that we leam
more about the factories that existed in the earlier period
may close our eyes to the existence of other forms of indus-
trial organization. The factory made it« way slowly in the
textile trades in which it was first introduced, so that it do«8
not seem unwarrantable to wonder how rapidly it gained a
bold upon the other branches of industry.
The most significant feature of the policy underlying the
extension of the field of regulation was the inclusion of
"workshops" in the Act of 1867. This admirable proposal
made an end of the essentially artificial position adopted by
the earlier legislation, by which the application of State
regulation was made to depend wholly upon the form of or-
jMacH td tb* ganixation. It is, however, unfortunate that no
in^Kton' provision was made for the classification of the
statistics collected by the tnsi)ector3. The
claasilications used follow the requirements of the statutes
without any reference to the statistical and economic que»*
tions that might be aaswered by careful analysis of the fig-
ures. We are unable to use what would otherwise be the
most important source of information on the subject. None
of the returns distinguish between women over eighteen
yeara old and those between the ages of thirteen and eight-
een. The early returns of the total numbers of persons in
factories are unrepresentative because the inspectors had no
jurisdiction over some industries in which factories existed.
The later returns of totals are unrepresentative because they
include many persons who were employed in workshops.
The tramtition from the workshop tt) the factory In the gen-
eral industrial field is thus obscured in this important mass
of statistical information. By J87I the factory inspectors
were reporting nearly the entire industrial population, but
that fact should not lead one to suppose that aH the persons
enumerated were actually employed in "factories," the
heading of the return to the contrary notwithstanding.
The regulation of dangerous trades was begun by the Act
of 1864. The statute was directed against the pottery and
PROTECTION OF HE.VLTH BY THE STATE 415
match trades, which used white lead and phosphorus, and
also against various trades in which grinding and Dutssnu
polishing developed dust which caused serious *"^**
hing troubles. The provisions were too general to secure
EJgnificant results, but the technique of tiiis legislation was
further developed in the Acts of 1S78 and 1SS3. The in-
troduction of fans to remove dust, special regulations with
reference to meals, and added facilities for personal clean-
liness indicated the principal remedies that can be taken.
There has been a constant increase in the effectiveness of the
regulation of these dangerous trades. The humidity of cot-
ton factories was regulated by the Act of 1889, and in 1898
attention was given to india-rubber works, wool sorting,
lead works, and other trade-s presenting serious occupa-
tional risks. The list of trades certified as dangerous is now
too long to be given in full, and at present it is within the
power of the S(!cretar>' of State at the Home Office to issue
an order certifying particular trades to be dangerous. Par-
liamentary action is thus no longer necessary.
The entire mass of factory le^slation was amended and
consolidated in 1901, so that it now stands as a systematic
code.
V. The Hguef of Destitdtion
Provision for the relief of destitution was part of the com-
prehensive l^slativc schemes of the Elizabethan period.
TTie conception of statiM that appears so strik- n* old
ingly in the Statute of Apprentices placed a ►*«■*•■
definite obligation upon the Stat« to guarantee its membens
what would to-day be called a "national minimum." Any
person who failed to secure adequate maintenance in the call-
ing which it was his duty to pursue had the right to recei%'e
from the State such assistance as was needed by him or hb
family. In general it was the intention of the Statute of Ap-
prentices to secure this end by the adjustment of wages to
the price of food, but, if these adaptations failed, the individ-
uid had a definite claim upon the parish in which he resided.
It was not presumed that able-bodied peisoDs should remain
416
INDUSnOAL HISTORY OF EXGIA^^>
idle, and providon was made for the setting of the poor to
work. These workhouses, however, were in inteut at least
different from the institutions of the nineteenth century: the
modern workhouse is designed to be in a measure a penally,
a place of detention whose regulations are mildly unpleasant;
the early workhouses were de*iigned to afford an opportunity h
— jobs for the jobless. S
These conceptions were further defined by the legislation
of the Stuart period, notably the Laws of Settlement and
sctuuDMit Removal of 1602. The obligation of the parish
•Ad camovd (p maintain its resident poor required some defi- ■
nitioD of conditions of obtaining residence, m the burden of
relief became in many cases considerable. The Laws of Set-
tlement placed the primary obligation upon the parish in
which the individual was born, unless he had acquired a new fl
residence by uninterrupted dwelling in another parish for a
year. The possibility of transferring burdens to another
parish, however, by shipping off persons on the verge of des-
titution, resulted in the grant of authority to parish officials
to refuse to admit to their parish any persons likely to be-
come a public charge. Although this provision was emi-
nently reasonable from the standpoint of the parishes, it was
calamitous to the wage-earners. The skepticism of parish
authorities with reference to capacity to earn one's lining
became a serious obstacle to any movement of the laboring
population in search of work. The class of unskilleil work-
ers became immobilized in the parishes of their birth. Tho
fear that they would become public cliarges prevented them
from seeking work in any large area and contributed largely
to their ultimate destitution. No aspect of parish adminis-
tration of relief was more disastrous than this artificial inter-
ference with the normal circulation of the laboring classes.
The last half of the eighteenth century and the early dec-
ades of the nineteenth witnessed a great increase in the
Oiowth ot amoimt of destitution in England. The causes
paupMiuD (jf jjjjg progressive degradation of the wage-
earning classes were higlily complex. The unfortunate con-
sequences of the Enclosure Acts must undoubtedly bo ac-
PROTECTION OP HEALTH BY THE STATE
i counted the most important initial factor in this untoward
E social change. The agricultural laborer was deprived of the
^ft small plots of ground used for gardening and lost bis ri^ts
^ to tbe use of tbe old common pastures which were broken up
int<j indiWdual parcels of pn)perty and generally withdrawn
from grazing. The laborer became entirely dependent upon
bia wages, and at the customary rates these wages were
scarcely adequate to the entire needs of the family. The
garden patch, the pig, and the cow had long constituted the
margin between sufficiency and insufficiency. Zt must bo
admitted, however, that the problem created by the defec-
tive aspects of enclosure legi^tion was intensified by the un-
wise policies of poor-relief adopted in many parishes and by
the immobility imposed upon tbe laboring population by the
laws of settlement.
Economic conditions were by no means unfavorable in all
the countieis of £)n^and, but under the existing laws it was
impossible for the excess of laborers in one inmobo*
ooxmty to flow freely to another county lo take '"••
advantage of the new opportunities presented there. There
was, of course, some migration to tbe northern counties,
both from the other portions of England and from Ireland,
but these migratory movements were less considerable than
was desirable and were somewhat restricted with reference
to particular elates of the population. A situation that was
serious in the extreme was thus terribly intended by a sys-
tem of relief that pauperized tbe lower classes with extraor-
dinar>' rapidity and completeness.
The wars of the Napoleonic period added to the distress.
There were years of extreme depression in agriculture and
much localized distress among the artisans. The close of the
wars brought no immediate reUef. The period from 1S15 to
1819 was one of great pressure for all classes of tbe popula-
tion^ and of course the severity of the hardships was most
palpable among the lowest classes. De^^titution increased
to portentous degrees. Some extreme cases wore disco%'ered
by the Committee of 1832 which show that at the worst an
absolute limit was reached. At Cholesbury, Bucks, tbe
k
rates increased until the parish waa abandoned. In 1801 the
rates were £10, 1 !«., and there was one pauper. In I8I6 the
rates were £99, 4s.; in 1831, £150, 5s.; in 1832, £367. At
that point the process of oollection came to an end. Land-
AtwDdonmeDt lords gavo up their rents, farmers their tenan-
«f ■ p«i^ (ypg tjjg clergyman hU glebe and tithes. The
propertied persons actually decamped, leaving the parish to
the poor. The clergyman, who remained, wrestled with the
problem as beat he could, securing temporary- relief from
neighboring parishes. He proposed to divide the land of the
parish among the poor, and it was his hope "that at the ex-
piration of two yeara, the parish in the interval receiving
rates in aid, the whole of the poor would be able and willing
to support themselves." There were wide variations in the
amount of poverty, but there can be little doubt that these
were among the darkest years of English social history.
Some of this distress, notably distress among the hand-
loom weavers, is frequently associated with the transforma-
tion of industry by the mechanical inventions, and comment
upon this theory has already be^n made elsewhere. In sug-
gesting other explanations it a not deaigned to exclude en-
tirely all influences of general social change, but it would
B*<] «t*ui- seem that abundant explanation can be found
nuuMp i^ in the lack of sound statesmanship shown in the
'^"'"^ Enclosure Acts and in the systems of relief then
existing. It is highly repugnant to the writer to presume
that Kuch distress can be a accessary accompaniment of so-
cial changes. Some problems were perhaps too difficult to
be successfully handled at that time, but the worst of the
e\Tls were certainly due to causes within the significant con-
trol of British statesmen. No iron law of wages, no Mal-
thu^an principle of population, no smug theory of necessary
"pains of transition" can diminish the responsibihty of Brit-
t^ statesmen for the conditions that prevailed. There were
attenuating circimnstances, no doubt, but the location of the
general responsibility can hardly be questioned. The unre-
formcd Parliament has a great place in hiBtory, but there
were certun kinds of problems tbat it was ill-fitted to deal
I
PROTECTION OP HEALTH BY THE STATE 4X9
with. The basis for a Rreat democratic legislative body was
afforded by its precedents, but the full development of these
powers in a truly democratic spirit was rcscn'ed to a later
age, in which there was more reality of tlemocratic control.
The modes of relief prevalent in the period prior to the re-
form of 1834 were numerous. Each locality waa a law unto
itself, so that there was no uniformity. The smou
outstanding features of administration were the •'''•''•'
workhouse and various systems of relief given to persons who
lived in their own homes. The workhouse waa devoted to
an indiscriminate housing of orphan children, invalids, and
old persons. The adiniuistration of the workhouses left
much to be desired, but the chief pauperizing elements in r&-
hef administration lay in the so-called "out-retief " ^ven to
persons living in their own homes. Applicants for relief
were sometimes freed wholly or in part from the expense of '
obtaining house or room. Large amounts of money were
also disbursed directly to the paupers. Doles were given at
times without imposing any obligations to work upon tlie
applicant: in some cases the applicant was desired to shift
for himself without bothering the parish authorities; in other
cases the recipient was required to attend roll-call several
times during the day, or to remain unmistiUcably idle in a dc»*
ignated spot. By the allowance system the apphcant for
relief was employed at the rates of wages current in the dis-
trict and then gi\'en such a<lditional sum of money as might
be needed to bring his total income up to a given standard.
Under the roundsman 8>'9tem the parish undertook responsi-
bility for the maintenance of the laborers, but it was pre-
gumod that the parish therefore acquired right to their time
and effort. The pauper labor was sold at auction to the
farmers of the neighborhood, and the parish made up the
difference between the price offered and a h\ing wage. The
form of a wage payment was thus preserved. Other sys-
tems were to be found in some places, but they cannot be
distingaished from the systems described unless all the
details are given.
By astute use of these systems landlords were able to make
no
INDTTSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
tloa dI (he
contmunltj
the parish responsible for the rcnta of their houses, farmer
were able to make their neighbors contribute to
the wages of their laborers, and dwellers in aome
parishes were able to shift to other shoulders
the burden of maintaining a supply of cheap labor. It is
scarcely possible to imagine the effect of the sj'stem upon the
poor. All sense of responsibility for self-maintenance waa
lot^t, and the sentiment that might be presumed to ensfc
among members of the same family gave way to a rapacious
desire to utilize the claims of parents and children as a means
of extorting more money from the "Guardians" of the poor.
The evils of the old systems wore thoroughly studied by
the Commission of 1832; significant proposals for reform
were submitted to Parliament, but it proved to be impossi-
ble to carry the entire reform scheme through both Houses.
The Law of 1834 embodied merely a fragment of the reform
actually recommended by the Coramisgioii. The proposals
for reform were largely the work of Edwin Chadwick, who
chJidwick-i was able to bring his colleagues on the Commis-
P^" sion to his point of view, though he could not
convert Parliament. He desired to create new administra-
tive areas, much larger than the existing parishes, and the
local authorities thus constituted were to be subject to the
supervision and control of a strong central office. The I^w
of Settlement was to be abolished or radically amended. The
principle of classification was to be introduced: the destitute
should be grouped in classes; children, the aged and infirm,
the sick, and the able-bodied adults. Each class should be
granted the type of relief most appropriate to its needs in a
separate buikling. Relief of the able-bodied was to be made
less eligible than self-maintenance by means of the labor test.
It was strongly urged that no relief should be given except in
a well-regulated workhouse, and the conception of a work-
house was altered in a number of particulars. There was to
be sufficient discipline to make it something other than a
poor man's club, and the diet was to be nourishing without
being attractive.
Of all these ideas two only made a real impression upon
PHOTECnON OF HEALTH BY THE STATE 421
contemporary thought. The enlargement of the admiciB-
trativo area was seen to be essential, and the furitm
notion that poor-relief should be less satiafac- ••'"p**^
tory than self-mwntenance was warmly espoused. All could
understand that the terrible curse of the old poor-law was its
pauperization. Less sentiment and more reason was recom-
mended, and it was possible to spread the ideal of a di!>crinu-
nating and somewhat niggardly eharity. There was sound
sense in these recommendations, but the high statesmanship
lay in the other featuree of Chadwick's plan. Chadwick,
however, was practically alone in advocating a centralized
and classified system of relief, and despite his years of scnico
with the Pooi^Law Board it proved to be impossible to lift
the administration of the Poor-Iiaw to a higher plane than
was embodied in the idea of the "workhouse" test. Some
slight progress was made toward classification, but in general
the evils of the mixed workhouse were tolerated without
much clear consciousness that they were evil.
The appointment of the Royal Commission on the Poor-
Law in 1000 was an indication that the time had come for
important reforms, but the sharp di\'ision of ni^iflquby
opinion revealed by the reports of the majority '^'909
and minority probably constitutes an obstacle to thorough-
going reorganization of the Poor-Law AdmimstTation. The
attitude of the Government to the report leads one to be-
lieve that the appointment of the Conamission was designed
rather to satisfy certain radical element<t than to prepare the
way for new legislation as is usual in such cases. No general
legislation has been submitted to Parliament in connection
with the report. The Mental Deficiency .Act of 1913 embod-
ies certain aspects of the recommendations. The Kelief
Kegulation Order of 1911, the Boarding-Out Order of 1911,
and the Classification Order of 1914 are admittedly inspired
by the majority report. These administrative orders repre-
sent the extent of attempts on the part of the Government to
give effect to the results of the inquiry. The minority of the
Commission was controlled by the Fabians imder the leader-
ship of Mrs. Webb. Their report, written by her, is one of
422
INDTTSTRUl HISTORY OP ENGLAND
IKOOUQ«Dd*-
tlaiu
the most elatwrato of any of the propoeals for concrete re-
forms that have come from that source.
The report of the majority falls into two distinct divisions:
recommendations for reorganization of the entire adminis-
trative mechanism for relief of destitution; rec-
ommendations for the application of the aspects
of Chadwick'a plan of 1834 tliat were unaccepta-
ble at that time. The desirability of giving some out-relief
is recognized, but carofu! suijen-'ijuon of such cases is clearly
necessary and the best means of assuring discreet adminia-
tration of out-relief were sketched. The discontinuance of
the mixed workhouse w^as strongly urged. Various sj-stems
for dealing with children were suggested. For the aged, the
mentally deficient, and the sick specid institutional treat-
ment was recommended, and as it would be impoesible for
individual Poor-Law Unions to provide proper facilities, it
was proposed that they should combine for those purposes.
In so far as these recommendations can be acoomplished
without changes in the general administrative organization
of the present department (hey have been adopted by the
Board. But there is no disposition to introduce legislation
contemplating the administrative reorganization that is un-
doubtedly desirable. At the outbreak of the War it seemed
that the question had been indefinitely po8tpt>ned. it is
now certain that the years of reconstruction will make this
matter a live issue.
VI. Social Insurancb
The term "sodal msuranoe" is loosely applied to a wide
group of measures desifrncd to distribute the bvirdens of dis-
abilities due to industrial accidents, sickness, unemploy-
ment, disability, and death. It has long been recognized
that the direct occasion of much pauperLtm is to be found in
contingejicies that arc by nature insurable, and it is thus ob-
vious that a certain measure of pauperism can be prevented
or met by forms of provision that are less humil-
" iating to the individual and more just in their
apimrtionment of burdens in society at large. The more op-
PROTECTION OF HEALTH BY THE STATE *B
AcdduU
timistic coUectivists anticipate such complete provisjon for
the contingencie» of lif» that there nlU be no need of continu-
ing present methods of direct relief of destitution. Poverty
is likened by such reformers to a preventable disease that can
be entirely overcome if proper measurea are taken. It is not
altogether clear, however, that relief of distress by means of
insurance methods U in all instances more economical and
preferable to direct relief out of poor-rates.
The diiTerent contingencies that must needs be met present
widely different opportunities for the distribution of the bur-
den of the disability. The dangers of accident
in industry, agriculture, or domestic employ-
ment can be made a burden upon the industry in general,
and at the present time there is little disposition to question
the widfeom of placing definitely upon the employer the im-
mediate burden of occupational accidents, with the under-
standing that the increased cost of doing business can be
transmitted to consumers of the goods in higher prices. The
burden of a hazardous occupation thus iaila upon the entire
body of consumers of the article instead of crushing the indi-
vidual workman and his dependents and ultimately increas-
ing the tax-rate in the locality.
In other cases it is not possible or desirable entirely to re-
lieve the individual and the taxpayers of all burdens. Sick-
ness, permanent dlsabihty, old age, and death oumc coo-
are all insurable contin^ncies, but there is no Jl^^
ground for making them charges upon the occu- "Mwui*
pation as distinct from charges upon the individual and the
taxpayers. It is obviously impractical to require persons to
make provision for an uncertain future when their means are
insuflicient to satisfy all the legitimate needs of the present.
Providence is a virtue which the poor cannot wisely practice.
Contributions toward insurance by the poor, and even by
artisans who are welt above the poverty line, cannot be re-
quired on any large scale. It is perhaps desirable that some
nominal contribution should be expected of them, but it is
inconceivable that the cost of insurance should be borne by
those whoee economic independence is most jeopardized
n
424
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
by sickncsa, premature disability, and old age. The charge
must needs fall largely upon the community either as con-
sumers or as taxpayers, and it seems desirable that the bur-
den should become a direct obligation of the State.
In so far as social iDsurance is financed from the public
treasury it differs only in form and in name from the relief
iniutue* destitution by the Foor-Law authorities. In
«(p<>or-«u«f oil countries, it has been found that the relief of
the sick, the infirm, and the aged constituted a large part of
the problem. The elaboration of insurance l^^dation is
really a form of the policy of classification reoommended by
Cbadwick in 1S32 as the sound basis for any sj-stem of poor-
relief. The insurance legislation would free the recipient
from the legal disabilities usually attached to the receipt of
poor-relief. The insurance stipend, too, would assume the
form of a purely contractual paj-mcnt as distinct from a
charitable dole.
In practice, it is likely that insurance agiunst sickness and
disability reaches a wider range of need than poor-relief, and
imporunt that eacb case would be more adequately pro-
dur«r«ncM vidcd for. Insurance is thus a method of guar^
anteeing a superior type of provision for distress of certain
kinds. Insurance against old age has as yet remained dis-
tinctly inferior to the pro^iwion made by the relieving author^
itiee under the poor-laws. The ppnsions are small and the
^c at which pensions begin is high. Some income is as-
sumed, both by the size of the stipend and the age at which
it commences. Such insiu-ance can hardly prevent particu-
lar individuals from coming on the poor-rates; it adds a little
to the income of people who would not come on the rates and
probably saves them from much hardsliip.
The burden of industrial risk was placed by the common
law upon the workman. The employer was responsible only
for the most direct personal negligence, so that
in Uirge enterprises in which the workmen sel-
dom came into any direct relations with the employer there
was scarcely any opportunity for showing that the employer
IlftU<«nc«
PROTECTION OP HEALTH BY THE STATE 425
Teas personally at fault. The injustice of this legal theory
was remedied In part by the Act of 1880 which made the em-
ployer liable for all accidents caused by defective works or
machinery or by the n^igence of persons in his employ.
Such pro\-i^on for recovery of damages was inadequate in
theory and in practice. The calamity is not mitigated by
I establishing the fact of negligence on the part of the individ-
rtial injured, and there Is certainly little purpose in paying to
lawyers money that would suffice to get the injured party on
kJiifl feet.
The defects of the modified common-law system were reo-
at an early date and there were attempts made in
[the early nineties to apply the general principle compooM- |
lof the Compensation Laws. There was opposi- "^^ouw*
[tion, especially in the House of Lords; but strangely enough
[the CoDser^'atives in 1897 passed a genuine compensation
law, though the Liberals had not been able to secure the
Lords' assent to a much less thoroughgoing measure. The
Law of 1S97 was somewhat limited in scope, and the benefits
proWded were not as liberal as they have subsequently be-
come, but the essential principle of compensation was em-
bodied in the act. It was no longer necessary for the work*
man to prove neglect on the part of the employer, but merely
the fact of injury in the course of his employment. In 1900
the law was amended to include conmion and agricultural
laborers; and in 1906 pro^xsion was made for the i^)pUcation
of the principles of the act to clerks, domestic ser^'aots, and
sailors.
In event of death the sum of three years' wages is p^d to
the dependents, but not more than £300 nor less than £150.
If there are no direct dependents the employer ,
is responsible merely for funeral expenses not
exceeding £10. In event of disability exceeding one week,
half the average weekly wage must be p^d, but not more
than £1. If the disability becomes permanent, the same
rate of compensation is paid during life. The Act of 1907
makes somewhat more hbcral provision in a number of
ladministrative details.
HIS^^YC
OF ENG
The English legislation does not require the employer to
insure himself against the risk of accident nor does it provide
for any special aupervision of the private corporations that
undertake the business of industrial insurance. The em-
ployers are allowed to utilize the existing Friendly Societies,
but moat insinance is now carried by private companies.
BdMhu The expenses of management of this insurance
**'"*'^** legislation are high, and more is consumed in
legal fees than is desirable. The persistence of the older
tan's creates a number of legal problems that give rise to an
unfortimate amount of litigation. The leaders of the work-
ing-men are not friendly to this legislation, as it seems to
compete with their Friendly Societies and Trade Unions.
The strength of unionism was in part based on the prospect
of the benefits offered by the societies, so that this facilita-
tion of recovery of damages seemed to threaten the ejcistence
of organized labor. Official opinion in the labor world is thus
apparently inconsistent with the best interests of the class.
The hostility of the working-men's organizations was
more pronounced with reference to the National Insurance
B«atm Act of 1011 which made provision for insurance
*""'"" against sickneas. The political difficulty was
clearly foreseen by the sponsors of the statute, and an at-
tempt was made to conciliate labor by utilizing existing
Friendly Societies and other benefit associations. But this
device was only partially successful despite the fact that the
working-men's societies had em-ulled scarcely more than a
quarter of the industrial population. The new act makes
insurance against sickness and disablement compulsory upon
all workers between the ages of sixteen and sixty-five. The
scheme is contributory: men pay fourpencc weekly, women
threepence; employers, threepence for each worker; and the
State two ninths of the benefits payable to men and one
fourth of the benefits payable to women. The employer is
responsible for the payment of his contribution and for the
deduction of the worker's contribution from wages.'
• Thu sRhedulea o( ovutributioiw »n roaUy men complex ib&a this auDk*
naty would iuggMt.
PROTECTION OF HEALTH BY THE STATE 487
I Benefits are paid out throu^ some approved society or
rough the Post-Office. The benefits include: provision for
edical attendance and treatment in a sanatorium if neces-
eary ; the pajTnent of a weekly sum for not more than twenty-
eix weeks as a sick benefit, or during the continuance of
incapacity as a disability benefit; and a maternity benefit
ll^of tliirty shillings. Some reductions are made in the case of
■"unmarried persons without dependents. The calculations
of actuaries gave reason td anticipate that the contributions
required in the act would produce a surplus of ten per cent
over the costs of management and the primary obligationa
with reference to benefits; it is intended to appiy this surplus
to what are classified in the act as additional benefitf: free
medical attendance for dependents of the insured ; pa>Tnenta
to distressed members; increase of sickness and disublcntent
benefits in all cases or in the cases of married men; allow-
ances to the insured during convalescence; the building and
maintenance of convalescent homes; pa>'ment of pensions
or superannuation allowances; extension of the maternity
benefit.
The act provided also for insurance against unemploy-
ment, supplementing the Labor Exchanges Act of 1909 by
introducing out-of-work benefits in a select list po,„pi(,^
<rf trades: building, construction of worics, ship- ■■«nt
building, mechanical engineering, iron-found-
ing, construction of vehicles, and saw-milling. With refer-
ence to these trades insurance is compulsoiy: both the em-
ployers and their men contribute twopence halfpenny each
week, and the State adds an amount equal to one third the
total contribution of both combined. Persons under ei^it-
een contribute one penny only each week and the other con-
tributaries in like proportion. No benefits are to be paid
during the first week of uneraploj-ment, nor for unemploy-
ment resulting from a strike in the trade in which the insured
i.i engage<l. The workmen rccei\'c seven flhillings per week
when out of work, but no benefits shall be paid for more than
fifteen weeks in any one year nor in excess of the proportion
of one week's benefit for each five v/eeka of contributions.
ttft
INTICSTRUL fflSTORY OP ENGLAND
Oldac*
Provision for voluntary insurance against old age has
existed in Great Britain since 1833. The National DtAt
Office at that time made arrangementB to sell
annuities of not more than twenty pounds on
one life. The amounts allowed have ance been increased,
and in 1864 the Postal Sa\'ings Bank offered similar oppor^
tunities. These facilities were used in a small way by the
middle class, but in so far as insurance was taken out most of
it was taken through private companies or friendly socipti(«.
The passage of the German Insurance Law in 1884 attracted
attention to the subject, and in the years that followed at-
tempts were made to secure the passage of similar legislation.
A Parliamentary Commission reported that the administra-
tive difficulties were insuperable, and for a time the issue
was not brought up in Parliament, though some advocates
of the policj' continued to keep it before the public. In 1900
a departmental conmiission reported favorably upon the
subject and suggested the general outlines of the present
statute, but the project did not become law until 1908.
No contributions are required from the prospective re-
cipients of pensions, the entire burden being assumed by the
Tin PeoaoQ State. AH persons of seventy years of age, who
^" for twenty years have been British subjects and
not in receipt of poor-relief, are entitled to a pension if their
income docs not exceed £31 lOs. The amount of the pension
\'aries with the income: ranging from five shillings per week
for persons with incomes not exceeding £21, to one shilling
for persons with incomes exceeding £28 173. 6d., but less than
£31 10s. It is the intention of the act that the aggregate in-
come of the pensioner shall not exceed thirteen shillings per
week.
It is early to judge of the effect of this statute, but it seems
scarcely possible that it shuutd l>c of much significance in re-
ducing the burden of poor-relief. The exclusion from the
benefits of the law of all persons who have be«n in ntxapt of
poor-relief will probably exclude from the sphere of opera-
tion of the act many of those members of the poort^r classes
who come upon the rates in old age. Furthermore, the rela-
PBOTECnON OP HEALTH BY THE STATE 4W
tively small stipend makeK it merely Riipplementary in char-
acter. The act will doubtless be productive of mucli good,
but its benefits will accrue to an essentially diCTerent claaa
than those vrho become public charges. As it stands, the
statute will contribute little toward the abolition of poverty.
It may seem ungracious to call attention to the dcficien-
cies of this legislation, but it must be remembered that thene
laws were defended in Germany as a different way of making
provision for poor-rehcf, and it was actually declan?d that
the expenditure for poor-relief would diminish. Optimists
in England and the United States have chciv i>R>b«bJa i
ifihcd hopes that such measures would lead to """■
the abolition of poverty, though they have never encour-
aged the belief that the adoption of i;uch legislation would
reduce the burden of the poor-rates and thus justify in part
the great expenditure incurred. There has been no reduc-
tion in the burden of the poor-rates in Germany, and it does
not seem Ukcly that there will be any duninution in the
amount of relief that will have to be provided in England.
These new forms of provision for distress will, for a long time
at least, be an increase in public burdens. They are an ex-
pression of increased consciousness of the urgency of the so-
cial problem, and this attitude of mind leads to dissatisfac-
tion with the old standards of relief. It therefore becomes
an interesting financial problem; how far can these new
meaijures be carried without imposing exc^aive burdens
upon the community?
Those who believe that it will be po«sible to provide ade-
quately for the needs of all have called attention to the fact
that a pro-rata division of the national income can po'artj
would furnish each family with the necessaries ''• •'»"•>>•*'
of life. The probable cost of these various insurance schemes
affords a different basis for speculating about the power of
the community to make provision for the needs of all its
membera in such fashion as would abolish poverty. Com-
plete computations have probably not been made upon the
generous scale that would be necessary, but the actuarial
experience gained in preparing the existing legislation would
«W INDUSTRIAL HISTOBY OF ENGLAND
hardly encouiage the view that the aboUtaon of poverty b
within the scope of any Bystem of taxation that is now cod*
odvable.
The sanitary idea aa conceived by Chadwick must be ao*
cepted as the fundamental ideal oi protective le^alation: our
health le^slation must seek to overcome fate and give the
individual a chance to accomplish the full span of life. Pre-
ventable cauBGfl of disaster, whether physical n economio,
must be f(H«stalled as far aa may be; but it would aeem that
we lose all consciousness of human limitations when we re-
quire of ourselves the actual accomplishment of all that we
must strive to attun.
CHAPTER XVII
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE RAILWAY
I. Genesis op the Railway
The modem railway unites two etementa of mechanical
technique that developed iudcpcndcutly for considerable
periods: the prepared roadbed appears in its xi«a*iiu«f
simplest form in the tram lines that began to be ""^ "U*^
]aid down in the collieries as eariy as the seventeenth cen-
tury; the mechanical tractive power developed naturally as
one of the applications of the steam engine. The earlier do-
velopraent of the stationary engine resulted in the use of the
cable system of transmitting power at the outset, but the suc-
cessful application of the non-condensing engine to the prob-
lems of the locomotive soon made the modem railwaj' possi-
ble. The intimate connection between these two features
was not quickly perceived. The inventors of the locomotive
were slow to see the importance of a prepared roadbed with
Tails: the proprietors of the tram lines were equally slow to
see the need of steam tractive power. It is thus possible to
distinguish throe separate inventive achievements: the in-
vention of the tram tine with rails, the Invention of the loco-
motive, and the invention of the " railway."
Although tram lines were used in all the mining sections of
England the Newcastle coal-fietds took the initiative in the
principal innovations. The coUicrios were near
the coast so that little outlay of capital was
necessary to make experiments in improvements of transpor-
tation to the wharves. Each mine usually attended to the
transportation of its own coal to the port. Under such cir-
cumstances the resourceful proprietor enjoyed an opportu-
nity that was unusual. The first impro\'ements were made
in 1630, when plank roads were laid for the coal cars at one
of the collieries. The enterprise was not immediately suo- 1
cessful, but in 1676 the system of plank wa>-8 was in gcnerall
INDTISTMAL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
boanlU
UK throughout the diatrict. Large sums were paid for rights
of way. It is not certain that any of these eariy tram lines
used cross-ties to bind the rails or planks together; in most
cases, the lines for each wheel were wholly indepuiident. B&«
gjuning in 1738, experimentation with various devices to
protect the planks with metal became common, and toward
the close of the century something like the modem rail had
been developed. The earliest devices were mere strips of
iron attached rather imperfectly to the ways. In 1767 the
iron works at Coalbrookdale cast some rails
with flanges to keep the wheels on the track.
At collieries belonging to the Duke of Norfolk at Sheffield
flanged raiht were laid on wooden cros9-tie« in 1776, but
workmen tore up the road and forced the inventor to floe for
bis life. The modem combination of a fliinged wheel with an
edge rail was first worked out in Leicestershire, by William
Jcseup, but this $yst»n was not generally introduced at that
time.
The canal companies were the first to build tram lines de-
kBgncd to serve as common carriers, a number of lines being
''^•■WM projected to connect the canals with mines or
■"■**" towns that might add to the traffic. These
feeders to the canals were the first tram lines to receive Par-
liamentary authorization; their chartere are thus the first
charterB of a type strictly comparable to the instruments
of incorporation granted the early railways. The earliest
..grant is of 1776, to the Trent and Mersey Navigation Com-
f^jany, with reference to lines pro]ect«d in tftuffordaliire.
Other grants were made in 1792, 1703, and 1802; in all, about
a half a dozen lines. A few independent tram lines were pro-
jected early in the nineteenth eenturj- : notably the Wands-
worth-Croydon line (1801) designed to serve London, and
the Croydon-Reigate line (1803). These lines were not
financially successful, and if it were not for their place in the
history of raihvay legishition they would scarce be worthy of
mention. They represent a phase in the development of the
tram line, however, and their history shows clearly that such
roads had little hope of success without motor traction.
THE DEVBLOPUENT OP THE RAaWAY 433
The ftpplirafion of the steam locomotive to the tram line
was, io the first instance, the work of Richard Trevithick.
He must be rejtarded as the real inventor of botJi -n* looo-
locomotive and railway, despite the failure of ""•*'•
hiti work to introduce either of these inventionH into general
use. A3 a matter of fact, his use of the locomotive on rails
was incidental and be did not perceive the vital need of the
prepared way. It may be that fuller consciousness of this
would have come had he remained at the iron works at Pen-
y-darran, but other ventures called bira elsewhere and mo-
nopolized his attention. It would perhaps be an accurate
account of the matter to say that the development of the
railway and its locomotive was crowded out of his eventful
Ufe by the completion of other projecta of less diiEculty and
greater immediate prospect iveness.
None of the commandingly great inventions was less truly
the work of one man than the locomotive. The two types of
steam ensine are closely enouRh related to make rton-omitoM-
the development of the non-condensing engine *^ ^li^"
a logical outcome of the condensing engine as built by Watt.
In fact, one of Watt's workmen, Murdock, made various ex-
periments with a model for a non-condensing engine shortly
after Watt's engine was effectively brought before the pub-
lic. Watt discouraged this attempt with apparent sincerity.
He could not believe tliat it would be possible to construct
boilers of suflicicnt strength to resist, the high pressures that
would be essential to such a machine. Watt's engines sel-
dom developed steam pressim; more than sufficient to offset
the atmospheric pressure; their actual working power was
due to the partial vacuum created behind the piston head by
the condensation of steam. The effective pressure per
square inch on the piston head was thus verj' small, perhaps
eight or ten pounds; lax^ pistons were almost essential to
the requirements of power. These low preasures taxed the
early boilers to the limit of safety, and, in great measure, Uie
development of the hit^-prcssure non-condensing engine was
a result of the perfection in the handling of sheet iron. Trev-
ithick was one of the pioneers in the use of iron tanks, and
is*
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
one is tempted to believe that his work with the non-con-
densing engine was largely based on his fiuth in the strength
of liis sbect-iroH boilers. His early engines developed steam
pressures of fifty or sixty pounds to the square inch, and, as
there was no attempt to create a vacuum on the off-side of
the piston head, the effective working pressure would be
about thirty-five or forty-five pounds to the square inch.
The size of the piston could thus be greatly reduced and the en-
tire machine was more than correspondingly reduced in bulk,
as no condensing chainbor was necessary. The compactness
of this type of engine was essential to the development of a
locomotive. The slow perfection of the type was due to the
lack of faitli in boilers and the difficulties of producing su&-
ciently high pressure to make the engine practical.
The incredulity of the members of the profeetuon is well
illustrated by a letter written by Trevithick from Coalbrook-
Trtruhkk'i dale in 1802. He was working there with a
•ipcnmeiiM non-condensing pumping engine:
The engineers at this place all said it was impoesiblo for so Bmall
a cylinder to lift water to the top of the ptimpe, and degraded the
principle, though at thu sainv time they spoke hi^y in favor of the
simple and weli-contrived engine. They say it is a supernatural
engine, for it will work without either fire or water, and swore that
all the engineers hitherto are the biggoet fools in creation. They
arc constantly calling on me, for they all say they would never be-
lieve it unless they saw it. . . . After they had socn tho water at
the pump head, they said it was possible, but that the boiler would
not maintain its Etcaui at that pressure for Qvc niinutt^: but after a
short time they went off, with a solid countenance and b silent
tongue'
As usual in such cases there was some truth on both sides:
Trevithick's faith in his new engine was fxilly warranted, but
the difficulties that loomed large in the minds of his fellow-
engineers were a serious obstacle to the use of this type of
engine for as much an twenty years.
Trevithick's first locomotive was built in 1801 at Cam-
borne. It was defective in a number of details, and though
it would run short distances it was incapable of any continu-
I > Tnrrithick, F.: £><f< ^ Riekard Traillade, i, 183.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE RAILWAY 435
oua performance. This machine was designed to run on
the highway's, aa were moat of his early mocieis. larij i<ko>
Patents were taken out in 1802. The details """'^
are not very clearly specified, but it seems evident that it was
intended to use the exhaust steam in creating a forced draft.
This is the most important single detail in the early engines,
for this use of the exhaust steam and the use of a tubular
boiler were the ultimate means of overcoming the difficulties
of raising sufficient steam pressure to make the machine
wholly practical and economical. It was posuble to make
locomotives that would go long before it was possible to make
machines that could really compete with horses.
Several road locomotives were built by Tre^ithick. One
was run ninety miles over the roads to Plymouth under ita
own steam. Most of these machines were exhibited at Ijon-
don, and thus gained considerable publicity. The "Catch
me who can," 1808, was run on a circular track at London,
but it was designed as a road locomotive. In February,
1804, Trevithick tried out a tram locomotive at the iron
works of Pen-y-darran:
The eafpne with water Includod is about five tons. . . , The
steam that is discharged from the engine is turned up the chimney
about three feet above the fire, and when the entnne works forty
ittroko« per minute not the smallest particle of steam appears out of
the top of the chiiniioy, , . . The fire bums inuth better when the
steam (toes up the chimney tlian when the enpne is iiile. Yester-
day, we proceeded on our journey with t^ engine; we carried ten
tons of iron, five wagons, and ee^-onty men. It is above nine miles
which we performed in four hours and five minute*. We had lo
cut down some trees and remove some Ijirge rocks out of the road.
The engine while working went nearly five miles per hour.
This accoimt is so complete that it is impossible to deny that
Trevithick accomplished all the essential tasks of applying
the steam en^pne to a railway, and yet his woric did not result
directly in the building of railwaj-s. He put a locomotive on
rails, but he bad no realization of any economics to be do-
rived from a carefully preparod roadbed, with rails and a
specially planned series of grades. He shared the impressloo.
438 INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
that was commoQ at that time, supposiug that the future of
the new tractor was on the highways.
In the developments that followed his early experiments
attention was ^ven primarily to the building of stoam car-
Moior riagts to take the place of the stage-coaches.
""'■«" In the decade of the twenties there were several
steam carriages sufliciently perfected to operate on the roada
with appreciable continuity. Gumey built a steam coach ia
1827 that ojjeratcd in the vicinity of Jjondon for two years.
On one trip he ma<le eighty-five miles in ten hours, including
all stops, and be frequently attained twenty or thirty miles an
hour for short distances. A Une was operated by steam
power in the Epping Forest for a short time, but the roada
proved to be too rough. Steam coaches were also operated
regularly between London and Stratford, and between Chel-
tenham and Gloucester. Proprietors of coach-lines became
apprehensive, and at their instance an investigation wa^ made
by Parliament. The report of the Parliamentary committee
in 1831 affords the bei^t indication of cont'tmiporary opinion
that could well be desired. One must remember that this ia
subsequent to the opening of the Liverpool and ^lanchester
Railway. The committee reported that "the substitution
of inanimate for animal power, in draught on the common
roads, is one of the most important improvements in the
means of internal communication." Its practicability was
declared to be "fully establi5hed," and the committee ven-
tured to predict that its introduction would " take place more
or less rapidly, in proportion as the attention of scientifio
men shall be drawn, by public encouragement, to further
jmpnjvement." They felt that the success of the new sys-
tem had been retarded by prejudice, adverse interests and
prohibitory tolls.'
The concentration of attention in the south upon this as-
CoiBwT poet of motor transport left tlie diarovery of the
proMima ,^ significance of rails to the engineers of the
collieries of the Newcastle district. They took the lead in
* Cited by ThwrvtoB. R. H.: The OnHtOi e^ Ike Simm Brtfim (New York,
I002J, na
N
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE RAILWAY 4S7
applying power to the tram line for proclacly the same rea-
Bon3 that had forced them to apply the tram line to their p^
cuUarly difficult problem of transportation. None of these
engineers were in any true sense inventors of locomotives; at
best they were inventors of certain parts or features of the
machine, but they wp^e the real invent4)n9 of the railroad.
In the group of men that contributed to thia new departure
George Stephenson is the conmianding figure, but it should
alwa>'s be remembered that he was not working alone. He
owed much to some of hia early contemporaries. The ur-
ctmistances of his profession brought him in touch with (he
more energetic of the engine-builders of the north, and bis
work with the locomotive was clearly inspired by their suc-
cesses and failures. His greatest talent lay in doing more
perfectly, and with clearer consciousness of the mechanical
problems involved, the things that had been done and were
being done by lu9 fdlow-engineers. He was a self-made man
of great ingenuity; resourceful but intensely practical. Hia
accomplishments, especially the earlier accomplishmeDta,
Were all in the course of the day's work.
The locomotive came to the north soon after Trevithick's
first modi'ls were completed. According to some accounts,
the engine built by Blackett at Wylam CoUiery BspKbamt »
in 1804 was put together with the assistance of <•>• «^ »«'»••
TreWthick'fl plans. Other accounts deny any direct con-
nection with Trevithick. It Is difQcidt to be certain of the de-
tails, but it would be most creditable to the intcU^nce of
the northern mechanics to assume that they were working
independently, for if thc>' really had any of Trevithick's de-
signs they failed to understand the most important features
of them. The early northern designers were alow to percoi%'e
the importance of the use of the exhaust steam, and incredu-
lous on the matter of smooth wheels. They found it hard to
believe that there would be enough friction to ^ve the wheels
a grip on the track. It may he that heavy grades were partly
responsible for the persistent use of rack rails in the eariy
power lines, but there was iwme failure to understand prin-
^
438
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OP ENGU^TD
CablsiTUuu
When Stephenson addressed himself to the problem Blenk-
insop had built a raek-r^ locomotive tiiat worked effec-
tively, Hedley had patented a smooth-wheeled
locomotive, and many collieries were using sta-
tionary engines to draw cars up inclined planes with cables.
The tram lines were being divide<l into sections; fairly level
reaches were operated with horses, the inclined planes by ca-
ble. Stephenson was in charge of the engineering work at
the Killingworth Colliery, and in 1813 be induced the pro-
prietor to apply steam traction. In the following year an en-
gine was completed after the Blenkinsop design. The mar
chine was defective in many respects and Stephenson at once
set to work to improve it. A machine was turned out in 1815
which was wholly practical. Tlie model was used for several
years and some of the machines remained in use for a genera-
tion. It was at this point that Stephenson began to diverge
from his predecessors. He undertook a scientific study of
the entire problem of mechanical transportation.
The first fruit of these studies was a new t>-pe of rail,
flttphaMm** which was patented in I81C and immediately put
into use at the colliery. Then in 181S were per-
formed the truly epoch-making series of experi-
ments on the resistances ' to which carriages were exposed oa
> It may bo ot Interast ta study in coannrtinD with thcM mnolusioaa o(
Bl«ptien»oo a tabic of ntiLitanocii thut omboiliM the reaulta of modem expect
nonU. In modern i>ractice it » uxuJ to avoid grudm of mare thiin two pnr cent,
' tlioui^ railroiids in the United State* have ftequnnily tolwaMKl higher RraiiM,
tvca up to aix per cent. Is EngUnd there ore few severe crftdes; Stepbcuson'a
priociploa havinji been •coeptml by the oni^necring prafcauiHU
SaUattfd'. refill rMuMim —
Level 8
0 3 10.56 12
0.4 21.13 10
0.9 81.68 30
0.8 43.24 24
1.0 S3. 80 38
l.S 63. a« 83
MPBriwwiteiwi
fndendM-
s.o
lOS.O
48
8.0
168.4
68
4.0
dU.3
88
8.0
3M.0
108
e.o
816.8
138
(W*IUa«toni Itsmtnct oj Ai Locality tf Btik^ait (1887). daS.)
THE DEVELOPMENT OP THE RAILWAY 4S9
railways. Those experiments led Stephenson to conclude
that it was essential to reduce rolling resistance to a mini-
mum, and that a grade of one per cent was sufBcient to r&*
duce the working efficiency of the locomotive by fifty per
cent.
This fact [writes the eon) called my father's attentioa to the
question of ^adienta in future locomotive lines. He then became
convinced of (he ^^taJ importance, in an econoraical point oi view,
of reducing the country through which a railway waa iiitvndod to
pass to as near a level as potaiblc. This ongioat«d in his mind the
distinctive character of railway works, as distio- kiiibbj
guinhcd from all other roads: for in nulroods ho coo- "^^
tended that large auma could wisely be expended in perforstjnn
barriers of hills with long tunnels, and in raL^infE low gruund with
the excess cut down from the high ground. In proportion as thesa
Ttews fixed themselves upon his mind, and were corroborated by
his daily experience, he beoame more and more ooaviuued of the
hopelessness <A applying steam to common roads.
This statement by Robert was written long after the crucial
experiments were made, but the incidents of his father's car
reer show that the importance of the experiments were fully
appreciated by him at once. The obstacles to be overcome
in the development of the railway were due tu the feebleness
of the locomotives of the time and to the indisposition of the
mine-ownen to make the outlay of capital that would bo nv
quired to grade the roadbed aooording to Stephenson's ideas.
The period lSi5-25 was characterized b>' a notable extension
of the use of engines working inclined planes by cables. Lo-
comotives were frequently used on level stretehes, but seldom
constituted the main source of tractive power.
The Stockton and Darlington Railway is technically the
first steam railway designed to serve as a common carrier,
but its accomplishments were not sufficiently xh. suchtan
striking to indicate the future of the new method """ owi'ww"
of transportation. In its general mechanism and methods
of operation it differed in no important respect from the tram
lines operated by the collieries of the region. It was owned
by a group of mine-owners and was, in its main purpose, a
colliery tram line. Hie coal-miners in the Bishop Auckland
440
INDnSTRUL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
Valley began discussing a scheme of improved transportation
to the coast as early as 1768; they thought of a canal at that
time, and the canal scheme came to life from trnie to time
during the next half-century. In 1810 a tram line was sug-
gested. The canal project was revived in May, 1S18, and a
public meeting held at Stockton. Some people from Dar-
lington became interested, and, after consultation with en-
gineera, the scheme was converted into a tram-line project.
Surveys were made, and a bill for a charter was introduced
into Parliament. Oppoation from the Duke of Cleveland
delayed the passage of the bill, but it was carried in 1820.
Late in the following year Stephenson was consulted by
the promoters of the Unc; they were tl»en thinking of a lino
stsphaiuoa'i Operated by horses. Stephenson urged the-m to
ant na^v operate by steam. Ho was appointed engineer
to the company in September, 1822, and immediately Bet to
work on a careful sun'cy of the proposed route. He sug-
gested a new line, shorter by three miles and less difScult in
its grades. In ^iew of Stephenson's ideas it would seem that
this was the first attempt to locate a railway according to the
general principles that are now commonplace, but some of the
grades actually emliodied in the line were too severe to be
operated by locomotives, so that one must assume that Ste-
phenson was not successful in his attempt to convert the pro-
moters to the new conception of the railway. The planes
were operated by stationary engines, the rest of the line by
locomotives, and in addition concessions were granted for the
operation of pa-aenger coaches drawn by horses. The line
thus exhibited all the uncertainties then existing with refer-
ence to the future of the railway. The road was opened Sep-
tember 27, 1825. The ceremonies consisted chiefly of the
display of the first train, the details of the exhibition reflect-
ing the contemporary attitude toward the locomotive. For
a considerable distance the train was preceded by a man on
horseback who was supposed to keep people off the line, and
Stephenson caused much astonishment by ordering the
horseman out of the way and speeding up his enpne to a rate
of twelve miles per hour. •
r
THE DEVELOF&IENT OF THE RAILWAY 441
Shortly after this a project was launched for a nulway be-
tween Liverpool and ManchcMUfr. Tiie promotera were un-
certain as to the merits of stationary engines and ^b, uwpmI
locomotives; they were inclined on the whole to "<i M«BchB«-
regard the stationary engine and cable the more '"**'
efficient system, but the grcAt initial outlay made them hesi-
tate to install such an equipment over the relatively long line.
The whole matter was thus carefully canvassed. A commit-
tee was appoint-ed to \'i3it all the tram lines then using power.
Various engineers wore consulted. The deciaion was in favor
of the locomotive.
If the quantity of goods be very snaiill or very uncertnin, it
would roquiro no calculatioD to determine that the locomotive sya-
t«m ia the cheaper, because by it you iiicrense the power by an in-
crcMC in the number of the engiQes, and can always proportion the
power to the demand, while upon the «tfttionary aystera it ia neces-
sary hrsl to form an estimate of the probable tnulu and then at
once to establiab a line of engines, ropea, etc., from end to end.'
It was therefore proposed that the nuun line should be
worked by locomotives, supplemented by two fixed en^nes
at the hill just outside of Liverpool. Stephenson was ap-
pointed engineer, and, as conditions were more favorable than
in the case of colliery roads, he urged strongly against any
dependence upon stationary engines. It was his plan to carry
out as carefully as possible the theory of the railway that was
suggested to him by his experiments in 1818. His \news
prevailed, and the line as built had no grades that were im-
practicable for locomotives. This required a deep cutting
outside of Liverpool — the Olive Mount cutting that is
nearly two miles long and at places one hundred feet deep.
This first true nulway thus represented a courageous appli-
cation of the new principles.
Stephenson did not at first propose to concern himself in
any way with the locomotives. A contest had i^ iMomoUn
been proposed by the company calling for locomo- ^^""^
Uvea of not more than six tons in weight. The engines that
> Wftlktir, J.: Rtporl to tin DincUrt <if thg Limrpoct and ManchetUr UoUooti
(PhiUdciphin. lS3i}, 7.
k
*« INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
Rtephenson was then building for the coUieries weighed about
twelve tons, and under the circumstances Stephenson did
not care to compote. Mr. Booth proposed to modify the
existing designs of the locomotive by making a multi-tubular
boiler, and, coming to St«phenson with this suggestioo, of-
fered to combine in making a locomotive for the competition.
The scheme was taken up. Robert Stephenson and Mr.
Booth worked on the locomotive, while the father was busy
on the engineering problems of the line. The "Rocket" em-
bodied a number of new features: the multi-tubular boiler,
an improved and perfected steam blast, and a simplificatioD
of the arrangement of the cylinders and driving-gear. The
aigine with water weighed only four and one half tons. It
was finished well ahead of time and tried out successfully at
Killingworth. Four engines were entered for the trial. Two
of them never really performed at all; the third, the "Nov-
elty," was at first the favorite among the spectators, but it
broke down shortly and the "Rocket" held the field alone.
tfc« A speed of twelve miles an hour was required by
"Rotktf the conditions of the contest. The "Rocket"
attained this speed on its first try-out, and later exceeded it.
Thirteen tons of freight were hauled thirty-five miles in one
hour and forty-eight minutes, including stops — a speed of
twenty-nine miles an hour was attained. Several years after-
ward the ' ' Rocket " was driven four miles in four and one half
minutes.
The first train to run the whole length of the line was run
from Liverpool to I^Ianchcstcr on June 14, 1S30. The trip
was made in an hour and a half, at twenty-seven miles per
hour. The road was formally opened to traffic September
15, 1830. The promoters had expected to secure four hun-
dred passengers a day, but an average of tweU'c hundred was
almofit immediately reached. The commanding success of
the road put au end to all uncertainty with reference to the
future of this mode of tran^Mrtatton, and although the road
is not really the first to be built its opening marks the real
bc^nning of the modem railway.
THE DEVELOPMENT OP THE RAILWAY 443
H. Growth of the Railway SraTEM: 1830-1846
The railway was not at once recognized aa an independent
form of investment, although the Liverpool and Manchester
line paid eight or nine per cent dividends from the outset.
The general money market did not become interested in rail-
way shares until 1843; in the earlier period, r^waj-B were
financed by local funds. They were promoted by coal-own-
ers or merchanta who were primarily concerned with the de-
vdopment of new facilities of transportation io c*i>itai fw
behalf of other business interests. The usual '^'«'
Bource of capital was the mercantile community in the towns
at either end of the line; the Liverpool and Manchester project
was typical of rutway projects for somewhat more than a dec-
ade. The deveJopwnent of railways during this period was
dominated by local interests, and, with the exception of iho
Great Western project, the lines were relatively short linlcs
which did not in any case afford uninterrupted communica^
tion between points of major importance.
Communication between Liverpool, Manchester, and
London was controlled by four separate companies. Traffic
from the midland cities, Derby, Nottingham, i^<,otwj*«m«
Leeds, and intermediate points, was served by oi tb* •hon
three closely related lines, which secured con-
nection with London by transfer to the London and Birming-
ham at Rugby. The actual inconvenience was not as great
as might be imagined, for provision was made from the out-
set for the joint use of stations and in some cases for the joint
use of portions of track. The stations at Birmingham and
Derby were used by all the roads, though not without fric-
tion. During the period of keenest competition between the
Birmingham and Derby and the Midland Counties Road a
locomotive belonging to the Midland Counties Company
vas "captured" at Derby by the Binnin^iam and Derby:
looomotives were shunted onto the siding in front and behind
the "enemy "locomotive. Attempts were made also to deny
passengers full facilities in the use of the station, but the
roads were obliged by the courts to fulfill all their entgu^
m
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
ments to each other. The most important instance of run-
ning powers is afforded by the Manchester and Birmingham;
Proriiioo lot this Company was authorized to construct a line
th.o««h traffic from ^[alKhester to Crewe, traffic from Orewe
to Birmingham being handled over the line of the Grand
Junction Railway. In this case the pro^-ision was an out-
come of the policy of Parliament to prevent the undue dupli-
cation of facihties. There were many jealousies among
these various lines, but on the whole the common interests
prevailed and the facilities were used with fitgnifieant refer-
ence to through traffic before actual amalgamation took
place. Through passenger coaches were put into operation
between London and points on the railroads of the Mi<iland
liues at an early liate, and the complexities of the division of
revenues from traffic led to the establishment of the Railway
Clcaring-House in 1842. The idea was suggested by an audit
clerk on the London and Birroin^am system after the anal-
ogy of the London Clearing-House. As originally consti-
tuted, the Railway Clearing-House included nine ccmpaniea.
Although the roads were built as independent unite they
became associated in systems at an early date. The group
Buiy .(Hiu. of lines that ultimately became the London and
**" North Western constituted a distinct group al-
most from the outset. The Midland Coimties lines were
ctosdy associated with the London and Birmingham, but
their position was somewhat ambiguous, sufficicntty dis-
tinct to make them a fairly separate group from tlie outset.
This group of lines was an outgrowth from a short coal road
between Leicester and Swannington. This little road was
built in 1832 in order to develop coal properties at Swan-
nington, the facilities of the railway CQal)ling these mines to
compete on more tlian even terms with the mines of the Ere-
waab Valley from which Leicester had formerly been sup-
plied by water transport. The I^eicester and Swannington
line stirred the coal-owners of the Erewash Valley to activ-
i^. A tx>ad waa projected to afford rail transportation for
their coat, but the BUggeetions of certain London capitalista
resultod in the e:qiansion uf the original scheme. The line
^^ was
THE DEVELOPMENT OP THE RAILWAY 44S
was finally built to connect Derby and Nottingham with
Rugby by way of Leicester; the extension to Rugby gave the
region a connection with London. The project to develop
the mines of the Erewash Valley was abandoned because of a
proposed line from Derby to I-eetk, m the echeme that bad
started as project for a coal road became the typical scheme
for connections between manufactuiing towns. The Kci<:^J:^
«46
INDtTSTRIAL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
Midland, between Derby and Leeds, and the Binninghani!|
and Derby were chartered and built at about the same time.
For a short period tlie two roads connecting Derby with the
London and Birmingham engaged in severe competition for
the traffic from Leeds. Preferential rales were made by the
Birmingham and Derby In favor of through traffic, but these
rates were disallowed by the courts on suit by the Midland
Counties line. A few months later an agreement was made
Tii« flf»i to amalgamate all three lines, and in 1844 Par-
■maitunitLoiu ijamcntary sanction was obtwned for the forma-
tion of the Midland Railway. This was the nucleus of the
first of the modem nulway systems to be formed by amalga-
mation. The component parts of the London and North
Western were xmited in iS46. '
The development of the Great Western thus brought
into existence three of the great companies which were later
nsGtMt to compete for the London-Liverpool traffic.
w*MMii iTjg Great Western, howevcrj was not the re-
sult of amalgamations. It was somewhat similar to the i
other projects in so far as it was a scheme for comiecting Lon- '
don and Bristol, but the project really went far beyond the
limits of a scheme to serve purely local interests. This road
was surveyed by Brunei and his influence appears not only
in certain technical details of engineering, but also in the
general conception of the road. In a report made to the com-
pany in 1838, Brunei sketched the destiny of the Great
Western.
The Great Western Railroad [h« Bays] broko ground in an en-
tirely new diBtrict, in which ruilroiids were unknown. At present,
it commandft this district, and has already sent forth bninchc*
which embrace nearly oil that can belong to it, and it will be the
fault of the company if it does not effectually and permanently se-
cure to itself the whole trade of this portion of England, with that
of South Watoa, iind tho South of Ireland : not hy a forced monop-
oly, which could never long resist the vanta of the public, but by
such attention to these want« as shall render any competition un-
necessary and hopeless. Such is the position of the Great Western
Railway. It oould have no connoction with any other of the main
lines, and the phncipol branches likely to be made were well con-
THE DEVELOPMENT OP THE RAILWAY 447
BideTfMl, and atmost fonned part of tba otigiiu] plan, nor can theso
be dependent upon any other eiistiDC Uoes for the traffic wbtdi
they will bring to the main trunlc*
Broad caocs
The Great Weetem was thus coDccivod as a complete sj's-
tcm that should primarily depend upon a monopoly of traffic
in an entire region. It was certainly the first of the railways
to be planned in the modem spirit, with a view to what we
may call commercial strategy. The ultimate extensions to
Oxford and Ldverpool were not foreseen by Brunei, but the
domination of the west of En^and was part of
the plan. The notion that the road was to be
somewhat isolated induced Brunei to modify in some details
the character of the engineering work. The gauge of the roads
in the north, built by Stephenson, or under the influence of
his ideas, waa the four-foot-eight-and-one-half-inch gauge
that had been taken from the tram wagons of the colliery
lines. Brunei felt that this gauge was not well adapted to
the needs of a railway. There was too little room between
the wheels for a convenient arrangement of the parts of the
locomotive, and there was not Bufficient stability to make high
speeds as easy of attainment. He therefore recommcudixl
a seven-foot gauge, confident that the slight additional ex-
pense involved in laying the roadbed would be recovered in
economies of operation. It was difHcult to secure ParliameO'
tary authority for tlie gauge, and the charter as finally ap-
proved omitted all reference to the gauge. The policy was
defended to the stockholders by the report (tiled above,
and for a considerable period the argument proved to be
sound. The development of contacts with the roads of
the London-Liverpool traffic re^on, however, rendered the
difference in the gauge unfortunate. The Great Western
began to adapt its line to the northern gauge at an early
date, at first by adding a third rail so that both gauges
could be used, latterly by a complete abandonment of the
broad gauge. It muat be contes.sed that Brunei's contentions
were technically sound: there were advantages in the broad
' Brunei, I.: The Uft <tf I. K. Bnmtl (London, ISTO), 106.
I
448 INDtSTRUL HISTORY OP ENGIAND
gauge, but it was introduced too late to be adopted generally
and uniformity proved to be more important than the highest
possible t^hnical efficiency.
The development of roads up to 1846 was primarily
non-competiti%'e. Such episodes of competitive jwactices as
appeared were incidental to the formation of the systems
that become the basis of the keen struggles of tJie fifties.
It is in this sense that the early period is purely formative,
dominated by the actual building of the primary trunk lines
and only incidentally affected by considerations of high
strategy and pohtics.
III. The Risk of Compxtition: I846-I873
Some portions of England do not afford s\ifl5cicnt traffic
to offer opportunity to more than one railway system, so
that these regions have been monopoUzed by particular lines
Co<np«iitive from the outset. The east«m counties and the
'™"« southwest are both essentially nonnjompetitive
regions. The density of traffic in the London-Liverpool
district and the traffic between London and ScotUmd led
to competition as soon as the railway network began to ap-
proach its ultimate form. Lines built for local purposes pos-
sessed significance from the point of \'icw of through traffic,
so that competition emerged where none was oriipnally
planned. Thehistory of the lines engaged in the competitive
strusRle involves eo many matters of general policy that it
overshadows for the general student the story of the other
lines whose development is primarily interesting from the
technical incidents of the engineering problems involved.
The economist is concerned with those aspects of the de-
velopment of the railway network that throw light upon
the relations between the railways, the traders, and the
public.
The first great struggle between railways was the outcome
^ . ^ J o' the completion of two routes to Scotland,
th* Scoctk The east coast rout« was first developed in its
toaattkaa northerly section. As early as 1835-36, mer-
chants of York, led by George iludson, projected lines to
r THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE RAILWAY U9
connect York with the Midland lines at Leeds and other
lines to afford a Scottish connection. The section between
York and Leeds was soon completed and the rails were ex-
tended norihward by easystages. In 1841 the rails stopped
at Darlington : extension to Newcastle was authorized in the
following year and opened in 1846. The Newcastl&-Ber-
wick section was opened in October, 1847; and as Scotch
companies had been at work on the Edinburgh end since
i844, it was possible to offer through service from London
to Edinburgh. The trip was made in thirteen hours and
ten minutee; an all-rail route except for the gap caused by
the delay in the completion of the bridge over the Tync at
Newcastle. Meanwhile the London and North Western in-
terests had been at work on a west coast route, via Lan-
caster and Carlisle, which was finally opened for traffic in
February, 1848. The first trains on this route ran on a
fifteen-and-one-half-hour schedule, but by July the trains
were making the journey to Edinburgh in twelve hours. In
the fiill the Tyne bridge was completed, but the east coast
service was hampered by the dependence upon the London
and North Western for connections between Rugby and
London, and in this service there were discriminations in
favor of the paaaengcrs and freight that were booked for
Sootcb points via the west coast route. The Midland lines
were not likely to feel any conflict of interests with the
Yorkshire lines.
The difficulties that were experienced by the Yorksliire
lines in securing an adequate Ix>ndon connection after 1848^
gave an entirely different aspect to the various uadoa ud
projects that were being considered for a direct **^
connection between York and London. Schemes for such a
line had been pn)iected after a fashion aa early as 1833;
surveys were made for a line to be called the Grand Northern,
with a main line from London to York via Cambridge and
Gainsborough. Other schemes followed in close succession
for local and through lines, but all these eariy schemes failed
because of the lukewarm support fpven by the merchants of
Ywk. They felt that the main point was to get some rail
lAft
m
IXDUSTRUL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
connection with London even if It were not direct, and, upon
the development of the North Midland project, they were
satisfied to build a link down to Leeds. Thua for a period
of years, roughly 1835-45, the projects for direct connection
between York and London were promoted almost exclu-
Bively by the residents of various Lincolnshire towns that
were still without any rail connections; local interests were
advanced for the building of a line that was most important
with reference to through traffic. The local capitalists were
not able to secure adequate funds to push the project
through, and thus a project which was initiated quite early
was late in realization. In 1844 Hudson and the Midland
interests went so far as to support some competing proj-
ects for roads in Lincohishire with the express purpose of
defeating or at least delaying the building of any direct
London- York line.
The attitude of these capitalists must have changed in the
course of the long Paliamentary contests that grew out of
the great mass of London-York projects deposited in 1844.
Theyforesawtheconditions that became actual by 1848, and
lh« orwt became interested in the early completion of a
Bortbem through line from London to York. Afterreo-
ord-breaking hearings, one of the through projects was ap-
proved by the Commons, and, after consolidation with
another similar project, was finally authorized as the Great
Northern Railway in June, 1846. Portions of the line were
opened for traffic in 1850, but negotiations were begun some-
what earlier with reference to rates between competing points.
The Ijondon and North Western, assisted by the Midland
as a subservient ally, endeavored to (delude the Great
Northern from all possible traffic and proposed arrangements
BMtUt which would aiford minimum facilities for the
'"'*"•* handling of such traffic as involved joint activ-
ity. Branches were buiit into Great Northern territory, ihe
Scotch companies associated with the I/indon and North
Western were persuaded to refuse traffic and connections,
and attempts were made to induce the local east and west
lines to boycott the new road. These hostile measures were
I
THE DEVELOPMENT OP THE RAILWAY 451
carried to extraordinary lengths: the Mancheflter, Sheffield,
and Lincolnshire refused to exchange traffic at Retford, and
at Grimsby placed blocka on the raits to prevent the Great
Northern from using its running powers. At Retford, sta-
tion authorities refused to supply water to the locoraotivee
of the Great Northern. Time-tables were arranged with a
view to producinfE a maximum degree of inconvenience to
passengers using the new line. The opening of increa.>)ed
portioHH of the Great Northern tine produced a wild rate war
among the roads seeking passengers to the Exhibition of
1851: round-trip fares from the West Riding to London fell
from fifteen shillings to ten, and then to five shillings. Finally,
the Great Northern agent at Leeds declared that the Great
Northern fare would be ^xpence less than any fare declared
by any other road.
This rate war was proceeding simultaneously with ne-
gotiations among the roads for a division of trafEc and an
agreement as to rates. The general principle of a traffic
pool had been assumed at the outset, and it was tim oudiUM
equally clear that there must be rate agreements, ***^
but matters of detail proved such an obstacle that it was
necessary to call iu as arbitrator the then Preeiident of the
Board of Trade, W. E. Gladstone. The London and North
Western had originally proposed a division of traffic on the
basis of traffic then carried: the Great Northern n-ishcd the
award to be based on its capacity to handle traffic when all
its facilities should be complete. The award finally made
was baaed upon somewhat arbitrar>' percentages, the Great
Northern being awarded sixty-three per cent of the traffic
of the most intensely disputed area — Lincolnshire. Tliis
Gladstone award covered only the traffic south of York.
The Scotch traffic had caused somewhat less trouble so that
the roadt) had reached an agreement privately in March, 1S51.
The arrangement involved eight companies and is therefore
kno^vnas the "Octuple Agreement"; the com- Th«Oouiiia
panics included were the London and North *«'••««
Western, the Lancaster and Carlisle, and the Caledonian,
constituting the west coast group; the North British, the
m
INTJUSTRUL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
York, Newcastle and Berwick, the York and North Mid-
land, and the Great Northern, constitutini; the east coast
route; and the Midland, which at this time was hardly mora
that a connecting link between the two great competitive
BysteroB.
The Octuple Agreement was relatively iinfavorable to the
Great Northern ; it received no share in the traffic of Glas-
gow, Perth, and Aberdeen, and only an unsatisfactory share
of the traffic with Edinburgh, Berwick, and Newcastle.
These arrangements were distinctly less amiable than the
arrangements between the London and North Western and
the Great Western with reference to competitive traffic. In
those negotiations provision was made for charging equal
rates based on the shortest or most advantageous route; in
dealing with the Great Northern the directors of the Lon-
don and North Western were unwilUng to recognize the new
line as an equal, an<l the agreements were merely a kind of
truce which did not put an end to the attempt to destroy
the traffic of the Great Northern. The London and North
Western urged passengers to buy tickets to inlenncdiate
pointa and from such plat^es to Ixindon, rates being arranged
to reduce the total fare below the level provided
for in the award. There was thus little qualiB-
cfttjon of competition in this district even during the lim-
ited period of these agreements. Tt© contest for domina-
tion of the disputed territory continued without serious
interruption. The actual rate war, however, was a sub-
ordinate feature of the struggle in the yeara immediately
following the agreements.
The primary object of both companies was to secure more
complete control of the two independent lines serving
AlUucAud Lincolnshire and the West Riding. Both of
MUDM-«iiUi.c« these Unes, the Manchester, Sheffield, and Lin-
colnshire, and the Midland had been satellites of the Lon-
don and North Western, but the Great Northern did not
g^ve up hope of forming an alliance with them. Overtures
were made to the Midland directors in May, 1852, proposing
amatgamatioD with the Great Northern. The moment was
Atvt» ntx
THB DEVEIX)PMENT OF THE RAILWAY «3
favonble, for althouRh there had been a similar proposal
from the London and North Western, proceedings from that
quarter had become involved in difBcultics as to the details
of the exchange of securities. The Midland directors were
lcs8 favorable to the London and North Western alliance
than they had ever been, and it is barely possible tlrnt the
hopes of the Great Northern might have been realized \£
4M
r>n)TJSTRUL HISTORY OF ENGIAND
there had been some little difference hi the timing of the
various propositions. The London and North Westeni,
however, succeeded in winning the Midland over to its old
alle^^ce and in 1S53 application was made to Parliament
for authority to amalgamate the two syfitems.
This proposal involved a truly momentous decision. If
the amalgamation wen; permitted, the London and North
Western with its allies in Scotland would have controlled all
Pn>pa»i> tor the Liverpool-Ijondon traffic, the traffic of the
•m^MButtou midlands, and would have dominated the Scotch
traffic. The Caledonian proposed to amalgamate with the
Edinburgh' and Glasgow, so that the cast coast companies
would have had little chance to secure any traffic beyond Fklin-
burgh. These proposals raised the issue between the dcfmite
acceptance of the principle of monopoly and applicaUon of
the principle of competition to railways in the regions of great-
est traffic density. It was acknowledged by all that there
were regions in which railways must needs possess a monop-
oly, but this proposal of a substantial monopoly of the traffic
of the greater portion of the island could not be accepted aa
a matter of course.
The whole matter was canvassed by a committee of the
House of Commons of which Mr. Cardwetl was chairman
and the decision was in favor of competition among the rail-
HaiDMnuM ot way8. It Cannot be denied that this decision
compciiiioii exercised an important influence upon the d&-
velopment of the railway network of Great Britain, and it
may be that the decision was unwise, but if the choice
between monopoly and competition is to be criticized the
matter should be considered in all its bearings and duo atten-
tion given to the situation in 1853 as well as to the effect of
the decision upon subsequent railway-building. The ulti-
mate effect of the decision was the creation of the extensions
of the !Midland system to London and to Scotland. The
^lidland could not exist as an independent Une between
the London and North Western on one ade and the Great
Northern on the other side. A third competitive system
was thus created by reason of the policy of Parliament.
i
p
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE RAILWAY 4«
The accomplished result may be seen by referring to the
railway map for IS85; the Midland syBtem developed con-
DectioDS with LoDdon, via Bedford and St. Albans; with
Ijverpool, via Manchester; with Scotland, \'ia Settle, Ap-
pleby, and Carlisle. The extension to Bristol that was
made in the early period was further developed by the line
to Swansea. In its final form the Midland eystem
fiB INDUSTRLVL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
outlets to important points on all coasts and thus entered
into competition with all the great railway systems.
The accomplishment of these results was difficult. When
the proposed amalgamation of IS53 was denied by Parlia-
ment the two companies contented themselves with a secret
Gwwih o( Ui< joint-purse agreement which was not discovered
MidiuidRui- until 1857. The officials of the Great North-
ern discovered it unexiiectedly and used their
knowledge to put an end to the alliance between the I^ondon
and North Western and the Midland. The extension from
Leicester to Hitchin via Bedford was opened in tliat year so
that a rapprochement with the Great Northern was easy
and natural. After the opening of this line the Midland
cnjo>-ed a strategic position between the rival compftuiea
on either side; it could divert considerable masses of tn^ffio
to either road, and bj' skillful use of this possibility the Mid-
land was able to maintain itself through the most trying
period of its existence. Both roads discriminated against
the London traffic from the Midland, but each could bo
played off against the other so readily that neither was able
to work serious injury to the Midland. Arrangement was
made for the Midland to use the tracks of the Great Northera
between Hitchin and London, so that Midland trains began
to operate directly to London in 1858, though the traffic was
frequently obstructed by discreetly contrived difficulties
in the yards and terminals. Work on au independent en-
trance to London was begun in 1860, but the terminal at
St. Pancras and the line to Bedford were not completed until
18fl9. The Scotch connections were still slower in develop-
ment. The line to Carlisle was opened for freight in August,
1875. The lines in Scotland were not authori7,ed until after
the opening of the Carlisle line and were completed consider-
ably later.
The gradual rise of the Midland as a competing trunk line
to Liverpool and the north made the competitive strugf^e
among tJie roads more complex and bitter. The rivalry
between the Great Northern and the London and North
Western was not diminished, though at times both roads
THE DEVELOPMENT OP THE R4ILWAY 457
G<Hnbnied to kesp the Midland out of various towns; the
fljuuitg of theso years thus constitute an importAnt chapter
in the history of competitive railroading.
The position of the Midland made it difficult to com-
pete on even terms for passenger traffic, so Uie road finally
adopted an entirely new policy toward third-class pas-
sengers which ultimately revolutionized condi- ThW-eUw
tions throughout the kingdom. The third-class p^""*^
passenger bad not been encouraged. Third-class passage
practically amounted to the privilege of riding in an open
flat-car without seats, on and among such baggage as
might happen to be thrown into the car. The. schedule of
the train was adapted to the character of this mixed traffic,
and, ae may be supposed, the conditions of the journey were
determined by the requirements of collecting and handling
freight. A journey that involved no changes required at
least twice the length of time that was necessary for the
first- and seoond-cIasH passengers, and if it l)ecame necessary
to make comiections with other trains the dela>'s at junctions
might be prolonged indefinitely. In short, third-class passage
was passenger service only in respect to the fact tliat humans
were carried; the ser\-icc was precisely the same service that
was rendered to cattle and miscellaneous freight. In 1844,
after Parliamentary inquiry, the roads were required to run
a certain number of third-class trains at a fare of a penny a
mile. This afforded some guarantee that there would be
trains at reasonable hours, but there was no improvement
in the accommodations.
It was thus a revolutionary step when the Midland, in
1872, announced that third-class coaches would be carried
on all trains beginning April 1. This policyproved to be
8o successful that second class was abolished in -riu uidiud
1874, first and second classes being combined at ^^'
fares which represented a reduction on Hie old first-class
rates. These changes were accompanied by improvements
in the character of accomm<idations pn>\-ided for the third
dass, and the differences that have come to exist between
conditions in England and the Continental railways are
458 INDDSTBIAL HISTOaY OF EN6IAND
due to this departure of the IiGdluid Riulway. The other
roads were forced to adopt the new policy, thou^ it was
mauyyeats before the full resulta were embodied in tiieprao-
tice of all the nulw^fa.
CHAPTER XVm
THE GOVERNMENT AND THE RAILWAYS
FOBBION writer? have frequently criticized the procedure
followed In England in the grant of railway charters on the
grounds of extravagant expenditure in legal fees puiiameDwy'
and in preliminary sun'cys. These chargea un- •*»«"'i'»'"
doubtcdiy increased the costs of constructing railways in
Great Britain and in part explain the high costs of construc-
tion relatively to other countries. One of the reviews pub-
lialied in 1849 comparative figures of costs of construction
which indicate the divergence among the v&rious countriea:
CosU qf KaUroada ptr mil* ■
United StfttM £3.000
Pnissia ^ 10.000
Austria 11,300
Small Ctrnmn Stat«e 19,000
Qrat firitaiti (selected linn) 66,910
The figures for the British railways are an average for ten
lines that must be fairly representative. One railroad, the
Blackwall Railroad, cost £289,000 per mile, but this ex-
penditure was due largely to the great difficulty of secur-
ing entrance to a populous city. Parliamentary expenses
alone averaged between £1000 and £6000 per mile, about as
much as the total cost in the United States. Land involved
an average expenditure of £10,000 or £15,000. The cost
of the charter and the land thus exceeded the costs of the
entire investment in the Central European states.
Such expenditvire can easily be made to seem extravagant,
but one mu.st be cautious in pa«.:mig judgment upon these
facts. When all due allowance has been made for these
preliminary expenditures the actual outlay on cmwmoI
the line is still far greater than the outlay in the ^^ ***"
European states and in America. The British Lines were more
> A'OTiA Briiith Rtnew (1»«», S81.
400
Es'DUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
carefully graded and more solidly buUt than motit lines in
other couDtries. The principles of George Stephenson were
more thorou^y carried out in Great Britfun, partly per-
haps because they were better understood, partly no doubt
becauiie there was promise of traffic that justified such expen-
diture. The history of rwlroads in England differs from the
history of roads in other countries in many details because
there was no need to titimulate traffic. In most parts of
Great Britain there was such need of the railwaj-s that even
the more ambitious undertaking^ were able to earn hand-
some profits from the outset. The actual earning per mile
were probably liigher in the early decades than they were
later when the low earnings of feeders reduced the avera^.
British railways were not speculative ventures as they were
in many countries; a charter was not merely a hope, but a
valuable franchise. The extraordinary contests in Parliar
ment caimot be understood if this fact is not keenly appr^
ciated, and the elaborate procedure would have been wholly
unnecessary if the rights involved had been less important.
At the same time one must realize that the railroads were
not subjected to any special procedure in obtaining charters.
Parliamentary procedure on canal bills, turnpike bills, en-
. .. ... . closures, railroads, and pubUc utilities was a
Botlitb Ideal* ,. , , , , . , - . .
du-ect outcome of the deep regard of eighteenth-
century EngUsh thought for property rights and vested
interests of all kinds. It was a fixed principle of English
legislation that no one should be deprived of his prop^y
without due process of law. Applications for privUegee
which might interfere with the property rights of others
were thus the subject of a hearing before they were acted
upon. The details of the procedure in Parliament developed
rapidly at the bepnning of the nineteenth century and had
begun to assume definite form when railway projects came
before the House.
The project passed throu^ two distinct stages, one prior
to the introduction of a bill, one subsequent to the intro-
duction of the project into Parliament as a bill. Detailed
surveys were required to be deposited at the Board of Trade
THE GOVERNMENT AND THE RAILWAYS 481
I
Hfiot later ihasx tho February preceding the session in which
Htbe bill was to be introduced. Noticnj were PuUtm«atai7
Jicquircd to be sent to all landowners affected. («"«'«"
After 1345 the Board of Trade made report on the projccta
submitted. A petition was then submitted to the House
which really contained the text of the bill or charter. This
was immediately referred to the Standing Orders Commit-
tee, ft pennanent commiltee of the House of Commons whoso
duty it vios to ascertain if all pretiminary re()uiren]entA had
been complied with and to eecure from the promoters suf-
6cient evidence of the significance of the project to warrant
detailed exflmination of the scheme. This committoc held
a hearing, but in theory it was merely a cross-examination of
the promoters and their witnesses. At times members of the
ecunmittee who were hoi^tile to the projeot called vitneasee ,
to testify against the project, though the hearing was not
presumed to be contentious. If the Standing Orders Com-
mittee approved the preamble of the petition a bill was in-
troduced embodying the petition presented to the House.
The bill then followed the usual Parliamentary course:
three readings in each House, together with a careful scrutiny
of the details of the measure in small committees of each
House. There was no debate in either House in the ordinaiy
sense of the term debate; actual oonsideration of the bill
was delegated to the small committees which followed a
quasi-judicial procedure. The promoters were under obli-
gation to prove the expediency of their project, and all whose
property rights were affected nuj^t come before the com-
mittee, personally or through counsel, to object. These
hearings were the chief source of expense. At times they
became unduly contentious.
The hearings on the bills concerned with London to York
projects in 1845 lasted seventy days. Existing railroads
whose traffic might be affected had a right to appear before
the committees, so that the struggle between
roads began at times before the projected com-
peting lines were chartered. The extensive use of running
powers in the early decades of English railway history waa
HMrtno
4Bt INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
the outoome of the unwillingness of these ocmmuttees to ap-
prove projects that involved the oonstTuction of parallel lines.
In this as in many other ways these committees exerted a
notable influence upon the dcveIopn>cnt of railn)ads. It is
obviously impossible to pass any genial ju<tgment upon the
quality of work done by these committees, but it would
seem that there is abundant reason to believe that their work
was not without public advantage. There was at least some
conscientious effort to examine these schemes with refer-
ence to the interest of the public and of parties directly
' affected. Whether the results were commensurate with the
cost or not can hardly be determined.
The charters Rrantcd to railways were modeled on the turn-
pike and canal charters of the late eighteenth century. The
general form of the charter was established in ISOl by the
E«iy thtrtefi charter granted to the Wandsworth and Croy-
don Rtulway, a tram line designed to carry
heavy freij^t. The organization of the company was pro-
vided for; compensation to landowners stated; maximum
tolls listed. The-se tolls were presmncd to be paid for the
privilege of hauling goods on the line by «-agons and
horses belonging to pn\'atfi individuals. The line waafl
deemed to be a kind of turnpike, a common way provided"
by the company for the use of individuals. This conccp^^
tion of the railway persisted for a long time. The StocktofljH
and Darlington, for instance, made no provision for the
caniage of passengers. Tlie right was leased to an individ-
ual who furnished the coaches and horses. The Liverpool
and Manchester line was operated by the company exclii^
sively, and it was soon recognized that the railroa^l was
"by nature a monopoly." This phrase meant that the com-
pany must necessarily exercise exclusive control of all roll-
ing stock on the line; it was an attempt to express the
difference between railwa>-a and the turnpikes aod canals.
But no changes were made in the proviaonsof railway char-
ters defining the tolls to be chained. Despite the evident
intention of Pariiament to regiilat* charges, the railwa;
were really free to make such rates as they pleased.
^yu
THE GO^TRNMEXT AND THE RULWAYS MS
The dosirability of a definite policy toward the roads was
clearly seen by a few individuals almost at the outset. The
chief advocate of systenaatic regulation was R«ctUatioa
James Moni-son, a member of Parliament with- p"po«*
out official position. In the session of 1836 he brought in
a hill propoedng that all railway charters should be subject to
revision or withdrawal within a stated term of years, and
that ea<!h company should make a return to the Board of
Trade each year, showing the gross income, the expenditures,
and the paseengere and freight carried. Even this moderate
proposal seemed unwise to the majority of the House and
opposition was so general that the bill was withdrawn before
there had been any serious debate. In 1838 provision was
made for the conveyance of mail by the rulways at reason-
able charges; some power of compulsion was given the Gov-
emmont. Finally, in 1840, a romnutt(« w&a appointed to
consider the entire question of legislative policy. The ten-
dencies of the time were recognized, the niistakea of the past
admitted, but no substantive measure of control was pro-
posed. The committee recommended that steps be taken
to insure the obeer\'ance by the companies of the provisions
and limitations of their charters. In the ses- Tbctmnii-
Bi<ms of 1841-42 acts were passed providing: ^v*f
that no railway should be opened until it had \ieen inspected
by the Board of Trade; that returns should be made to tho^
Board of Trade as to traffic, tolls, rates, and all cases of
accident; that existing by-laws affecting persons not serv-
ants of the companies were to be submitted to the Board
of Trade. The Board of Trade was al»o designated as the
"guardian of the public interest," and authorized to certify
to the law officers of the Crown any infraction of the interest
of the public. These acts thus established the principle (rf
regulation, but made no specific pro\'ision of importance.
The problems of the railways were too momentous to be
long ne^ected, and further investigations in 1844 resulted
in the Act of 1845 which ia the substantial beginning of
modom railway legtalation in England. Provision was made
in the act for the collection of statistical material concerning
'4M
INDUSTRIAL HISTOBY OF E?JGIAND
resttV
; the*
I
the tiuffic of the mlways; for the submission of by-laws ta
the Board of Trade for approval; for cheap third-class trains,
at convenient houre; authority was given the Government
to purchase the railways after twenty-one years; the profits
of railways were limited to ten per cent; and the toll clauses
of all existing and all future railways were fundamentally
revised.
This section of the act (90) is the hasas of all subdcq
rate legislation, and although it embodies a policy of
Tb«"cii«rt« latioD, it was frequently referred to as tha
•* ">»««-" "Charter of Liberties" because of the wide dis-
cretion given the railways.
And whf.reaa it is expedient that the Companies should be en*^
abled to vftry tho tolb upon the railways so as to accommodate theot^
to the circunuOanoes of the traffic, but that sueb power of varying
should not be uacd for the purpose of prejudicing or favoring par-
ticular parties, or for the ptirpo^ of collu-sively and unfairly creat-
ing a monopoly cither is the- hands of tho Company or of particular
'parties, it shall be lawful, therefore, for the Companies subject to^
the prori^ons and limitations hereinafter and in specjal acts oob^H
■tained, from time to time to alter or to vary the tolls by tho special^^
acts authorised to he taken, either upon the whole or upon any
portion of tlie Railway as they shall IhJnk fit :
Prowded tliat all such tolls be at all times charged equally to all ji
persons, and after the same rate, whether per ton, per mile, or^|
otherwise, in respect of all pa^cngers, and of all goods or carriages^
of the same description, and conveyed or propelled by a like car-
riage or engine passing over the same )K>rlion of the line nf the
Railway under the same circumstances, and no reduction or ad- ,
vanoe in any such toll shall be made either directly or indirectly i
favor of any particular company or penon travelling upon or uai
the line.*
The portions of this clause that were concerned with thej
statement of non-discriminatory practices were not at ones ]
of much importance because there was no administrative
BMaoM of (he machinery to exert constant regulative pressure
^"'^ upon tho railways. It was for this reoaon that f
the railways long regarded the clause, as a basis for making
rates according to thtur discretion, exempt from the wholly^
1 8 Vidt, 0. 30, MO. 9Ql H
THE GOVERNMENT AND THE RAaWAYS 4U
impractical limitations embodied in the early chart«rs.
Tliifi Act of 1845, liowever, foreshadows the imlicy of the
Government with reference to rates for nearly a half-century;
in 1891 an attempt was made to define more precisely the
rates that should be charged upon the railway's, but until .
then the efforts of the authorities were devoted to the main-tj
tenance of non-diacriminatory rates according to thesol
principles laid down in 1845. The clause is noteworthy
because it carefully distinguishes between cases of real and
merely apparent discrimination; the phrase, "passing over
the same portion of the line . . . under the same circum-.
Btancea," was particularly happy, providing for the apparent!
discriminations of the long- and short-haul cases, and tbo]
equallj' perplexing differences between carioad rates for]
through traffic and jobbers' rates on small shipments of simi*]
lar gpods from the local stations along the line. Althougb.1
ttiis is the first attempt at careful statement of a policy of
non-discriminatory regulation it is superior to the clauses
of our Interstate Commerce Act, both in detaihi of draftltt^'
and in conceptions of policy,
The Act of 1845 contained no pro\TMon for any spedalj
authorities to deal with the railwa>is, all regulative authority
was vested in the Board of Trade whose functions were too'^
diverse to admit of much effective supervi^on of the rail-
ways. In the following year, however, an act was tiwC«».
passed conferring the powers of the Board upon "*'*''**""
five commissioners; three salaried commissioner, and two
mambcre of Parliament debarred from receiving salary. The
powern were not extcudod in any significant respect, but %
bill introduced in 1847 proposed to create a real administra-l
tive commission. The Commissioners were to report to
Parliament annually on tolls, rates, and charges, and upon
the regularity or irregularity of trains; they were authorized
to call for returns of traffic and to inspect the books of the
companies; and they were given the right to settle disputes
between companies haWng termini or portions of their lines
in common. This bill was so vigorously opposed by the rail-
ways and by membera of Parliament that it was withdrawn
^M
IKDUSTMAL mSTOHY OP ENGLAND
before it came up for debate. The f^ure of the measure
proved fatal to the Commission. Devoid of any charartep-
istic functions, it languished, and in 1851 was discontinued.
FcHT a time all regulati%'e functions wore exercised by the
Btwird of Trade or by the ordinary courts. The justices
protested against the new duties that were imposed upon
^ „ them by the Acts of 1853 and 1868. Difficult
questions of fact were mvolved which they were
neither able nor willing to decide. It v/sa not within Iheir
province, they declared, to discover whctlier or no & rate was
"reasonable," nor to define what constituted "undue or un-
reasonable preference." The appointment of another Rail-
way Commission in 1873 was thus a natural consequence
Til* commi*. of thc increasing numbers of caacs concerned
rtMottftjj ^th rates and rate-making. The powers of
the Commissioners were judicial rather than administrative;
they were a court of final resort on all questions of fact.
Their jurisdiction included both rates for transport and the
terminal charges made for storage, handling at tcmiinala,
and delivery. They were authorized to determine the rear-
sonablencss of any terminal chai^, and in order to exercise
Uiis power they could require the railway to state what
portions of the total cha:^ were for transportation and what
portions were terminal charges. This addition to the pro-
visions of the Act of 1854 was important as the railway's
hud used the terminal chat^ as a means of evading tho
provisions of the earlier act.
Meanwhile, the problem of competition among thc rail-
ways had assumed notable proportions. The report of the
committee of 1853 has already been mentioned in connection
with the development of thc Midland Railway,
^*'" but thc statement of the policy sketched by the
committee requires .some delicate distinctions between the
general notions of monopoly and competition wliich have be-
come increasingly important. There had been some percep-
tion of the problem before 1853 ; amalgamations had been
allowed in many instances among lines which constituted con-
tinuous routes and in some cases among lines that mi^t have
I
THE GOVERNMENT AND THE RAU-WAYS 467
competed for certMn traffic; but no general policy had been
adopted by ParliAmcnt. The issues were squarely joined
by the proposed amalgamations of the session of 1S53; the
report of that year thus possesses the same basic importance
with reference to competition that we have noted with ref-
erence to rates in the Act of 1845. It has long been cu»-
tomaiy to cit« the Report of 1853 as an adoption of a policy
of maintaining competition, and there Is evident truth in
the atatement, but the events of recent years have given
increasing prominence to the sigmiicance of the carefully
qualified recognition of the need of combination under cer-
tain circumstances. The principle of competition was fa-
vonxl by the committee, and a notable decision made with
reference to the London and North Western and the Midland,
but the principle was not adopted in any doctrinaire spirit.
Extremes were avoided as carefully as in the questions of
rate-making.
"It is natural," say the committee, "for traders to com-
pete where the opportunity is unlimited for new rivals to
enter the field. It is quite as natural for traders to combinQ
so soon as the whole number of competitors may be ascer-
tained and limited"; implying that the cir- TbcpoUcy
cumstancea of the railway situation would lead ■^p'**
inevitably to combination. The committee did not feel
that combination was contrary, on the whole, to public
policy, but they feared two things: the acquisition of powers
by the railways that might diminish the regulatory powers
of Parliament, the development of monopolies of traffic
that might he prejudicial to the public. They coneoived
siiualions in which the frwdom and security of traffic should
be so completely guaranteed that amalgamation would no
longer threaten the public with the menace of monopoly.
Tins foresif^t has since been justified. The departmental
committee, reporting in 1911, says:
The effect of the limited degree of competition now exutint; be-
tween KaOw^r Compames is not necessarily to public &dvuDta{i;e.
■ ■ ■ Exporieoce hsa shown that ioformal oombimitiona . . . while
kss likely to be of advantage to the Compuoicis tiian the uuma
MS
INDUSTEIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAXD
Conbinatiotij
fonnal and complete unions, cao destroy oompedtioD 85 effe(h
tivety, and moreover posseee certain incidental disadvaoUges from
a public |>oint of view, from which a uiouopuly under a aln^ eon-
tiol is free.'
Despite the general policy of maintenance of competition
adopted in 1853, there has been a steady development of
combinations among railways which was rapidly creating a
unified railway eystem when the outbreak of the War re-
sulted in the cstabliKhment of national control
for the period of the War. Although tliia was a
war measure and is in form temporary, there is little expec-
tation of abandonment of centralized control. It is thus of
Bome interest to trace the rise and decline of the policy of
maintenance of competition, and it is certainly of moment
to recognize that the policy was never intended to be ap-
plied in any extreme form. There is a greater degree of
continuity of policy than might appear on the surface of
railway legislation.
The willingness to recognize combinations among railways
even in 1853 appears most clearly in the policy adopted
toward the various kinds of arrangements between compa-
nies retaining their corporate independence. Working agree-
ments and pools were frankly admitted to be desirable, but
such arrangements were illegal unless specifically sanctioned
by Parliament. By granting such powers for limited pe-
riods Parliament hoped to exercise a greater measure of coo-
trol than would be possible if the companies were amalgam-
mated. Traffic pools and working agreements were thus
encouraged, and in the years that followed the field of actual
competition among railwaj'^ was greatly restricted.
Furthermore, there was a tendency to restrict competition
to the competition of routes and facilities as distinct from
difTerential rates. In rate-making the principle of the most
favorable route was a predominant factor in the adjust-
ments among the various roads. In addition to the Railway
Clearing-Housc, which bandied the accounting in all mat-
' dioA by RtibcrtsoD, W. A.: Combiitation among Raiiinat/ Compimitt (Lob>
dOD, 1912), 23-2L
I
THE GOVERNMENT AND THE RAILWAYS 409
t«r8 pertaining to the divi^on of revenue from through traffic,
the railways developed a number of monthly tmisc en-
rate conferences to adjust various matters per- '""»***
taimng to competitive rates and traffic. The more important
of these conferences came into being between 1873 and 1881 ;
there have been some additions since that time, but most of
the regular conferences were in existence in 1881. The Lon-
don and West Riding Conference handled quesliona concern-
ing traffic between London and stations in the West Riding,
excluding the coal traffic from South Yorkshire. The Nor-
manton Confrawice dealt with rate questions in which three
or more railways were interested, together with regulations
concerning cartage, warehousing, and wharfage at the vari-
ous towns embraced in the conference. The London, Liver-
pool, and Manchester Conference dealt with traffic from
the Lancashire district bounded by Liverpool, Fleetwood,
Preston, and Stockport. The En^ish and Scotch Traffic
Rates Conference handled all rate problems arising out of the
traffic in goods and livestock between Scotland and England.
The Liverpool and Mancheater Districts Conference dealt
with rates between Liverpool and west coast ports to Man-
chester. The Midland Association, the IriKh and En^ish
Traffic Conference, the South of Ireland Conference, the
Irish Cattle Conference exercised functions that are obvious.
The number Conference was concerned with traffic between
the cast and west coast points. The activities of these con-
ferences aroused some apprdiensions among the traders, but
testimony -was given in 18S1 in which it was dented that the
railways had combined to raise rates. The result of these
meetings, it was asserted, was a series of reductions.
The antagonism between the railways and the traders
which continued throughout the rest of the century began in
the period marked by the development of these -n* rtowt,
various modes of reducing the evils of competi- •"'' **" ^^*^
tive rate-making among the nulwa>'s. It is difficult, perhaps
impossible, to reach any judgment of the merits of tiio con-
troversy, but one is tempted to conclude that many practicee
of the railways were misunderstood by the traders. Tha
m
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
methods of rate-making, that were by necessity the founds
tion of the rate structure that assumed form at this time,
resulted inevitably in many anomalous tat«s. The presence
of water competition or the competition of a more advan-
tageous rail route would result in rate reductions. Rates
bt'lwcen competitive points would thus cease to bear the
normal relation to mileage, and many seemingly irrational
situations might develop, llie traders were prone to assitme
that these competitive rates represented roughly the cost of
rendering the ser\'ice, and they thus concluded that large
margins of profit existed on all non-competiti\'e traffic. The
committee of 1881 gave much attention to the question of
rates, canvassing two main subjects, prevmUng methods of
rate-making and the desirability of increasing the powers of
the Railway Commissioners by the addition of rate-making
functions. The report of the committee was indecisive.
The influence brought to bear by the railways thejnsclvea
Rii«twiit- was con»derable. Parliamentary action was
"^ thus postponed for a few years. The complaints
of the traders, however, became more and more insiatent,
and in 1888 tJie powers of the Commissioners were enlarged
and provision made for a systematic regulation of rates. The
principles embodied in the early charters were to be applied;
the character of tlie rates specified were somewhat different,
but the idea of defining by statute the maximum rate to be
charged was frankly adopted.
Pains were taken to bring (his scheme within the limits of
practicality: the railways were urged to submit to the Board
Proc«dut« of Trade revised classifications of goods with
FopMdd schedules of rates. The Board of Trade would
then consider the proposed rates an<i listen to any complaints
lodged with them against the schedules. In theory the rail-
ways were to take the initiative; the traders were to have an
opportunity to criticize; the Board of Trade was to serve aa
Sitiiter. Only in case the Board of Trade found it irapo*-
eible to reach an agreement with the railways was it per-
mitted to prepare schedules on its own initiative. Thd
Bcbedules prepared thus were to be introduced as a Provi-
I
THE GOVERNMENT AND THE RAILWAYS VTt
Bional Order Bill, affording additional opportunity for criti-
cma. The act provided that companies should keep on
band for inf^pection and eale copies of their authorized clasoi-
fication and the schedule of authorized maxinta, thus assur-
ing a greater measure of publicity than had hitherto existed.
The railway companies complied with the termB of the
act, though with many misgivings. Schedules of maximum
rates and charges were submitted to the Board of Trade and
published. Over four thousand objections were made. An
inquiry was held, and, after protracted hearings of railway
oompaniee and traders, a new schedule of rate* was prepared
for companies having termini in London. These schedules
proposed considerable reductions, establishing a maximum
below the exbting rate in many cases. In other cases the
rates were considerably above the rates then charged by the
companies. The bills containing these schedules were intro-
duced in 1S91, and in the following year similar bills were
in%pared with reference to the other rulways.
In September, 1891, shortly after the first group of bills
was passed, the manager) of seventeen of the principal rail-
ways met in London to consider means of fore- oppoinioD of
stalling a serious reduction in revenue from these "• '•'•"'•'•
reductions. It was resolved to adopt the schedules in their
entirety as actual rates, raising such rates as were below the
maxima provided in the schedules. Partly as explanation
and partly as defense of this action, the rai!wa>'s declared
that it was impossible for them to do otherwise for the time
being. The changes involved the recalculation of millions of
rates, little time was allowed for the publication of the new
rates, and under the circumstances they declared that it was
impossible to get out a series of schedules of actual rates dis-
tinct from the maxima. It was implied that the use of the
maxima would be merely a temporary expedient, but one
may well doubt the good faith of the railways in this matter;
No instructions were given station-masters to indicate that
the new rates were to be merely pro%'ifiional.
The action of the railwa>-s evoked cries of alarm and dift-
may from the traders. The latter appealed to the Eoosd ^
47S
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
n* ■«ttl«m«at
Trade for assistance, and the Board wrote (January 2, 1893) ,
to the Associated R^lway Companies calling their attention I
to the complaints, and asking if the rates then in the rate- '
books were to be taken as an expression of the deliberate
opinion of the railway companies. The railway companies |
replied (January 7, 1893} : ^M
The rates now pjiten^d in fJic rate-booka are not to bfi takon 6^*
Goal, and any rat« which »hall be fuund open to any scriuus objec-
tion will be reconaidered The Companies believe that many of
the alleged grievance* will disappear before the end of February, by
which date the completed scale of rates will be inecrtcd in the rate-
books; and they are satisfied that the course they propose of im-
mediate investigation of complaints, and the gradual revision by
the goods managers, concurrently with meetings for full discussion
between the tntders and general manafiers, will beet tend toward
the settlement of differences.'
The traders interpreted this to mean that the oompaniea
intended to maintain the maximum rates wherever they
could. Correspondence with the Board of
Trade continued. The Board of Trade urged
the companies to return to the rates in force prior to the
new legislation, but this was more tlian the railways would
agree to do. They insisted upon an increase of live per
cent in all cases in which such an increase was «ithtn the
maximum permitted, and finally in March, 1893, the rail-
ways returned to their original classification with this
difference in the rates. The results were not serious. The
increase in revenue from the five per cent increase was in
most cases sufficient to balance the loss from reductions.
Tests on the Great Western system, which were regarded as
characteristic, showed a net gain of £50,000 on May 4 and
of £14,000 on a selected day in August.
In January, 1894, an act was passed providing that any
rate in excess of the rate charged December 31, 1892, should
DnrMwuu* he considered prima facie unreasonable. The
'"* Railway Commisrioners were given power to
deal with complaints ariiiing under the act, and, though it
■ Ctmimont Paptn, 1893. Vol. LXxtx (a 7044). Ci>m«pondeiioo bctwoea
tba Board of Tntdo and tbc IUUwa^ Compuiiai. No. 2.
THE GOVERNMENT AND THE BAILWAYS 478
not intended, they were undoubtedly given power to
Idake rates. The Commissioners refined to interpret the
}act save in the most conservative manner: Justice CoUina
said, "I cannot suppose that Parliament intended to take the
management of tbeao trading companies out of the hands
of the men who manage them, and to place It in the hands |
of the Railway Commissioners." '
The Commission did not even adopt the 1892 rate as an
imqualified g(audard of reasonAbtcness, it was held tliat spe-
cial conditions could be considered, and this attitude has in
large measure prevented the reAlizatiou of the anticipations
of the traders. The Commission has carefully avoided any
rat«-making experiments, and, on the whole, it is credited
with having done well in administering an unfortunate piece
of legislation.
In the early years of the twentieth century the revenues of
the railways began to decline; operating expenses had in-
ereased, ratee had not increased in projMrtion, nouKUi J
and the traffic of the railways had suffered from '■«•»'• 1
the competition of electric tram lines and motors. In 1870
the proportion of operating expenses to gross receipts for all
companies was forty-eight per cent. In 1890 it was fifty-
four per cent, and in 1908 it was nearly sixty-four per cent.'
Making such allowance as is possible for the increased capital
investment in the properties, it seems fair to say that the divi-
dends on the ordinary stock of the companies had declined
from an average of four and one half per cent in the decade
1875-85, to four per cent in the decade 1885-95, and to three
and one half per cent in the decade 1895-1905. In order to
meet these new conditions the various railways have formed
combinations to achieve economies in operation.
Between 1904 and 1909 the three leading west
coast companies formed an alliance which put an end to
any significant competition among them. The London and
North Western and the Lancashire and Yorkshire had been
CombinUiea
< J. S. McLc&n: "Tho EagMah Railway uid Coaal CotmniffiioQ of 1888,"
Qavterti/ Journal <4 Kamotitia, XX, 1.
* Bobcrtaon: op. cit. 23.
vn mDrsTRUL history op England
closely associated since 1862, constitutinR for practical pur-
poses one system, but the Midland Railn-ay had long been a
keenly competitive rival. In 1908 an agreement was made
between the London and North Western and the Midland,
vfaich was extended in the following year to include the
LAncaahire and Yorkshire. A great traffic pool was forQ:ied
for all competitive trafHc, covering both freight and pas-
sengers and including joint xtse of all facilities. Stations
can be used indiscriminately, by the railways themselves, by
traders, and by passengers, A number of economies of opera-
tton are introduced both in the routes used for passengers and
frei^t and in the choice of freight stations with reference to
the greatest convenience in delivery. So far as the public is
concerned these Unes have become one system. A similar
agreement has been made by the Great Northern, the Great
Central, and the Great Ea.''tem, which thus conHoIidateH the
more important cast coa^t lines. The Scotch lines have
made agreements with reference to their Clyde steamera.
The Great Western and the London and South Western en-
tered into a c(Kiperative agreement' with reference to their
competitive traffic. Consolidation was therefore already far
advanced when the roads were taken over by the Govem-
GoTeronient mcnt at the beginning of the War. The mech-
«•»'*»' aniam for joint operation existed, and officials
had had much experience in cofiperative endeavor. Publio
opinion was not unfavorable to consolidation and there was
much agitation for national control. Consolidation would
undoubtedly bring with it an increase of governmental super-
vision, and this would differ only in name from governmental
control. The widely current opinion that Government con-
1 trol of the railways has come to stay is therefore justified
I by many aspects of the pre-war situation.
i
CHAPTER XIX
COireiNATIONS AND MONOPOLIES
Most writers now aRPce that the "trust movement, "began
later in Great Britain than in Germany or the United States.
The country that was first to disclose most of Tb« tnwt
the tendencies that are important in tlie Indus- "w**"*"
trial Revolution was in this instance the last to reveal this
notable tendency in induiitrial oi^anization. In order to
reach tliis conclusion it is necessary to conventionalize the
meaning of the phrase "truHt movement": what arc termed
"sporadic "instances must needs be excluded. The arrange-
ments among the coal producers of the Newcastle district
in the early part of the century must not be counted. The
pools and amalgamations among the railways and the rate
agreements among oceanic steamship lines must likewise
be excluded. Some unsuccessful tendencies toward com-
bination in the iron trade in the decode of the eighties must
also be passed by in silence. When such qualifications
have been made it is pos^ble to date the combination move-
ment from the decade of the nineties, and it is imdoubtedly
true that the tendency toward combination became conspic-
uous in industry only toward the close of the last century.
The years 1899 and 1900 saw the formation of amalgamations
and agreements on a scale without precedent inGreat Britjun.
A widesprpad tendency toward combination thus emerges in
Great Britain ten or fifteen years later than In Germany and
the United States, and even then develops less portentously
than in those countries.
The comparative chronologj' of the movement in the dif-
ferent countries would be of little importance if it were not
for the disposition of cert^n n-riters to regard sic*iae>iiG« «<
the combination movement as the forerunner of t*"*"*!""
some far-reaching change in the general mode of social oc-
$»
INDrSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGL.\ND
gamsation; the first intinmtioQ of the passing of a competi-
tive order of society. The end toward which social oi:ganiz»-
tion is supposed to be moving is vaguely conceived, deemed
by some to be nothing less than a complete realization ot
certain socialistic ideals while others merely assume that
the State will uiliraatcly take charge of most of the indus-
tries and productive establishments. If the late and hesi-
tant development in Great Britain is due to something
deeper than mere inertia, there may well be grounds for
Bupposing that competition in some form or other may poe-
sess a vitality wholly unsuspected by the most enthu^astic
students of monopolistic tendencies in Germany and the
United States. Comparative study of the progress of thia
tendency makes it easier to distinguish between the fundap
mental conditions underlying the movement and incidental
or adventitious features that have contributed to its progreaa.
The late emergence of combinations in Great Britain has
been attributed to the individualistic character of the Brit-
CauiM of uto- '^'' business man and to the free-trade sj-stem.
B«u o( moTtf. Both explanations are inadequate. The psy-
chology of the Knglisliman did not prevent the
establishment of significant combinations in a number of
important trades early in the nii]et<-*cnth oentury. In this,
as in other cases, professions of a particular behef have not
prevented action upon a contrary principle. Professor Levy-
believes that the explanation is to be found primarily in the
character and location of the mineral and extractive re-
sources of Great Britain, secondarily in the free-trade policy
and the features of international competition that make that
policy wise in the case of England. The most important
factor is the multiplicity of deposits of the various minerals
and the facility with which they can reach essential portions
of the market. This dispersion of resources is as notable
in Great Britain aa is the concentration of such rasourcea
in both Germany and the United States. The relation of
Ti» LoadoD* this aspect of conditions to combination is well
oMjiniu illustrated by the history of the London coal
trade. Coal began to appear on the Loudon market from the
COMBINATIONS AND MONOPOLIES
*7T
I
mines in the Newcastle district at an early dat«, and this
early trade came to bo organized according to medieval
forms with true loyalty to the medieval policy of limitation
of output. When the gitd came to an end in the early seven-
teenth century private agreements between the owners of
the mines were sufficient to maintain all the essentlaU of the
policy of limitation of production. The properties were held
in a few hands and combination was easy.
The poUcy was successful because no other coal oould prof-
itably reach the London market. Changes in the technique
of mining opened new mines in the northern fields, many of
which commanded even eaaer access to tidewater than the
older mines. Competition thus sprang up in the district
among the older and the newer mines, but the results were
Bo disastrous that a new combination was established toward
the close of the eighteenth century. Production was regu-
lated with reference to the condition of the London market,
which was further dominated by a group of wholesale dealers.
The Newcastle coal-owners restricted output within limits
which would maintain prices at figures that assured the
wholesalers in London a comfortable mai^in over local prices.
It was in the interest of the coal-owners to have prices in Lon-
don fairly well standardized as it became easier to estimate
the tone of the market aa to quantities. Production was ad-
justed in such a way as to prevent the monopoly of the deal-
ers from becoming oppressive. The officials of the organi-
zation at Newcastle allotted production by districts, and
further allotments were made to the individual mines.
This entire structure of monopoly rested upon the regional
monopoly possessed by the Newcastle fields. With the de-
velopment of railways and canals monopoly Bukcftb*
ceased to be the predominant feature of the ""■"•p^'j
liOndon coal trade. Sufficient coal from inland workings ap-
peared on the market in the Ute thirties to subject the New-
castle Vend to severe pressure, and by 1S44 conditions were 80
serious that prices were reduced far below the level of profit-
able operation for the poorer mines. After a feeble attempt
to reorganize, the combination was abandoned. Since then
478 INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OP ENGIAND
the London coal market haa been increasingly competitive.
It became the avowed policy of the railways to adjust rates
in such a way as would make it possible for coal to reach the
market effectively from all the important mining regions.
Under these circumstances combinations to control the Lon-
don market have proved to be impracticable. What is true
of the London market in particular Is even more true of the
general national market; no single rcfpon pofisessos a sub-
stantial degree of monopoly of any ^ngle grade of coal, with
the possible exception of the Welfb aemi-bituminous fields.
The combination formed to control the trade in this steam
coal illustrates the close relation between the degree of concen-
tration of the mineral deposit and opportunities for monopo-
listic organization. The German cartel in the Ruhr basin
foreiCT ceif controls in that region sixty per cent of the total
didoM output of coal in the entire customs area. A
somewhat simitar degree of concentration of the production
of particular grades of coal in the United States has exerted
important influence upon combinations in the coal trade and
in the iron industry.
Deposits of iron in the various countries present essentially
the same features, thoufj^ in more pronounced degree. No
^ , _, single British ore field produces as much as one
Ttw ttvtJ tndt
half the total product. The Ijorraine ores con-
stitute more than eighty-five per cent of the total German
output , and the I^e Superior ores a sinular portion of the pro-
duction of the entire United Stat«s. There ore thus certain
natural conditions in Germany and the United States wiiich
have favored combination in trades dependent upon the
extractive industries. It will be noted, too, that the most
aggressive combination.? ha%'e occurred in these trades. In
some cases the degree of concentration of the supplies of the
raw materials has been affected by the development of the
regions of the United States whose resources were not at first
adequately known, but though production of oil and coal is
somewhat more dispersed now than at the beginnings of the
combination movement the initial situation gave the existing
organizations an advantage which they have not yet lost.
COMBINATIONS AND MONOPOLIES
470
The difference in the relative importance of the foreign
and domestic markets muat alBO be kept in mind in discussing
the comparative chronology of the combination HuiE*tiii«
movement. For many industries in Germany p«'>'«™»
and the United States the domestic market is and has been
<A primary importance. The later acquisition of the tech-
nique of the Industrial Revolution pUccd them in the posi-
tion of competing with foreign countries for their own domes-
tic markets in many trades. Great Britain, on the other
band, was primarily concerned with the foreign market, both
because of the narrower quantitative limitations of her do-
mestic market and the actual possession of foreign marketa
obtained at a period when commercial rivalry was less keen.
These circumstances are, of oourae, closely related to the
free-trade policy. It is important, however, to note that
the conditionij of intematiuiuU competition are at once a
primary factor in the maintenance of the liberal commercial
policy and the essential factor in maintaining a larger mea^^
ure of industrial competition than exists in other countries.
Combination is restricted to the achievement of increased
efficiency in the conduct of business, for monopoUstic control
over prices is hardly feasible. There ia less inducement to
forego the sati.sfaction of personal control of one's establish-
ment, and consequently much less eagerness or willingness
to fonn combinations. . .
II I
Combinations may be classified with reference to the char-
acteristics of the legal forms of the association or with
reference to the relation of the association to utti«UMia-
the entire group of industrial and commercial *'*'^ |
processes engaged in putting a particular finished product '
in the liandfi of the consumers. Diilercnces of legal form
turn primarily upon the degree of permanence sought, pre-
senting every gradation from mere contracts between di»>^
tinct firms to regulate certain matters of common concern
to acts of incorporation entered into by a group of firms to
form a aingje large corporation. The combloation movement
480 INDUSTEIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND ^|
is directed toward the integration of industry, but unless at-
tention is concentrated exclusively upon the utmost possi-
bilities, it is more largely concerned with the regulation of
competition than with its complete suppretisiDQ. The ar-
rangement of forms in logical sequence proceeding from the
least degree of regulation to the achievement of substantial
^ monopoly is frequently supposed to be e\'idence of an irre-
^m sistible tendency toward the lo^cal conclusion, and there is ^B
H just enough truth in this idea of a tendency toward the ex- ^M
^ treme logical conclusion to make it difhcult to judge accu- ^M
rately the course of events. The convenience of the purely ^M
toxica] arrangement in the presentation of material ought
not to prejudice our judgment.
The simplest fonn of trade agreement is the understanding
vith reference to the conditions of transacting business: an
Timde tgiM- agreement as to the terms of credit, di«;ounts,
"'*°*' pajTncnt for packing and transport, and other
matters incidental to the trade. In some instances these
agreements are scarcely more than attempts to standardize
forms of doing business comparable to the rules of Boards of
Trade and marketing associations, but in some trades such
conventions tend to insure open competition and to exclude
rebates and special discounts.
Price associations represent the next higher degree of com-
bination. These agreements constitute a definite qualifi-
Pricautoeu. catioD of Competition; the group of associated
^'^ dealers or traders acts concertedly in raising or
reducing prices both as to the date and the extent of the price
change. Sporadic action of this type is common among the
gmaller retail tradesmen of many localitici, and periodic
price-fixing is practiced by associations of producers of various
raw materials. Associations for price-fixing have existed in
the coal and iron trades of Great Britain since the eighties.
The Cleveland Ironmasters' Association, the Midland Un-
marked Bar Association, and the Fife Coal Association are
illustrations of this type. Such associations usually possess
some formal organiiiation: a staCF of executive officials and
provision for regular meetings. At times d^xwits are re<
^
k
I
COMBINATIONS AND MONOPOLIES
481
Pool!
quired to constitute security for the observance of the de-
cisions of the association, but in many instances these
conunon decisions are mere "gentlemen's agreements" de-
pendent upon the good-wilt of all concerned.
Price-fixing seems to provide a remedy for excessive com-
petition, but in reality it leaves the cause of difhculties un-
touched. It is of little pcnoanent avail to fix prices if pro-
duction is unchecked, so that such agreements might well
be nullified by the overstocking of the market even without
any deliberate intent on the part of the members of the asso-
ciation to abandon the scale of prices. Attempts at price-
fixing are thus peculiarly likely to be abandoned altogether
or carried further by means of some arrangement for the con-
trol of production. Poets, whether of production
or of receipts, are the most common device.
Specific shares iu production are in such cases assigned to the
members of the pool, just as the shares in the output of coal
were allotted to the various mines in the Newcastle district
in the days of the Vend. The adjustment of the allotments
presents many difficulties, even when the practice is allowed
by law as in England.
The traffic pools among the competing railways in thefiftiee
are representative of the extreme difficulty of establishing a
just basis for division of trade or traffic. The Great Northern
was a new line, and though it poBsessed a superior route for
many portions of the territory it could bring forward no star
tistics of traffic to support its claims. The London and North
Western and the other roads of the hostile alliance would rec-
ognize nothing but existing traffic as the basis for the pool.
It was under such circumstances that the intervention of Mr.
Gladstone was sought. The ultimate failure of that par-
ticular pool is hardly surprising when one considers the utter
lack of any real friendliness among its component parts.
Some of the difiliculties of pooling are avoided by the pooling
of the profits instead of the traffic or production.
The German cartel is a stronger organization designed pri-
marily to secure the advantage of pooling without entirely
destroying the individuality of the member firms. Hie eeseo-
INDUSTEIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
TIm uftel
tial feature is the oreanisation of a corporation by the mem-
ber firms for the purpose of selling the product
and determining the policies of the associated
companies; the capitalisation is nominal, but the organiza-
tion in alt respects similar to that of a corporation doing busi-
nees directly. The conduct of operations by the membw
firms, however, is substantially similar to the system followed
by a pool. Output is limited and quotas allotted. Provi-
non is made for divergences from the quotas. The prices are
fixed. Organizations of this type have appeared in Englaitd,
though they have never become common as a means to the
desired end. The Central Sales Agency which formerly mar*
keted the thread of the firms composing J. & P. Coats seems
to be an organization of this type, but its methods are not
sufficiently known to admit of much c^aiuty of classificatioiL
The North- Western Salt Company (1906) and the Industrial
Spirit Supply Company (1907} seem likewise to present the
chief features of the cartel. The more considerable combi-
nations in England, as in the United States, have become
giant corporations in which the indi\iduahty of the con-
stituent firms is wholly lost. Such associations, however,
become by necessity permanent.
It is uHually presumed that the temporary forma of com-
bination are inherently defective both from the economio
iMtibiiit. of ^^^ '^''°™ '^^ '^*^ point of view. The hostile
Mmponuy com- policy of the couTts and leguiftturcs in the
bbwtiou United States afforded further motives for the
abandonment of the temporary forms here, and though there
has been no actual hostility to such forms of organization in
Great Britain, the fact that all contracts in restraint of trade
were unenforceable made teniiJorary combinations ineffective
as a remedy for the most destructive forms of competition.
It is strange that the different policy adopted in English-
speaking countries has not left a palpable impress upon the
histor>' of the movement in the two countries, but in reality
there is little to distinguish the hL<^ry of tcmporar>' forms of
combination here from the history of dmilar forms in Eng-
land. The extent of successful evasion of the anti-pooling
COSfBINATIONS AND MONOPOLIES
48S
laws in this country must have rontribiitcd toward this re-
sult. Although temporarj- associations have i>een accounted
wholly futile, it is likely that some of these weaker forms of
association play an inconspicuous but tiignificant part in the
trade of Great Britain. In attempting to estimate the im-
portance of tendencies toward combination in the cntiro
industrial field these evanescent and unstable forms may
really count for more than is frequently supposed, and the
fact that they do not result in permanent combination might
be taken to indicate limitations to the ultimate extent of the
combination movement.
Permanent associations have been organijied in Great
Britain as holding companies or as new corporations; the
"trust" in the accurate sense of the term has ^
been rarely used. The formation of a company
to take over all the stock of the member companiesi presents a
number of advantages. It is easier to retain any advantage
to be dcri\'ed from locally known brands and fn)m the good-
will of the subsidiary companies. The former can more read-
ily be kept in close contact with the business. As compared
with the giant corporation, these aggregates held together by
a holding company may display more individual resource-
fulness and energy, retaining the more conspicuous features
of individual ownership without its competitive burdens.
The large corporation, howe%'er, is frequently Th.Uii«
able to introduce economies in production by o*"*"*"""
bringing the entire mass of properties up to the standard of
the best managed and equipped, closing unessential or badly
equipped plants that would have to be kept running under
the other system. The characteristics of each form are thus
adapted to different conditions, both of personnel and indus-
trial technique: there is scarce any warrant for declaring one
fonn superior to the other.
f>om the point of view of economics and industrial history
thf^sc various legal forms are less significant than T«i«jeiieiei rf
the direction of integration. The effects and ^f^Sowi
purposes of combinations are different with re- wmbiiutioM
spect to the direction of the tendency toward centr^ization
484 INDTISnUAL HISTOH
of control. The drawing together of a number of firms en-
gaK«l in producing the same goods for the purpose of cen-
tralizing the control of production and sales is likely to result
in an attempt to secure some measure of monopoly power.
llie association can scan^ely be satisfied with anything short
of a sigiificant control of prices. Horizontal combination
thus tends directly toward monopoly. Finns eng^ed in the
manufacture of products which arc really stages in the pro-
duction of a single finished product may find a very different
eet of motives for combination. Such a vertical integration
of industry is in large measure a positive improvement in
industrial technique. It is not at all essential that there
should be any acquisition of monopolistic powers to justify
the formation of such as.<;ociations. The ultimate rcauli is
to intensify competition in the production of the finished
product.
The development of the firm of John Brown & Co., Ltd.,
of Sheffield indicates the characteristic features of the prooesa
BrenTB & c«. of vertical combination. The firm hod always
otsiiciBcid been self-contained for the manufacture of
roEed and heavy steel products, but was dependent upon
outside interests for the supplies of raw mateiiaU and for
the greater part of the market for its products. They soon
found it advisable to assure an unfailing supply of ore and
coal by the acquisition of iron mines in Spain, Lincolnshire,
and Northamptonahire, and of several collieriea within a few
miloB of the main works at Sheffield. In 1890 it was realized
that further economies in production could be secured by
alliance nith firms usii% the armor plate, marine shaftings,
for^ngs, and castings that constituted the chief products of
the Sheffield works. The establishment of new works for
general shipbuilding was deemed wholly impractical, and all
the essential advantages of increased scale of management
could be obtained by amalgamation. Arrangements were
finally made for union with the Clydebank Engineering and
Shipbuilding Company, so that the combined firms were pre-
pared to undertake every aspect of the work of shipbuilding.
In order to extend loperations to war vessels as well as to mer-
COMBINATIOKS AND M<»fOFOUES
4SS
cantilo trade the combination Tcoe extended in 1903 to include
Thomas Firth &. Sons, Ltd., of f?heffield, manufacturers of
ordnance and projectiles. The establishment is thus quali-
fied to undertake the manufacture of complete liners or
battleships without dependence upon any outelde firm for any
portion of the work.
The activities of the firm and its alliances are as follows:
Bate mafcTToIa;
Iron Ore. Spain, Linoolnshiie, and Northamptonahire.
Collieries. Sheffield.
LiUESToKE Quarries.
InttrmediaU produdt: ,
Pia Ibon. Atlafl WorlcB &t Sheffield.
Malleable Irok. Atlas Works at Sheffield.
Steel Inoots.
All Descriptionh op Rolled and Heavy Steei. Productb.
Anuor Plate, castiugs, forgings, &hip-plat«s, ati^«s, (;tc.
Tool Steel.
CampUmenUiry finithtd producU:
Obdnancb and Pbojectiles. Norfolk and llnsley Works, Shef-
field.
Coventry Ordnance Works, Ltd.
Naval Gun MountinK Works,
GUf%ow.
Ammunition Works, Rochester.
Railway Material.
Macuineuy of Vakious KntDS.
Primary fininhfd products:
MBBCUA.VT Vessels. Clydebank EngiQeering and Shipbuilding
Works.
W&B Vbsseia. (Large intereste iu Harland and WoUT, Belfast,
Shipbuilders and Engineen.)
The development of this firm is representative of a tend-
ency that is general within the iron and steel trade of Great
Britain. There has been extensive attempt made to coordi-
nate the various stages in the production of finished metal
work 80 as to bring under one control raw materials, inter-
mediate, and finished products. The circumstances that
have induced this development can be classified under three
heads: market considerations, process considerations, and
producing considerations.
INDUSTRIAL HKTORY OF ENGLAND
Market conditions in the iron and steel trade are complex.
The markets for raw materials are particularly sensitive and
UtuUE** hi unstable, and the nmrkets for the essential inter-
■"*'*'^ mediate products, pig iron and steel, only slightly
lessso. Firmsproducinnthcscgoodsforamarketareinavery
precarious position, and firms dependent upon buying such
goods in the open market arc subject to many uncertainties
in securing deliveries at proper intervals and satisfactory
prices. The large capita! eciuipment of plants in the iron and
steel industry exerts pressure on the management to keep Uie
plant running as long as it is possible to recover the specifio
costs of operation; all hope of earning interest on the fixed
capital must frequently be abandoned. If production is in
the hands of firms controlling only one stage in the industry
there is grave danger that the market will become seriously
overstocked with particular tj-pes of goods, for the firms pro-
ducing finished products might check their production sooner
than the firms turning out the basic intermediate products.
Serious dislocations would also be the result of any circuno-
stances that should stimulate production of finished products
at a time of slackened output of ore or pig iron. The close
correlation of the production of the products at the various
stages can thus be best secured under conditions of vertical
integration. For the most part the irregularities in the de-
mand for iron and steel products arc seldom general to tbo
entire industry; there are sectional or branch deprcasiona
which might be disastrous to a highly specialized firm, though
a larger establishment would find it possible to divert its ac-
tivities into profitable channels, but under such conditions
it ifl obviously desirable that the output of the basic commod-
ities should be carefully adjusted to the specific demands of
the moment.
Process considerations consist in the advantages and ccon-
omiea derived imm the arrangement of works for the con-
ProMu ceo- tinuous performance of several procesitea with
iid*ritioaa p^g heatmg of the ore and iron. Isolated firms
carrying on these operations would be obliged to heat the
metal several times; once for smelting, once for producing
COMBINATIONS AND MONOPOUES
487
malleable iron or steel, once for converting the ingots into
other products. The costs of fuel are among the most con-
siderable costs in the business, so that it is an extremely
aerious loss to heat the mass tliree times when one heating
can be made to suffice. Under vertical control, the ore goes to
the blast furnace, the molten pig iron in conveyed to the con-
verters or refining furnaces while still at its fiill heat, and the
stpel ingots are drawn from the forms and sent to the rolling
mills as soon as they have cooled suflaciently for the purposes
of that process. These economies alone would be important
enough to lead to much concentration of management, but
there is further opportunity tlirough the utilization of waste
gases and heat. The gases which escape from the blast fur-
nace can bo burned in gas engines and used to produce elec-
tricity or other forms of power. Exhaust steam can be di-
verted into turbines and utilized. In these ways many «rf
the great demands for power in dri^-ing the heavy machinery
of the plant can be met by the con\'ersion of products that
would be entirely wasted in isolated smelting works. The
rolling milts, hot blast plant, and general machinery' can be
entirely, or very nearly, supplied with power by the use of the
beat and ga.°i from the coke oven? and blast furnaces required
to furiiisli tlie requLsit4> mass of pig iron: a strange instance of
fortuitous correlation in an industrial process.
The joint operation of these market considerations and
process considerations produces an intermediate group of
circumstances which can best bo distinguiabed
as producing problems. Most of these matters
center around the problems of management concerned with
maintaining continuity of operation of the plant as a whole.
The outlay in wages and fuel is not affected by small differ-
ences in the output. Costs per ton of output will thus vary
according to quantity. A firm running about three quartcra
time reported costs, as shown on page 4SS.
In the case of the firm from whose books these figures were
taken there was an anniml saving of about £45,000 by rea-
son of increased continuity of operation. It will be obvious
that no firm could secure the regularity of deUvetiee of on
y^>j*P - Tiim
^ ^n INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGIANT>^^H
TmtJbiUlui
Watttpn Imi
fMf piTlM
^M
2364
2223
16/10.6
17/6.76
2bMw .ficwt.
2 tons . 6 owl.
^H
^^^^^L Inrrciuxxl cni in irnim lorUwp«»nd ■nk.S-Up*rloa. J
^^^^^■^ Fiiul ounauiual jiur Lull. 2 U)Ba,0.fiewl. ,^^J
^H When operating full time costs were a« follows: ^H
^H wmkt/
faiMjbUM
Wac-frun
f^pirtan
^M u —
3093
3105
14/8
14/2. S
1 ton 10 cwt.
1 ton 0.76 ewt.
^^^^^^. Arenas <nwn Tint lot two wlGh III, 9.5d.
^^^^^^^L AvanflQ fuol oixiiunMd. 1 Wtti 9-fiT owt.
^^^^^V _ , . Pf I'm
1
Aa. 11 3JU« 1
^H • C^ft«, Q. R.: TSm rwlncv louonl /nduUrtet CanMwMn (LoikIod. 1«I3). 118. 1
^1 ftnd cool from independent producers that could easily be
^H mnintained in mines under the direct control of the firm.
^H Complete control of the entire course of production of a
^H group of finished products thus affords the best opportuni-
^1 tics for securing the closely regulated flow of goods from raw
^H materials to consumers that is well-nigh essential to success
^ft in the iron and steel industry. Unessential middlemen's costs
^H are avoided and serious wastes of by-products eliminated.
^H Vertical combination at the present time is a manifestation
^H c^ the integrating tendencies in industry that appear from
^H CMnjwMtfon ti™® ^0 t'"i6 after periods of excessive speciali-
^B not d..iior«d jtation and disintegration. The modem ph&-
^H nomenon may be compared to the development of centralized
^M control of craftsmen under the putting-out ^stem; the e»-
^1 sential economics were similar though not present in such
^M Btrikiog form. Such integration does away with not a little
^B buying and selling of intermediate products, but it does not
^P in any accurate sense of the word restrict the area of com-.
p*
COMBINATIONS AND MONOFOUES 480
petitive trade, least of all does it tend to destroy the com-
petitive order. The giant corporatlotis and amalgamations
in this field cannot be cited as indicative of an essential tend-
ency toward nationalized or socialised industr>*, though, of
course, such a Btructure could be raised on the foundations
now existing. It should be reoc^nized, however, that such
a development would not be a logical outgrowth of tendencies
now revealed.
The ditnculty of generalizing with reference to the entire
industrial field is well illustrated by the great divergence be-
tween the conditions in the iron and steel trade and the textile
trades. In the former the tendency is toward vertical inte-
gration, in the latter there has been no tendency n* tuto*
toward further int^ration since the early nine- "^•*
tcenth century; in fact, there seems to be some tendfincy
toward more definite separation between the various branches
of the industry than was common in 1800. At that time it
seemed as if there might be an advantage in the combi-
nation of spinning and weaWng, but no such combination has
taken place. The mdustiy gives every evidence of ha\-ing
reached a stable position with reference to the degree of vei^
tical integration. Spuming, weaving, and dyeing are car-
ried on by different establishments in all the major branches
of the textile trade, and there are various special phases of
manufactiu^ that are similarly carried on in particular es-
tablijihmeuts. The tendencies toward combination in these
trades thus assumes the horizontal form by necessity. In
the early years of the active development of combination,
1896-1900, by far the greatest number of combinations an-
nounced consist«d of firms m the textile trades; In a hat of
tliirty-one amalgamations and combinations, ^teen were
concerned with textile manufacture. This numerical pre-
dumiuance is due in part, of course, to the relative predom-
inance of the textile trades, but it would seem likely that it
was also an indication that the problems created by extrav-
agant competition were particularly severe.
The most spectacular success has been achieved by the
firm J. & P. Coats, Ltd., and its allies. The original firm was
4»0
INDUSTRUL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
founded in 1826 as a purely personal business which remained
ThB thiMd IB the family for three generation. In 1890
combiutioa the firm reorganized as a limited liability com-
pany capitalited at £5,750,000; it then occupied a very
prominent place in the manufacture of sewing cotton; but,
if we can form some rough estimate from the relative invest-
ments of capital, it could scarcely have controlled more than
one third of the business of the United Kingdom in sewing
cottons. By the formation of the Central Thread Agency
the severity of competition in the business had already been
significantly reduced. Notwithstanding these developments
the Coats firm inaugurated a new movement beginning in
1895 and 1896. Amalgamations were formed by the pur-
chase of the stronger houses: Kerr & Co. of Paisley, in 1895;
Clarke & Co. of Paisley, James Chadwick & Co. of Bolton,
Jonas Brook & Co. of Meltham, in 1896. The reoi^anized
corporation was capitalized at £12,000,000. The property
of the company included sixteen factories, some of which were
located in the United States, Canada, France, Spain, and
Russia; sixty branch houses and one hundred and fifty
d6p6t8. Since amalgamation the firm has paid dividends of
twenty per cent or more, in addition to some boouses. These
achievements, too, were not the result of high
prices. A statement in the Financial Supple-
ment of the London Ttm^j of December 31, 1906, is favorable
to the company, but apparently disinterested:
BmuIU
The average price of the standard length of 200 yards six cord
[a^rsthe writer! I>it''^ iiciunlly bc-im 2d. per gross of 144 spools higher
than the avpraRL> price ruling (iTiring the twenty-five years preced-
ing the amnlgamation; but with largeriiisHJimtB to the trade allowed
since the amalgamation the price is actually leas. WaRes have risen
oonsiderably, aa also has the fine cotton used, as well as the coal.
Spool-wood — an important it«m — is 25 to 'SO per cent dearer than
formerly. In eiToct, then, thread costs more to make by the com-
bination e\'en with the economieg atUtinablc under the combination,
yet theconsumtTH (or at all events the retailers) are paying somewhat
less for it than they did when it coat leaa to make. It h not the cane
that the Coata combination has forccil out competitors by undcr-
aeUing them. . . . The combiuatioa has improved tbe character of
COMBINATIONS AND MONOPOUES
its'piDducta. while it haa iouneDsdy reduced the coel of distribu-
tion. . . . What tho "Combine" has done is to deatroy the business
of the middlemen, who stood between the thread manufftcturcra
and the drapers and lai^e customer;!. All these stnallcr dealers and
consumera can now buy dirpct from the Central Agency on the
same terms as the wholesale dealer.^
The success of the combination was due to the skill and
judgment of the leaders both in the detailed organization of
the business and in the absence of any illusions eimsmu of
about the value of a comprehensive amalgama- •"«"•
tion of all the firms in the induatry. They were never de-
luded by the megalomania of promotions. None but the
best organized firms were brought into the combination,
although many houses were omitted; and, although it might
seem that the combination was not in a f>otiition to dominate
the industry because of the large capitalization of these ex-
cluded firms, tho superior efficiency of the Coats firm really
placed them in a position of substantial power.
In 1897 the excluded firms formed a combination of their
own, organizing a holding company under the name of the
English Sewing Cotton Company. Friendly 7»iiortotui«
relations were €atal>IL>>hed with the Coats firm '^''*^
which took some of the stock of the English Sewii^ Cotton
Company and entered into a pooling agreement. By tho
teruia of the agreement both companies \vcre tu abide by the
existing condition of the trade : existing proportions of trade in
areas reached by both companies were to bo maintjuned un-
changed, and certain other markets were resen'ed to one or
the other company. In the following year the English Sew-
ing Cotton Company encouraged various firms in the United
States to form a combination, and the American Thread
Company was ultimately organized. The relations between
the companies were close; the American Company took stock
in the English Sewing Cotton Company, and the three man-
aging directors of the latter sat on the board of the Ameri-
can Company. When the pooling arrangement with Coats is
• (SUd by MsCTMty, H. W.: The Trutt Movement m Briluh Imiiutni (Lou-
dod, 1W7), U»-»).
OP ENGLAND
taken into conEideration it will bo seen that scarce any vestige
of competition was left in thw industry.
The finances of the English Company were badly mao-
Bged.and in 1901 thelackof judgment and looseness of man-
agcment could no longer be concealed. It appeared that
excessive prices had been paid for the good-will of many of the
constituent companies, promoter's profits arising out of the
American Thread Company had not been kept sufficiently
distinct on the books of the English Company, and the actual
conduct of biisnncgs was Kcandalouttly negh^ted. A scheme
of reorganization was prepared with the assistance of one of
the Coats firm, and reformn were carried out under thp tut^^
lagc of Coats. The stronger combination has thus acquired
a moral ascendancy over the greater part of the trade. The
substance of monopoly power is in their hands with reference
to the trade of the world in this tiighly specialized product.
Concentration has not proceeded to such lengths in other
branches of the textile industry, though the number of
OHUflednc competing firms has been greatly reduced by
twwit^ combination. However, it is clear that the
field of competition haj^jbeen significantly re-
stricted, and there is no grcnnd for supposing that the move-
ment has reached a stable equilibrium. The pubiiMhcd re-
porta of most of these companies reveal a discouraging finan-
cial situation : some have paid no dividends, and others only
the most moderate rates. The disappointment of large cx-
pectatinns may well have an influence upon future devel-
opments of combinations. It is scarcely possible to know
whether one should anticipate further concentration or some
mcastire of reaction.
The larger outlines of the history of combinations in the
textile industries are representative of the tendencies in the
other portions of the industrial field. There have been a few
spectacular successes; competition has been notably re-
stricted; temporary forms of combination have proved to be
rdatively unstjible, and the Krpater muss of amalganiatious
have failed to realize the expectations of profit that were
entertained.
COMBINATIONS AND MONOPOLIES
m
489
These tendcnciM toward combination are variously inter-
preted by radicals and conservatii'es. The £ocialists, and
many with sociatistic Icaiiiuirs that are not suf- .
nciently pronounced to lead to definite avowal
of such doctrioe, invest the whole subject with a large signif-
icance. Although Marxian doctrines arc seldom mentioned,
the histoiy of these recent years is read as a fulfillment of the
earlier phases of ttie prophecies of Karl Marx. The increase
in the scale of business enterprise has taken place in at least
as great a measure as he was incUned to expect. There is sub-
stantive evidence of a " tendency," and, with little recourse to
theoretical demonstration, it is assumed that this tendency
will by necessity proceed to the extreme logical conclusions.
Combinations and monopolies thus constitute the lost phase
of the Industrial Revolution, representing the culmination of
the forces set in motion by the Great Inventions. The exist-
ence of the evils of the competitive order and the evident
dangers from private monopoly become, in the sockumc
mind of the socialist, proof that the "competitive '*•"
order" is doomed. The movement is interesting to the so-
cialists also from another point of view: tJicae industrial or-
ganizations afford some intimation of the ultimate character
of socialized industry. " It necessitates not so much changes
in organization as an alteration of the aims to which that or-
ganization is to be directed." ' The concreteness of these
developments has made it possible for socialists to present a
view of the new society that is wholly freed from the obvious
utopianlsra of earlier writing. The Fabians add to this ele-
ment of seductiveness their patience in waiting for the new
industrial day. They have a remedy for monopoly, and it
is not merely a policy, but a faith in irresistible historical
tendencies.
The historical int-erpretation of which their Wew is a part
makes it impossible to discuss the nationalizatiou of indus-
■ Maamty, H. W.: TnuU and A» Slalt (Loodon, 1901, The FabiaaScriw),
387.
m
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
try merely as a policy which we are free to adopt or reject
It is essential to recogniee the importoiicc of the socialistio
faith in an imperativ*e necessity for this solution of the prob-
lem. The proper object of criticism and diBcussion is not the
policy advocated, but the interpretation of industrial hi»*
tory upon which the faith is barsed.
It is, of course, impossible to achieve a final interpretation
of any series of histsrical eventa, so that it would bo uuschol-
&rly to intimate that the sociuliHtic interpretation can be
BaM* of disproved or another view positively estab^
*"''''■" lished in its place. It is, however, Intimate to
point out the possibility of another interpretation, and thus
throw some measure of doubt upon the dogmatic conclusions
of the socialistic writers.
It has been a purpose of this present study to show that
the hintory of industry is susceptible of other than the usual
socialistic interpretation, so that the entire text constitutes
the primary answer to the socialistic view, but with reference
to the particular issues raised by the problem of monopoly
some special discussion may be in place. It would seem that
the fundamental features of the socialistic interpretation are :
the alleged inherent instability of the forms of industrial and
commercifll organization evolved during the period of the
Industrial Revolution ; the notion that the cause of all the
trouble is the dehumanizing influence of machinery.
There hns been a long struggle between two ffe&l principles
[saya Macrostyj. Competition came into the industriftl world to
biurpr«t>iion f*^ itttio from fcudulism, and, haviog done that
e( tDdutiriai work, played havoc with the lives of men. It called
^^'''"J into existence the great opposing principle of asso-
ciation, by which a scrice of bulwarks against individualism has
been built up in the trade union, the ooi^perative society, the muni-
cipality, and the central Government. Finally, competition turn-
ing against it«elf, has ended in combination, and private monopoly
thrt'alens to overwhelm th<> State by eoonuimc and political op-
pression. We cannot turn back the march of economic progress;
for good or for evil we must now face the concentration of industry.
We cannot go back to competition, but wc can direct the new tend-
ency into safe channels. In the coilectiviaation of industr>- lies
the future hope of society, and it will be attained by the gradual
COMBINATIONS AND MONOPOLIES
405
trsnAf«rof onebranoh of production after another under the coDtrol
of the munioipBlity or the Govcmincnt •
Thesooi;illst!c position makes the question-begging assump-
tion that there is no possible middle course between the most
extreme freedom of competition and absolute kmMa»
monopoly. The present organization of society **""•
is regarded as being hopelessly unstable because it represents
neither extreme; competition is by no means unrpRuIated,
monopoly is not complete. The conservative interpretation
of recent events ttirna upon the faith in the existence of this
middle courec. It is deemed possible for industrj' to achieve
some measure of stability of organization nithout becoming
entirely monopolistic on the one hand, and without entirely los-
ing all elements of a competitive character on the other hand.
Neither monopoly nor competition appears in its absolute
form; neither can entirely exclude the other. The existence
of monopoly is not incompatible with significant elements of
competition in price-making, and it is entirely conceivable
that a society should remain in lai^ measure competitive
despite the presence of a considerable number of industries
and occupations carried on under monopoly conditions.
The relativity of these terms is best illustrated, perhapa,
by the trade in books and certain kinds of patented articles.
Tbe oopyri^it or patent confers an absolute Monopoly wd
monopoly of the privilege of producing partiou- ««D»«utio«
lar books or goods, and yet the book trade and "
the trade in many kinds of patented goods is dominated by
competition. Novels, schoolbooks, books of travel, de luxe
editions of \'ariou8 clasacs all sell at prices that are not deter-
mined by the individual publisher according to the principle
of securing the maximum net revenue, but by the general de-
mand for the particular class of literature concerned. The
existence of the copyrights on the various books serves merely
to lift the plane of competition. Such books sell for more
than simitar books on which the cop>Tigbt has expired; it
becomes possible to reward the author for his work, but the
epeoial privilege docs not become the basis of a monopoly
■ • MMfMty, H. W.; op. at. 317.
m
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
price. This is merely one of the more striking cases of the
importance of the collateral competition of aiibstitutea-
There are many others, notably the various mineral waters,
the different sj-stcms of artificial illumination, different
routes of communication between two points, and the like.
The phenomena which we usually describe as a growth of
monopoly are in a seniie changes in the character of competi-
tion. At times, to be sure, the change results in a dangerous
weakening of competitive control, creating not an absolute
monopoly, but a measure of monopoly control that is suifi-
cicnt to afford opportunities for the manipulation of pricea
in the interest of the proprietors of the undertaking.
The view of the socialist must be qualified in one other
respect: it ia not nec-essary to presume that competition cod-
TiM MMOM Of sists solely of self -destructive rivalry in price-
eomptiiuoa cutting. The reduction of prices below the le\'el
consistent with continued operation is an unrepresentative
and reprehensible form of competition that confers no benefit
upon the public. Such trading has never been placed by law
in the categor>' of unfair competition unless there were ag-
gravating circumstances, but the spirit of such transaction*
is closely similar to prohibited practices. It is therefore un-
fortunate in the extreme that this type of rivalrj* nhould be so
finuly fixed in the mind of the public as the characteristic form
of competition. The selling at varying prices that can remain
a permanent basis of trading is not sufticientJy distinguished
from the disastrous price-cutting that is intended by both
parties to be wholly temporary. The existence of price agree-
ments in a trade is not inconsistent with important competi-
tion in the character of the services rendered.
The socialistic doctrine of the causative importance of mar
chinery is related to the problem of monopoly in a round-
about fashion. The productivity of industry
with the mature mechanical technique, together
with its ownership by a relatively small class of capitalists, ia
made the explanation of commercial crises. There is a
chronic and periodic over-pniduction because the power o^
Uie consuming public to bu>' is disproportionate to Uie power
Hachisery
COMBINATIONS AND MONOPOLIES
497
of society to produce. The capitalists thus defeat thdr own
ends by withholding from the laboring claKses their just share
of the purcbasinf; power of the community.
It is impossible to answer thli bndy of doctrine in brief
compass, and much of the discussion is a matter of pure
theory. It may be suflicient to repeat the proportion ad-
vanced in an earlier chapter, that machincrj- was at once a
result and a cause of some of the phenomena of the Indua*
trial Revolution. In so far as one approaches these prob-
lems as a matter of historical narrative the development of
machine technique was a result of an expanding market for
new commodities. Changes In tlie character and extent of
the market constitute the backgroxind of industrial history,
and there are progressive changes in the degree of the division
of labor to correspond with developments of the market. The
disintegration of industry by the division of labor must needs
be balanced by counter\'ailing tendencies toward integration.
The development in industrial history is for this reason not in
asingle direction: neither exclusively disintegration, nor ex-
clusively int^Ttttion. There is an oscillation. The combi-
nation movement reprewnts the contemporary aspects of a
set of integrating tendencies, and, if we may judge by the
past, we may feel confident that these tendencies precisely
will not proceed to any rigid logical conclusion. The mar-
keting conditions in the diifereot branches of industry are
widely different, and we may presume that the measure of
integration ultimately achieved will bear relation to the
specific problems of each industry.
The conservative is thus inclined to approach the prob-
lems of monopoly in somewhat the frame of mind of the prac-
tical poUtician; he is disposed to deal with each TiMMaMfr*.
case separately, unprejudiced by dogmatic con- *• •*"•*•
ceotions of poUcy. TTiere is in his mind an indisposition to
regard any single poUcy as a complete remedy for the troubles
we now experience with monopolies. The various su^;e»-
tions now current offer different pro!;pecta of attaining the
desired end. The limitation of the size of corporations pre-
sents possibilities, but it is hard to regard such a proportion
HISTORY OP ENGLAND
as an xiltimste Bolution of any considerable number of prob-
lems. The notian of having a limit seems good, but the
practical detorniination of any limit would »eem likely to
become a penalty upon efficiency. Furthermoro, if there is
any correlation between the size of tho corporations in a gj\'en
field and the market, the limit would be by necessity elastic.
It might prove to be something in the nature of the limit of
note issue at the Bank of France — a limit that was increased
whenever there was any prospect that it mifdit be reached.
Limitation of profits, if successful, would almost certainly
diminish the stimulus to efficient management.'
In English-Bpe-aking countries the control of large-scale
enterprise is tending to combine three elements: publicity
TMdmdM bi of accounts, public fixation of prices in certain
ktidMioii industries, and the suppression of predatory
competition by legislative and administrative regiUatioo—
The results, as yet, leave much to be desired.
Despite idl our exporieace and thought [saj's Jethro Brown) the
best that cao be said is that we are groping our way toward sound
ooncluaons. Some useful data we have; and some principles seem
to be clearly established. But the precise siRniiicanoe of the datft
is often doubtful; and the value of cHtubUshcd principlca is timittxl
by the fact Ihjit we have to apply them, not to an ideal world, but to
a world of actual facta around us. Many things are desirable that
are not practicable; much that is practicable is not desirable. I
believe that, if we are to proceed on right lines, we should begin with
a recoRnition of the difficulties before us, their complicated char-
acter, and their manifold ramifications.'
t Bnwn, W, Jetbl*: Tht Frevmlitn and Cmbvl •/ Mmwpoliet (iMvSaa,
1914), 47-48.
CHAPTER XX
INCOMES. WAGES, AND SOCIAL UNREST
I. M&TEBIAL WELL-BEtNQ
No question is more interesting to the a^'erage reader oa
economic history than the relative well-being of the lower
classes at different historical periods. Many seem to feel
that economic history fails to make any material contri-
bution to knowledge unless some conclusions arc possible
with reference to the welfare of society. In general, no very
Batisfactory answer Is possible. Statistical material is so
Bcant and so different in character at different periods that no
details are available. At the same time it is possible to reach
some objective judgment which may sen'e in a measure to
answer tiie doubts that arise aa to the reality of the "prog-
ress" which we seem to find characteristic of the period of
the Industrial Revolution.
Taken in their entirety the changes in the form and char*
scter of social life have resulted in real improvement in the
material basis of life. The improvement is rela- uttnui
tive only; we can merely say tiat living condi- P"«™«
tions are better than they i^ed to be, and we can be reason-
ably certain that there is still opportunity for much improve-
ment. The material change can best be measured in terms
of the declining death-rates. ITicse rates express the number
of deaths per thousand persons, and, although there are some
refinements of statistical method that might effect small cor-
rections, these official figures are sufficiently correct for the
purposes of Buoh a comparison as we have in hand.
The very great decrease in mortality that is shown by these '
figures is perhaps the most decisive indication that can be
given of the change in living conditions. The figures are
Bomewhat more impressive in their positive form. We think
more readily in terms of the expectation of life than in terms
of crude murlality, but unfortunately the positive form be>
MO
)PEN(
Deatb-Rateb per Tbocsand Pessotra: Ekoland and Walbb,
1841-50— 19U
r
Mait
fnUJH
OaUrm
antra
•-M
■0-U
23.2
22.3
19.7
16. 4
18.3
21.0
20.4
17.6
14.4
13.3
Oft.O
68.«
M.8
S7.7
43.7
S.O
8.0
5.3
4,3
3.4
6.3
4 5
lesi-QD
3 0
3.6
2.1
ccmesmore complex because the en^Metation of life changes
<ach year. Suffice to say that scvraal years have bem added
>MiioitiM to the reasoDable expectation of life. This
achi«*oiii«i)i achievement is perhaps more largely an achieve-
ment of science than of industry; the result is due to the de-
velopment of preventive medicine and public-health legis-
lation. However, these changes have been a part of the
change that we think of as the Industrial Revolution; they
have been an integral part of the new soctai order that h^
developed, afiFording the clearest indication of the new social
conscience.
The question of material well-being, however, presents it-
eelf in another guise; the relative condition of the different
classes as compared with each other pro%'es more interesting
to most readers than the more general matter of the condition
of society a& a whole. It is ea.'<ily forgotten, however, that
any general change must appear among the most numerous
classes, so that a general social impmvement, such as we find
indicated by the lower death-rates, must bo evidence of sub-
Btantive change for the better among the lower classes. But
more concretely, it is desirable to know whether wages have
VaiHtud 'gone up as rapidly as incomes from property.
'■**™* Has the position of unskilled laborers changed
for the better? Are skilled laborers relatively more numerous
and better paid? Is the class of persons with moderate in-
comes increasing or decreasing relatively to the class of pcis
sons with very large incomes? These questions are unfor^
mCOUES, WAGES, AND SOCIAL UNREST MI
ttmately difficult to answer. The material available is none
too plentiful, and the interpretation of existing atiitLsiics pre-
sents many problems that are not yet satisfactorily solved.
It is somewhat artificial to attempt statistical statement
of changes in the general rates of wages. Averages leave out
many details that are of real importance. But Tuneiwcm is
there is a measure of reality in statements of **'^
average wage:^, because there is a perceptible tendency toward
the establishment of rates of pay that are designed to be re-
lated to the strength and skill required by the occupation.
Labor is not as mobile aa would be neceKsary to give full ef-
fect to these tcndendee toward equaMzation of wages; differ-
ences persist between occupatioos and between localities.
The rates of wages f(»- unskilted agricultural labor tend to be
somewhat different from the rates for unskilled industrial
labor. Likewise, the wages that prevail in London lend to
be somewhat hif^ than the wages in provinoal towns, dif-
ferences that may be partly explained by higher costs of living
in the larger towns. Studies of general rates of wages are thus
most sigmficant if we preeen'e some of these distinctions be-
tween groups of wage-earners. It would seem particularly
important to maintain some distinction between the rates
for skilled and for unskilled labor.
The differentiation between the skilled and the unskilled
is sufficiently clear to influence any statistical statement ot
a single a%'erage wage; one could never be cer- skiu«<i*ikdm<
taiD',;whether or no changes were due to circum- •*>''^'»>w""
stances that really affected only one of the two classes. It is
thus desirable to distinguish as carefully as possible between
the wages of these two groups. Much light is tbron-n upon
some of the important social problems involved, if this dia-
tiiMtion is carefully maintained. The xinskilled laborers
■re dose to what is coming to bo called the ' ' pov- tii« " pot«tu
erty line"; which is presumed to represent the """
minimum income compatible with the maintenance of full
physical Wgor. The most notable recent estimate of this ir-
reducible minimum is that of Seebohm Rowntroe. He esti-
mates as follows the family income necessary before the War:
I
I
502 INDUSTELU. HISTORY OP EXGLA.ND
a. *.
Expeoditun; OD food 13 9
Rent and rates 4 0
Clothing, inoluding boot* 3 8
Fuel 1 10
light, irubing nutflcialB, furniture, el*. .... 10
21 Spervredc
The dietary assumed in this estimate "coDtained no butcher'
meat or butter, and allowed such a luxury as tea but once i
week. The only meat was bacon and very tittle of that. It
was a dietary 'more stringent than would be given to any
able-bodied pauper in any workhouse in Enf^and or Wales.'
Taking the lowest coiiperative store prices, he found that
this dietary would cost Ss. each for the adults and 2s. 3d.
each for the children per week. Thus the cost of food alotie
would be 128. 9d. per week." The other estimates were based ^
on similar prasumptions of minute car© in expenditure. In
all probability the average family of such circumstances
would not succeed in distributing ita income with as much
intelligence as Mr. Rowntree pre-^umwi; real needs would in
many cases be sacrificed to indulgence in alcohol and tobacco
or to extravagant expenditure for clothes. Such estimates
are subject to many elements of error, but they possess a real
sigoificance. The unskilled laborers have been at all times
very close to this line of primary poverty, and at certain
periods of hi^ prices most of the unskilled have been far
below this mar^n. Materials exist for a careful study of the
condition of the unskilled laborers in agriculture and in cer-
tain branches of industry; but as yet these materials have
been very incompletely utilized.
Mr. Bowleyin studies of wages in the nineteenth century
has endeavored to preserve these distinctions. He has
Bo*i«T-t studied the changes in wages of particular
•«"•• groups of wt^e-eamers, so that his figure-s are
merely representative, typical to the extent that conditions
in Che groups chosen were fairly typical of a larger class. The
skilled laborers are represented in the table chiefly by the
building trades, the unskilled town laborers being the helpers.
Study of these particular classes seemed dcsiniblo bocaun
r
INOOMBS. WAGES. AND SOCIAL UNREST MS
they were least affected by the greftt changes of the Industrial
Hevolution.
Ten-tattts Tabu or Avxiagb Wcxklt Wagbb*
urn
t. 4.
ICU
im
I8«T
Afl7<cultuT«l Uborer...
2S 0
17 0
13 0
» 0
SO 0
22 0
14 0
U 0
30 0
24 0
16 0
» 6
2S 0
22 0
14 0
10 6
30 0
27 0
20 0
14 0
40 0
34 0
2S 0
U 0
• Bvm\My, A. L.: Waott to lb A'flwWM* CMw« (Ounbridc^ I«OW. TO-
This tentative representation of the movement of wagea is
interesting in several particulars. The stretuj of the period
1824-33 is evident among all classes of workers, but it was
especially severe for the agiicultural laborers. Acrk«it«ni
The price of wheat was high, and wages of 9a. 6d. "^w*"
or lOs. 6d. must have been wholly inadequate for their main-
tenance. The crisis of poor-law administration correlates
definitely with these indications of wages; the only periods of
greater distrcats were some of the years of the Napoleonio
vars. Further detail for the agricultural laborers is furnished
by figures from Sussex, given on the following page. The
agricultural laborer thus endured a relatively long period of
great economic pressure in the early part of the century.
Relief came partly through increased wages and partly
through the fall in the prices of the essential foodstuffs, es-
pecially wheat. The greater stability of prices of wheat, after
the repeal of the Com Laws, was also a great boon to the poor.
The agricultural laborer was thus a burden on the poor-rate*,
for the greater portion of a generation.
The condition of the town laborer is less certain ; without
specific local study wo cannot be sure whether these laborers
were relatively independent of the poor-rates or ,_,_-,
not. The position of the artisans, however,
seems to be fairly clear. The artisan seems to have been
above the line of primary poverty throughout the period,
and with the exception of a few years bis economic portion
0O«
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
Wbbklx Waqks or Aobicdlitral Libobkss m Bdssex *
I ira«H Paltt^
r t. d. utipiffii* Birth
J767-70 8ft 6.7
1793 9 ft 6.0
1795 10 8 4.6
1813 13 0 4.0
1S21. 9 0 S.O
1822 8 0 6,6
1824 9Q 4.7
1827 10 0 5.4
1830 110 6.6
1881 , 12 0 6.8
IS33 100 6.0
1834 10 0 7.0
I 1836 10 0 8.6
I 1840 100 4.8
18.51... 10 8 9.0
1860 117 7.0
1870 : 12 2 8.3
1872 13 4 7.8
1880 13 6 10.0
1885 13 6 13.0
1887 «....,!. 12 0 12.0
1892 12 0 12.7
• BowUj- •» <«. 40.
eeeroB to have grown atcadily stronger, so that toward the
end of the century the artisan was comfortably above the
poverty line. This, indeed, seems to be the chief result of
these statistical inquiries, and, as the purchasing power of
money was increasing until at least 1896, the movement
of real wapea was in general favorable to the waKC-camej.
There were reductions of hours in nearly all trades, also, Ixith
those ref^ulated by general statutes and trades which had se-
cured the shorter hours by their OT^-n efforts. We are cer-
tainly justified in saying that the skilled laborers were re-
ceiving at the close of the century appreciably higher wages
for shorter hours of work.
It is difScult to secure satisfactory evidence of the relative
position of the different classes in the community to each
SMaroa ct Other, The statistics available are fairly trust-
'*'*"^ worthy for incomes of £100 or more, but the
exemption of EniaUer incomes makes it essential to supplement
INCOMES, WAGES, AND SOCIAL UNREST 006
the figures for those in receipt of labor incomes of less than
£100. The figures for the different cla«se« thus come from
different eourccs and present varj-ing degrees of accuracy.
The interpretation of the figures is also a matter of consid-
erable difficulty, influenced in most cases by the disposi-
tion of the statistician. TTius, for the year 1907 we have
estimates of total income ranging from £1,800,000,000 to
£1,964,000,000, all from substantiaily the same figures, and
the publication of the final figures for the Census of Produc-
tion added another figure, £2,038,000,000. The division of
the total income between the different classes is subject to
a similar degree of uncertainty, and conclusions must thus
be accepted with many mental lesen'atioos.
The following table has been selected from a number of
estimates, including as far as may be estimates from the same
source. The first set of figures were prepared by Mr. Robert
Giffen; the figures for 1851, 1867, and 1881 are by Mr. L.
Irfsvi; those for 1904 and 1907 are taken from Mr. Chiozza
Money's statements. An estimate by Mr. A. L. Bowley has
been added to indicate the degree of uncertainty in the esti-
mates for 1907. It should further be noted that Mr. Money
is disposed to set the larger incomes at maximum figures and
to estimate the smaller incomes on the most conservative
basis. Giffen and Le%'i are more inclined to beUeve that the
incomes of the lower classes were a very considerable pro-
portion of the total. Thus any tendency toward error in
the appended tabic (page 506) will probably be in favor of
the larger in{:omes.
The incrt^ase in all classes of incomes b considerable, the
rate being in excess of the rate of increase of the population,
but it b noteworthy that the incomes of manual
workers receiving less than £160 per year in-
creased much more rapidly than all other cUisscs of incomes.
The incomes of the clerical workers and small shopkeepers
increa.'ied least of all. Studies by Robert Gifl'en point to a
considerable increase in the class of persons in receipt of in-
comes of somewhat more than £160. During the period
1838-82 the amount of property probated in England in-
Condnuoiu
506
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
DtsnuBCTioN or Ikcomkb in thb Ukited Kingdou: 1835-41 — 1907 '
L
Ltri
isai
1M17
IKH 1807
IHff
(mWlioiu 'f paiauli (UrIJnt)
Abov«£10O. k......
Below £160, non-manual
3SQ
104
171
265
272
132
242
374
423
120
418
538
577
143
448
830
S2S
«M
SSO
009
232
703
935
S8Q
325
740
TotoJ below £160
1065
fitji
040
Wl
1168
1710
1844
IMS
• niiiiukei. 8>i T. F. : Ouwrthi'ii, Ttniitt, Md naalim of L*ni (Londoo. iai4>. S>.
PmiceNTAQE or Ixchease or Each Class o? Incous over the Pio
roK 183&^1
1B«1
1B0T
1B81
igot
Www
1U07
8.8
40,4
41.5
41.1
60.3
27,6
144.5
103.0
130.8
52,1
162 0
123.0
3»3,0
139,3
383.1
232,0
263.6
187,4
311.2
252.8
2ia.O
Below £160, DOD-man-
ual workers
manuaJ workcre
TotfJ below £160,
180.0
332.8
301 ,8
A19
86.0
136.8
2S2.0
250.3
377. «
creased from £47,000,000 to £118,000,000, but the Bverage
amount of property in each estate iocreased only from £2170
to £2600. The increase in wealth must thus have been rather
well diffused among moderatciy well-to-do people. The evi-
dence fumi-sihed by the income tax schedules seems to indicate
that the number of recipients of the smaller incomes remained
at leaj^t proportionate. On the whole, therefore, we have
grounds for believing that the artisans and middle-claas
people have at least maintained their position in the com-
munity, if not actually gained in relative well-being.
In view of these general conclusions, the growth of the very
large fortunes presents many perplexing problems. There
seems to be little reason to doubt that there has
been an extraordinary development of great in-
comes, and a correlative ooooeiitration in the ownership of
Luc* (ortiuM
INCOMES. WAGES. AND SOCIAL ONEEST M7
property. The facts have boon presented in a variety of
forms, and unfortunately there has been more senisationalism
than scientiiic analysts. Mr. Chiozza Money divides the com-
munity into those who are rich, with an income of £700 or
more; those who are comfortable, with incomes ranging from
£160 to £700; and those in poverty, by reaeon of having leas
than £160 per year.
Distribution op Bhitish Incomks: 1908 •
Total nwnhv if pvtont
1,400,000
4,100,000
30.000,000
034
With man- tbuu £100 Init len
276
935
tettX
44.500,000
1844
tiloTG than one third of the entire income of the United
Kingdom is enjoyed by less than one thirtieth of its people.
Elsewhere Mr. Money puts the matter in a slightly different
form, using the probate returns: "Year by year, with the
regularity of the seasons, about four thousand persons die
leaving between them about £200,000,000 out of total estates
declared to be worth about £300,000,000." A measurably
similar concentration of wealth is to be found in other coun-
tries, in some apparently more, in some less than in Uie United
Kingdom. There can bo ver>' tittle doubt of the e&senttal
accuracy of the facts, but we have not yet succeeded in in-
terpreting the facts.
The designation of these different groups of recipients of
incomes is a matter of vital importance. One decides the
question in advance by classifying as "Poor" or Qti«Mion-tii(-
in "Poverty" aU who have less than £160. «^««»"
The poverty line drawn by Mr. Rowntree assumed a yearly
income of about £60, and it would seem possible for people
to live in something more than "poverty" on incomes rang-
ing between £100 and £160 annually. It would seem de-
508 INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGIAND
Btrable that discussions of each soml problems should be
donuDftted by some measure of uniformity in the use of such
strong words as "poverty" and its related phrasca. One
will, of course, recognize that the conception of the middle
class is vague, but for that reason aoy statistical studies should
be scrupulously careful in the selection of group denignatioos.
The problem is, however, more than a matter of minute
details of terminology. Investigators have not always been
clear in their minds as to the standards of comparisoa in
terms of which the results were to be judged. Profeaeor
Young has given especial attention to this aspect of the proi^
lem at one of the recent meetings of the American Economie
Association. He says:
WTiat ifl the prficise mcBning of the concentration of wealth? IBj
what ataniiardft shfiU we measure it? In gcuvml, I tliiiik, statisti-
cians have been accuatcmed to use "concentration of wealth" and
" inequality in the distribution of wealth " as loosely' interchan|E«able
temiB. Now any departure from perfect equality in the distribu-
tion of wealth means inef/ualit^f. But in conceniraiion to be dfr
fined »o broadly as this? Wealth mtglit be distributed unequally,
without there beini; any amaKsing or concentration of any relatively
large part of it in the hands of any one group or portion of society.
c«nc«otntioo Concentration means, then, a particulw kind of
inequality in distribution. And, moreover, while,
statistically speaking, any perceptible degree of central ixatiou must
be deemed concentration, yet the Bocial problem of the "concen-
tration of wealth" is very certainly the problem of its undue or
cxcesitive concentration. But we have no definite standard of what
constitutes justifiable, permissible, or normal concentration. And
90 the statistics are made to indicate merely the grnss departure
from a condition of absolute equality in distribution. One has to
be on one's guard, therefore, against imputing to them a signilicaDcc
which possibly they may not have.
For the most part, however, equality of distribution is interpreted
literally ; that is, it is tftken to mean absolute \iniformity in the di»-
tribution of incomo. Thus, when a statistidsn throws his estinmtee
into the familiar form tlmt assigns a certain (large) proportion
Hiilsidint of the aggregate income to a certain (amall) propor-
MmpuiHDi tion of tlie families, the comparison inevitably ini-
phed is with a state o£ things in which 50 per cent of the faniilica
get exactly 50 per cent of the a^rcgate income and 10 per cent of
*
INCOMES. WAGES, AND SOCIAL UNREST £00
the fiimiliea pet 10 per cent of the income. v\nd so wiUi Dr. Lorenz's
gniphic device for representinft the way in which such proporttooa
depart from the line of absolutely equal distribution. So, too, with
the index of oonoentration which Professor Corrado Gini has sug-
gested Bx a mibstitute for Parrto's, but which increases when P&re*
to'e decreases, and which becomes unity when one income receiver
gets just as much income as another. . . . All of these ways of ex-
pressing the dfigroc of inequality in the distribution of wealth use
as a standard or reference of comporieon on absolutely equal and
uniform diittribution.
Some or all of these mcasuTx» arc useful In comparing; tlie di»tri>
bution of wealth in different countries or at different periods. But
none of them is of much help in forming a judgmeot with reference
to the degree of undue or excessive concentration that may exist.
The degree of departure from absolute equality, however measured
or Btat^, must itself be referred, if not explicitly, tlicn in sooM
vague way, to a standard of normal or justifiable concentration.
A dead level of uniformity is neither practicable nor desimble as aa
ideal of distributive justice.
A concrete example may give point to this consideration. Sup-
pose that incomes in an imacinary society were distributed symme^
ricsJIy around the mod&I or most common income, in nomd db-
tbe form of a normal frequency distribution. This <t<bo*iM
might represent either one of two things: (1) a normal diBtribution
of ability and a perfect proportioning of income to ability: (2) a
random or chan«e distribution of incomes, under the influence of
complex but imtnaseed fon-vs. This second condition would b*
OODsistent with the existence of real equality of opportunity,
broadly understood, coupled with the presence of a myriad of small
drcumstanccs that might deflect one towards a lower or a lugbor
portion of the income range. Now suppose that the average fam>
ily income i» $1600 and that half the families get income^i tliat are
within $200 of this avenge. Under such conditions the richer
half of the families would get US per cent of the aggregate income
and the poorer half would get 42 per cent. Increew the dispersioB
of the dietributioD somewhat, so that half of the incomes is bfr*
tween $1000 and S2000. Then 70 per cent of the aggregate income
would go to the richer half of the population, and 30 per cent to the
poorer half. Increase the limits between which half of the incomes
fail to $800 and $2200, and the portion of the aggregate income a»-
eignod to the richer half of the population becomes 78 per cent,
leaving 22 per cent for the poorer half.
I do not think tlut Dr. King's recent estimates err in the diree-
If tion of underestimating the present inequality in the distribution
B of incomes in the United States. Ue assigns about 27 \}ei uax>.^cA.^>afe
INDUSTEUL HISTORY OP EXGIAND
aggregate incoina to tbc poorer half of the families and 73 per eent
to the richer half. But this is a ^ghtly smaller degree of conceo-
tration than would \x given by a normal fre{)uency distribution
witti half the iiicomca fallii^ botwovn $900 nod $2100. This sur-
gesta that no aiiiKle or ^neral statetnent of the deRree of concen-
tration can give, by itself, an adequate notion of the extent to which
the oxiating distribution has to be deemed unsatisfactory. And
instead of tabulating HtatiHtics in the minleading fonii of the pro-
porttoM of aggregate iucomo or property in the hands of stated
Propn proportions of the population, it is better to use a
">•***• simple frequency distribution, showing the relative
DumbeTV of income receivers or property owners in the different
inoCNne or property classes. Such frequency distribution oao be
adequately described and compared, one with another, and with
various ideal schemes of distribution by the use of the constants de-
vised by Pearson for measuring their spread, skewoesa, and curva-
ture. Such a handling of income statistics serves to focus Atten-
tion upon the really important tilings, which are the upper and
lower limits of the income scale and the manner in which income
receivers are distributed between these limits. The oTnount of con-
centration, the amount of departure from a condition of imiform
incomes, does not matter so much as does tJic particular form of
the income distribution underlying the concentration. An iden-
tical degree of concentratinn may result from a fairly good and a
very bad distribution of incomes.
The worst thing in the present ratuation is undoubtedly tbo ex-
treme skewness of the income frequency curve. The mode — the
most common magnitude — is wry dwe to the lower limit of the
distribution. Then the income curve descends rapidly aa the
higher income elapses arc brought under review, reaching a condi-
tion of extreme attenuation at incomes of on^ a few thousand
dollars, but stretching on for an absurdly great distanoe before the
maximum incomes are reached. The problem of
poverty and the problem of great fortunes are the
problems of the upper and lower limits of this income curve. But,
seen rightly, the problem of great fortunes is only a port of the
larger problem of the general skewness of the curve, the problem,
thatia,of the extremely email average ilifTcrences in the incomes of
persons in the lower part of the income range and the unduly rapid
ioerease of tliese average differenoee as the view is shifted to suo-
oessively higher income groups. Put concretely, that 10 per cent
of the famiUes in the country get poesibly three fifths or two thirds
of the aggregate income ceases to appear principally as a problem of
large fortunes, when it is realized that to include the richer 10 per
oent of the families, one has to go down to sooiewhere between the
Out ptoblem*
f INCOMES, WAGES, AND SOCIAL UNREST 611
liaOO and S1800 incooie leveb. The most serious Aspect of tlM
distribution of property and inoomes iu thui and in other countriea
IB not the presence of a larger or smaller degree of "oonc«ntratiou,"
but the Kcneral distortion of the whole income Bchonio, reflecting
as it undoubtedly does the presence of a high degree of inequality
H in the distribution of opportunity.*
The distribution of wealth in the more developed countriai
cannot be regarded as saliiifactory at the present time, but
from the historical point of view we are oonoerned Th« uiioricai
in large measure with the relative problem: Are «"*"""»
matters going from bad to worae? Is the direction of social
change favorable or unfavorable? ' To these questions there
is no certain answer. Our information about the distribu-
tion of wealth in the earlier period is too uncertain to admit
of confident comparisons. One is tempted to believe that
there were periods in which there was much less departure
£rom a normal frequency distribution than prevails at pres-
ent; much leas discrepancy, too, between the larger and the
enialler incomes. But one must go back to the period prior
to the Reformation to find such conditions. Naturally we
have no exact knowledge of such a remote period. How-
ever, we have no grounds for supposing that conditions have
become significantly worse in the United Kingdom during
the past century. The position of the magnate was prima-
lily dependent upon the holding of land at the beginning of
the Dinetoenth century, but the enclosure movement had re-
sulted in a concentration of landholding that was very un-
fortunate. The great industrial fortunes of the present age
arc spectacular, and yet one may well doubt if the general sit-
uation has become worse. As Professor Young says, the very
large fortimes are only part of the problem. Exact judgment
of the changes in the distribution of wealth is not attainable.
At the utmost, we are justified in doubting the accuracy of
the statements of those who would have us believe that the
new industrial ordei is responsible for all the difficult social
' Yoimi;, A. A.: "Do the Statiaties of the Conci-n (ration of Wealth in
United StatM nuuui nhnt Ihi^y am Minnnonly luuiimcd to maau?" Ai
Bcmtmie Sevicw, Supp., vit (March, 1917), li^-At,
tb»^
518 INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND ^M
problems of the present day. Wc can declare with some
Porition of th« confidence that these problems were not wholly
lower dust* crcatcd by the Industrial Revolution. It may
be that it would be wairanted to declare that on the whole
the lower classes had gained some Uttlc ground and found
themselves in a stronger economic position at the close of the
century than at its beginning. Of this one must be skep-
tical, and it is quite essential to recognize that progress in
material weU-bang has certainly been modest in its pn)por-
tions. It should be observed, however, that even a moderate
measure of improvement would be of great significance, for
any change that lifted a large class of the p<ipu!ation well
above the "poverty line" must be considered highly im-
portant even if the ultimate position of the artisan class
left much to be desired. XJnfortunatety, we can scarcoly
more than guess at these important questions.
Whatever may have been the actual facts, there can be
DO doubt but that a growing consciousness of inequality
prMHtidi*. in distribution has been the basis, though pcr-
•""*■* haps not the sole basis, of the social unrest.
The discontent has been most consciously felt by the skilled
workers that we have called the artisan cUss, and it has been
their belief that they have not shared proportionately in
the growth of wealth that has been a result of the changes
in the industrial system. From the larger social point of
view it is of little moment whether their conception of the
facts is sound or not; the influence of these belicfti upon the
activities of the artisan class is not dependent upon the de-
gree of accuracy of some of these allegations as to material
well-being and the relative inequality in the distribution of
wealth.
I
II. Chartism
The Chartist movement, like many radical movements,
is more significant as affording an indication of the tenden-
imporuBM •! cies of thou^t among the working classes than
ih«moT«Mnt 33 ^ Bubstantivc attempt to achieve certwn
aims. It ia intcretsting in its inception. The factors that
I
INCOMES, WAGES, AN*D SOCUL UNREST £18
gave H Buch general vogue as it managed to achieve are of
undoubted importance. But when the fonnal history of the
movement begins it seems to be a very trivial incident, de-
spite the genuine anxiety that was felt at the time by those
in authority. The deeper meanings of the episode, in short,
lie not in the externa) events of the history of the organised
agitation, but rather in the vaguely felt need of a genuinely
democratic constitution and the new sense of class consciou»-
ncss that emerged from the propaganda. The aims were so
far beyond any possible achievement that the movement
assumes on appearance of futility that might easily close
one's eyes to its real importance.
The intellectual background of Chartism was socialistic,
and, though many of the leaders of the later period were not
keenly conscious of the entire body of doctrine iM«UKtMi
that was associated with the agitation, the vio- bwitcwimi' .
lence of their propaganda doubtless contributed more largely
to the growth of proletarian class consciousness than the
sober intellectual tone characteristic of the group that gave
fonn to the program. The many-sidedness of the entire
movement and the indiscriminate rioting that occurred in
the later years tend also to obscure the genuine socialistic
Bignificance of the agitation. The disturbances can easily
be difimissed as if they were wholly comparable to tho spo>
radic disturbances that had occurred with lamentable per-
ustence throughout the preceding generation.
The Chartists always distinguished their movement from
Bocialism. Scarce any of them were themselves originatora
of socialistic ideas. They felt a certain measure of antago-
nism to the communistic type of socialism that was meet
prominent in public dwcussion. Nevertheless, tlie early
leaders were all deeply imbued with socialistic ideas and drew
the inspiration for the movement from them; they gave a
measure of concrete expression to the somewhat imperfectly
conceived criticism of the Classical Economists that found
its ultimate development in the writings of M&rx.
The London artisans whose efr<Ht8 were mainly responsi-
ble for the completion of the Chartist program cherished a
deep faiUi in the need of emaDcipating their class from all rcif*
id«tii of Um- &nce upon leaders drawn from the upper classes.
dosiMdan They did not favor revolution nor the typ«
of class war that is so common in Continental socialism.
There was much of the Englishman's deference to constitu-
tionalism, so much, in fact, that Chartism never became
whole-heartedly revolutionary. This inconsL^itency between
abstract doctrine and the temper of the stronger leaden
was a source of weakness in many respects. There was mora
disposition to talk about class struggle than wlUinguess to
resort to force.
The Chartist program was the work of a small group which
had been continuously ideutilicd with radical agitation from
the b^mnings of the movement that preceded the Reform
of 1832. Francis Place, William Lovett, Henry Hethering-
ton, John Cleave, and James Watson organized a num-
ber of working-men's societies, most of which were short-
lived: all were designed to serve some radical purpose.
The Reform Bill had tended to consoUdate opinion among
the artieans. It was felt that Uie bill was incomplete and ev»-
Saua ot cUm slve. Their hopes were disappointed, and there
■""■^ was more consciousness of the need of agitation.
The special importance of the opinions of the small group of
leaders mentioned lay in their belief that significant reforms
could be accomplished only under pressure of a working-class
movement led by working-men. There was a sense that
their interests had been betrayed by the middlo-class leaders
to whom they were accustomed to look.
The policy that thus emerged from the experience of these
years was expressed in the London Working-Men's Associa-
tion that was founded in the summer of 1836. It was de-
signed "to draw into one bond of unity the intelligent and
influential portion of the working classes in town and country.
To seek by every legal means to place all classes of society
in possession of equal political and social rights." In order
to accomplish these ends it was proposed "to
collect every kind of information pertaining to
the interests of the working^classea in particular and to society
I
INCOMES. WAGES, AND SOCIAL UNREST £18
tn general, cspeciaHy statif^tics regarding the wages of la-
bour, the habits and condition of the labourer, and all those
causes that mainly contribute to the present state of things:
to meet and communicate with each other for the purpose
of digesting the information acquired." The essentially
educational intent of the organizers is further indicated by
their demand for a cheap daily press for the working-man,
and better education for the rising generation. The roem-
beiship of the society was carefully selected with a view to
the exclusdoQ of middlcKilass members and genuine artisans
who did not clearly have some serious purpose. Despite these
ideals a few middle-class members were actually admitted,
but the orgatiization was in the main true to the ideal. This
London society was never large. The total of admissions to
membership from June, 1836, to 1839 was only two hundred
and seventy-nine, exclusive of thirty-five honorar)' members.
It was in fact as in intent a study club. Much of the work
was done in committees which reported to the general society.
Early in 1837 similar societies began to be formed in the
proN-inces, and what was at the outset a wholly spontaneous
tendencycameultimatelytobe encouraged by "missionaries"
Bent out from London.
About the same time the movement took a new turn, aa
a resxilt of a public meeting held at the Crown and Anchor
Ta\'cm. The meeting was worked upon by the ¥i>winti of
speeches imtil it was finally proposed that a *• **■'*■«
petition be sent to Parliament urging substantial reforms
of a democratic character. A petition was framed and sub-
mitted to the meeting. The preamble contains the essen-
tial reasoning of the Chartists and the prayer contains the
famous six points. The Charter of the later period was
Uterdy this petiti<3n worked over into the form of a bill ready
for presentation in Parliament. The reforms demanded
were: the establishment of equal one-member districts for a
House of Commons with a fixed number of members ; univer-
sal suffrage; annual Parliaments; voting by ballot; abohtion
of all property qualifications for membership in Parliament;
the payment of members, at £400 per year.
«I8 INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGL.1ND
From this time OD the Association drifted rapidly into
active radical agitation, concerned for the most part witb the
presentation of the petition to Parliament. The leaders be-
lieved that sufGcient agitation could be created in the country
to secure the adoption of these reforms after the maimer of
the Reform Bill of 1S32. In order to bring matters to a sharp
issue, it was felt desirable to be able to present to the country
the actual bill that was to be passed, and with this ia view a
committee of twelve was appointed to draft the measure.
Nothing was accomplished, and after some delay Lovett
-^ drafted the bill in consultation with Roebuck
and Francis Place. The final draft was dis-
cussed by the committee and published May 8, 1838, as tho
" People's Charter." The members of Parliament associated
with the group were indifferent, hu^ly no doubt because
they were fully conscious of the hopelessness of the project;
this was an obstacle, but it was not keenly felt by the lead-
ers, as they were looking forward to three years of agitation.
An organization of general scope was created toward the
close of 1838, and the I.rfindon Working-Men's Association
ceased to be of real moment. There is reason to believe that
the entire movement would have collapsed if new energy
had not been infused into it from an unexpected quarter.
The Poor-Law of 1834 had evoked the most violent protesta
Rortkara t^ irom all parts of the country. Agitation b^an
<^" in 1836, directed in part against the administra-
tion of the law and in part against the law itself. The leaders
of this movement were violent and unBcrupuIous agitators,
ready to adopt any doctrine or catchword that would fur-
ther inflame their audiences. The agricultural and manufae-
turing population of Lancashire and Yorkshire had already
been worked up to a dangerous piteh of excitement when ch«
Poot^Law agitators adopted Chartism. The enfranchise-
ment proposed by the Charter appealed to them originally
as a means of securing the repeal of the hat«d Poor-Law;
later the Poor-Law was lost sight of in the larger issue, but
it seems likely that even the more violent Hnitators would
have failed to arouse the working classes on the more abstract
INCOMES. WAGES. AND SOCIAL DNREST 617
iwnoe* of the Charter U their antaKDiUKm had not already
been carried far in the opposition of the Poor-Law.
The final organisation of the movement was the work of a
group of Birmingham radicals. From this source came the
idea of the monster petition and the organization of a con-
vention of working-men's delegates that was Th# ■■ p«opi«'i
called Bometimes the "People's Parliament." P^t*""""
The Birmingham group, however, were never ab!e to secure
tmdiqnited leadership. These later years of the movement
vere peculiarly complex because there was never any certaia
leadership. The more important members of the London)
group remained in touch with the oi^anization and exerted
some influence, though they were unable to force their view
of a purely constitutional movement upon the oi^anization
as a whole. The agitators from Lancashire and Yorkshin
were likewise unable to steal the organization entirely and'
convert it into a frankly revolutionary agitation. Tho
Birmingham radicals experienced similar difhculties in their
attempt to dominate.
The party of violence, however, was able to exert enough
influence to di.>jtract the endeavors of the constitutional group
and carried their incitement to \iolence far ThrMUoi
enough to terrorize the authorities and many '*<»'"^
members of the upper classes. It may be that there was
real danger, but the small hold of ChartUm outside verj- re-
Btricled areas makes it unlikely that the movement would
have become anything more than a local outbreak scarcely
more organized than a casual riot. There was drilling am<mg
some of the Chartists, but the attempts at organized vio-
lence actually made would seem to indicate that the working-
men were not capable ai making a revolution. The Govern-
ment of the day showed much discretion in dealing with the
threats of violence, in their general policy, and in the choice
of military officers in the disaffected areas. V^y possibiUtiee
were met with a minimum of armed conflict.
The threats of violence throughout the first hatf of 1839
alienated many of the constitutional party. The convention,
that was the fundamental organ of the movement, was greatly
518
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGIAND
VUhm
reduced by the constant withdrawal of members who were
terrified at the prospect of a revolutionary attempt with
itfl attendant personal danger. In July, 1839, the petition
was presented and lost by a vote of 235 to 46.
The constitutional phase of Chartism was prac-
tically dead already, no that the failure of the petition was
merely the formal closing oi an episode that had ceased to
be significant.
Chartism was an utter failure as an organized movement*
and its intellectual program had so little contact with the
working-men's political thinking in the following generation
that one might easily overlook the deeper aspects of the en-
tireepisode. There is a kind of prophetic foresight in the be-
lief of the London artiians that working-men's movements
must be led by working-men. Their criticism of the nuik
and file of their class was all too tnie, and the turn that events
have taken in the last ten or fifteen years shows how much is
involved in the two fundamental principles of the London
Chartists: leadership in the hands of members of the cl&sa,
and concentration of effort on political enfranchisement.
HI. The Unions and the Sociaubts
It is particularly difficult to sketch the history of the so
called "Labor Movement" because the organisation of the
working classes is not the outcome of any singje impulse, but
rather the result of a group of tendenciee that have been
closely related in many instances and in other cases sharply
opposed to each other. The lack of any central organic struc-
ture, like Parliament or a central administration, makes these
endeavors much more chaotic than the general political life
of a nation. A narrative history of these developments must,
therefore, be accepted with qualifications. The labor writers,
ft-ho are responsible for the bulk of material on the subject,
DisieuitiM for are very incompletely conscious of this liinita-
u«io(Uat (^j^jQ^ gjj(j jj, turning to the past to find materials,
whether i>03itive or negative, in support of their policies and
schemes for organization there are many instances of a pat-
ronizing or even contemptuous attitude toward other phases
p
INCOMES. WAGES. AND SOCIAL UNREST filO
of the movement fliat seem to be scarcely justified to the
, outsider.
P Although it is possible to distinguish elements of differencxi
in the policies and methods of organization at different periods
there are also many elements common to the entire period,
and many poUcies recur unchanged in general form, though
embodied in different organizations. The members of the
Indeppndent I^ljor Party and tlie newer tj-pes of Kocialists ,
arc especially guilty of patronizing their antecedents. One
might perhaps wisely assume that the multiplicity of things
to be accomplished wilt, for a long time, make it impossible
to achieve these ends by any single organization or any angle
Dolicy.
The years that followed the repeal of the Combination
Laws were douiinated by attempts to secure large results in
the immediate future. The characteristic aim was the for>
mationof a"tradcsunion";or, tousethecurrent Tk«tr«dM
terminology, an amalgamation of local trade ™*"'' •
unions in a single national society. The trades union of thia
early period, however, was not designed to be exclusively a
craft organization. In most instances it was intended to be
a comprehensive organization of all members of the working
class. The Grand National ConsoUdated Trades Union,
one of the most vigorous of these attempts, included agricul-
tural laborers and women. The local lodge usually included
members of one trade only, but provision was made for the
formation of miscellaneous lodges in the small places where
- the indi\'idual craft would not be Buffioientty large to or-
ganize independently.
The illusive hopes of large and immediate results seem to
be primarily a result of Owen's influence. He wa* instru-
mental in the organisation of the Grand National Consoli*
dated Trades Union, and his ideas were an im- _^^ -^ I
roense factor in much of the labor agitation of
the period. Owen's confidence in the case with which the
entire structure of society might be transformed is one of the '
extraordinary aspects of his personality. Social orgamza*
we
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OP ENGLAND
tion seemed to him to be a mechanical arrangement that
could be changed as easily as the system of discipline in a
factory. Human nature was no obstacle, for it was merely
the product of en\-ironmcnt, and, by appropriate but sinjple
educational mothodi;, all members of society could be made
eetimable and capable citizens. This sort of millcnnialistie
faith was easily transfused into his followers, and curiously
enough disappointment in particular instances did not at
once result in general disillusionment. This faith in a speedy
transformation of society dominated the decades of the thir-
ties and the forties.
Althou^ there had been attempts to organize national
associations of particular trada-i or groups of trades prior to
Tii«otMd 1834 the Grand National Consolidated Trades
muDiu) Union was the first entirely comprehensiTO
working-men's society. It was launched by Owen in Janu-
ary and February, 1834, at London. It was to consist of fe<t
crated lodges which retwned a large measure of independ-
ence, most especially in the control of their fimds. The
lodges were urged to provide sick, fimcral, and old-age
benefits for members, and there were projects for the em-
ployment of persons out on strike. The initiation rites and
oaths common at that period were widely adopted. So far ns
is known, these rites p03$e5.%d little specific importance, be-
ing wholly devoid of political bearings. The rites and par*
aphemalia were substantially similar to the Masonic rites;
quite innocent, though there was much unreasoning fear
among the upper classes. The case of the Dorsetshire la-
borers subsequently showed that the possibiUty of confus*
ing these organizations with secret societies of the t}*pe pro-
hibited by law was extremely imfortunate. In the attejnpt
to appreciate these events from the point of view of the la-
boreTi it is easy to lose sight of the grounds forapprehen-
don on the part of the governing classes, and, because lament-
able mistakes were made, we frequently fail to appreciate the
regard that was really shown for the principle of individual
liberty. The governments of the day were not really reac-
tionary, though there were many moments of panic. The
INCOMES, WAGES, AND SOCIAL UNREST 5«1
I
handling of the Chartists and the general attitude toward
the unions reveal much discretion in the use of the power
of the State.
The low wages of aRricultural labor had been the occasion
for violence in the southern counties in 1829 and 1830:
machine-breakings, Hck-bumings, and hunger no DoiMt.
riots. These were put down by the use of troops. •'>if«'«>'«^
The laborers organized, and wore alleged to be contributing
to a network of ofBhated local societies. There was an in-
crease in wages, directly or indirectly the outcome of this
organization. In the village of Tolpuddle, the farmers at
fifKt granted the increase that was general tliroughout the
county and then in 1833 reduced wages again. The laborers
decided to organize. Delegates came down from the Grand
Kfttional. The preparation of some of the "properties" for
the initiatory rites attracted the attention of the farmers.
Placards were issued warning the men that any joining the
union would be sentenced to seven years' transportation, and
ibortly after six of the leaders were arrested. The legal
grounds of the trial were certainly misunderstood by the
laboring class, but the indecent haste shon'n at c^'c^}' stagftj
of the proceedings creates a strong presumption against the
sincerity and discretion of the Government. The men were
arrested February 24 (1834); the trial waa held March 18
and was exceedingly brief; before the 30th the men had been
Bent to the bulks, and by the middle of the following month
the ship had sailed for Botany Bay. |
The episode was made the occasion of extended agitation
by the Grand National Consolidated Trades Union. Peti-
tions were presented and public meetings held.
A number of craft unions not then included in
the Grand National established temporary connections with
it in preparation for a great procession in London on the
occasion of presenting the petition to the Home Secretary.
A quartKr of a million of signaturcH had been oblainod, and
it is estimated that thirty thousand people took part in the
procession. The Govermnent refused to conmiute the sen-
tence. The ease resulted in the dropping of all oaths from
I>MlMla
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
the procedure of the unions and in the abandonment of the
greater part of the ritualistic forms then in use.
The protest against the con\iction of the Dorsetshire la-
borers marks the higiiest point in the influence of the Grand
National. Shortly after, the London Tailors organized and
FaiinrM <d prcclpitatcd a strike on the issue of shorter hours.
■"^'^ Twenty thousand men went out. The Grand
National endeavored to arrange for strike pay. Levies were
made on all the branches, but these produced discontent and
insufficient funds. The strike pay fell to four shillinRS a week,
and under these conditions it proved to be impossible to hold
the men. The employers' conditions were accepted by the
men individually as they returned to work. Other strikes in
liondon and elsewhere met with no better fate, and by July,
1S34, the Grand National began to break up. Its disap-
PMiineotoi* Pt^arancc was concealed in a measure by its
oruidifa- conversion in August, 1834, into the British
and Foreign Consolidated Association of Indus-
try, Humanity, and Knowledge. This society was designed
to establish a New Moral World by the reconciliation of all
clast^es. Needless to say it was Owen's work. Its activities
were confined to the organization of a few futile experi-
mental in cooperative production.
In 18-15 a National Association of the United Trades for
the Protection of Labor was formed. This society was
Other orstci- National in scope, but it had lost the great ex-
atioii* pectations of the earlier associations. It under-
took nothing more ambitious than some measure of assistanco
in trade-union struggles and the care of labor interests in the
House of Conamons. Provision was made for a strike fund,
but no considerable amount of money was collected. The
local societies were jealous of each other and of the central
committee; the employers adopted a policy that favored the
local units against the central body. The national organiza-
tion thus found itself deprived of support and of its more sig-
nificant functions. It was unable long to survive under such
circumstances. Its influence was gone by 1848, and after
ISdl it was wholly negligible. The passing of this association
r
I
mCOMBS. WAGES, AND SOCUL UNREST 5«8
marks the beginning of a period of disillusionment. The
men ga-ve up all hope of the magnificent achievements prom-
ised by On-en and his group. Attempts at comprehensive
national organitation were abandoned. The specifically
craft unions which had long existed maintained themselves,
but were occupied primarily with the interests of their own '
craft. The revolutionary spirit of the earlier period was sup-
I^antcd by a notably const itutionalistic spirit. The unions
proposed to act wholly within the law, thou^ they were
anxious to have the strike and its necessary incidents legal-
ized. The desire to transform society thua gave way to
the purely materialistic purposes of increasing wages and
reducing the hours of labor.
The leadership in this new phase of unioidsm fell to a group
of men in the enginooring trades. The craft unions which
had long exi.'^ted in these trades bad been losing no cnn
their purely local significance and acquiring ■"''*•
more national importance. Amalgamations adroitly planned
by Newton and Allan resulted in the absorption of a number
of associations of minor importance in their own xmion.
The appearance of association among equals was successfully
preserved, but the new organization took over the constitu-
tion, the scheme of benefits, the trade policy, and oven the
official staff of Newton and Allan's union, the Journeymen
Steam-Engine and Machine-Makers and Millwrights' So-
ciety. The result of thci-c labors, the Amalgamated Society
of Engineers, became the model of most of the national or-
ganizations among the crafts. Its constitution was copied
and its policies adopted without notable change.
This association differed in many respects from
the imions of the earlier period. It was a national society
with branches, instead of being a group of local societies or
lodges provided with a central committee. The power of
the central organization of the Engmeers was skillfully dis-
sembled, but it was complete. The local »ocieties were mere
branches: they elected otficers and went through the form of
managing their funds, but in reality everything was con-
trolled from London. The duties of officers were so mi.-
A turw modal
IL
INDtTSTRIAL HISTORY OF EXGLANB
Btemantaef
•ncuu
nutdy prescribed by the rules of the central organkation that
they were dt^rived of any vital power of initiation. The funds
actually belonged to the entire society, and, though held by
the branch, were administered according to general rules and
subject to a complex equalization which was designed to
distribute burdens and benefits imparti^y among all the
members.
A notable feature of the Amalgamated Society of Engineers
was the combination of the benefit society with the trade
union. At the outset it had been primarily a
benefit society; the functionn of the trade union
were acquired in the process of growth. Out-of-work pc^
titood on a par with other claims for benefits, and it gained
from this association. A single fund was collected for alt pur*
poeea, and, though it was later alleged that the actuarial
ba«s of the scheme was unsound, it was a great practical suc-
cess. The merits of the scheme were most ob%'ious from the
unionist point of view. The inducements of the general bene-
fit system made it easy to collect high weekly contributions.
The society was richer than any of the early unions, and the
fund being specifically a general fund the entire strength of
the society could be devoted to a local strike without any
possible question of propriety. The inadequacy of the strike
funds had been the weakness of the unions of the preceding
period. It bad proved to be impractical to raise an adequate
fund specifically for strikes; difficult Ukewise to administer
the fund when the balance of power lay with the local organi-
lations. The problem was solved for the Enf^eers by a
happy turn of historical accident. They grew into the kind
of society most adapted to the needs of the time. The great
vogue of the constitution of the society is probably due to
this aspect of the organization.
The society also introduced a new policy with reference to
admissions to membership. It was not proposed to admit all
applicant^ but only those who had served a r^pi-
lar apprenticeship. The knowledge of the craft
was treated as a vested interest which it was the duty of the
imion to protect. The union thus become committed Ut the
Craft pollcj
■ INCOMES, WAGES, AND SOCUL UNREST BUS
modern policy of antagonism toward the "illegal " worker, or,
as we would say, the scab. Its purpose became not merely
the advancemeot of wagts and shortening of hours, but like-
wise the closed shop.
In some of the early stiikes the Amalgamated Society
of En^cere was not Buecessful, but the strength of their
organization was clearly revealed by the London Builders
Btrikc lat« in 1858. The strike, or rather lock-out, wa« pre-
cipitated by a demand from the Joint Committee of the
Carpenters, Masons, and Bricklayers for a nine-hour day.
The re(]ue6t was followed by the dismissal of the man
who presented the memorial. The men employed by that
firm immediately struck, and the other employ- a tNt oi
crs with equal exi>edition closed their shops. "'•»«'*
T\vcnty-four thousand men were thrown out of work. Con-
tributions to a strike fund were sent in by union organisa*
tions in London and in the provinces. The sensation of
tfa«6e sub-scriptions was the grant by the Engineers of
£1000 for three successive weeks. The employers were com-
pelled to yield, though it was not possible to secure all
that the men had hoped. The incident contributed to in-
crease the influence of the Amalgamated Society and to
stimulate the copying of its constitution.
While the general tendencies of unionism at this period
were particularistic, means were found to secure some coor-
dination of effort among the various societies. Trade Coun-
cils had been formed at various emergencies in the past, and
during the forties and fifties permanent councils appeared
in some of the provincial town-s; Giatigow, Sheffield, Liver-
pool, and Edinburgh. A similar organization was established
in London in 1S61 by some of the less important unions. The
larger societies soon perceived the possibihties of this organi-
zation and by 1864 had secured control. The secretaries of
the hirger national organizations constituted the executive
committee. There was thus a body of men who possessed no
direct constitutional authority to act as representatives of
the general mass of union members, though they were in
fact representative of large bodies of unionists and enjoyed
KM
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
all the opportunities for accomplishing many things of mo-
PuiiiainicwT nient to unionists in general. Parliamentaiy
■****"* activity was not a purpose of their organizationa,
but no group of Englishmen can entirely ignore Parliament.
As there was no other means by which union interests could
be brought before Parliament the Executive Committee of
the London Trades Council stepped into the breach.
The most important occasion for Parliamentary action
was brought up by the adverse decision in the case of the
boiler-makera in 1867. Some of the society's funds had been
appropriated by one of the officials. The society sued to
recover its money, when, to the astonishment of the trad^
union world, the court announced that the union was an il-
legal society incapable of bringing suit in court. It had been
known that there were difficulties involved in the status of
the unions, but it bad been presumed that the technical diffi-
culty had been overcome by treating their funds as the prop-
erty of a friendly society. It seemed as if the decision might
well be fatal to the unions. The group dominating the Trades
Council, called by Webb the "Junta," determined to summon
Buch aid as could be secured from sj-mpathetic members of the
middle class, notably certain barristers and solicitors. This
legal assistance was of the utmost moment in meeting the
Tiitcruuin crisis. There had been some extremely un-
**^ fortunate outbreaks of violence at Sheffield, and
as the entire legal basis of unionism had been overthrown
by the decision of 1867 the Govpjnment proposed to make
an inquiry through a Royal Commission. The Junta with
the aid of middle-class sympathizers organized a successful
defcn.se before the Royal Commission, presenting material
in their testimony which did much to change the attitude
(rf the public toward the unions.
The minority led by Frederic Harrison presented a report
indicating the legal reforms that would be necessary to place
the unions in a satisfactory 8ituatit)n. The
Government at first paid no heed, but astute
conduct in Parliament forced the matter on its attention,
and after couiienting to a formal recognition of the Unionist
I«Cftl t«<am
mOOMES, WAGES. AND SOCIAL UNREST SS7
Bill they brought in a temporary bill late in 1869. Perma-
nent legislation waa presented in 1870-71. The clauses con-
cerning the legal status of the unions represented the inge-
nuity of Harrison and remained the law until the Taff Vale
case. Harrison desired to express in law the situation that
had existed prior to 1867, in whicli tlie unions enjoyed the
legal protection of certain aspects of the law of corporations
and societies without being Hubject to any of the responsi-
bilities. It waa undoubtedly a matter of grave importance
to the unions, and Harrison's solution waa adroit . It involved
anomalies, however, which must needs have come to the fore
at some time. To the outidder it ia difficult to find any class
prejudice directly involved in the Taff Vale case. The
uniona had enjoyed a peculiarly favorable situation for a gen-
eration without challenge, but their legal statu.'' contained
an essential weakiiCKS: thoy were in fact corporate bodies
with responahilities. The old position was secured only by a
tour deforce of legal ingenuity, which was hardly capable of
bearing the test of a judicial hearing. But even if the success
were short-lived, unionism and the Labor movement in gen-
eral owe much to the efforts of the group who defended the
cause in what was undoubtedly a crisis of the first- magni-
tude. The skill shown in meeting the Parliamentary difii-
culties bears comparison with the efforts of Place and hia
friends at the time of the repeal of the Combination Laws,
though one usually hears much less of this second crisis. Tbo
patronizing attitude of many recent Labor leaders toward
this period in the history of unionism seems unjustifiable
and ungraceful.
The predominance of the Amalgamated Society of Engi-
neers and ita group of sister societies did not survive the gen-
eration of the fiiat leaders. The inSuencc of chusMii
the Junta began to decline even within the life- '•«'««''»
time of some of its original members. There were many de-
ments involved in the change of leadership in the Labor move-
ment. To the outsider, it seems as if the general move-
ment becomes more complex, more manifold of purpose and
organization. There is no longer any group of leaders that
INDUSTRUL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
itca
1
can be treated as adequately representing the aspirations of
the workinf; class. Two a^ects of the recent tendencies
seem relatively new: there is impatience with the constitu-
tionalist policy of the Junta and the Fabians and a demand
for direct action; there is also a reaction from the specificaily
craft tendency of the preceding period and more emphasis
placed upon the organization of the unskilled. These two
tendencies are at times closely associated, as the advocatea
of direct action desire to oi^;anize the unskilled in otxler to pr
mote a "general strike" against the existing frameworlE
Bociety.
But it is hardly possible to declare that these tendencies
are essentially characteristic of the present Labor movement.
Working-men have secured election to the House
of Commons with mcreaaing frequency: at
first, under sufiferance of the Liberal Party, latterly by reason
of their own strength. The LalK)r group secured fifty mem-
bers in 1906 and were sufficiently important under the special^
circumstances to force the Liberals to adopt important^!
items of the Labor program. The independence of the Lalxv
members is somewhat qualified in many cases; there is stilly
Bome disposition of the Liberals to use Labor members as idf
decoy for working-men's votes, but a portion of the Kn)up
is intellectually and politically independent. At present it it
possible for one to say that the growth of working-class ii
fluence in Parliament is one of the signs of the times.
Osborne case, though apparently a blow directed
Labor, has reKuIt('d in provision for the paj-ment of memt
so that the working-man is not obliged to rely upon his unioi
for support. If provision is made for the payment of election'
expenses the position of the Labor group will be still further
assured. All these tendencies are a natural outgrowth of the
constitutionalist policy, and it is very difficult to estimate the
relative importance of the radical tendencies and the con-i
eervative features of the recent Labor movement.
Recent years have thus revealed every shade of policy ii
the Labor movement, fnim tlie most radical socialism look-'
ing toward a violent revolution to the most patient const
1
INCOMES, WAGES, AND SOCIAL UNREST 599
tutionalism. The radicals are filled with an intense enthu-
siasm and conviction; they are stirred by the conBciousncsa
of tiiinking new thou^ts: and yet one wonders if their aspira-
tions are so widely different fn>m those of the Owenite period.
Time alone can decide the relative merits of the policies of
these ri%-al groups of leadej?*, and until then an adequate his-
tory of these years can hardly be written. At present we are
confronted with an unrivaled activity in propaganda.
The more radical propaganda is based on the discontent
created by the rise in prices. The working-men are inclined
to believe that these changes have been deliber^ skmaai* ot
ate]y made by the capitalists in order to recover turnat di^
in profits the burdens imposed in the new taxa- *°''*"" 1
tion. They feel that they have been duped by the insurance
jlegislation : ^ven a present with a string tied to it. The an-
tagonism founded on these beliefs was the basis for the great
strikes that have threatened the seciirity of the community
during the past ten years. The leaders are quite right in main-
tMniiig that those demoustraticma slioiild not be regard(Ki as
isolated events. They represent a deliberate attack on the
existing organization of society, fostered by the belief that
the means exist for the payment of wages Bu£5cient to assure
a decent lining to all manual workers. This temper seems to
have maintained itself throughout the War, and, if it survives,
England will be uncomfortably near a social revolution.
The liocialisls depeud in part upon the appeal to current
hardships, but their doctrines are of course <^ more general
appeal. They hope to capture the entire union- n* fgri^BW
ist organization, because they alone have a con- "»*»«*•»•
sistent general policy. They can appeal to the working-man
during prosperity, as well as in hard times, and it is possible
that they will become the leaders of the working cbss as a
whole. The great body of unionists, however, are eminently
conservative in temper, and sociaUstic propaganda has not as
yet made a deep impression upon them. The middle-clasa
socialism of the Fabians has failed to develop any real
strength among working-men, and it is not yet clear that the
more revolutionary socialists will succeed. ■
L-
SELECTED REFERENCES
FOB CRITICAL STUDY AND FOR
CLASS READING
These nferences have been restricted t4> the most Important book* u
extended bibliographies are easily accessible. It has sftcnuxl best to n-
fltrict the lists to the literature that is indispensable to critical study. In
moet LnstaDces the refereuces given were med in preparation of the various
chapters, but no attempt has been made to include all books and docu-
ments that have been used.
It is hoped that the titles classified U collateral reading will urist in the
preparation of reading assienmiL^nts for classes of undergraduates. Can
has been taken to avoid any osaignmeuta that are not well within tiie scope
of the average does.
Bibliograpkies.
GrosR, CliaiU^. The Smtro/a artd LUeratvre of Hn^iuA Hittpry. From
Ow tartif^t Times to aboid 1/,S5. London, 1915.
Hali, Hiil>ert. -4 Seteti B^ilwgraphy jar ihe Study, Sourcet, and Liter-
ature of Englith Mediavai Economic Uirtory. London, 1915.
Woodbury, C. J. H. ^1 BibUograpkn <4 Ok Cotton Manufacture. Wat
tham,l»09.
Ad ttnuauaUr tanful apMlal UbUoiiaplff .
Goural Workt ef a CrtHad CharaeUr.
Ashley, W. J. An IntrodiuHon to Englith Eoonamic HitUny md Theory.
The Mid^ Ago, London, 1S94. 3 vols.
A dlacrimbuktlDg atuily of aclMt toplM that bat long occupied an inportaat
plaon.
Cunmngbom, W. The Ormeth <^ English Induttry and Commme.
Vol. I, The Early and MiddU Agtt, Vol u, Modem Tima. 5tfa
Edition. Cambridge, 1910-12.
Tlin TocM comddarablc itudy of tJie tracnl Monomie hiatory of En^&iid.
A monutn<int of iMtlrriit rnwajch and at dixriniltinlinR JuclEinn&l biuod upon
method* of pnanntalioD tliat ountniiie Xhn Utv^r xicioloKiciii prulilfun* of
•conoinle hUtMy. Likely to be lea> meful to a ttudont tiuui worka whotn
amnCMiMDt U topical, though liivaJiutUii (or rofenmca.
Lipvon, G. fnfroduetMMi to the Ecotumic Hietory of EngUmd. VoL t,
The Middle Aga. LoiuloD. 1915.
A «ampnlieoBiPc survey of the important topf ea. lUpiMitiita eantul Miwly
cf Ilia materials mccatly modo arailable by tha pubLicalioD of racordi aod
iMtlatudUa.
Rogers, J. E. T. Six Centtcrtea of Work and Waga. New York, 18S4.
Thn mo»t coDildnrablD worlt o( a writer who brought to the »ul>]«ct oooe^
tlona of tnpthod which w«ni not lulopi^d liy other KnglUh ichalu*. TbmaM
many iniutnrtions. howevor, in his gt-Doral poiuta of vl«w> and on tnany natten
penaiaiDg apcdially to agriculturo hi* work i« of cubMaiUial value.
ii SELECTED REFERENCES
Rogers, J. E. T. The Induabial and Commerdai Bistory of Etif/laai.
New York, I8fl2.
A Kriea of unirtnitj' loeturMt.
The Ecimomie ItUerpreitdion of Hutory. London, 1888.
Briffer Qenerai Works and TcxU.
Asbley, W. J. The Economic Or^/aimatiim of KngUmd. I..(Midon, 1914.
Bfy, G. BiiUnrt indwAridle el icotuimi/jws de t'AngUUm, depuis lei
ongintejuxqu'&nosjovfs. Paris, IdOO.
Qjeyney, E, P. An !nlTodua\on to the Induttnai and Sociai Hittory qf
England. N«w York, 1901.
Cunninfchain, W., and McArthur, Ellen A. Outiinte of BngtiA Indta*
bial Hiatory. New York, 1»»5.
GibUos, H. de B. Indvttry m England: HUtoruxU OutUnet. London,
1896.
Meredith, H. 0. ChdHnea of the Bamomic Hiatory ofBtigUaui. LtnidoD.
1906.
Price,L.L. AShortHitloryofEngluhCommeTeeandlndHtblf. Loodoou
1900.
Wftmcr, O. T. Lcmdmarkt in BngliA Indttttrvd Hitbay. London,
1S99.
CHAPTER I
Crilitat THscusmone.
BQcher, K. DU Entwickelung der VolkswirUchafl. 3d edition, conxider>
ablyeaJargcd. IttOO. Tmnslatiou by Wickctt, from the third edition,
Induitrud EvduUon.
Tbc chunins that oacur is the varioiu oJitiaDi wiubt ia the addition of
new imlerial. Tho dodriao □( the book hiui not bMlij rovJMil deviiilc tfaa trriti-
cucroa of hiBtorlant. but tbem ii a brl<i( dc(«n*e in tha prvfaco of the !■•* editioa.
Man, K. Dot Kapilal. Ist edition, 1S67. 4th edition. Uunburg,
1890-94. Translation. Capital, a Critkal Analynt. London, 1887.
Thnre U no dclibcnts siltempt to lusKnt a uphenu) ol indiutruJ itMfa. bat
BUab nuitt^rinl ia iinponanl In coniicctliN villi llin wiclalliilic inlnrprntiilioa of
tho tniowtioa to tha faoUiry ■jitom. EapaouUy «liapt«n xui, UT, and xr.
(Eniitiih cdltioo.}
Meyer, Edouard. KldneSchriflcntvrGteehichUtheone. . . . Bb]Ic,I9I0,
A coUcttioD of *9my» wntl«ti tit varioua timtv, Mv«ml of thna devoted to
erillduD ol BOcbvr's KoncmtitAtiom.
Rodbertua, J. K. Zur G(«chichtc der Rdtniachea TribuUteuero eat
AuRustua. Jahrbvch fur National Otkonomit imd <Sl«tuM. 1866,
p. 339.
CharactoriHe the iiiduntri&l orgnnutUon of the KDcieot world as "houa*-
tiold induitry ' ' and thus rumUhM tho etrntial Map towuili th* seumliMtioaa
populsHi(>d by ItQch^T.
Salvioli, G. Le CapiUdisme dona le Monde Antifve. Paris, 1006.
CriliciaiD ol BUchw with coiutniotivii bttfpmUtloa.
SELECTED REFERENCES
IB
SombBtt, W. Ikr Modeme KapOoHmait, Leiptig, 1902. 3 vob.
Thn nuwt eoondmble ao^alMa luWmwUlfcui of IndiMUial hbloty. Tbo
(fmplarMpaeUof th««ehasuiiugG»ted««dmllM In BQ<iier'* Khema, but in
ki entirety the BtMnliMlion i* much niurp elaborato uid complci.
naher, A. P. Gcnentliiatioiui in Economic History. Anurican Journal
efSodohm- Vol. xsli, pp. 474-91.
WcbcT, M. "Agnirgrschichte," in Conrad's HaiviwOrUrhKh der Stoat*-
wiaienwhafkn.
An interprotatlTc cainr of cubatiuitial leoKth. hroadnr In *oap« tlwii it« title
'mDld wttutt. Than i» aiurh criticuun of Bftrlirr. uid bj) attempt Kt ooo*
M(witii« tntotpnttttioti of ttic life of tlic kodcDt worid.
CcUaUrai Rea^nq,
Bacher, op. eU. Ch&ptera m ftnd nr.
^ Gukell, P. The MaaMfaetming Popvlaium of Bngtmi. 1833. Id-
t boductioD. (Ibid., Artitaiu aiui ikackinerj/, 1836. Cbq>tcr i.)
(RAFTER n
CriHeal DUaumma.
Breasted, J. H. Anamt Rteonb <4 Egvpt. Vol n. Sections 240-95,
66.V750.
Enn&D, A. JBgyplm und jEgyptiivhr-t Lchm im AUfrtiiuin. 188.5-87.
Translation. Life in Andtni Egjfpt. 2 vols,, London, ISM,
StiU UHfitl. thoUKb Bcriou^- out ol due, becaUM it rtmnuu the onlj- oom-
pntHRiltvii dnaehption of K>dal iHe in EcpL
FnittMtie.'B. L'lnAutriedanttaOriee Ancimne. Bnixellra, 1900-01.
The tnoet exteoflivo of ■ennU eoad ■cudlee of Qrorjnn twluHlry.
Hjirper, R. P. The Code of Hamnttirabi. KiTtg of Babylon about SS50
B.C. Ctucago, 1901.
King, L. W. LetUn and IntcripHmt of Hammurabi. Vol. m. Eng-
lish Translations. London, 1900.
lau. R. J. Old &a&iilmt<m Tempte Rcconi*. New Tort:, 1906. Co<
lumbia Uni^'ereity Oriental Scries. Vol. lu.
Mnycr, Edouard. dttchieMe det AUeHkwM. Vol. i, Porla 1 and 2, 2d
edition, 8tuU«:art, I907M)8. Vol. t, Pnrt 1, 3d «tition,8tutlgBrt, 19ia
Newberry, P. E. The Lift of RekKmara. London. 1900.
A new edilioa of Ihl* imjiOTtMit toUef.
Nicole,J. LelMireduPriftt.out'KdiiderBmptnmr Lion U Sage stir U$
CorporoHons de Ctmataatinople. Geneve. 1901.
Viny, Ph. Lc Ton^Mm d« Rekhmara. PrtfH de Thtbea tous la XVIII'
Dgnaatie. Min. de I'ine. Pub. Mtoioircs dv lit Miwion Arch^
olOf^ue fVanQuse au Caire. Vol. v. Fasc. 1. Paris, 18iS9.
Walt«inK, J. P. Stude BiUoriqvt tur lea Corporaiiona Pnfation^iet
eha lea Romain*, Lourain, 189&-1900. 4 voU.
Wilckcn, D. GrieaehicAe Ottraht. Leipsig, 1899.
Ad »f«»inl of the EcTpUut inalllotiou ot the later period faued upon na-
terub lumiahnl by 0(««k poUhvdl.
IV
SELECTED REFERENCES
Cotiattral Rtadiny.
Tboro is little rrading upon the ipeoifioaUr «eaoomlo pnbkBis of
thcBe early cultures that u entirely suitablo for a gBoeral dMi, INnw
tioitt of ErniiLn mi(;ht hi-, used, and Maspero, G., TheiSlnigyfe^f tk«
Natwu, cont&ins an exccUent ehapUr on Tbobes at the heigbi of
iU poiit-M-. The moflt riiadabio 'account of the McMpotuniao oul-
turvs k furnished by Johns, C. U. W. BabgloniaaimdABBgrian Z.aui^
ConlracU and Utters. New York, 190(.
CHAPTER m
Critical Ditcutaions.
Depping, G. B. lUtUmmU nir Ua ArU d M&lm de Parti. Pwb,
1837. Collection dee Document!) Infditd.
Ths eartier of the cditiaiti* of the Book of Iha Cult*.
Eberat«dt, R. Magistfrium und FratemiUu. Ldpdg, 1897.
A MatamcDt of the citrumc teudtd theory of tb* ottgia of Uis cnJI cilda.
^— Drr Ureprung dtt ZvnflweMns unci die AUtcrtn Ilaitdwerktrver-
banden dea MilteUdlers. IJ^ipllix, 1915.
A dovnlopmcut of the work above uieaticoed.
FoKniez. G. SlvdM tur I'Indiutrie au Xlll* H XIV* miiSu. PuigL
1S77.
Th* nio«t <l«lul«l ntudy of early mft ornnlmtlon at Pari*.
Flach, J. Lea Originet de VAndenne France. Vol. n, Pari*, 1803.
PrtniArily noiuilitutionBl. tbousfa tho trtslmcDt o( Uio oK|ja o( the towua
oonUuna much oiatvrinl that !> of [iiii<oTtaiid (o Konomic biotory.
O&raud, U. Parii amu Philippe U Bel. Parii, 1837. CoUectioD dea
Documents loMits.
CoQlalna the tu-roU of 1392 and the Dhttlonaiy of J«u d* GaiUnde.
Lespinaase, R. de, ot Bonnardot, F. Lea ^fiH(T» el Corporations dc
ParierXIlI'siide. Paris, 1879. (Histoiro Monumeotole de Ia Ville
de Paris.)
A later edition of the Book ot lh« CiaftiL
LevaanuT, E. lliaUnre da Clares Qumim et de VlnduMrie en Pranee
• o»a>dl7S9. Paris, 1900-01. 2 vols.
A work thai l»«n oompariiBn with CunninKhatn'* wort on Enttlanil in lU
diHriiiiinalinii iKhfiliiriililp aiid eomprphniutiv* ktiowlni^. k-i-l ri'Inlirnly cdoiv
rtadablo b«auwi the method of pnMnlBtiOB ia hm nv<n)7 UuuUflie.
Martin-Saint'Lton, £. UitUnn dee Corporatbmt itt Aiit tl Jf Amts.
nuit, 1909.
A atoadard work sow available In a new edjtfaa.
CoUateral RraMnQ.
There is do rcndinf aTaUable In Engliiih upon these problema of
French history, CaodttioQB of cwontially similiu- cbaraetcr are pr»-
sented by the history of industry in the Low Countrim now adequately
told by Pir«[me, 11. Beli^n Democracvt i^* ev'tr i^tiory. (Mauche**
SELECTED BEFEBENCES v^
tm, 1915.) Chapben i, it, and de an especially recomni«ndrd. Thia
exccUeot book came into mr hands after th« praeeot chapter liad
been v>Titt«u, and no attempt baa been made toadd specific rtfcnacQ^i
to the important confinnations of fact nod method. It is partico- i
larly interesting to note the criticisms of UUchcr at pp. 15 aiKl S2-53.
A discuEsion of craft specJalixation from a diSvrciit point of view
&om that adopted is the text may bo toimd Id BQcher, op. dL,
chapter Tin. ,
CHAPTER IV I
CrUcal Ducmnoiu.
The controversy over the population of En^and prior to the Black
I>i!ath appean tn the foUowing articles in the FcTtnighliji Hm«a. .
Scebohm, F. "The Black Death and iU Place in History." (VoL 1
n, pp. 149, and 268.) Rogera, J. E. T. "EDgland before and iJter th«
(Blark Death." (Vol. ill, 191.) Seebohm K. "The Population of
Engliuid bc-forc the Black Death." (Vol.iv,89.) Tbeviem-aadvance*]
by Swbohm iiave been espoused by several writcn without material '
ohaoKe in the arKumvnt« unod or ttir fiKurcE suggntsd. Itogers subee-
quently used his materials in the lecture that appears in the volumQ
The tnduttrial and Commereiol Hulury of England. HLf views have not
been favorably rrcciv«l, and it it therefore with Bomo diffidence that
Bimilar estimates of population have beien advanced. The coocluaioni
to be <lrawu from tlin Subnidy Rolls, however, seem to confinn this
hitherto unpopular \-i*w. Detailed rcfwenccs to the Subsidy Rolls
may be f(iun<l in the bibliographies of Grose and Hall The relation of |
these tax-Usts to the probtUe population is beit incUuated by the study: \
Powdl, E. A St#»iA Hundred in (A« rear ISSS. Cambridge, I9ia
CniKl>^°< C. "The Population of Old London." BlatJcwoafi £<{»»•
bu-gh Magatme. Vol. H9, p. 477.
A uniqua uid important stuily.
Estimated Population of Enxland and Wales, 1570-1750. Mr. Rick-
man. Cm*ua of Population of Ortd Brilaw. IMl. Introductory
remarks to the thtve volumes, p. 43.
TbeM eatiinatas dilTfr itliitlitly (ram aome otbcra but Ihny «on>t!Rit« lli*
tnoal ooniidctvble body ot mal^rinl MVkilablo. and u titay aro bMvd on tbc nm«
mnthiHix thr<>uuliout it WM drrninl win to UM th«in to tfae oxoluaioa of otlMC
maUriiil ia tlii> pnipMiadMi ot the doiiily mmp* publubed.
Hull C. H. The WnHnga <tf iStr B^^toim Petty. Cambridge, 1890,
2Tcd8.
The tntroduolion (pp. Inzlv It.) ooatalni the next dctallod itudy <d the
growth cd tbc n^utracioii ar«a in and about Li^ndoa. J
Inman, A. H. Dometday and Feudal Slaiitlics. Lon<)on, 1900. '
Levasseur, £. La Pop^dation franfotie. Paris, 1SS9-92. 3 vols.
Th« nuMt eouidanitjle of •ereml otudiaa of tho poputatioo o( FraiuMa ■
CoUaterat Reading. i
The matcnal on this subject does not seem suitable to the needs of
a class. ,
t1 selected references
chapter v
Crituat Diamatunu.
Oru, N. S. B. TJu EvoltdMn of th* BngUth Com MarktL Harvanl
Uaiveraity Press, Cambridge, 1915.
Ad ImpoitAitt oooIribucioB to tho oarly hiatnry of marketins whfdi s>vm to
MBmtially new ftccoual of tha d«e*y of the nuooi.
Gray, H. L. EnglUk Field SgitemM. Hturvard University Pnss, Cmd-
' bridge. 1915.
A punct&kins And dgDJAeaat nudy of the »Rriculturftl amiaEvmenU of tba
oariy kod tator modiavtl p«riod, (uppUullng In nuuiy w&ya cho oldor liteniora
on tiie autijvot.
Hone, N. J. Tht Manor and Matwrial Record*. London, 1906.
AdweriptioooJ thenaemJffatureaof majioriaiUfodcaiKiiad tobatfw tram
Kaulmann, A. BeiMge tttr Kentttniss der Fetdgejwin*eKafl in {iiberien.
Archiv fiir SocUle Gwaipibung und Stutietik. Vol. ix, p. 108.
The sPDnrti concliiij&n* of T»w»reht>e>LiTietl on for mipy ytan In wipjiootion
with tbo puhlkatian of matariab ooUootod in Siboiia. la muiy iMtwet* ■
plODOor oorlc.
LewJDBki, J&n de St. Tite Or^ of Proper^ and Hit Pormiion of li*
ViBage Community. I/jculon, 1913.
A *tu<ly bnai^il on the t^itwrun iiiaU<riiLl*. pmcenltOE no nev facta tliDuA tlu
dovclopmont rtcoKniKd by Knufmano Bed Simkhoviich i» made port of m
ttovni tht'OiTofthaorisin of property, ll would wmoi tlwttU*|MMf«] Ibid*
aiut be retarded m a hypotheda, wjckovU*) by tha aUwUn onridMoe, hut
iModing tuitliw eonfinnatiim balora bcoqiImim mi ft aaoanl priadpla d U>-
toiiMl MdologT'
Maitl&Dd, F. W. Domeaday Book and Btyond. Cunbridge, 1897.
A ertlte*) ttudy <if fundamontol IniportaDoo.
MeitKOD, A. Sieddung uttd Agrarwtaen der Wett- vnd OUgermanwn.
Bcflin, 1895.
A Toliuainoui sad ouvful itudy h«Md npon the thirary thai t)i« mod* of
■MtlMMnt ia MWQtiiUy >Mo<iiBl«<l with "nw." The work b tli* «ulnla«r
tfon ol BUeb Qwinan wiltlaE. u>d it Kcmod that it« ccaoluriona wm« tit^
dalfbU uatU now Ught WM throwu upon thu lubjocl l>y tho StbwiaD matattela.
Socbohm, Frcdmck. The BnQUsk Viila(fe Commvmti/. London, ISS3.
I^UK a BUndard work, now nipplaoted Id rDsoy details by noeat works,
MporSally Gniy'«.
Simkhovitch, V. 0. DU Feid^cmtintchafl tn Aiustcmd. Jonft, 1S98.
A oomprahaiudvo irtudy of the ItuwJan viUaKo oommuaity. both in Runte
and ia Siberia. MurIi atl^iitloa (■ darotad to the rrlllcliiro of tha iitrainnboQ
of tfao village oommunity by Kxdaliatio writam. Th« inititutioD ii rrtcinlcd aa
an Mwiiirlilhr priinitin anaDScmoat that lia* alitady pMMd tlw term of its
iwlwit maftilnaw in Uuwia.
~— "H«y and B'uUay." Political Science QuarUrts, 1913, vol.
xxvra. pp. 385-403.
Ad application of some of the priaciplea derirtd trom tlie Sibttriap uaterid
lo oooditiont In madivral Europe.
SELECTED REFERENCES vn
TtDogradofr, P. EngUth Secitty in Die Elamth CetUuq/. Oxford. 1908.
A Hholarty udiI vivid <leaenptian «f BacUad at the time of tb« DomMdar
Burvoy.
■ The OrorElh of tlus MoTwr. Oxford, 1911.
Ons of the moit impottaot mai fOlMidod (tudiw oJ thi* problom.
CoUaltral Reading.
LipsoD, op. cU., chikptcrB ii and in.
Hone, N. J., op, cU.
Lewinsky, op. eil.
Suolchovitch, "H»y and Histary."
CIIAPTER VI
CrUiet^ DitcMtioM.
Ballard, A. The Domaday Boroughs, 1904.
Day, C. HUUny of Commertx. New York, 19H.
Gron, Chnrln*. Srlect Oawti on the Law iierchaiU. Sckbni Society.
London, 1908. Introduction.
Hull, H. A Hittory of the Cusloma Raenue in England. London, 1885.
2 vols.
HuvcUn, P. ^tvde HUlorique sur le Droit des Marthtt el de» Foim.
Pmi«, 1S97.
Jenckes, A. L. The Or^in, (A« Organuatwn, and tiW Loeaiion of l&e
.Sloplet of Engiand. Pliikdeliihu, 190S.
Kitcbin, G. W. A ChofUf of Edtnard III confirming and mSarging the
Prwiieget of St. Oiks' Fair, WiwAeiter. London, 1886.
Lingvlbach, W. E. The Merchant Adva^tarere ofBngUmd. Thar Lawt
and Ordinance*. Philadelphia, 1902.
Maitlund, F. W. Tovmship md Borough, Cambridge, 1898.
Mitchell, W. Early llittory of the Law \ferthant. Cambridge, 1904.
BohmoUer, G. The Mercantiie System. Npw York, 1896. A chapter
from ttie ntudy, Sludien ufcer die WirUchafliiclie PiJUik Friednth* del
Groteen, 18S4. Reprinted tepurately in Umris»e taut Uniermchimgen.
The ■pwrili'^ puipoM ti the cawy vv« promineiMe to Pniwian iUuatrsliTa
matcTuI which i* •uiucwLatuntortuiwti' ; itwuioteDdM] tobeaMalMnantofa
, Hum] I f rtii ill I iilnnnnintfif lliiimiiiliiiintiili tmc ttmihiinmimwiiil t«
tJcmdy niJiit«(] U> th« hbitiiry of Pnixnn ttinn (o the hittoty uf olbpr portiona
«f Eunipr, Tliia eaaay iotroduoed tho idea of the "towv economy" iuUt
economic history- The puUiraiion of oKQiially liio miae Idcaa by Btleher
Id ItlQS wa* the orcnidon of no liltio fntling.
SchulU, F. Die Hanse und England von Bdouard III fru auf Hanrieh
Vltl'tZeU. Berlin. 1911.
%baa, W. Die Hanee und En^and. Le^zig, 190S.
CoUaUral Reading.
Lipson, op. cil., chapters t, ti, vu.
MitcbcJl, op. dt.
vm
SELECTED REFERENCES
CHAPTER Vn
Critical Diacumiont.
BmitAno, L. On M« ffutory and DtedopmatI efOQdt and Me Origin qf
TVndt Uniont. LoodoD, lS7a
D^ilte tfas EvnenJixatioDB critioind in Um lot, BrantMio'* woric w MB
OMhiL
Qnm, Cbartce. The Gild MerchanL Oxford, 1890. 2 vab.
A ruDduncnlAl (tudjr. duMtod atkliut crrMln tlivorim of COD tiMOtol wrltwa.
Pninnrily aiiiectciiri trilh OOMtttutiooal piublvou. The <UMiUMCiti td lb» mo-
OOiiiic i«lUiM of the GQd Merebuit Mtnu t« bo nuber mar* liUnl Ifasa Um
sou* and doeumoats at tho Mcond rolum« would wwraoL
Herbert, W. The Hiatory of the Tvxine Great Lifen/ Compamta ef Loit-
don. London, 1834. 2 vols.
HibbCTt,F.A. luflumeeaadDaiehpmentofEtmlithGildt. Cunbddgiv
1891.
Kramer, 8. ETtgliA Cnfl Gilds and the Oovemmml. New York, 1908.
Unwin, G. The Gwidt and Companies of London. Lotidoii, ItKB.
The be«t oomprehco^ve ahidy of the gildi of London. b«Md on oiiub doc«-
manUiy notarial tfaAt baa nconUy baoocw anitebU is tha an^vea and la
print.
-^ Industrial Organitalion in the Sixteaith and Satnteenlh Cenltoiet,
Oxford, 1904.
Ad itnportaat study In tho hiitory o( tbo later phnaca of Uio naft omaali^
UonA. The eonriutuoiui nn^ni U> Vx? otMciinxl by tbi' future to dlatiMfvldi auf-
fidoatly betwmn tbo oonalitutioaal and iodusljial aapecta ol craft aotlvitlaa.
CoUotera/ Reading.
Lipson, op. eit., ohapter Tm.
BrenUuio, op. cit.
Unwin, OuUda and Companus of London.
CHAPTER VIU
Critical Discmsioiu,
Aflhley, W. J. Early Hietory of the Bnnlith WaoQm Indiufry, Pub-
licationn of the American Economic Association, voL n, no. 4. 1887.
(/nlrodttcCion to the Eanumic llittory of England, II, chapter UI.)
Bitchoff , J. A Comprthentive Ui^ory of the Woollen and Wonttd Mana»
factvree. London, 1812.
JamcH,J. Hialory of the Worked Manufadvre in EngUmd. London, 1867.
Lohmann, F. IHr Rtaatlichr. Regrluiig der mffitehen WoUindwtrie votn
XV^bUturnXVlU^Jakrhund^l. 1800.
Unwin, G. "Woollen and Worsted Industriea of Suffolk." Vwioria
CouiUy Hiitory of Svjfolh, vol. ii, pp. 264 fl.
Tha moat imtwrtant ol maoy local itudloa.
CoOolcra! Reading.
LipBon, op. cU., chapter IX.
AalJey, op. dl.
SalUinann, L. F. EngUthlnduilriet in the Middle Age». Loudon, IB13.
Chapter rm.
p
SELECTED REFERENCES
CHAPTER DC J
Bradley, II. EnfflUK Enclo»ur«a. Now York, 1918. '
An importuDt study of the c«r1y bqcIowiv movemcDt, attributini tha
duuioM In nahculCuroJ mothodi to Mil ubfttiatlon tmtbcr than to the *u[>>
pOMcUy Ug^ price of wool. Tb« Kudy «e«m* to b« not inconHiaUnt witli th« i
ricw imm— 11 in tba text, but it imuld p«rlupB eipluti note oainpletcly tho
circulQvtAniwi Irutdtitic to '^^* TwtHhNFhtnrnt of tlM UiiUaeuI Syitcn of tnt^f^
•nttii* ftDil [««tun>.
The views in the text were baatd laiiGljr apcm mnwHom from Gntjr'*
Btudlca o( thF Md ij-itAmi: tho field vrttoM wmt dwrned to b* cftpalil* of
mom Imiirovi^mniil of AitrioutlunJ tadinlqu* than Wh BrkdUy msuium- It
*iu IntiinOwl, liow<-v«r. to tirprMuiit Ihti trannilion im k rhscgo t»i>STil« o mora
refined Cochniquo; bo gcnrtrml a fortDUlAtioa that it hai not Boomed noocBHr7 to
liilraducD any clmiiitM Iti a text that wu complolo b«(ora thli (neollaat piaoa of
woifc euu« ioto my haada.
Colling, J- Land Reform. Occupying Otimerthip, Pcaaant PToprUtary,
and Rural Bdvcation. London, 1908.
A atatement o( the problem by tho chief advocate of amall holding!. I
EvOTGhed, H. AUotmcDta. National Rwiere, vol. x, p. 2S. I
DcBcriptiOD of earir ci[>ejiiiiont>. \
FoTtescuo. E. Poor Uca'a Giirdcos. The NineUeniA Century, 1S8S,{
t voL xxm, p. 3M. j
Qsy, E. F. Inc1oetir« in England in the Sixteenth Century. Quor^
Urly Jovrnal oj Economia, 1903. Vol. mi, pp. r)76-97.
and Lcodham, I. 8. Tho Inquisitions of I )cjK'pu)ation in 1517
and the "Domosday of Encloeurra." TransacXione of tJm Rt/yal Hi*-
lorieal Soeieiy, 1900, roL xcr, pp. 231-303.
A dlsMualOD of tho ciitjcd problomi in tho liit<«i>rt(«(IoB of Um bqnirita c4
th« «Kty iizt««ntl) coDtury. chiclly with nJntvatx to the proportion of coclo-
mm devoted respeotively to anblo anJ psatura.
Qonner, E. C. K. Common Land and Eneloettre. London, 1912. I
A praiaewDrthy attempt to write a eoiaprebcDaiTo hlatoiy of liM endoMi*
movomeDC; oDceuuily unaToD in quality.
EUsbach, W. A HiOary of the EngHA AgrievUvrai Laborer. London,
J908.
A cai«tul and dlaedialDaltox atudr- '
Jebb, Ij. The Smail Uoldinoe q/ England. A Siavey (^ varioue exiititig
gyttant. London, 1907.
The Working of the SmaU Hotding$ Ad. London, 1907.
Johaaon, A. H. The Ditappearmtt if the Snu^ LandatBiur. ]90d.
flbowa by una of the Ismt-tu ■■— iiiuiili th«t tho yconuui tumat diMp>
p«and maily a oeotury earlier than wM cutraotly auppoaod.
Leadham, J. S. The Domesday of Eneioiwee. 1517-18. loUoduft-
lion. Royal Hirtorical Society. 1897.
Lery, H. Large and Small Holdings.
RtoUiero, R. E. Bngtieh Farming Patl and PrttnL Londoo, 1918.
SELECTED REFEREXCES
Slater, 0. Tlu Engluk Peatanlry and the Bnctotvrt of Ote CommM
Fielda. London, 10O7.
A itudy of tbo eaolonm movoneDt. primarily in Uw riitilxiiilti
In Buoy wmys Uke mo«t nddoUv of th« aoeounia now kvallmfaln.
CoUateral Raidit^.
GoriDOT, E. C. K., op. cff,
Slater, G., op. of.
CoilinfBs, 3.,op.cU.
J«bb, L^ both books.
CHAPTKR X
Cniiad DiacutHon*.
Afihley, W. J. Economic Organitationcif England. Loodoo, 1914,
tcr vu.
A rvl*l)vply coaMi-rative soooudI. whtoh embodio* muiy ol tbe •UnwDl* ti '
intofprctaliDn oritioimd in the lait.
JevooB, W. S. The Coal Quaaion. 1st edition, London, 1885. 2nd
edition, London, 1906. Cbnptcn ix, x, xi.
Thn nntiro chiuiK* la intnrcmMit in term* u( Um Teluinxf tha production at
eu&l. ItwDuIJ necTa that tbis cxtramo emphiuis upon k «ngl*«nii«*o( pow«t
leadi to SMfBenttion. Evoa to-day ir« ur Id poattLoo to foi«M« k doreloi*-
n*ot o( OtW MurcM of pownr wliirli nifty well iav>lidBt« owtmt of tbo ooi^
oluBiuna of Uiu Blimulaliiitt work.
Maotoux, P. LaRAiolutionlnduflnttleauXVlII'tiicle. Paris, 1900.
The moat cureful tdiidy of tbe b«glanlac« of the Industrial Bovoluttoa.
Alraady long out of print,
Wood, Sir H. T. Induatnai England tn the Middle </ the Eighteenth
Cenlun/. London, 1910.
J
CHAPTER XI
Anon. (pKcnniGd to have been edited by Defoe). The Britith Mercltant.
London, 1720. 1 voIb.
A polemic ioBinred by (he diacuMion of tlie oottimerdal treaty wUfa Aaaoa
projoctod In 17 13.
Barbon, Nicholas. A Ditcourae on Trade. 1690. 1606.
Rcpsintcd by BoUaador, Eeononuc ReprinU.
Bnicn, J. Annalt of the Honorable East India Company. Lond<
1810. 3 vols.
A eollMtion of documnnU that la ImporUnt tn conoaotion with tbe davdoT>>
inaDt of the tndo in cottotu.
Child, ^ Joeia. A New Ditcouree on Trade. 1681.
IVAvcnunt, Cliarleo. Essay on the East Indian Trade. PohHeiU
CovtirKTcial Wrilingn of D'AvenatU. I^iOiulon, 1771. VoL 1, p. 6S.
Hewiu», W, A. S. English Trade and Pinanc^, chl^y ID tbe sevrat«eatb
veatMiy. Loiyloo, 1$92. Chapter v. Three Cotameroi*! Tn-ritiMi
4
d0T>>
mtOk ~
SELECTED REFERBNCES si
Hunter, W. W. A BiMory of BrUM litdia. Loaioa. 1809-1900i.
2 vols.
The Bioat omplete BOoouQt ol tbe (srijr hiaUnr of tb« «c(iip«ay.
Mun, Thonuks. Engiand'a Treasure by her Forraiffn Trade, LoodoD,
imi. Reprint: EcoDDrmcClasnia, New York, 1892.
Smith, J. Chronicon Riutiaan-Commerciak, or Memoin of WooL
LondoB, 1747. 2 vols.
Wright, Arnold. Early KngliA AdiiaUurtri in the Eatl. London, 1917.
NnmtUv* <>r Mrty Usvd in i)im Kut lr«<liDg uii to the EatU tiidi* C^mpaof
and ctupUn fton the cnriy butovy of the Mmpsny.
CoMtnt Readme-
Hunter, op. cU., vol. n, chuptw vm.,
Hu«-ine, op, cU., thapUst v.
CHAPTER XII
Criiieal DiKuuiofU.
Baioea, Edirard, Jr. Bitton/ of the Cotton Utmt^adurt. LondoD, 1835.
Still Qie nost tarapnheiialve aocouat.
GhBpm&n, 8. J. The Cotton Indtutry and Trade. London, 1906.
RaocDt hUtory nad do*criplloD tJ the prcacnt condition of th» iedtutiy.
The LancoMre Cotton Induttry. Manchester, 1904.
A eUBful hialoo' ot the ri*c of the l&ctor? tiyttcm In (h« Cmtualiy lAd of Ifa*
dertloptMait of OTKBiiiiutioa •nioot tlie wurkrn.
EllieoD, Tbomao. The Cotton Trade of Great Britain. London, 1680.
A study of the tnulv by a meinbvr ol s [atuoiu Livtrpool Gnn. The moat
eomploCo study ol the Izade (tatistioB.
French, G. J. lAfe and TiiMX ofSamwl Croavpton. Manchcst«r, I860.
ContBltia tiao axi t\>\iriiiix on Ihv <lnvi>lo[iiiit>tit lA *piRiiiii|[ by ioll«rv. docii*
BMnU ooimoclad with the d»ims of Paol to the inveotioa.
GuMt, Rich&rd. Btttory of the Cotton Manvfaetvre, irilA a diiprooal qf
the Sir Richard Arkwright' a cloir hit Intiei^iom. 1823.
Ad iiDportaiit ne^r enntoroporary nocount. provided iHtb lllaittalloa* tt thv
Mity macUnea whjoh km tb« bul* rf noM ol the modsra euU.
Maraden, R. Cotton Spinning, itt dattiopment, prindfiM, and pmdict^l
London, 18S6.
Tha loMit technie*! o< the tnstbn on qjfnaiiiB.
Schultxe-Gaevemitz, G. von. Der GroadMtriA: Bin WirlhachaftUchtrj
und locialer PorUcttriO: Etne Stvdie attf den* (7«&tX« der
dufrie. 1S92. Translation: The CoUon Trade in Bngland and M '
IM$ ConHnenL ManeheBt«r, 1S95.
An siivllent itudy (o the noe of the Uotory <x)teD> kkI certain up««l» of
iiit«mnliuDiU (Oiiiiwlitlon.
Tacgnrt, W. 8. Cotton iSpJnnin;. London, 1002. 8 vob.
A more eUborato ItmUm thma thtt oi Mafedgn, dolgnod lor t«clialad:
■ttidcdils.
KU
SELECTED REFERENCE
Wood, G. H. The Hialory of Wages in tJte CoUvn Trade during the lad
Huntked Yean, LoodoD, 1910.
CoUakral Reading,
Bainea, op. cil.
Morsdea, op, eU.
CHAPTER Xm
Crilibal DUcuMumt.
Beck, L. Dif Gachichtf. des Ei*ena in technitther und hiifiir][wirltiVM '
Ikher Beriehung. UrauDschwng, 1SS4-1903. S vola.
The mcwt importuDC sinnJo work on ihp iron industry, oombiiiliic tbtt tad^
nlcol >nd hUtorlcitt poinM of view with unuaunl lucMM.
Bessemer, Sir B. An Aulotnographj/. Loodon, 1906.
A ni«>rd that oonTvya the pcnootUty of tba nan m ml) m th« «xt«nd
•vodU of bii MrMr m ko invoiitor. AlMorUniily iiiterMtiiic.
Gmithiun, J. Iron Ship^ntiiding. London, 1898.
Jeans, W. T. The Crtaiora of the Age of St«cl. New York, 1884.
Blocniiliioal eaMys on Btawmw, Slemoca, Wtutworth, Brovo. Tboiii«<
and Bncliu.
Muirhead, J. P. The Origin and Progrets of ihe Mechanical ImenHoru qf
Jamet WaU. London, ISM. 3 vols.
Tbc inuat oampl«t« ot tho blograpUai of W*tt.
Percy, J. MelaUurgy: The Art of Extracting MeiaU from AdrOret, and
<^ Adapting Uum to VarioutPurj>ottt<(fMamifaeturs, InnandSUtL
London, 1864.
A toohiiicAl tn«tJ*o tlut Inoludo mon hUtorlo*! mstwlal tliAii any oUmt
tiMtiw in Bnglinli.
ScrivenoT, H. A Comprchami-c JIutUmj of the Iron Tnde ttroiipAouJ the
wiTtd,fTomUie eaTlieetrecordatothepreaent. LoDdaD,1811. Revisod.
and enlarged, 1854. ■
Not very ii»*(ul.
Smiles, S. /nduitnoi Biography: Inn Workers «nd Toot^nalccrs. Loo-
don, IS63. 4
Importajit. '
Lives (4 BovUcm oM WeOt, from the onsinal Sobo MSS. Lon-
don. 1865. J
ThuiTlon, R. H. A Uitlorg of the Orowth of the Sleam Engine, Ncnn
York, 1902. 1
Aa aocouot written by an CD^Doer (or tba gtaml public. ^
Trevitbick, Francis. lAfe of Richard TrtvUhick. LoDdoo,lS72. 2 vols.
Collaieral Reading. J
Bencmer, op. at, ^^fl
Jeans, op. eU, ^^H
Smilee, Industrial fiiogrophy. ^^M
V n^ii..^ n.
I
SELECTED REFERENCES xiii
CIUPTER XIV
CrOioADiaemioM.
CiOnila, A. de. BUtoin d rt^ime dt to ffrande indiulnd m France aitx
XVIf €t XVlll' niOa. Paris, 1898.
Dunlop, Jocelyn, ud Demniu), R. D. EngtUh Apprmtuxtkip and
Child Labour. N«v York. 1012.
Qaakell, P. The Uamfaduring Populaiion of England. I^ondon, 1833.
HMntnond, J. L., aod HunmoDd, Barbara. 7'he Tovm Laborer, hoor-
doD, 1917.
A •ofdolociaftl ttudj- that u itnmaly !nSiioiic«d by cImi ooDadounoM. Tba
podtion of Iho uidocTBcy i» brciuKhc out with t«ichRlatI umlnKy. but on* ia
tonipiwl toquMtioD tlwjuatiivuf iIii'lni[i[icatioDBof the teil. laltRlricti}' tnac
that tho ariatocrmajr eonacoousl}- used it« [lodliea (o exploit uid oppnoa tba
Idwot dojaeaT One must lomcniber thftt muoh Impctui tomnii nifomi cama
from IhU ariitocnitic ctaia.
Martin, G. La Orande Induttrit en Franu tout la Rigne de Low XV.
Paris, 1901.
Tha moat eouMaTabla of tli« itudica of tho early tcDileiioiea loiriknl the ta^
torr aratcai ia FVan«s>
Marx, K. Capitai. A CrUieal Aruttytu of Capitalitt Produetion,
T^ftosIatAdfrotn the third Gcmutn edition, Kloore, S., and Aveling, E.
Loodon. 1887.
Partuimmtary Paptrt.
Two ReparU of the Comtrtittee on PHUiont from Uie Handloom Wemtre
in the Linen, CoUon, and Silk Manufacture. 4 parta. 1834-35.
Report of the Roffol Commiinon and the Aieietant Vomminionen on tlte
Condition of the Handloom Weaoeri. 7 parts. 1839-41.
Report of the Committee on the WooUm Manufaettire ef England, the Loim
rtiating to it, and the Acte regidali7\g the conduct cf UatUn and Wvrl^
men. 180&.
Bousiers, P. do. 7"^ Labour Qvettion m Great Britain. London, 1896.
A atudy of cooditioiui amons the workjos clows BKordins to like toethoda
of Le Play: obanrratioti* of ipaclfic famtlio oad thcJi hiitotka.
Ure, A. The PhUaaophg of Mam^aavrtt. London, 1835.
DmcriptioD et the faitiodiictian of maoUiMty by one who ii •rbolly domiaatad
by iho industrial and iDMhamcal adraolavM.
CoUaterat Reading,
Dunlop, op. dt.
Gaakell, op. at.
HonunoDd, op. aL
De BouBicra, op. dU
CHAPTEB XV
Criticai Diaausion*.
Clapbdm,J.H. " The Spitslfields Acts. 1773-1823." BcowmieJow
iw4, VOL 2S, pp. ia»-71.
ELECTED REFEHENi
BiMNn, G. The Confiida of Capiiai and Labour, id&aricaBfi and «••
lumicaUg cotmdered. Loodoo, 1S78.
Sch]ot:€ser, H. H., &nd Clark, W. 8. The Le^al Ponium of Trade Vitum$.
LoDdoD, 1913.
Wallas, G. lAfe of Francia Place, I771-IS54. London, 1898.
Webb, Sidney and Beatrice. Hiitorj/ of Trades Uitionima. London, ISM,
Tho fint chapter only ii nt motnoiit in MmnivtioD with (ho prmani diMMriea
and il i* diiKciiit to nvoi'I fwOiuit tlukt tbi* introductory chapter ia ooj^dmb^
below the ataiidiird of tho rcet of thu book. The intorpTtuIioa of Iba wHf
luaUity of tTnionioQ wxiiiui to bo domiiuitcd by utuiupUoEU u to tfaa paHcy
ol Parliam<ii;c itiat an ool bonis out by the facta.
C<^iotertd Reading.
WftUas, op. eU.
CHAPTER XVI
CrUieal DueuKiom. ""
Aschrott, P. F. TKe English Poor Law System, Past and Pretml. Lon-
don, 1902.
Tho boat brief itwount of the eiisting iirliiiiiii»trstire fnunework. Tho dia-
euaaiOD it. however, aomowhiit out of dntp, u the Itcpott of l^Uti hu exertad
anotAblc influence upon opinion thoutsh it haa not ronilMd iii muah IvEJdktlMl.
Bosanquot, H. The Poor Law Report of 1909. Locdon, 1609.
Disouaaioa favomble to tbe Majority Itoport.
BoiWHtead, W. The Lam RdaUn^i to Factories and Workshop*. London,
1902.
The text of tlu Act of 1901 aeootnpanlod by Lntroduetioa and 1as«l oob^
mentary.
Brood, W. A. Hmlih and Ihe State. London. 1917.
Carter, J. W. Factory ^"^ Wi^hhop Aci». Blackburn, 1907.
Dewmnup, E. The Housing Problem in England; its tlatiitict, Uyiatationg
and policy. Manchester, lfi07.
The beet tuneni! nUiteraeut.
IVankul, L. K., and Dawson, M. M. WoTkingmen'$ tnmnmce inBuropt,
New York, 1910,
Hod<l<!r, E. Lift and Work of the Seventh Earl of Shaftesburp. London,
1891-92.
A biosrnphy writtvii witli thp iwiiiitjiuc<> of HIiAtlecbury'a jirivsta pkpOM,
tbough the work wu not undcnakiia nc tho rwiueal od tho family.
Hutcbins, B. L., and Uarrieon, A. A Ilittory of FaUory Le^iAitum.
Ixindon, 1903.
Lovatt-P"ni«rr, J. A. The NatioruU /n*nronec AH; 191 1. Ixindon, 1812.
Mackay. Thomas, i'ufctic Relief of the Poor. London, IflOl.
Six Iccturca of uouauaJ votue-
NichoUfl, Sir O., and Mockay, T. A Uittory of the Ettgtish Poor Law,
London, 1S98.
The moat completo bbtorio*! work on tbo aubjoet.
SELECTED REFERENCES
»
FMereon, A. Aen*» lite Bridget, or Hfe by llu Sotilh London Rntmdt.
Loodon, 1911.
An BiOBilest dwoription of alum Dondilioiu by • Uloricd tad ■ympallMlia
obMrvor.
Rcdlich, J. Local Govemmei^l in England, London, 1003. 2 »oIii.
Report from the Poor Law Commixsionert on on Ivqvir)/ into iht Soiufory
Conditionof the Labouring fopuhtion of Ortal Britain. London, 1M2.
RichnrdKon, B. W. The Health of Nationt. A RmVw of the Werln ^
Bdwin Chadwick, with a biographicsl DiMcrtatioD. LoodoD, 18S7.
2 vole.
Rowntree. B. S. Poverty, a Study of a COv- London, 1901.
Simon, Sir John. English Sanilari; IntlihOions. London, 1800.
The Land. The Report of the Land Enquiry CommiUee. VoL i, Rural,
Vol. II. Urban. London, 1913.
Webb, Mrs. Sidney. The Cate for the FaOary AiU, London, 1902.
Webb, Sidney and Beatrice. Englith Poor Law PoUey. LondoD, 1910.
DlMuasIoa of the problvni from (ha pclat ol vlow ol tho Miooiity Report.
The Preeentvm (4 DetlHtdion, London, 1912.
CoOaleTal Beading.
Dcwsnup, op. eit.
Hutchins and liamson, op. ot.
Kmon, op. dt.
Mackar>T. PiMie RduJ of the Poor.
Patenon, op. cU.
Rowntrce, op. dL
Webb, Prtoention of Dt$tUution.
CHAPTER XVn
CriHeal Diteuuiont.
Brunei, I. The Lift of Itambard Kingdon Brwuil. London, 1870.
Grinlii^C. H. Hietory of the Great Sorthem Rathea^. London, 1808.
jM0reeon, J. C. Life of RaUrl Sttphmton. London, 1866.
Pratt, E. A. A HisUfryaflnUmd Trantport and Commitnication inEnj^
land. London, 1912.
Smiles, S. Lifr of George Stephtnaen. London, 1858.
Steel, W. L. The Hieti/ry </ the London and Norih-WaUm Raibpgg. '
London, 1914.
Thunton, R. H. A Hietorg of the Growth of the Steam Engine. New
Vork. 1002.
Williama, P. S. The Midland BaUvag, iU Rue and Ha Progrett. Lon-
don, 1S76.
CoUaiend Reading.
Pratt, op. ol.. chaptew 18, 19, 2a
Tbnaton, op. cii., chapter 4.
iD RE
CHAPTER XVin
Critical DiscuuioHt.
Ackwortb, W. M. The Raikmya and the Traden. A Sktkk ef thd Bai^
was B<ii^ QwMion. London, 1891.
Batterwortb,S. K. TheBaUwayandCan^TraMeAdo/iS88. London.
Cohn, Q. Unlernichutigeniiberdiaeitglitclte EiscnbahnpoUtik. Leipd|i
1874-«3. 2 vols.
OrieraoD, J. RailtDay RaUt, Englith and Foreign. London, 1886.
Pratt, E, A. Railwa'js and their Raiea. London, 1905,
SteTeos, E. C. Enyliah Railways. Their DaieiopmerU and their R^
lotion to Ihe State. London, 191&.
CoRaUrol Reading,
Pnitt, op. cil.
Bteveos, op, dt.
CHAPTER XK
Critical Ditaasiona.
Brown, W, J. Thf, Preiientimi and Control of MofWpotiet. London, 1914.
Dbrunivn of lli» (lotiey ut »vut*Uoa by • Uwyot with eipericooe in ooolnl
of oombiaaUons m Auatniiuiia. CoosemtiTs.
Carter, O. R. Tbt Tendmcy toward Indndrial Combination. Loodon,
1913.
Hirst, F. W. Monopolize, CartOU and TniHt. London, 1905.
A brief Msay frooi the coiiMrvaUv* point of view.
Hobeon, J. A. EvoliOion of Modem CapHalitm, London, 1910,
Moderate •odttluiio view. Cbapl«ra v, vn, viii, n. xtii.
Levy, U. Monopoly and Comp^ilien, a Slvdj/ in English Industrial Com^
binalion. LoodOD, 1911.
Mucrorty, H. W. The Tntut Movement in British Indtiaby. Loodoo, 1907,
A dMoriptlv* Inatmeot not notably lafluonood by tb* Tfem of Ifat Mtthoih_
■ Trusts and the State. London, 1901.
PrupBe&iidiat litentun) of the FftbUn Sodoty, but modant* u») i
Colkiteral Rcadijtg.
Brown, op. cU.
Levy, trp. cil.
Mocroety, Trmt MovcmenL
CHAPTER XX
Critiad Discussions.
Arnold Forat«r, H. 0. English Socialism of Today. LoDdoD, 1908.
Seei* tutuni (or nuUcot oglutioa unlj In elm l^artiimhlprrf llmUm iiilleir
Bowlcy, A. L. Wages in the United Kingdom in the XIXIA Century.
Cambrid^, 1900.
A Mbolwly atudy by % luaoui fl»tl*tldMi.
t
SELECTED REFERENCES
xni
'BuJtfm,}. John Burnt. Glw«ow, 1911.
A bloipitphical ikptph br » hoclile uritie. An aomiiint of the "trauon" of
Bum*. Afford* thovforo much iiuishc iolo the hitlerncM ol (eellns IniU* lb*
nitilu n[ orgaaii^d bibor.
Col«, 0. D. H. The W(rrld of Labor. LondoD, 1913.
The beat dnclo Miidy of recent condltiiuu Id the Beld ol labor, ^\m author
hu % pdiey. nodenta iu clumetw. but H doe* not intnxl* itaelf ioto the nu-
rative.
Garomage, R. G. Hutory of the CItartut Movawnt. IS37~54. New-
caatls, 1S94.
Giffen, Sir R. Eamomic Inqmria and Studiet. Vol. I, p. 3S2; ProgrcM
of t)io ^VorkiIlg CkBBW in tho Last Half-Century (1883).
Henderson, F. Ths labovr Unred. Whet it %$, and wAof iX portmdi.
London, uo date.
Rovcll, M&rk. The Ckarti^ Moummt. ManohesUr, 1018.
Rumphrey, A. W. A Hittory oj Lalour Jteprfenlation. London, 1^12.
A studjr that ti Baeminttly accunto In miiny minuU d«t«ilii of e*ndid«olai und
MatMtl. bul nol Ttiry ill'iminalioB la iti tnattmeat of the relatluo of the 1m-
bout iiMmben to the Ubnnl whip.
Money, L. O. ChioxML Ricliee and Povaty. l&tO. London, 1911.
A itudy of dutflbutioD by a radioal. somewhat Eenutianal ia tone, but hy
DO meuu uoKiiiiid ia iU caJculalloci.
Rooe, F. H. The Coming Force. Manchester, 1909.
Stamp, J. C. British Inamcs and Property. Loiidon, 1918.
A study of the Inoonie Tax retuni* with ivtcninon to their am by tcoDomtita.
dadeoed to OJKiit persooB without oflirifti ktiowli^lBe ihruudi the many pitfalla
of ihn rvcunui. Mltuke* of Levi nod Mallcx:k ore iiot<d. 8omo eoattmodv*
conduiioDS are rm^hed but th(<y ar« rouchod in a (orq that mubn thMn wa-
avaJiaUo tor tho purposa of the prsMiit chapter.
Wateoii,A. A Gnat LiJ>our Leodtr: tke Uf« of Tfumoi Burt. Ixmdon,
1W&
A id(nIS«aiit btocKPhr of one of the Ent Labour H.P.'a.
Wilflou, J. Memoriet of a Labottr Lgadtr, Liondon, 1910.
CoUateral Reading.
Cole, op. dL
Uovcll, op. cU.
n
i ■?
I J
■;
■■:■
1
INDEX
A«old«nla to indiutrr. rUk of. placed by
inaurKDce Mpaa ooaiumon, U3.
AequiUiao. EnoU to wiua DMirchsnti
(rom. l&I.
Admiiiiiitndiv* nUiUlim. Wobb'a •liga-
tion of. 370.
AdmiolitTBtivo ayDtqiD, iaek of • mo-
AsetsgKtiun, of trM tad at aolnt w«rk-
•n. S7.
AcricuttuT*. bacU d prosperity Id tita
Miildlo Asm. 202: copiulutio fKrm-
IdB. 23T: the niiillMiil i<y«t«m. 220: no
MmI ■yitctn. 22S; irliilioa t« iadu>-
Oy, 2()H. '2Sli toUtive iiDpotta.iioe of.
to industry, iOO-01; nlw ol funis.
UT: ycomftu tanniac 227.
MtfUi, Fnrach Und policy in, 111.
Ali«n«, ohitrten u> ». oraflsniBii, 177;
xnuiU of pHvilvgM to morotuuit &.,
ISl.
Alien mnroh&Dta, royal privilett* grknUd
to. 146.
AUotroiint, defiuiUua of. 240.
All0t<D0nt«, BCOompliBhniMit ol ki^d-
tioD on. 243: sct4 ol 1882 and liiH7.
243: oompultory pn>vl«ioD of land for,
243; wuly BiperitucciU oitb, 241;
ori^ of, la tbo villBoe euniinunity.
118-IQ; provinion for, In tbe Poor
Law*. 341; to villaBsn lo tho open
Gel<l«, 115.
AiaalBKninlvd Society of EoiDQMnu Ihn.
conititution and ot(i»"i»''>'"' <>'■ C23--
M: dcellDo of it» powoi. 627; uniiit*
durinR Ihu buUdnn' atriko. 52Ci: thn
model for craft union*. &23: policy of.
624.
Amnls&nuition of lallwaya, proieeta for.
in 1803. 464.
Amboyna. taaaaaere at, 27S.
AiKin' rrodc* Dttaytd and Btpoind
Again, the, 279.
Antjquitr. parallela irtth tlw Middle
Asm. 41.
ApprvQtlM*. 73: paupnt. 300; iisnili-
CBDoe of tb« reetrlcUon ol oumbonof.
363.
Appr*ntl«o«. the Statute of, atlecnpla
loaoforoe. about 1600. 3U: diKiii-
■DklMd tbree rroup* of orafu, 1D2:
fanoliM th* axutence of a wsKi^arn-
tng d«M, 103: later ucaifiiuniMi of.
30S: purpoaea of, 1S2 ; purpoae ol lh«
wase-KiiiiiE elotiMa, 3S7; irago-fiiins
dauaM. I A3.
Appreotimihip, 73; attempt* to enforM
Icinl proviiioni on. 353; dircay ol tbo
•yatcni. 363; in M(!«opDt4Uaiii, 37: rcc*
ulationa of. in the Hook of thi CnfU,
82.
Aiablo land, dsTfdopment of oommuaal
uae uf. 1 18.
Aristocracy, the. control ol tsnd by. ciu-
toilnl. 242: Ita domand for asricul-
tiiral priMtuols, 20; clDVclopmont of ft
Gennanic. 122; diwii^waniricv ol Ro-
man. 1'2'2: factors (ircaling nn. 123;
tliii ti-uilnl, 2U; IndiroDl participation
iu indtiRtry, 4T: iu plnRK in tb« modio-
vai villaEo. 120; pt>«itiuii of. in the ao-
dnnt city. 2ft: ita relation to aK»ma
hJHtory. 109.
Aikirri^t. R.. de*elop«n*al of the wat4r j
fr«»e. 3M: mr^y mrpa. 2M; maau-J
faotimi atoddap tad «aliooai^
hia patent mitla. 3941; relatlona
Kay and Hiiihs, 394; iwrurc* repeal of
Ihn Calioo Act. 294; hia vmtor (nni*
ix>Dlraal«d with Paut'e naeblna. 2S3.
Artiaana. in antiquity. 8: durioc tha
dark ases. &5; in Grmcc, 46: obliv^
lion* of, ocdoT the late Itoman Em-
pire, 64; povitioii ol. in KiOT><- 33; po-
■ilion of. in tho ninctprnth century.
603; atatus in MoaopoUmia. 36.
Aohlty. W. i^ 1(5; oonoaption of tht
town economy, 134; iotorpretatiok ol
lixlHoth-century legialaljaa is ttia
wiiolKn iiiduatry. 224.
AuloaecT. hia funqliuna and tdi M*
ooilsta. 310.
Bailiff, dntiM of a masorial. 120.
Balance ol ponter, the, infloence of oo^
Domlo «hancM on. 3t68.
Balanoa ol tnda. Umw oaa of the oon««p-
tion fa Um Mr«nu«nlli omtarir, 183.,.
Bade proBWK foe ■pplicatioa of Ui« <
wtar to add orm, S44: cxtandoa of,
fa tba inn iMda. 316.
Bdoeb, diaeuama of alariry in aiw
tlqulty, 8; —■■"""'— of populatioa,
38.43.
Benefit aodetiea, in Rome, 48. 5a« «!••
Cooifi^re.
BoaaaiiMc. Sir H., 274: the bronae pow-
dv «piM>d«, 336-30! eritidaiB ol. by
INDEX
EoBllib iroD mutere. 343; tiazly im-
rtcr of, 334: oxperitneitti in middin
III*. 339; Ui» (Itftil-iaBkias iuveallotM.
S40-43.
BUck Death, tbc. extent of ita raTaaoi
u II for tain. S(l: pretumod etlncl on
populatiua, Vi; relatiuu to oouimuts-
(ion, 133.
Blaokuiilth. <n early Eo-pt. 31 : ta aarly
OmtKH). 43; on the Ksml. 4-S.
Blanqui, use of the pbnae "IndiutriaJ
ftovolution." 247.
BlMt, ftrti(ini&1, it« influanea on «n«lt-
ini. 3IS; produoed by roUiiis wat«r,
317-18.
Blowlnn iDNchinon'- HmMtoa'n, 322; vi-
tal importaaco of. 3S2-33,
BoMd o( Bulth, tlio Qnt, 308: tiBtun;
of oppodtloD lo. 299.
Bowd of Ttade, «i«rRi*«d rvvulatory
funetioni over railways. 406; fuDO-
tlon» of, in connection with rallwayi,
4R3; pftrtidpaUon in the propnnition
of rule BohcduIeB, 470l auperviaiuii of
nllwny prajoota, 4ftl.
Bolton, Laneaxhiro, ctlmalo oi. 26fi.
Book of tti4 Cm/U. the. 59; 00; 70: 77;
Keulationi of apprcnticothip. 83; ivk-
ulationi oommon in craft atatutni, 82;
■t«tu« uf jOiUmaj'uitiD, 83; itatu« ol
maatcts, Si-
Boon day*. 1^.
Booth, propomj th« multitubular bollar
for the locuCDotive. 443.
Bordnni {crofWira), Vi3.
Boroushs. 4u county Htutl*. 160; doSol-
tion cj, 15&; fotursB of. 161: popula-
tion of, lOt-OS; trud« and induEtry in.
IW.
Boston. Maae.. rtiinnte nf. SflR.
BoultOD, partDoralilp iritli Watt, 337.
Bountnoiii, B., 7S.
Bowley, A. L., COS: atudtoi of wucm,
S03.
BNDtaDO, L., Oricin and Dndovifnl of
OiUU, inA-eT; hi* theory of gild do-
VplopDlPDt. 107.
Britiah New Guinea, coastal trade of Urn
nntlvM of. 0.
Bronn and Company. Shoflletd. aetlid-
tiea of the Gnu. 484-85.
BQobDr, IC. 317; oonooption of thodami
of hSitory. 24; concept ol hounchold
■ indualry crilipiii"!, 3<1. 4rj; nonception
of town economy. 134; diicuuiun of
the houKihoId in nntiqulty, 8; Indua-
trial Ktotuliun. 3; undnnuillmatci the
Importance of (tomnieroe. 39.
Bullion, export of, to India. 281.
Burflnuiui. obUeaUona of. lCO-60.
Butph<-r», Praft of. »aid to havn p»i^
■iited at Paria aana Roman tiinei, ftS,
Calais. lh« ttaple Kt. IJM.
Calico Act. the. 2S4: rapnled. S8e:»
poaled at the tnataaoe ot ArltwrltH
39$.
Cambridae. 161; early ItlMorr oJ. IH;
ufiiMjIinUimal icrvupf In, 18&.
Candle-niakon, at Pari*, vbro Koi craft
work. 11.
Capital, tvuToa of, for early railway^
443.
CapitalUm, Mriy rln ot. 318.
Capitalitt «niployer, (unetions o(. 19;
hia new (unotiona in the faMory. 10>
OaptlAliatie oootrol. boKini^tii^ of, 13:
«f (ndiwtry at fnri*, 1300. 73; ita tim,
la th« woolen induBlriea, 308.
CardtnB moehinca. 28S,
Cnniwcll. elininnnu of the CommlUM
on Railway*. In 1H53, 4S4.
Cardwell'B Committee. poUcj or ooo^
potiUon adopt«d by. 4M.
Carlyln, T., PitiH and Ptiitnt. 249.
Cnrpentpn, tholr eonneution with (Im
Royal Ilouaehold. SO.
Cartn Mnreatoria, 146; ICI; it« pcvft-
idonB. 163.
Cartol, the. «81-82.
Cartwrlght, Invontkn o( Um poww
loom, '301.
Caat iron, eondltiona eMeotial to ita pro*
ductlon. 311}; produeod in tfae bloon-
ery fTirnarH, 31H.
Central iiDlion, oppo*i>d by Toulain
Smith and his Kraup. 390.
CoMpooli, in oarly towna. 39>4S.
Chailwink, Kdwiii, career and c1im«o*
tcriiation. 393'-M; plan for rtform of
the foor-Law, fib; polioitw anpOQiiH
Inr. 39U; propoudu for improvw) niirii
lary conveni<;tioe», 397.
Cbanxea in population. B3.
Charcoal, icardty of. 319.
Charter of UbnrtlM. ot tba raltwaya. 404.
Charl«r, the People'*, £10.
Charten, bcorinBa on the appUcatioru
of railwayi tor. 4S1: parlianianUuT
exiwnw in^md by tallwaya tor, 4M;
proccdutv for acquiBitioo ot. 4S0-41;
proviiriona of early milway. 403.
Chartiani, aim* of tbo London croup^
014; the Birminicham KTOup, 517; co»-
atitutionaliH tandcncicaot, G14; drait.
tn( of (hit Cliartm, 510; fattura ot tba
Civat peliliun. 51H: Eeiifsii of the pro-
snun. fill; importanoo of, ai2: inSg.
nncn of anti-poof-law aglladon Dili
610; Iiondon Workiim Man'* AmooI*-
tJoa, 614. 616; the petition and tba ids
polnti, £18; rvlation to tha Ratora
aRJUtinn ot 1N32. 614: MwUiMlo
barktfround ot, 613; thrtManod vi».
loooe, 617.
p
■ Child. Sir J.. DhanBed tho potitfot of the
H Eut India Company, 280: defotuo of
■ tbv KMt In<lU Compuiy. 379.
■ Cholaabuiy, pkriah abuidoDed to tho
■ poor. 417.
' City, til* •odrai, aS; th« Modwn. 90:
t^chntwJ mewibiKof.lB EngUind. 158.
84* aIm Towtw: Urban Utc: Bor-
ouibi.
Clus eonKaouBDen. »>noD( LMidoa arti-
Itoo*. IH33-3S. &1'1.
CUmm of *oeiety. about lOSe. 12X
OaadoJ EooDomieM. Iho. £13.
Ooare. John, Sl-I.
ClliDaU>. r«latlon of a humid cUnwt* to
UrtXile manutaeUii*. 363: Nlatko to
textile munufaotiu* (t*bl«), 287. Sm
alto Humidity.
Clolh. markft (or Suffolk. Z30.
Cloth muiulaotute. S** Woolm loda*-
t»y.
CloUdwa, aetlTitlM nrtriftol hy the
W«»Tsn* Act, 213; become capital-
Itta. SOB; oertaia poor. 222: at C^I-
Ohaitor, 217: aa ctnploycre of wiovcn.
311; in tbe StiSolk nxwlcn induttry.
318: ia the wert ol England, S13. Sm
ttUo Diapm.
Oial, rigniRoance of It* un In tho m«tal
tndM. 314; uM ol. by Dudley. 3:!D.
Coal trado. combinatioiu In Uwiuauy
and Ihn Unllcd Stntta. 478.
Coata, J. i P. Ltd.. hiatory of tlu Sim.
48fr-Q0.
Coltw. Influeooe on tha ua«'o( tho bloom-
ory fumae*. 318-
Colch«t«T. oc^ipallonal Kroupa lb. 1S5:
puttinfout •yMcni MtBtilii>lti>l, 217.
oSketlT* bargalnins, bcGmiuiiEFi at
Corantiy, S74-7S; In Clouontcnbirc.
17M. no.
ColUiU. In Roma. «6-
*Trfii"g«, JmM. advDcatM iinall bold-
Oolaaw.HD.
CtHoti (Uiwnt futosn), 131.
OMnUnntion, t^ndtmey toward. 47&:
horlaontal. in tho t«ili1« tradiw. 480:
in th« thr^ul tmdc. 400: vertical, ad-
vantagiMOf. 4H4: \><irtlu], adrantMtca
in tho Btosl trado. 485-87; vociioal.
doM not dcatfoy oonpetition. 489-M.
Combination Lai>*. (fa*. 377: H(rii»
tioa* of laboren followlnc th« rapeal
of, BIS; Um oommittee <ff\^2Soa, 382.
Canbiaaliotu. amonji railwnya. 468;
oaiM«a tk Iat« d«T«lapn)ont of, 4TA:
«auwa of, in the «M<J tT»d#, 478;
fomu of pnrmvietit. 4S.'): Ii^cnl daon-
ficalion of, 479: In Iha Ntwoaitlo ooa)
ItkIc. 47f(-7T: tenporaiy. 483; vwti-
cal and horiiontal, 4S3.
INDEX
xn
Combinatiana of working nwo, tha aot
of IHZS. on, 3H6.
Commonw, expannoo of. 33: etpanidoa
duriastbe Middle Abm. Z2: wiiNuioion
iMlllnit to the Induitrini Revoluliau,
33: llDpenano< '>'. i" FritDce aftdr tho
bentknu, l>3; rclalivo order of riiiiir-
lanoo •• companK] wlUi Indust/y. 39:
of Roma, 27,
Commerrial thooty, of Gnek d«r«lop>
mcot, 40.
Commmoial treaty, with Fnnoe, pro-
powd ia 1713. 283.
CowmJMion (gntem, 14. Sot aUa Pul-
tlni-out lyaUin.
Comnwo oaitieta, d^vetopmcot ol lx*m
linca lo Mrre a>, 432,
Cominoa pajtura, cdect of dm>(nicli'>n
of, on tbe diet of the poor, 339;
YouQB'a [>TopoaalB, 239; tontcmpo-
rary diwallif action with, 238: «onm-
quoins of Uuor dMtiuotlon. 338; pot-
icy mQceminB, 237.
Common, rijthu of. 332.
Commtinal um of arabU land, IIS.
C'ommuiuU UM <rf meadow latid, 118.
Communinn, traeee of. amons mils-
men. ftfi: not practioed in tho vfllafi
community. tIS.
C<<m mutation, ite bfluenoo upon tho
■tatui of t«nant tannen, 131; of ma-
norial duo*. 13): mutual adrantagaa
d. 132:progr*Maf. 133.
ComtMuics. nature of cotnpaniw for
foreiKn ttado. 147.
Comp«DaBtlon Lavt. Ml^Mwd in Eng-
land. 426; •«« of 1807, 42S: auioud-
moot*, nix, 1009. 434: qtposition ot
ottanljad labor to, 499>
CompetiUoo, tha Maine > of. 49a: not
dorlmyed by voHical oora lunation.
488; a i<Elativa torm, 4m: unfair,
among eraf Immb, 81.
Competition asioag raBway*. dbadvaa-
(AgM of UmHod. M7-08: Datura and
advaaURM of. 4IT: policy adopted
by Cardwdl'a Mfoinlttaii. 4M; poUoy
adoptfl in rvgBid lo. 4M-67.
Compfwltion. tho. at Norwich. ITft.
Concontration of irtalth. the form more
imporlnnt than the amount, 510;
Bcanina of, 508.
OooMrie. lUH; pnhnpa comwclod wltll
Bomao coUagia, &3.
CeaaMtcd arwa, provinMi (or leorgaai-
MtioD of . 406.
Cttnipln>«y, doMrlna of, 380.
COniitable, the village, ISa
Conitantinopl«k aiatononMiua eiafta In.
SO: PrafMt of. Sa
ConnimM. a«ldom In dlrnet ooDtaet
with the eraft produeer, 13.
INDEX
L
Oenuutnpdott, itandiinHMd. 2!.
CoarvrUr. tliu. f:riiuu« of HMMmw'a
idea. 34 1 ; limitatioiui ot the utc of.
MS; mode o[ 01>Bt«tioil Of, Ml.
Copyhold tMiur*, 132.
CordwaincT, 63.
CorpoMto pcfaonalhy, dcTelopnwat of
Um oonoapl, 192.
CorporatioD. tbe luie. ftd vftn UkCM of, 4S3.
Cort. B., fail bvcDtiou. 331.
CDsnopoliUniKin. 21; during tba Mid
<tl« Attn. IfrL
CotUiKD industry, exeiuptioiut in the
Weaver*' Act Id favor of, 213; wooltm
vtAvinR. 211.
CotUem (tTofUn). Iiijuml by ennlo-
mire, 23S; obUmtioaa u(. on a niAiiur,
I2M, Voting** itrnpoaaU in thcic bo-
bdf. 23B.
ColtuiL 5er abins. undvr Coll«K«r*.
Cotton. UM of. In mcdicvid Europe, 276,
CMIod industry, nflnct of Ibn Indut-
trial Revolution oii, :;M; Kro*lli ot.
biOnkt BritAin. 303: imporlanca vt
tnot«0ll0D to. 2M(t: proleetcd bj- tho
Miui.^hiwt«- Aot, 2.Sfi; riw o(. 30S-fle.
Cotton ipiimiiiK, effect of huniidity on,
263.
Cotton tndn. «&rly hUtorr ot, 276.
Cotton*, Eaat Indian, oompat* with
woolanj, 2iy, ooitip«titioii u-ith Euro-
PMO (axtilM. 2TH; effect of theii in-
teoduotion in Europe, 'iS2: effect of
pmhIUtioitl againet lh«ir Iraportit'
tlon, 2^3; Introduction of. In Eur<>i>o.
S78; not an oriitliial putpOM of Uw
Bait India Con>i<«ni<M, 277; prohltiU
lion of Imporlation, by Itie CiUioo
Apt. 384 ; iM trade noodi in tho iiiaDds,
377 i UBS of, in EuEland, 371*.
CourU, at fair*, 143.
Coventry, labor troubUa at, 3T4-77.
Craft ^ds, charactMialloa of. 7<: at
Constantinople, SO: feudal bflu«now
on. 71:1: oHrIiu o( nrom crafta at
Fwia, 76; pru1i!<>m« of oilgia*. 7A; Ro-
flwn and Tcutonio inHuenea*. 7S; a
•pOBtanKnin outsrowtb, CO,
Cnft tnduatrr, 0.
Cralt Bpooialiiatioo, baiod OQ phyidcal
HmluUons, 38.
Craft iiiiii>n«. Stt Trade unions; aim
AnMlsaninlral BocivLy of Knainnnn,
Craft work. besinningB of, 4-6: In MiHy
Bvpt. 33: In MnaopolAmin. 36: no-
tion of, 10: a sbort'livnd form, 317.
Craft worlcnr*^ nJationv with tha coo-
RUiiier. OK.
Craft*, ndniimBtraliv* organiiatioD at>-
«nt during the dark aon. M: in an-
tlqoHj'UHlUMMlcMUAiH, 30; au-
toaoiajr at Cenatulioopla. M: ehaiu
of correlitKd, 13: ebart«nMl. 73: m»
t«nt of EtacutcB of. 81: dcllmltaliaM
of their activillM, U; dwctop eMlf,
J-S: in tJw alovMtl) oeaUay, 66: io
oarly Esypt. 31; eocaaad ia uport
trndi fir niini»(lhi4-^-*''~ii"^— --'-
cna, 204: anxatad In tbe prvparwiiea
of food*, at Roine, 49: in the feudal
houtchold, 7Q; free, 7&: Kmupa iM^
tio0iiAad In tlw 8uiut« of Appran-
UoM, 192: 0OUP1 of, la tbe Ukldt
Axn, 60: idaala not achiDvod. SI : i^
portanM o( UaU of. 10; no Uata poa^
ble for ntriy Crtwe. 44; UaU of. at
Paris in tbe cleTuth MnMiy, tt: SM
of in Rome, 4b; in McaopotMBla, S&;
not alway* OTgaaiMd a* cllda, 1S7; ia
thi* ninth oenturr, 66; numbers of, at
Nortriah, 18A; nnnibm at Phm, 00;
Duinbnn of. In varioua ^"l**-** tovn&
1H(); olilicalionc of toombMni of, S3;
ursaniiatioa io ■ntlQuity, 37; ortan-
■atloo at Rome, 48; pcrwMwiae ot, !■
th« dark •»», &G; proeai of apadaH-
ntioo cradual, 8; raoortl* for Parii,
09; (podaliaatioo by prnoaaaea in
Graoea, 43: atasaa Id Uio dewlopMost
of, 11-13; aubonlinata tmportMxa of
teitilck in Rocne, 40: aworn. 76; lno«
of cooununlim ainons, 85: uniani «f
■mallet and laroir cralla at Norwidb
iHa
Craftomec. reKulation* of statna of, 83.
Cnniutn. TlioRtaa and GootBr, 230.
CiafUn. 8m CotUK««.
Ownpton, invention ot the muli% 2M:
pwany at, 30O: vahoua iMaua tJMwa
hU RpiuilBi in*tU»#, 206.
Crom Act, 187&. 406.
Crown and Anchor Tavvm, tlMk nuat
ing o( (!luirtiiiU at. SIS.
Cultiir* of antiquity. 41.
Cunningham. V., W: Onnrtk qf Sitoluk
Indiutni and Comitttret. HO.
I)anc«. ofleot of tbair ioTadoaa, 133.
Darby. nJatioo ot tho family t« tba Iron
induatry, 321.
Darby, Abraham, utparinMBI* Kitb
ooko, 331.
Darby, A.. 2d. nioooaa with oolce aa ftuj.
321.
Dark »Rm. the, 35; induatrial c^inditioDa
in, !rl ; pcniitanoe of craft*. U.
D'Avenant. C Amv on lA« £ai( f ndioH
7ra<l«.2»l.
Death rate*, deeUo* in, 4M.
Dctimltatkin of crafU, $A.
DoMity of population, uonnal, SB: nl«-
liva ehMiBW m, ainaai Kncliah toun-
tita, S8: ■ir-Mmnn^ a| dafMtion Irota
the rnaan. IDa
INDEX
xxm
Dspxndent gIumo. on * Buaor. 138.
Diaionarv 0/ Jean da Garlandt, ^.
Dinct coaUol. b«tw««n prochio«r and
ooDMUtier. 60, 00.
Diract ptoo«w. in the iron iodattry, sen'
«aU^ of tu am In tbo aariy potiod.
Sit. 316.
DMaUxniUon, of industrial ptoofw.
IS. ae.
DiapeTDott of poixilatlon. chanolraiBtlo
of the Middle Av, 102.
Dlxtmu. Kucplcx tBUKfl of. is tlu cftriy
nioatMiiUi Mnluiy, 3M.
Dutributtem of i>«*ltb, ohNicMb, 611;
oon«c(>t ol nonnml. 60Q: ei]uBllty of.
SOB; impllcatioiu nf oonnal. S09.
Divinon of inlior, sK«rap>>icai. 6; horl-
sontal. IS; verti(«l. 0; nlstion (O in-
dustrial torau, 18.
I>o<nr«diiv Book. 126: *ocUl dawlBc*-
tjona in. 123-34; willniico Ol dUp«r-
aion of populntion in. 103-
Domewlir aystem. 13. See oIm Puttlna-
out lyiitoEa-
Donatahiro iBborpm. tfae. case of, &3I.
Dnpcra. Hi: as capilaliiU, 71; bccocnc
oanit&liits. 20s : at Pari*, atovviith
cantury. 64; of Shrembury, Sll. 5m
oIm Clolhlen.
Draptr't DieUvnary. tha, 190.
Dublin. 173, 174: oonipaUonai kiou[»
In. ISS.
Dudley. D., «ixp«rinianU with «oal. 330:
purpoan of bis eiiwriinMiUw 363.
Dut<;h, thn, their itnig^a to* tfaa %dce
IsUnds. 277.
Dreinv, a spKisJty ol soma FWmlab and
It«lian towiu. '20i.
Dycn. enrly «iiiv[ficnc« of. 13: oonffirta
vith the draper) at Paria. 71 ; prvoMle
wMinra in Egypt, M.
Eaat India Comptuiy. Its «ajly tnwUax
policy. 277: oiport of bullion, 281; ils
firat Ia«t«riea In India, 377: ila bcjd
opooUMOwanment, 3X4 : Mun'a do-
faBM of in tndt^ $61 : ita politKf. 2Ha
BmI Indian l«nila«^ UU 10 proUUt tlie
oaaof. iaQ0-«7,aT».
Bbenrtadt. 78.
Eoonnsnlc oquilibiiuin. disturbuiDca of.
368.
Edward L KranU to forvisn merdiantA
IM.
Bdwaml VI. statDta of. eonOaealiog tha
endowmtnts of ths ijlds. 100.
Bcrpt. cbaraotsr ol iMordi^ 30: early
cullun cd. 34.
Employer, authority of, in tha factory.
3(8; BU\y (unotions. 13. Set otsa Capi-
taliit employer.
Eacloauta. by aot of Parbamvot, 331 : by
■mainsnt. 333; and ehansM of pro-
prictonhip. 22S; contiauity of, BB:
affect on the diet of the poor, 330; •»•
ron of t>>)1ii'y, aS; foraia of. 225:
Lord ThurluT's eritidam of prooedure
in Parliunoat oo, S38i moacins of,
33£; partial is tha «ai<y prr>u<i, 2:10-
31; policy (owwda aoounona in the
acta of Parliament. 337; pooler villaV'
•ra bostilo to, 233: proeedooufor Par-
liameotaiy acts, 334 ; proUmia of title
raiwd br. 337; procedure uailer act ol
Pariiamant, 335: proercu of, 330;
purpotOI of> 236; rrUlivp .t»uu to ara-
ble and paat«irc, 231; rvebt* uf n>[n-
mon an obalade. 333; theory of Tar-
liscientary aoU tor, 232; of wast*.
333.
England. dependooM upon Cootineiital
SnflueoeM. 102: a frontier pirovineo of
BiuofM, 109: powth ot populatloa In.
8H: popuUtioA prior to the Black
[>wlb. 02. BT; uiidcr-populatcd in tha
Middle Arm. W.
Eniclisb SoirinK Cotton Company. Qnan-
rial difficultlM of. 4I>3: its pool with
CData.401.
EnumeratioM of popuIstJon, b iho
Middle Acea. 87: defieleociea of
Fnnch figurca, 01; poll-t&i rotuma,
03; subddy rolla. 03.
Erdulinn of industry, not mtraly a
Diatter of tyvioal forma. 4fi-4ft.
Fteitnry. the, common definitions. 341^
47: dnvrlopiiient checked by Itgjslft.
tion. 35:^: ileiTloinnecil oppofl«d by
tha vockniBa. MS; oMential featurea
of. 347: laglalatlva dabutions. 413;
primitive (otma ia Oraao*. 44 ; ptnlia-
tia datsa ot ita iMroduelioD in Tarioua
textile trades. SSft-M: reaaona tor tha
slow growth of. 349: relation of ma-
obiDDiy to. 360: rin of, iii tlm cotton
Industry. 366; ■ rudimtmlary. SS; so-
da) prolJniiu ot. 360; without ma*
ehinory. 360.
Factory (irading post), at Surat, 377.
Futory Act, of ia03, 410; ol 1810. 410:
ot 1833, 411; of 1844. 413: ot 1&47.
413: ot 1664. 414; of 1X67. 413-14; ot
187K. 413. 415; of 1883, 415: ot 1680,
416: of 1^^> 41S: amooded and oodi*
fiod ia 1001, 416; dangerous trade*
rngulBtod. 414: early history ot, 410:
Ml«ni<ion ot pirlneiples. 413.
Factory insptwtors. crcatod by the aot
at 1833. 411; detects of Ibrdr mtums.
414; liuitatiocw ol tiw raporta, 361.
Factory IrgUation. bmai on the pollea
power, 408: bHiaMaa of 1831-33. 411.
Factory ayslem, the, aaaenllal taatursa
xnv
of, tO; ezpnfmmtation witb in
nanoB. 224; Krowlb of, 3d2; hostility
of workmeD lo, 10; l#t»i dcSnitiorui
Inadoquate. 17; io the liitaaDUi «□-
tuiy wooIrq iodiutiy, 333: uudcooica
tOwvi], ill nntiiiiilly. 40.
FactoriM. first tmileiKiM towurd, 3SS;
Bot eoiifin«l to tho period o( the In-
duilrlkl HiiMUliitlou. 46; proportion*
of men, WDiDcD, kDit ohildnin in, 357;
mdinunlAry, &7. 73. Set alto Miil^
Figniri, oa itt* ninrlvftl of RomaD la*
atitutiou. B3-6i.
Fain, 130:lMuUiMio(, HI ; their ooiuta.
143, 143: eyclo* of. 140; d««tod to
wholcaalo tiadc 138-39; duM I*vl0d.
143; fnvdom ut. 142-43; not Bhaiply
dutiuttuithiid from mu'lielJi, 137;
auinbi-r of. I3R: prw-diifi- In Ihrir
Goutta. 144; rpsulationa of 8t, Gilo*'
Fair at Wincbcalpt. 142; ttndo ohftT-
8cl«ri4lJa <>( Ui" KiiitUib. 142.
FalloKiDK. beanfilfl from, 113; Bisdieva]
uw of, 1 14.
FaniM, i>catt«r«d. 112.
FarminB. Sr» Asrirullur*.
Folt-makcr* ai London, organisation ol
louriMyiiian. 3Gti.
FMdal bouaebold, oriilta la, 79,
FMidat theory of oildB. 7S.
Field tynti^ni. tha open, 114^15; tha
thrM, 114: the two. 113.
Flocb, J., OD the aurvir^l of Ramao lo-
tlitulion*, 63-
Foods. orafu pwparing. eariy develop-
ment of. in RiMoe, 49.
FonnaliMn, in the Middle AgH. 135.
Forms uf in<lu«trial ontnnUDtioin, 4;
omit work in the eaat eountiui. 217;
puttlnR-out asiitcm. 210; putlinK-out
aystom In tb« wait of Enolund clolh-
inji industry, 213. Sn atm PulUnit-
out lyiitem; Factory; Factory Byilfmi.
Fornu ot MlUcnumt, in F.itKlacd. 116.
Fortray, B., JI'VlOnd't iT^lrrttl ond fm-
ForluQM. lariio. tbo problCEm cf. G06,
510.
France, growth oJ population. 89: im-
portaooa oJ hor ecotiomio influenoe
durtns tha dark agM. 63; population
in th« foiirt«rath century. 50; pny-
po(«I Mirnmoraal trnaty with. 1713,
283; Komnn InHuanau, 53: sUtiaDary
population of. 270.
Francottc. H,,41;44: timidity En cImrI-
lyins induatrial forma in Gnwcc. 45.
FraWmlty. .SMOildn, r-jllglomi.
Freeman, obligations of. to th« manor.
12S,
Free md* pall<^y. origin of. 2S0; Tory
•upport of. 3S0.
>EX
Trr^ trade theorr. developed by Iba ib>
fendon of Uie Eut lodla Company.
2H3.
FHiadship, the liaaiiiof primitive trado, 5.
PUllera, employed by SuAalk niothliiii.
23»; low rf>|niM of. 30$.
FuUicK. applianoea for, SOfr^M; <bu»^
Ittt of tb« prooca*. 305.
Furnace. th« lilooniery, 818; eolcie need
in the bloomoy, 310; low ofi*u
beatth, in Swodan. 317; the nmtttt-
atory, 329-30.
J
GaokcU, P., pnHfotbm of, 348.
GaaqUAl, SZ;Ofl.
Gay, E. F,. on the extent of early
nirM, SSO: iudgnoDt o( Uio poipoMt
of «Briy Mdoalng, 231.
Gi'oUf'nitn'B »<ir<«!inoot», 4fll.
GooEmphioil dii-imon of labor. "— "ff
the peoptM of N*w Ciuiim. ft.
GvrTutiiiio etutoniK, described by TW*
tu*. 119.
Oibbini. H. dn B., on tha IndtwtrU
nevoluUon. 249.
Gilfrn, Sir Robert, GOS.
Gig mill., 20(1.
GildhriM. P. C., partaenhip wfi
Tboman, 344.
Gild, mcanln^t of the word, IS5; tntaa
ot. 1C5.
Gild merrlisnt, ita atURod mooopoty of
trade, 173; ita ooatrol ol tnlUmm,
171: deollno ol, ISl; )ta -nfron-hlw
ment of Inulo. 174; ita (uncUona. 173;
its monopoly iuclunivp. 175; doh-tmI-
dent [ni--mbcn, 173-74; oftaMaatkm,
176: iu plnni in munidpal denioi^
Blent. 103; eh^ririg ot barcalaa, ITA;
HtniEid« with the oralt gitda in G*^
many. 172.
Gilds, adulterine. 17K; chaTt«r lncorp<»>
raiinn tbc Tiulon of Salisbury, ISS'.
r.mll orsaniiktiaiw leaa oaoapicuoqa
tbiin r<-l!c>aii* orfulutiona. 187; ant-
ployinit and wane aaming Bla«ae«
dlilinRuishRl in. 191; French Ui !■■
I'M tho vuiouB typra, 100; InAiMfiM
of pagmntry upon. U(3: mambtaabfp
ol reliooua and oiaft organiiatioiiB,
IH2: numbon of. in varioua *t»|liJ^
town*. IHO; r«lallon* batwaan mH-
gious and oraft gildii. lS2:rdatiratlH
of reliiDoui and craft organiaationa,
182. £«• a1» (>afl Kilds.
Gilda, craft, a ipanUnrou* outgrowttu
60; become coiDpanin wbco ofair-
tar»d by the King. ITT; at CochUb-
tbiople. 60; MSL-ntisl tNtlurra nf, 17ft;
at London. l75;niAtiiiria FVanoh. 167:
at Norwich, 170; otfudMid aiUllM
the cild marchant, 172: poMoK
P
INDEX
re?
I
tlw IMannatioD. 100; th« pure type,
178; and Uic RcCammtaon, 177: typo
0*. 177-7)<; riew of lh» ctRd, 177;
mnUfu of. tX Norwich. 17B.
Oildi, Mligloui, 166; a cbanr^ of loaoir-
poislioii, 18S: daniod ri^t to endow-
mnoU. 187: endontnonta codSsgaImI.
lOO: th« Franch term, 166; ioQucDv*
of inoorponlton. 188; tb« ioquiiy ol
13»i0, 16^-691 iiiiiot*iii«d ■nmrnar
aehool*. IBO: nuoabMahtp of, 169:
OTEKiiiMlioa. 170: puipOMs, 109; fnut-
pooM of inoarpotBtJoik 189; moum
eharMm «t faieori>omUoo, 1S8.
Gini. PtoIoMor C «K).
GludiMne KWHid, th«, 451.
Grand NkUintkt CoiMoUd«t«d Tradra
Union. •oUvttlM In tho csae of the
I Dora«tiliiT« laborMv, 6:11 : taihim In
the oTgattintioii «{ •trik«a, i3l; ils
orjniiiMlion, SlO-SOt
Onw. N.a B.. 133.
Groat Northrm Railwsy, tlip. timntk
of, 450: rotntioni mOt the Midland.
4&e.
GnBt W«Bl«ai lUlwv. tlw. Bnincl'ti
conMption of. 446.
Cmiw»i. (rni luiiuni in. 45; primiUi-e
fiu:turii*n. H: pinportioiia of ttrn oad
akvp Inboren. 47: txajftf at iiidu*trikl
dovclopmont in, 43; rue pot&Un ui,
46.
Oraocis, 6t.
GroM. C 173: lU: !&« CtU UcrcAmr.
173.
Guild. Sa Gild.
Gynpccum. &9: at Sftint-Geniuiui dv*
Hall, Hubert. ISl.
Hikll-in-ihe-Woad maduno, early name
for (h«i iiiiilp. 201^
Hamburg, 149.
Hammurabi. li*t of orafU ia his niiaii.
as.
HammunU, Coda of. 2t: 37.
Hand-loom weaving wtont tof ptt-
aiM«aco of. aiO-AO.
naiuaida, the, orielni, 147; at timw
diiiana of I.»ii'lr>ii. 14^.
BaoacUie. itacirdiii'7, 1S3: deRntd. 147:
eetaUithtnent oallod the Steelyard.
160: flaeal privUecaa of. ISl: Govnrn-
RMirt oL 149: origins of. 147: privi-
IcRia <rf, recogniK'd by the- City, 140;
it« atnigcla to lualnuiin Ita privilnswi.
153: nibardinale oorporatioiw. 149;
trade of. 160.
IfnnErntvn*. doacrlptlon of bin Jenny,
2fi7-08.
tlarrison, F.. 626.
Hwbacb. 242.
Hasldna, C. JiMJent Tradt OuiU* and
ComponiM (tf Salitimru, 1S9.
Hayward, dutiea of. 129.
Health. Minirtry ot. 403. Stt'Bouiot
Hoalth; Public Hmltfa; Local Goven-
in«iii Act; Local Goveromoiit Board.
Hoalth adminiilratloa. devolopmant of
pttnclplo* of. 400.
Health iiisiinmcc. act of 1011, 436.
Umlth and Moral) oI AppnotlM* Aft,
1802. 410.
BaiherinBton. H., 914.
Hijtha. KpinniiiR tniymtloo*. S04.
Hi!con-.Siiciw>ii. M. W.. The iMnd and
Ptt^plM of lA« Katai. 4.
HobaoD, J. A., eharnctcritatioo od n>«ftt-
«hop«. lli.
Horroclu, loom palvniK, 303-
Uoura for work, defined by nets of VUt,
IMT, mod ISSOt 412-13: rcKUlaUoo of.
409.
House wa>t«, early modua of di>po«aI,
396.
Uaiunhold, Induitiy In tho feudal, 6S:
the indualrial unit. 74.
Household induatry. bsaed oo alairo la-
bor. 6: BQehat'a ooneept eriildsod.
45: undivtniiCed. 4; undivcrt^fiwl, o(
r>r« ooourrence, 7; ia the fnudal pe-
riod. &T.
Houaehold, i«yal. In Egypt. 33; Influ*
encfl on craft ^ld4. 79.
HousinK. ibo Cron Act, 1875. 405: diffi-
cuIUm of vccuriog adot^uiiie rcKuU-
lion o(. 4l>t: pmnnc problem, 400;
the Torrpns Act. 1H07-C8, 404; Town
rianniiiE Act, 1909. -105.
HudMiu add Tinicey. &fcol Rtetrdt 0/
NeniitJi. 179.
HuU. iU cUrter ol 1437, 163.
Hume. J„ awocintioa with Plaee in tho
rriHMj of Um ComMaaiLoii I.ah'*. SSl-
83.
nunAUftflion. artifldal. loquint^, 3M.
Uumfditx, *lt*«t of, In cotton ipinninc.
MS; effect on the slnrnKlIi ol yivn.
364; of tmlvc aeicctod reeooa, 3U-
67.
Hul«hin» and Harrlaoit. HiMoty of Fao-
(orv £><(rulaften, 408.
InoomM. dUlrlbtiUon of. In Enstand,
S06: in the United Kinjidoin, difSoul-
tio« of rslimalins. IfA.
[ndependoDt I^boF Party, the. 519.
India, mat of oolton epinning in, roin-
pared with eosta of mule yarn in Ens-
land. 312-13.
Indirect pn>ce«eo( iroD prcluclion, 3 IS.
IndiMtip, fondidoiwd by commerce. 39 1
d«p*ndme« upon aclcuKutv, 208;
d*peod«Dca upon acriaullur« la tb«
BTi
INDEX
Biti'ldle Asm. 303: In the feudal fauuw-
bold, 5T; present dopcndcn^c upon
ndDflnl ratoucm* and climate. 202'
63: ralatUK) to Ksiioul litre. 351 ; n-ln-
tlv* toportanoc o( ioduitiy uiil ooi-
niltun, 260-61.
Induatrid dcvc'lopniont, primarily »
tnalMir ol industrial Bp^dBlisatioD,
M; Itijci* oit, in Grcncc. 43.
InduDtrial evoliiticici, not rtniivly a mat'
tcr of typii-iil forniJ'. 45-4ft.
Indmtrlnl ardiipi, nt Parin. in 1300, (M-
iTidiiHtrial liiHl«)r>'. liriurinLiiitH ol *yA-
trmalic study of, I : vtiierM in, 247: >o-
rialutip int<;ri>rrliitioiiii of, 2.
InduatrUil <iriuiiiituil(in, tyi>iril (onnii. 4.
Induslrinl Itcvoliilion. ch^nic.-M in iiidiit-
ttuU ETDUpiQ^i, 2!>'^-^ chronology of.
271: thv clow i>[ ihci pcritid, 27&; llic
dow if the iwriwl i'l iti" rotlnii inulit.
301MM; dcfinod in ivnnf of rainl^lwui,
SCO; «ariy EniJlrii writrn on, iln: its
•Mwatial teatura*, 2SI;(:>i)tiiti:i' vwv.
249; iinporttince of tin cbangn in the
nciAl iodunxicc, 203; imilcadiDs con*
ootatioot of llia ptintM, 2IS; not pri-
tnarily ohai«ot«rUocl by the eitit>r-
Btnoe oJ the raotory . M;tableeBliowiiiE
tha VBij'inB rclatioiH between indu^-
try and acricultura, 280-1(1 : primary
eaueea of. 363: Toyubee'a vit>w. 350.
Indiuthai apMlaUaatioii, condilionnl
by ouinmercJal expanaloa, Xlt; ooadi-
tioned by the market, 19.
liunJoot of wnrlnoanahip, %
InCeBisUoii in thfi control of ludiutir.
nt Parin, in 1300. 71.
IntDKtalo ComtQtTDe Act. compared
with tliiKllnh itutuMn, 4Sd.
Invmtioa. ooodltioD* raqulidl* ta nociir-
inE tarn profit* trom. 339; >laira in.
272.
luvonlionH, eooititioina of commordoJ
auoMM, 3T8; not oon»plpMi in (hem-
mItm^ 273; oot niddenly iicKret^,
251; their r^Iatios t» tlic Krowcb of
the uutton iudu«lry, 3K7; h ri^iilt nl
commercial lupaiunon in tliQ oottvo
tradn. 30S.
Inveiifjr*, rewardu of. 273.
Iron. cBot. 314; introduolion of thcet.
Z33i EnalluUo. 314; producta of. 314.
Iron aliipa, *arly hl*toty of. 'SiZ.
Jack of Newbury, hia woolen faetory,
223.
J«Dokea, A, L., Tilt Orygm, th» Organiia-
livn and the Loealion of ike Staple o/
Bngland. l'i!i.
Jenny, tlic, dtwri|>1ion of. 207-(l».
JoumpyiDco, 72; 71; rceulntioiu ron-
ceroioB. Id itui Book of Iht CnfU. Si.
Jou m«]rmeft BtMrn-nvtasmd libdlB»
Makoni and Mitlwricbta' SoaieOr. fi9L
Junta, the. 028; 337; 008.
Kaaal. the. peopira of, 4.
Eajr, nlatloiu wit^ Arkwrijtbi. 2H-
95,
KcnwDTthy and Bolloui^. loom pwlta^
303.
Kpniva, dlOtcillly of da^lIcaUiMl. ISfL
Kick. I>r.. 600.
Kins. G.. Bttempied forcoaat of Ika
tmxi-lh of population. 269.
Kina's maRhaiita, 1&4. S** ate Mer-
chant* of Um etapUv
Labor nioromitnU Ihr. (•■•OMnta of our-
rnnt ducontcQt iu. 029; Buuiy-dded,
filn.
Lalior rfpnOTRlatlon. SOA.
Laborer, ihc acricuttutsl, dittreaa of. ia
tJiit Mirly Tti>ici(«titb oentury. 803.
L«l<i>n<n, V.v- n»raet«hlM, oaee of. £21.
Laborers. relatii-e poaltioi) of alUltod acd
unikiUod. AOI.
Laborsr'n Prlnnd Sodety, it* OMopaUcn
for Bllotni""!". 242-
Laintt-fairr thtory, not a sanuine vif
«tacLa to rvform. 3h7; not of aubaUui*
tial importanoa in the devyopimuu
of factory levalatloa, 40K.
Loke SuperiM ofM, dbcoroy aod titiU
iutiou, ZOO.
Land, mmifioaiiee of reUllva •camity of,
lis.
Ucid policy. o« England tnNlRerta. 111-
13: of nanoe ia Alterie, I II.
Land tenure. ralMed 1« eoonomie condi-
tionR. Ill; the SafOftn iyit«n. 121,
Larip' KiAe i>rD<luution. In ani>c|ui(y. 9;
rrtntioa to otandaidiied oon«uiap-
UoD. 2L
Latlie. ihi^ developraeat of. 328.
Law merchant. Ibis 138; 140; adiiili
trmJ in fair courts, 114; Bptillaaliaa
extended by tlio Carta Moreatoria,
153; in the court o( the «lapl«, IfiS'.
ewenoo of ita prindplta and proont-
ara. 144: cxtondon to municipal
eourui, 143.
lAwranco. Edward, Duly V " Sleaard to
All Lord. 333.
I<e MauK, eralla al. 00.
Lcnf. W.. interprvtatioD d the T>ojan
War. 4a
Leoda, oppniJllon to capltallat eoipli
on and their factoriee at, S&4.
L«tI. the pourt, I2U: 130; It* record* of
land t«nim>, 131.
Lpiemtor, 174; o«eupatianal ffaitpm la,
130.
Uvi, L., 600.
"P-
INDEX
xxvu
Lery, ProfraaOF. pxplnnatlen o( Uu
tcodcnay townnl cumtiiiuitiODa, 470.
Lowiiuki, Jan do St., 110.
Lli-biv, J. voa. 2W.
Lillp, Knaca, <ilii>iste o(, 306i.
lipson, E.. 175-76.
Lial. PrKdirirlf. TA^ yaliomtl SvUm ttf
Foliiical Xeenomji, 30; •clwm« ot p*-
riodiiatioa, 30i
Lint at tnfU, koklyaia of, 65; Eo^l, 31 ;
imporUnoa or, 10: Manpotamift, 30:
■woe poadbto for early UrMOf* 44; at
Puia, in tho detVDth oeatnry, 02; si
Bo(M,4ti.
Uvcrriool. imtonrcl wuiiUly oondi-
tjoni ID. about 1»I0. 396.
Lli'<7pnol and Manchcatcr IWlwaj:. the
Cntt prujeol, 441 ; piaAta of tho oorly
you^ 442-43.
Unty, baximoB k «laa diBtinetum, ISl :
<f«n>ittmnoii.lH():of Rildrovmbm. 170.
LomJ Oovenmioiil. inlluMiM of tbn old
■yatom ol, 3)«; Mt of WW. 400; Mt
of 1S71. 401.
LooomoUrr, tlir. pontart at Uvetpool.
441-12: iaTcntnl \>y TrovitJilulc, 433:
northnm dndflii'. 437.
I«udun, iitKiiit (iqukl to FlU in d>» in
the KWDtM-nth cmi.ury. IW; arra
(or which the popKlatioQ u recortlKl.
ll)7-0^; cmCt orfftnliuiuona at. ITS:
BTDWlh of, lOR; the iilaiw" ««. IDS; r*-
lalioQ bctwocn tbo City and tha
HMtM. t*9.
London buildn*. Mrik« of IKfiK. 6ZS.
London ooal trade, hiitory of. 476.
Loudon and North Wolerii Railway,
agmtmrnt of 1W8 wflli ttw Midland,
474: amul^malioDa propoaad in 1SS3
by, 4M: hoMilily to the Gnat Nortli'
«m, 4S0; joini iiuhh aKmuiieiit with
tho MidlADd. 450.
London n'orkinK-Mcn'B ABodatioa,
tlxs. 514: dpctitiu of. GI9.
Iximoi. Dr.. SOO.
■.iiriinvr*. 70.
LomiDff nrvt. devnlopmont ol. 34S:
tboir uliliiBticm. S6S.
LoTutt. W.. G14:aiO.
Low CounlriM, tradn with. 15S.
LQiwflk. 149.
Luiurliw. drprndciOM of the wMilthy
upon Bp<7<-inliii>d produFlinn of. SO:
diMppotraooo of, after tbe fall ot
ROEM, G&.
Machinny, RJation to the (Mtory qr*-
loin. 10. 3fi0: dtMt of iU intoodtietiaa
upon Xbu arttMO. 303.
Uanosty. H. W.; Tnult and 1&« STUf,
403: Tlu Tnul lIoMmtnt in Brilult
InAutrv. 401-
MociiMa*, tlwlr plaea in KM^ieval Bori*
aty. 131.
Maitland. F. W.. Tomuliip and Bor-
ough, 1 01.
UallMbIa inn. 314.
MalthmuDi, pctmmiBTn not iuatified by
«viiit1a,9W.
MalynM, Tht CmJbtr nS Knoiand'i Com-
momimttK.W\.
MancluicUt Act, the, £8£.
ManebMilT. Shnffidd and Liocolnahin
Hftilway, tho strstcsio pontion of,
433.
Manor, tha, tha adniIni>tratJir« typo,
136: a* a rapiialiiitic ortuufalioii,
13A: its court Wt. 130. ISO; M>«Btiid
(oolunw «(. VH-3i\ Bonoai aapoet of,
12N: obligatioot ot tho t««uiota, 128:
oRiwn of. 13B:onciii« ot. 1S3; priJDcU
pal typca found in Doaicsdoy, Vii;
royal. 126: varylns d«Ki«c> o( ita oco-
nomie indrpcndrncv. 1 30.
ManuIactUM, for export, in antiquity,
37.
Markvl. difT<rDn«a belwMn fiiin and
markeu, 138: in the Vili Dyniuty of
Ei^pt. 33: produetioa for, in antiq-
uity, tl: (vrrltoiial and aocial liinlia-
tion*. 19: for MMopotaiuiao indui^
try. 37: tho world. 12.
Majkatint oonditlooi. relation of, tft
combuutioni^ 479.
Mandan. R., Ceiton Spinnino, 208,
Manhall. A-. 230.
Man. K.. 513: on tho tendency loward
comUnationa, 493: view of tho luduo-
Irial Ravolutlon. 2M.
Htwtcr Conban, «*r>i>>I*t^ 308; In the
wonted cfiatrina, 333.
Mb«i«v craltMnao, 72: conditiooa «[ l>o-
oomiDK a, 74-
MooicTpiocv, an itKdatvd r8r<T«iKw ia llio
Hook of cha Cto/U. Si.
Moslfira, ilotinilian of atntua in tho Book
«/ Ac Ctajta. U.
Uaudrioy. 32S.
Maidnuin tolli^ pawridnl (or in early
railway ohartan, 4QS.
Meadow*. devoli^Hiwat ol communaJ
OM ot. IIS.
Mannstlla claaa, the, aouroo of the UB*
ploj-ins iiJnMk 2.
MprcnDiilisn, falUdaa ataodatod wilb,
381.
Mercon^ 61.
Mnean-, 1S3.
Marcbaadidnx eralta, 80.
MM«iiaDl Adv«Dtui«nh IfiC: <faart«M oS
1463 and 1605. 156: onsin of. 156:
•truCKlo with tho Ibnwda, 157;
tndo of tha campaoy. Ui.
Mcrehanu ol tbe Staple. 163: or^oUa-
xxvSi
INDEX
tion and Bover&ment, 16S: oiicia o(
Merino •hiieih •piwul of tbo itoolc
too.
U«aoi>otainia, chftncwr of rveofds. 34:
Mirly euUuro of, St.
Untal ladiiMrl**, abrupt chanaea In.
360; fnct.OT* ia tlwlr rmnfiforRialioii.
393: pofition bcforv anil alta the In-
dinlTiitl HoTolulioD, 3M.
MxUl Irtiiie*, phM*et«r of thalr tnn»-
fornnktiaii. 3H.
Mntliiinii tTOAty. purpoao of, 2S3.
M*tip(, jurt, 167: lib™. 109.
Moj-iir, Kdoiiaici, 3: diBCUBMon of slav-
ery 111 H II till lily. H.
Midlntid Kmilway. &STrrmmt of 1908
with Ihc London and North WMtcro.
474; klliniirj) with tbn London And
North WwWm. 4fia: dlifil *! thi< d«-
«iiioa of tSA3 upon. 4M; FiUrndons
to London uid Scotland. 4M: final
(orm ot, 455: BPowiii o(, 444-4fl: joint
pUTM agreismctit with the I^ondon and
North WMtorn, 4i6; tho London tti^
mliml oiMiiipd. 4A&: policy towardi
thinl-rlniB piuwr:i(r>rn. 45~: Scolcb
Oonnfictjon* dovolopod. 456; Lfikffic
didiRUlUwH. lHG:-6ii. *M.
Midland ■jntflm (of kcrioultun), d*-
•ojptlon ot. 320.
M<lk. poor unabln to obtain, 230.
Mill. Arkwright'i cotton, 2U5.
Mills, fint «ottOD itiinnini in. 304.
Minnml dvpoiitu, »ij:niilcancc of Donacn-
tralion of. in Ooriiiany and thn
United States. 476; MgTiif>i;jLiim of
ditpnrnon of. In Great Britain. 47Q.
Mineral nnouruv*, avallatdUty afleatod
by technique, 366.
Mininry of noallh Act, 1019, 403,
Mon«<y. CliloiM, 605, COT.
Monopoly, B]luB»d tranaillon from, to
Mcioliiation, 403; eonwrvntivo atti-
tiido towardn. 407: of Ixtodoa ooal
trndo by lli^ Nw<:a>tl« area, 477;
never absolute. 495; raitwiiyn (uiind
to bn "by nature a m.." 462; tcnden-
ci« in logifilHlIvn control of. tUS.
Monopoly. Welah, of ntaani coal, 47S.
Moon, use q[ eottoQ, 37fl.
Moraine taJka. 170.
Morrison. J-. propoiwd n«iilatlon of
rallvayi. ISSS. 463.
Mortmain, statute of, applied to tbe i»-
liKioiiK told*. 1H7.
MuirbcAd. Waif I MteSattieat /nHn-
lioiu. 337.
Uule, th>. accnmplishmenla of. 300:
dMOrJption oT, 30tM)9: lU ln;porUiDo«,
»J0.
Miin, T.. SnobniTi 7Vca«ur« hw htr fvim
eign Trodt. 3)>1.
MunldpaJ nonalitotioci, tfaa. an otMl*.
cln to tr^le, 136.
Muslin vbod. oarly niama for tbe mal«
29M.
MunltnK beginmom ol tba mamtfi)
ture, 307.
Noamyth, oomment on lh« alid* nt^
338.
Notioiial Amoeiailoii ot Unitrcl TntdMk
foimalioD and decline of. 532.
Nntional minimum, euanuitaod by
Eliiabethoii itfllulM. 416.
NeslltteiiiNt, (uiitmoQ-law dooUiaa ft,
424.
New drapery, aa eompoUur ot a>«el-
ens, 31S: mimning of (li« (•»!, 1M>
Nnw Ijiourk, i>u1iey at, SOO.
NtwcAstlo tool trade, oombiBattooa lib
477.
Nfgiiria. Eolith land poUcr la, 111-13.
Non-diaariauDBtory praotioM amoBf
railway*, dsfinlUon of. 4M,
Normal diuiaily of populalloa, SO ; in tbe
orient, 90; relatiTv only, 90.
Norman Conquoat, tta eScet on 11m
growth of tho raanor, 123.
Norwich, craft organiialioa at, 179;
Dumliim of tnSta at, 1S5,
Ohiicatiou* of cratUtoen, 62.
Oooupntions, at Paris, in 1300, 60; at
Pari*, "'-— '"r^ aoootdlng to ala«, 00;
aUtlaUo* of, in madUval Butfaad, 183.
On-uptttionalgpeaUliMtiMi.at Pari*,flOL
Occupational Matlltfai, (or Britlah In-
dia, ill 1001, 2&6-M: RWMral foatorM
ot iiiiluotrial g^ollpinB^ 18iO-U, SdO:
Germany, in 1007. 3M: not (ieilfl-
cant prior to thn Induatlial Ravolu>
Don, 200: roMut ligurw, 2Wi t«bl^
Eiiiflnnd and Pru»in, 1851 and IftSS,
DrilJsh India. lOOt. 257; Ublca ahow-
liig thu [ulniioii* batwom Indnatry
ami figrii^ulitir*. 3ttht} : United
Kinidoni. 1D07, 368i Unitod 8U(«a,
lUOi). 3M.
Octiiplc ■(crrement, 4S1.
Old age iasuranoe, 438.
Onion*, P.. puddUnE patent. 330,
Opon fialdt, grailng righu oi'cr, 233 ; ro-
lation to onelo«urt>. 335.
Ovborne case. the. IV2S.
Owen, R.. £33; hli ld«ali, £10; nlllt at
N«w Ijuiark, 360.
Ownership, not always prvferabla to
tcnum based on uao. 111.
Oxford, occupational vtiupa In, IKS.
Oxfurd«litrc, «it«Bt ot B*vent«eatb-«aB-
tuiy nadown, 230l
INDEX
mx
PsBuntry. it« Influnnon on sfld lUo. 183.
PaJna of tmnsitJoD, 303: not r(«|iouMbl»
tor dUtrnu In tbc c&rlr tiiiictactith
Mntutr. 4 IS.
Paper mUlB. Mrly taetoriM In Iba lUionp
VaOw.ZU.
PlmtaGW.
Fhu. biduMriiJ px)up«, in 1300. 04; oo-
oupatimw ID 1300, 06; trauilioa trom
th* f m* to thn iwom tnll at, T&.
Parliamvnt, Ui» Feopla'*. £17; aeU tor
cncloaurc. 234.
pBrilamniitory. RipcniM ol nJtwar f^"*-
imtiivs, J^C; giriiitiijimi In ltn>at of
chftrtcn, 160-61; U-iuiio, 457.
Parliammtaru Bittorv o/ Sngkirut, Tk*.
230.
Puaongcr trsffio, socotDmodatioiM tor
tliini clnM. 4S7: poliey d the Midland
lUllway, 4S7.
PbuI. L., 290; oovanuit wlUi Wyalt.
293; dofcoU of hit apinnini ninrhiiip.
2U2; pat«nt» of 174S and 1T5S. 282;
ivltttiudt Willi Wyntt. 2Vt; bia Bpin*
nins ma(>hiiio coini>w«d wlUi Uw
mter Imnc. 2B3. _
PlupariiM, srowth ot, 4t(C
h«Mn.$lO.
T^Mwnl' lioldlDS*, *TKM|a utmndci B1.
Pnwnt preprlatonUp, advoaatad, KM;
not alwara baat, S28i YouBg'a view,
2««.
Fro-y-dairan, TMritlilek'a looomottva
triala at, 435.
PhfMphonu. ellmiaatioa of. by the bub
procoM. M-t; ttnpnrtanco of Ita proa-
enoe in iron ore. 343.
Plo-powdcr courts, 144; iuriadicUoo
mKhiaUy mcrscd with municipal
courts 14S.
Pis Iron. ooovcrdoQ of, 320.
Flaoa, F.. 614; niO; agitation aoJoit the
CombioBtion Ijiw*. ^l', tMly oartar,
380; cxpociation of (he rtoulla of ra-
peal of Ltie (^imfajnatloo Lawa. 3S3.
PUeuc, the. limltwd tba powih of Lon-
don. 1U8.
Foilnior*. v.. Lift of Rob«l Own, 300.
Police power, the baata of laetory lagla-
laticui. 408.
PoU-tai ratunu, ddceta ti, aa ewamcn-
tlon> of thq population. DO.
PooU. uuoag rallwaya. Wl; purpoaa td,
4SI.
Poui^I^w. tba EUaabotban, 41 S.
Poor-Laira, allotmant |>otiKy of, S41i a
eauw ol mur<h distr««a, 365; Chad-
wick'a plan for the rolatin ot, 430: do>
fecti«« adnUniMratlMi of, I7S0-ia3a
417; laquiry of ISOA. 4S1; Majoritr
repatt. 1000. 421; out-ralid, prior to
11)34, 419; laoont rafonna, 481: Tv
tomia of ISU. 430; syEttme o( relief
prior to 1S34, 410; a pariah aban-
doned to the poor, 41H; prolaalt
awiin»l llrn Inw ot ISM. ftlfi.
Populution, in luidcDt cilits. 37'2S: ol
borouet» in 10&« and 1327. IM-OS:
chitn«.i» III tlie maaa ot, durins tl«
Miililto Ak». 88; conoeDtralioD ot, ii
lowDi, lOU ; dcRdcnclea of FMock
onunieraiioui of , Bl; darlatlona (ram
tbo nwaii deuaity of , 100:diffrr«nDMUl
■Towth of. in EnBtaod and in Fraaoo,
8»; dijparaloti of. in thn Middle Acta.
102; diapenion of, in lOSB, lOS-M;
ellMt at an iiwrca» in. on the fonn of
•otilcmeiit. 117; of Enalaud about
1»2T. 93-06; in KuKliiiul mid Walaa.
1700-ieil. 270; ot PraD». in tbe
touneeoUi ccniiuy, G!>;. KioR'a aatl>
mataa of, IN: iooraaae ot, aubaaquant
to tbe Indualrial Revolutioa, MO: an
iadex ot proiperlty. 90: of LoDilaa
and of Paiui, 1()S; mndli>val friiumaM-
lion*. 87; niovr(ii«iil of. iii Gn^and,
100; praportiooa ol. livioc tn varioua
riaaa of aaetlenMQta. 104; PruMdan
towns in th*> piflhttitnth century «mt-
parcd with ancient Cccck eitin. 43;
Koseri' aatliataa of. tor Englapd prior
(o tha Blaak Daath. 97; atatlonary (•]
Pnuce^ }70; of towna in tSTT, KM.
PoTarly. Ilkrned to a pNTaataUa dla-
«aa«, 423; Mt. Monajr'a uaa of (ba
term, AOT.
Porarly Una. tha, artlaana now abora^
fil3: BowBlfM'adallnfttoD of, SOI.
Power loom. daaoiptlonaCCartwTieht'ib
soil parfaetion of, SOl-W: cumbor la
tim at nrioua dataa, 302.
n«dataiy drUintiona, 27.
Ptsfaet, of Conataotinople. rvEoUtM
<nJla,5a
Prioe aaaodaliofta, 48a
Prioa-Axing, a lemcdy foveKMBve con*-
petitioa, 481.
Priae, 161.
Prodaoer, not uauanr In dli«»t eontaot
vUh tin oonnunei even duiiog tbe
tfafi atac*. 12. Oa CS.
Prograa, the nality of, 4fl9.
Prolatailat. locmalSOB cf an aviinilttual,
230.
Fropcrtioot of the population tn nriooa
tiaea of aetUemanta. 101.
Aoprlotaryrigbta, in open field viHaSB*^ {
237.
Protctlioa. demand for, by the woolen
intercA, 279: the raated intenat prio-
dpla in Eniilaad, 28a
Protadira poliey, besUiaJnc* of. 379.
Piovoat of Fuiit nipttriaot of induatij'f
76. ,
XXX
INDEX
Pniida, dUftn of, in thi^ riRhtMath oeo-
lury «oinpiircd with uTiti'iuily. 42;
oaoupKCional uroupn in 1865. 357.
Public Ileal ih. codl&catiOD of Ibwb,
liiTS, 402; tnijutTy ol lilQti, 40(1; *tnU
ulv of 1S46. iW.
Publia Health Otteo, pntctioiilly BUi>
prMPxliii 1K71.4(J1.
PudcjlioB, coiilriliutiun* by Cort uiiB#r-
tain. 331: dcoctiption of. 330; early
hiitory of. .130.
INirriull, duvuiotiiueat of ■ roJUng mtll.
331-33.
PuttinK-out ayubnn. tbr. tx'itlnmasa of.
In till) woolen indiixlry, 31(S; at i'^U
eheBtcr, 317: (<coDoniirally nuperior to
the futory nj-itom in Ihe early period,
224; eMOut!*l Imtiircs o(, 14-16; ex-
tent of cftpitaliBlJo oontrul in. 347:
not ropre«cnl«d by aweat-ahopa, 18;
v&rfoiu lonn* in the wciolun indu*-
U\v». 231; ill the west of BukImkI
olathinR diilrict, 213; in the woolen
InduAiy, 21H.
Raoe. alkead to be a faotot Id aettle-
mNQt. 12a
Raiioliffo, loom patents. 303.
BkiU. dovelopmont of. 433:.
ItjiiliirBy. Uu, Mwntiftt ((lunirnt' ot. 431;
thoGtiKt Wo««rn'B brood iwuKi-. 447:
8l^>h«naon'« ooDCrptlon of, 439; Iho
Btoektoa and DsrlinKKxi proloot. 430.
RMOnvy Clc«rinB Bouse, the, 408.
lUUniiy Commi«aionen, finrt iirovirion
for. lS-10. 465; funoliotiii ol. 400; pto-
viBon tor. in 1873, 460,
Rftlliray [R«Ulatloa. breinnlnBi of. 463.
tl«i)ways, beipniiiiiw "' the gtmimlc bo-
twoen the Great NcitlH^rii and th«
London and North WealiTU. 450;
tlii'ir rlinrlvr ol llborlica. 464; oom-
potitivc trallio artn». 44H: caroplotton
of the Sootcb conncoUoni. 44^-40;
ooatji of conatruotlon jn vuiouH coun-
trim. 469; e«rly devdtopmonl domi-
nated by loooj inlereflW. 44.1; iiarly
dcvi'Iopmonl non-com petitirti. 441*;
(iktiy proviiinii tor Ihrouich traffic.
444; fint n>K<ilntury art*. 4C;); th«
flnt traitk Uno. 440; the Gladotone
Kward, 461: hixh ooiu <4 conitruo-
tioa in Kn«l»i"!. 4.'>»-00; hoiUllty of
timd(g« to, 440: likelihood of Oov-
cmment control or nipfrrriiion of. 474 ;
I^ndixi ftiid York pFoji^rta. 449: by
lutlurr n monopoly. 4112; the Oriuple
agnx-mcot, 4AI: oppontioii to Parlia-
mmtory dacUndon of mtA*. 471 ; m-
oKiit com bins tion* AmnoK. 408, 473:
ivcnt Gn&Dcio] prtBnire upon. 473;
roBulaliaD propoiod in 1830, 4S3[ iw-
I InUon* b«l««ea, tn taxiy ;•■«■,' 441)
*iciiUioan<M of tbo Gntat NorUMta
Railway. 460; aoarrm of capital tot
ciuly nillwAy*. 443i tn&c evolv-
eiinn amonit. 4lS0.
Itutes. riulwsy, nd]iuit«d bgr traSe <
(cronoHi. 41^: defiaitioB of
bUd, 472; dtmuid* for PkiUaawntuy
rcsulatton of. 470; poir«r of nSmyv
to vajy, 4A4: pioritioD tor rMTirnwin.
470; •ohodtiUa of 1803. 472.
Ratio chortB, opceUI uttm of, 303,
Redlich. J., EniUth Local Ommwrnrnd.
381.
llern-u, tho. facotioiu of the vltUc*, I3QL
Itcfonn, •odol. aaiMr»t caiMta of dow
prograM of, 387.
Refonn, two wdHwU of, SOOt
Reform QUI. diwppolutin«nt of u\imm
ovw. 614-
Keport from the Poor-hem C«ma»ittl»»tt%
on an Jnquiiy intu lln Buitlarii Cm^
dUinn of the l^bourinc PopulaHtm ^
Orrat Briiain. 397,
Rcj'PO. Brrmary o} Suffolk, 221.
Riohard*on. The HiMK at .VoHaa*. a
HrrUw Of On H'orJb <>f Atein CJbod-
tpiek. 392-63.
Bobnrtwn. W. A., CoiMmUUm amo^
ifatifiMir CompamifU, 4SS.
Rookel. tba, mivsem of, 443^
Rodbottiu, 1, 3;diiMUi^D0f the tioaa*-
hold In antiquity, 8.
RoBsra. Thorold. 97.
RolUnff mllli. Cort'i dovdopmant of,
331 ;Pumeir«, 331-32.
Roman tnfliUMioes. in Gaul, 62.
BiMiian inilitulion*. nirvivol of, la
Fmuo*, 63.
Roman land qrBt«m. MMaU:Uly arlat^K
era tie, 131.
Roma, catliGEia, 4d.
Rowing (fuUiDB), natutn ol the prooaaa,
206.
Royal Houaohold, influenca on the ciaft
Klldl. 711.
Kulir HiMiu, iinportonoa oi ltd oool to tba
Gurmaci cartel, 47S.
Saint Riquier, Abb«y of, na Dudeot of a
•Dttlemant, M,
Scab. tbo. Mtltude of the Atnalcuoatod
So«iM7 of finctmam toirwda, £25,
Sehmollor, O., 103-43; ooaoeptiaiL ol
town coonomy. IM.
firhcHitu, KndowniqnU of tildi not tr«a*<
(erred U), 190.
Scotland, roil Donnootiona with, 2tS-4Q,
Soribo. of tbn Xllth Dynaaly, da««Jo>
tion of eraltWQun. XU-41.
Seebohm, P.. 93: M.
aal(-«ufficdoney, inoomplcM en tha froo>
INDEX
ti«T. 7; local. 31; municiixU, 134: not
Uliiiuii]in*d Id tha primitivo liau»-
hold. 4-5: (|tiiiliiii>il by intvr-inhol
Inulc. 0; <]iuliG«l on (Iib iimiior, ISO-
Serf*, uot numoroiu on mBnon. 129.
Sotllcmcnt. Cdtk form* of. 116: devd-
OpiiioDt of VHiouH ronii* in Kborlo,
IIA-IT: tomu of. 113; lonna of. in
England, 110: ncUl Ihcoriea of, IIO;
RomaD forms, 110.
8«llt<tin«at and lUiaovKl. law of, 1903,
-IIS.
SolUomeoU. cb&niot«riiUo ilsw of,
about lOHS. lU; chonotcrittia riM*.
' about 1337, lOS: comUtintiaD of i»>
dnl aad (Kvinomic factor* detOTminlntt
forma of. 120,
St-wiiKi^ r«nioval. Cbodvidc's propoaali
foi ihc iiiiiirovoiiH'nt of, 307.
Sowen, dcfootjvr. in Uvrrpool In IMO.
3SG: dafoeti of curly. 305.
Shaftocbufjr, the Mnxnlh Eail ol, ehai-
ootcrimUon, 391.
8harp nnd Itoberta, loom patvnt*, 303.
SliTCp. important brccdi of. 106,
&iBtt iron. iaUoductloD of, 833.
Shop loom«. 351 ; numbMH at. SSI.
Sjlxiriii. dtivolopmrnt of Inuil vystents in.
118; [uriiis £'f iiPtUwiiciil, Ilft-IT.
SnkB. Eut Indinii. Itnportatioa ptolill>-
ited. 1M7 and ITOft 28*. S«t alta
Enat Indian tnXtilcB.
Silk tnillB, Mrly lU*tory of, 35&.
Simon. Sit John. aboUtfaed tha prirala
OMRpool In the Oty of London. 39^
90: cliAnirI«riiBtlon cl CItadwJek.
303-01: priikinni of Chadwlok'a BtU-
ludit Inward lodi Buthuriti«*. 394.
Siio of farm, profitable a. idatire to
mailMt ooodilloiu, 326,
Slavn. attaolud to villM, 131: In
ElOi^t. 33: lo Greek tnctorin. 44:
numbor of. In antiquity, 8. 38: PK>-
portioiM oif frwmsD and alavM, la
0(«M«. 47.
Btneli holding)!, net* of 1803 and 1007.
2U: advcKvttivJ by J«*n CoUtn^ 24e;
' aeitiiloD for. 243: dvGnilion of, 210;
•xtviil of proMnt need of. 2M.
Small h'jliliiiKit Commiuioncr*, dutjcd
of. 245.
Bmcaton, J., oominpat on Watt** Boj^ne.
272, 32U( hl.i«in« fnglao, 322.
Bmilcii. 8.. /lufuifrtnf lIuiorapKB, 3SS.
So^'incii. of an adminuimtiTc manor,
12C. £« aUo Ycomcu-
Soeial lofuriLnr". 422: HniUih Innimnoc
Aolof lfiM.42fl;olil fiinr, 42h; proba-
ble raaults of. 429: (onic contingcnciM
not fBrnilncty inaurablc. 423: uncni-
ploymani. 427.
Social laddur, Ihu, brrak in, 337.
Socislinn. an iaflucooe In the reomt ta-
bor tnovcinenc. £2)1: rolntion to Chait-
Um, r>13.
HooinliBlo. ntrT«nt aapiistiona of. fl39:
intcrau of. In Mooomie hintory, I.
Sodallnlic. inl^Tprttation of industrial
Iii>(or>-, 3, 3, 4M; viewa on oombinb-
tioof. 403.
Sociology, adopla a arm point of vSow in
aErarian history, 111,
Southampton, 17S.
Bpocialluitioii. amtmslvalhnr irorker* at
Paris. 70: desrco of. at Pniin. la the
eleventh century. 63: of ctnfla. in early
Greece. 43; in Indiulry. oondlttoned
by th(> luarkt-t. 19: of bduatry, by r«-
EiuDR. 8 1 : of occupations, 67.
Bpicc lilandM. the, ttnly Importonoo ot,
377; thu tlruule for, 377.
Spinners, working wi Oieir own wool,
331.
SpinolDit. continuou* and intermitWnt
IHiiKiwiii. 2$S: dcfimnici>« of. in oot-
tojEM, 210: an occupation for the poor,
310: orgaiiiiatlon of. uncertain In the
early period. 303: proom of. 288: by
(uc of toller*. 390; use of rolleri not
tcally uccoinpUshfid by Paul, 293.
SpitiUnt'ldH Act, 1773. iU application,
3T3: a form of compulnry oiUtration,
3T3: petition for lla extonalon to Cov-
•ntry. 370; provlalone of. 872.
SpitaUieMa rlota. 371.
Squattera. Sf< Cottacera.
fltaadliig orders, commitleo on, 401.
Staple, longlli ot. of vkHoiih wools, 195.
Staple, thi?. at Calais. IM; location of,
tM:]mc(ininK of tha term. 153. .iiwa^
Mfrchanl" of the stai'la.
Status of cr&flaioen. dcllncd. SS.
Sijwn coachea. on the hijchwaya, 430i.
St«am <ui|^nc, the. deftcu of, la tha
early daya, 838: NewooowD'a^ 833:
the noa-oondenring type. iMiprineU
ple ot KcweoiDeb'i. 334; Watt's oon-
ceptloo of. 335; Wall'a diffioulliee fai
tnakini, 330.
8l«l, casta about 1850.' 310; early proo-
eaoM and thoir Umltaliona. 34t); pto-
dii»>d by the dinct prooom, 3t0.
Stwl trade, the, conditiorui taodinx to
monopoly in, 478,
Stonlyord. the, oatabltttunent of tha
HfiDsu at London. ISOl
SlephonKin, Gcorie. conception of tha
nature of railway work*. 439; early
nirpv^r. 4.'1K; «ipvr<inent* on trade ■»■
eistance. 438; his principle! of railway
construction adopted in England,
4U0.
Ktvptivn»on, Kr>^HYt. joins with Booth ia
building the Rocket, 442,
Stawud, duUM of a manotiat. 129.
Slookbm owl Dulincton Kailmiy. 439-
40: pmnsjoiw (ot pukckct U«ffie.
4S2.
Slraavin^ medieval lii«r* Tor. 135.
StriegUe of Inventon. in coily aUsn af
Dm InduAilal RavoluUon. 273.
Bumpk Ua factory dmt O&tunI, 233.
Bubddy toUa. •Aord eYidenoe of popuU-
iioD. about 1327, 93.
Suflolk, puttincout tsMtta Is, 218.
Sunuunci^ danvsd Iroui oceupationa,
las.
Sweai^hopt^ elMililcatlon ot, IT.
Tndtiii, Gonnanlaof. 110.
Taff Vale cmu. S27.
Tailunot Ssllibuiy. the. «lian«r of. 188.
Tapcsbrr, maaufaeturc at Om GoboliiM,
224.
Tax roUa, m baoli for ooeupaliooal tU-
tfatiM.i8a.
Tea, becviDM a eUplo (or the poor. 339.
Tnnpic*. work in. in i'-ofPU 33; work
in, in McsopoULiuia, 3&-3S.
Ten Uour< Act, 409.
TeuniilM, oblii^lioiin to cart produce,
130; obliKu'Joiui of, on n IiiHiiur. 128.
Tennot famion, of the Rodibq Empire.
121 : staliiii uhuiiEMl \>y ttio DommU'
tatioD ofluborduee, 131 ; elatu* of the
vlllanl about lOSe.
Tenure o( luid. adapted to economie
oauditiocuii HI; eooiuluEioal definition
o( the problem. 111.
Teutouio oiutoma, durios ^e InraaiaDa,
119.
Teutonic Invadona, not iaeompatibic
witil the (urvtval of Romaa initltu-
tioau,A3.
Ttetlla erafte. at Paris, fa the eleventh
oentury, M; auborditiato importance
of. in Rome, 49.
TmUIo induetriaa, dvpeaitofioe upon
humidity. -Mi: dUocafJona ooeiurinB
duriui tlin Indiletrial Ftovotiitiiu).
iM: fap!*} «liHDK-i> in. 2M: rrlntive
growth of. dunnit tbo iDduilriul Rev-
oliitU.ii. 307-08.
Tniile InvlM, chmiaiui in, duifug the
Induatriol Revolution. 262; no rcOoDt
lendeocy toward vortical intogralloQ.
4S9.
Third Eilate. thp. 39; riae of, 3, 58.
ThoQuu. dovclopnteot of tlio baMe proo-
•ML 344.
Tbtoalle, tfah UmttatJoe* of, 390; fU
priDdptc, 286; BeDtion&l ■new of. 389.
Thurlov. l.or(l. crtticlim of procedure
oa eneloeunT UHk 230.
Thimlon, R. H.. ThtHi^lrrniandOrouXk
»t Om BUam Snaiiu. 320. 430.
Tod-maVint tMxk\atay. bnperUMB a(
S28.
ToRttit Act. lSe7-«8, the. 404.
TowB. diitlncol*liMl (rotii city acid bcf^
ou^, 158; dutioEiiiahrMi fram r«nl
(cttlsmenti^ 158.
Town and oouatry, Tetaifana ta dWeraat
perioda, 29.
Town coonoroy. the. dcambod, 134: aa
orahotHad In tlie Kild merchant, 173;
fupcrfioialily of the ooncvptioG, I35i-
Totm riarniina Act. 1909, 405.
Town*, aixfuire eorporsto privOaii^
183; iroiiitli ot. 183: uiOlCaiy thaoiy.
of thedroriaia, ISA: rite of, 58; in tha
Saxon period. IStl.
Toynbee. A., Ltcturt* m Ike Induabial
Revolalion. 350,
TruJc. auoclatlaiu for foreign. 147;
clutnLaU'rivti? t. of Engliih fair*. I4:i;
with oontinenta) India. 277; tnita
cDSiiEed In, M>; dorelopineot ot, ia
flnlahiid and In unfinlehod doth, 30<i
on the Eiut Coaat of India. 278;
amoDB ERTplian arliMoe, 33; «d-
fnuichlMiiiient ot medieval, 136: tor-
ei«[a, 20: of Greek* and PhrntrlHana,
40: hindfred by nninicdpal law, IBS;
local, 21: with I.OW ComntHea^ IMi
in the Middle As**. 28: In prinMvtt
■ocicty, 6: in woolon |«rD, 201. S*»
aiia Market.
Trade acrremenla, 480.
Tndo unioaa, baaed on tntta, E83;
Royal OunmWoa ol 1888 on, 638;
etatus of, in 1871, 38S: Matua pa^
nimod undev the ataluto ot 1871, 007.
Trodnr. the. aa «pitaUet, 2.
Tts<i«« Coundla, gtauitk ot. S3S; PuU*-
mentary aetivitiai of. fM.
Tradea Uoion, a. noUoa of, 410.
Tndoaman, 00.
Trsffig oonlonmoea, 409.
Tram linsii, a« eoounca earriara, 433; ja
the northen colUariea, 431-
Traoatonutlou, gnat aoda), 347.
Trvwportatico, not an obalacU to di*-
tuit trade In c*rly Umea, 30.
Tperitliielt, R-, eipcrimcnW with tbn
non-eon denuDji noxint, 4^: hiA firwt
looomotiVD, 431-35; hte naa ot alMtat
Iroo. 334.
Trojan Wax, Um, LeaTi Inteipretetioii
ot. 40.
Tnut. raro fn EnglaiKl, 483-
Traat Morament, the, definitien of, 475;
begboinff of, is Onat Drifido. 475.
Tucking mllla, 304.
t7nempI<«iD«Dt Iniaraace. ac4 of ltW0.
427.
Untait compotitirm, among ot>naman, M.
INDKX
KXXllI
Canat, Um prrMtit wcIkI, bub or,
S13.
Uniiiii. O.^ IndiHtrial OrganitoHan in iSt
aialtmUt and SntnUtntk Cmturitt.
333; OiniUi and CompmnM ((f Loiufon,
J70; in the Vi«Mnait CouMy Uittory.
Suffolk. 2\!i.
Vibiuk CouoBQlratioD, fn Mtitiu'iity. 27:
Pnuu and Crt«oe comp&rwl. 43.
UrbMi doTvlopinoDt. bcdmuiiEi of, to
tba (tlumulh OMiluiy. JitL
Urbiui life, rise <A, kmoDK th« GrMlcB.
2C; Bt tbo dmrn o( buUin-. 34.
Urban HTttIi>tiiiinM. bct^iiius* ol. In
Kiittliuid, 158: furuiB of. 168.
Vae, iBnd tonurts buod on, 111.
Viuw ptintKT*. ii) Otmo*. 4&.
Verlipul iiiteKTKtioo, not imaiat la tliB
butile India. 469.
Toaud JiiiitntttK, pioModoa of, in Bnjt-
1*0(1.280.
rMtrian CmMp Bitlon,. Sujfotk. SIS.
Tbw of th« craft, tho. Rt CoIUtBDtl-
notllu. £0; uiipor(iiiir« of. 177.
Villa, the. probably did not nirvive the
inrulona. 131: ita orssniMtioD. 131.
VUlasA. Hcricullui* of tlin medlaval. 1 IS;
MGlcMed, lIStoRicerveleclwl by, 130:
the opon-fleld. 1 13.
TillsffM. pmlomiiiaDlly croBll. In 183T,
Kj7; niu? aUiitt lOSO. 104.
Village blBekuiiith. the. 9; in Gnece,
43: OD the Kmm. 4-A.
Vlllasa eommunlty, tho. erDludon of,
117: oripn ol ^loboMtta, UU.
VillBBen. aHotmeatt of, in the open
6iidt. 11&.
Villiiiii. ihcs oliliitktioni of, 13S: aoqulil-
tion of freedom by, 132.
ViDOvaidoa, P.. 103.
VlntBM*. privil«Kea acquired by. 146.
WMo^eanien, b the Middle Akm. 71.
Wa|» ramlng clas. impticd by the
Statu* of Appraatiof*. Iit2.
Wap-flzIiiK prondoa fur, iii the SUtt-
ute o( ApprentiM*. 198.
WagD •rork. aroong the early Eiorp-
Uana, 33: in UtaopoUmia. 30: uMiou
of. 10.
W^M, boportaot difTeieiioca to, SOI;
bnpOrtanoe of dlaeov«riug rdativo
«l)lii«H in. COO.
Walkw, J.. Btpcrt lo rt« Dintlori of llu
Ll—rpaet aid Mmtktltr Aatliroy.
441.
Wardens. funotlDna of. 76; mode* ol
eholoo, at Puii. 77.
WaM*. MtelaMm of, 236. 333.
Wal«r frame, the, ernnpand with Paul'a
machino, 293; patoot dodorcd void.
200; vkirr of Um fnvmUou. 295. Sta
obo, Throatle.
Wauon. J.. S14.
Watt, J., ooiweptloB of the Moam m-
line, SiS; dnciiptioD'.ot the fint
triahi of the cDtdno, 32fl: early caran',
^'.M; Btriiicnlcsi of. 372: ponnerahjp
with lluullua, 337.
Wnlib, diaihbution of. Id Bii^ncl.
SOS.
Weav«ire. po«itioa in th* SuiTolk voolca
industr}', 230: poiitioa of wonted.
222; probably •morBO Inter than
dyen. 12.
Wuarer'a Aot, the, exceptions. 313-13:
providooa. 212.
WeaMT'i dulw. ^piUilRflda. 371; la th»
wau of RnsluiKi. 1737. 309.
Wearing, u a eottage indiwtir, 31 1 ; do>
gMea of ildll required, a&l : diffusion
of in tha mm) dielrieta, 211; ratoa lor,
370: In towna. 300-10.
Wmving houM, ilic of early Mc*opo>
Umilnti ti>nii>U'ii. 30.
W««k woika, 128.
West of Eoduid aothier Syitem. 331.
Wool. doailtlcalloD of. 195: piportod by
ihfl ItaiiM. 150; eipon*d throuRh
■tapte porta, lS3i pmperlie* cd. 190;
purcbawd by poor people to tpfn.
231 : put ont tv the Suflcdk eiotlii«r.
Woolen iodustry, brood-oloth <li>tri<ita
cumptKl from the Wraver'i Aet. 313;
it* A>aotiT» with tho Mothuon tit*ty,
31>3; rottaBB weaving eifaiiptvil from
the Weaver** A«t. 213; its declim) in
the Ciat Counlloa, 21£: ^eweotial
prootMM o( manafaotiHe, 203-4)S:
finlaliinK not notably devdoped la
Eni^iuid, 2C2: location of the broad-
doth mntiitfikoturti. 211; market (or
tHutlulk cJuth. 230: poeitioo of qilft-
nen in Suflotk. 210; poution of ««*v-
cn in ^^ul!ollc. 220; proportion* d
worknr*. :202: ptolMtwl asaliiat Iba
cumpotition of raltoni. 253: eoale ol,
21<1: Kolo of. in Sufiolk. 331; tlaUt-
ixnl afUe 1&6&. 214; niffered frem
competition in the •evenieontb oc«-
tuiy. 315; wearini in cotlagae, 3lli
weaving in tonroa. 311: nuiubera ol
penoo* occupied in. 10T9 and 1741,
208.
WooltB Bfport. the. 1800. 231, 333.
Woolnnn. charaeleriatiCT of. 197; diri>-
iic4ocy of their hiiiocy, 19$; cotnpe-
tjtion with wontada, 198; types ot,
1Sfil-&3, 197.
Workhou**. the, oridoal oonMptloo of.
4ie; the misKl. prior to 1834. 419.
Workingmen'* Friendly Sodctke, tbfk
ZZXIV
INDEX
HomuL cmIMh rindlar to, 4S. 5m oIm
ConlrMe.
Worluhopa, 17; reguUtsd nndw the Mit
of 1S07, 414.
Worid oonuoeroe, in tba Middle Asm,
137.
Worsteds, oluiMteristiM of, 108; riae ol
the Indiutnr. 190; tyim of, 1S78 and
1739, 200-01.
Wonted industry, its oompetitive
■treogtli, 206; nustar oomben, 222;
OTEUkisadoii qI, 222; proporiJooA of
iroABi«,207.
Wrought iron, prodnoed in Uw bloomerr
furnace, 31S.
Wyatt, J., his dalma to the qdnniiig
inveotloit, 290; ooranuit with Paul.
292; relatioDS with FWd, 201.
XetuqdMB. ilMBripHow of tntt liidi»
try, 4S.
Yarn, opart of wtHAad, S2S; gndes of
ootton, 200; Btrmsth of ootton, under
Tarlant humidity oar>dltioBS. 3M;
worsted. Its manntaotun qieeialiaed,
207-W; Bast Indiaiu, impctrtMl, 2S5:
labcH' ooBts of produdnc ia KnllaTl^
and Id India. 312-13; prioM and ooKi
of ootton, 31S-13; pcodnotira at, hr
oottatgsrs In tha west of Bngland, 222.
Yeoman, dednltkui of. about 1060, I»;
eitanded meaniin of tha tettn after
1400, 183.
YeoEoao ftRnlnc 237.
Young, ProfessarA. A., 611; on tbe<
oentration of wealth. 603.
FOR COLLEGE UTERATURE
COURSES
HISTORY AND CRTnCISM
BoTTA— Huidbook of Uohmnl litcntec
GknifBiNK —Stork* from BrawninK.
HlNCHUAN AND GUUMBKB — UvC* of Gmt fiogKA TlttMl frtMB
Chaucer to Brownby;,
Matthews — A Study of Venlfiotloa.
Havnadhk — Tile Arthur of tbcEog^ Podh
Pi"V — A Study ol FV»e Rctkin.
Root —The Poetry of Chaucer.
SiuoMna — A Studeof t Hlrtory of EdgSih Utenluic
SiwoNDS — A Student* t iJMory of American litenturc
Baku — Dranutle Technique.
Bkookk — The Todoe Drama.
Matthivts — A Study of tlM Drama.
ScHKLLiNG — A Hilary of the EBtabethan Drama, a vola.
ANTHOLOGIES
POETRY
Holt — Leading EotlUi Poeti from Chaucer to Browntng.
NuLSON AND Wkbstek— TIm Chltf Bcllbh Poeb of the Fo«>
tecnth and Fifteenth Centurtce.
Page — The Chief American Poctt.
WasTOM — The Chief Middle Engllth Poet*.
PROSE
Alden — Readfav In EngHih Proee of the Eighteenth Ccntory.
Aldxn — Readingi hi Engliih ProM of the Niaetccnth Century.
Fait I; Pan 11; Complete.
FoERSTKR — The Chief American PrcMC Trtlen.
THE DRAMA
DicKiNWi* — Chief Contemponry Dranutltte,
Matthbw) — Chief European Dnunatliti.
Nbilson— The Chief T^^■rf^t>f Dramalieti (except Shak»
ipeara) to the Close of the Theaires.
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY
BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAQO
For College Classes
PHILOSOPHY AND ETHICS
Cuihmin't A Begiaaer'B HUlory ol Pbilosopbr
Dnke'i Problems of Conduct
Drihkc't Problems ot Religion
Libby'i An lutcoductii^u la the Uiitoiy d Sci«DC«
Rmcl's The Modem Cimsiciil Philosophvn
Rand's Th« CliSMcal MoTklists
ScUara'* EueatUla ol Lagic
PSYCHOLOGV AND EDUCATION
Avcrill's ^rcholosT for Norm*! Scboote
Bobbin's The CuirJcuium
Chartcrs'i Teaching Ihc Common BrnncbM
Cubbcrlcy'^ The History of Education
Cubbcrlej ''' Readings in llie History ot Educaboo
Cabbeiky'a Rural Life anJ Educaiiao
Cubberiey's Public Education ja the United States
Dooley'a Principles and Methods of Industrial EduCatiOB
Earhart'* Types o( TeacliiiiK
Edman'i Humaii Trails and Their Sodal SigmficuiM
Fn-i;innn's ExpcnmeiilAl Education
Er«m!iu's How CiiildrcQ Learn
Freeman's The Psychology of the Common BroAchet
Ing1K'« Principles of Secondary Education
Kirkpatricit's The Individual in the Making
Lan^fctd and Allpori's Elementary Laboratory Coutm (a
Ptycholoe;
LciitiL-'a Industrial Education: Its Problems, Methods, and Daa*
SMS
Leakc't Means and Methods o( Actlcultural Education
McMurry's (C. A.) Conflictinj; PrindplM in Teacbtii(
McMurry't (F. M.) How to Study
Nolan't Teaching of Agriculture
O'Slivj's Social Development and Education
Raod's The ClasMcal PiycholoEi^ta
Rucdiitrr'', The Prini;iplf s of Education
Smith's An Iniioductiun to Kduc«tio<uJ Sociology
Snedden'* Problems of Educational Readliutmcat
Sineddcn'^ Probhms of Secondjiry Edncatiao
Tctman's The Hyj;i-n-t of the School Child
"Trier** Growth and Education
Waddle's An Introduction to Child PsytiuAoa
Wamn's Human Paychology
WiMn'k HvtintiDn of School Work
Woodley's The Piofenloa of Teachlot
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY
IMl
For College Classes
BUSINESS
Cole^s ACGcntntei Tbttr Coflibvcuon ud Ifitirnnttiflm
Hall's Writtng u AdvertlMnwat
Harris's Pnctlcal Bankliic
Lyon's Corpondon Finaiica
Lyon's The Prindples of Taxation
UOnsteiberg's PircholoKT and Indiistilal Sffldaw?
Raymond's Amarican and Ponign Invevtment Boodi
Thompson's Th« ThMiy and Fnctk* of ScUotiflc HnHg*
nuot
SOaOLOGY
CalUns's SiAMtitatei far tfa« Saloon
Qevdand and Schafer's Democrat In RMOnstnctlail
I>ealey*s Tlio Famllr fat Ita Sociological Aipectl
Foster's The Social Smetgancy
HoUander's The Abolition of Poretty
Elikpatridc's Fundamental! of Sockdogy
Shotwdl's The Rellgjooa Rerolatloa of To-d«f
JOURNALISM
Bleyer's Newspaper Writing and Editing
Bleyer's Typea of Hews Writing
fileyer's How to Write Special Featnra AftidM
Lee's History of Journalism
PUBLIC SPEAKING
Baaaett's Handbook of Oral Expression
Foster's Argnmentatioa and Debating
Russell's Vocal Culture
SPANISH
McHale'a Spanish Taught fai Spanish
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY
IMS
For College Classes
HISTORY
Tha Rlvcnide Btotacy of Ui« Doited Stataa. Four tolumet
(t) Becker's BegjBBliigs of Ut« American People — (i) John-
son's Vnloa tad DMBOcnc; — (.0 Doda'i Eipaosloii tad
Conflict — (4) P&xMiii's The Hew Hatioii.
Riirm's [olerveBtloa aod Colooiiatioo la Afiiaa
Jeffery'* Tlie Kew Europe, 1769-1880
Johnson's RcMUogi la America Ooaatitutic>tul Rlctoiy
Laodoa's Tlie OunUtatlHMl BiMoty «nd GoTenaMat ol Ih*
United States
Lowell's Tlie Ere of the French Revolutloa
Mardodc's The Reconstruction of Europe
Pnkini'a Prance in the American Rerohitioa
Ptrkini'a Franca under (he RegcQCy
Perkins's France under Louis XV, T-av Vatamei
PlocU's Epitome of Ancient, MedUeval, and Modem HlEtOty
Ropes's Tbe First Napoleon
Sdispiro's Modem and Cootamporu? Borepcu Blatoiy
Sample's Amerkaa BiMocy and Its Geographic Conditiooa
Slater's The HaUos of Modem England
Sianwood's History of the I'rcsideney
Taylor's The Origin and Growth of the American CoosfitulMa
Taylor's The Oricin and Growth of the English Coostltutloa
Taswctl-Langmcad's English Constitutional History
Thomdike's Tbe HIstofy ol UwJlKral Europe
Usher's ladtisttiil History of En^and
Weil's Introduction to tha History of Modem Europe
GOVERNMENT
Johnson's Readings ia American Const! tutional Hlstoiy
Leacock't The Elements of Polltkal Sclaoco
StowcU'R Intemaiioail CtMB. Vol. L Peace. MeL U. Wtl
and neutrality.
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY
IMl
«J
THE HISTORY OF EUROPE
MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY
EUROPEAN HISTORY
By J, SuwYii SciiAPnio. 11i.l> . of Ibc Colkgt of tb« CStr of
New York. SttfiA Imprttiion. Btviatd io At Wm (/ A»
Otal War. ?74 j/at"- '-"^ mapi.
A tnrtbook writton especially (or AnMrnrftn collfjtr cIiimm.
Witli tliv paint of view u( the impartial bi&turiaii, Prufeuor
SduifHro intcrpretx Europeui civilian linn on tbv buu ti
intdlectual and matenal profiras. Military and p<Jitical
C^'rnt* slnnn no longer cuDxtilute tlte complete xcnjte of *
textbook in liistory; §ocial and rconoiuic problcini Mid
acKii-veunait-H havo canif. to utru jiii «juiiJly ini[K>rtuiit pl«r«.
That the Biithorrix'OBiiizcs this siKnifironttctidrao'i* P'ovcd
b,v hja i.-RiiiIialio and gi^tieroua trciLlmi-iit of the development
of (lir democratic idrsl. it^ iiifliicnrc and its exprrsxiont,
found in sucli movements aa soeialism, syndicalism and
leininiain. Aii ntvttnitc p<'rsi>ective li secured fur tbe stu-
dent, inastnucb as incrcasinxly more attcntioD is jpvtsx to
the periods a& they approach our own time.
THE HISTORY OF MEDIEVAL EUROPE
By l.Ttw TiioR>rt>ntt. Ph D- of nVslcrn Ri-ktw L'nivmitr,
EdJtrd by Jamm T. Shutwell. u( Columbia Univcnity. dMj
pages, ii mcpa.
A textbook »Tittcn wpccially for American collqte cli
It " traces the history of the European and Mediterraneaal
oouiitric* from tbr decline of tlic Roman Empire, froia tlwJ
beginning of Christianity, to the discovery of the AnuncaKj
continents, and to the eve of tiie re%-olt of tlie Ptatotknlsl
from the church of Rome." In attention to tbe signifiraocaj
of economic and social conditions, to the influence of geog*
raphy upon civilization, and in luriiixhlng a vivid and «cl(^
tivc badtground for the events of history, tliis volume is a
distinctive addition to Itie Itut of tcjil))oak* on European
history of the Middle Arcji. A particular appeal to the
student is made by the (ocusinB of interest and attention
upon ■ few of the Bfentrst (fenionalit ic* of the times, like
Gregory the Great, Mohammed and Justinian.
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY
BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO
or b-
FAIL 19'
RLSFRV
I'
E
;'n
1
^v"'
m
1
OCT f,'G2
"
Ml 17 Wl
MftYlO 19?3
1
APRlsm JUN \9Bb
1
\
Stanford University Library
Stanford, California
1
.^
In order that others may use this book,
please return it as soon as possible, but
ODt later than the date due.
1
1
1
^^^^^^^^^^HJ^B^^^^^^^^^^^k
1