ECONOMIC CONDITIONS: 1815 & 1914
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ECONOMIC CONDITIONS
1815 & 1914
H. R. HODGES, B.Sc. (Econ.)
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LONDON : GEORGE ALLEN & UNWIN LTD.
RUSKIN HOUSE 40 MUSEUM STREET W.C.
First publisJied in 1917
{All rights reserved)
PREFACE
This essay was originally written under the title
of " The Economic Condition of the People of
England in 1815 in Comparison with the Present
Day," and won the Paul Philip Reitlinger Prize in
the University of London in 1915. The subject was
set in the autumn of 1914, and the essay was written
before the effects of the war (apart from the confusion
at its outbreak) on the national welfare had begun to
be felt, or their significance realized. In 1815 the
country, with the rest of Europe, awoke from a
nightmare of war. In 1914 Europe entered into a
second and more terrible nightmare, in which Eng-
land is more involved than in the previous case.
At the present time when half the able-bodied male
population is cheerfully submitting to a complete
regimen of work, religion, diet, sleep, clothing, clean-
liness, and rate and manner of movement; when the
remainder of the population is grumblingly acquiesc-
ing in the restrictions of lighting facilities, the regula-
tion of food and drink supply and other annoyances;
when economic England has become England at war,
war being the negation of economics ; and when, to
quote a true statement by the German Chancellor,
6 PREFACE
" the spiritual and material progress which were the
pride of Europe at the beginning of the twentieth
century are threatened with ruin ; " this survey of the
effect of a century's progress on the economic condi-
tions of the people of England, is pubHshed in the
hope that, as the history of the past century has dis-
played the abihty of the "people" to occupy fitly a
position of ever-growing importance in the economy
of the nation and to deal successfully with internal
problems, so the development of that ability will, in
the present century, extend with salutary results
to the wider and more intricate field of international
problems.
H. R. HODGES.
December 1916.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
FAOB
LSTBODUCTION ...... 9
CHAPTER n
POPULATION ..... 22
CHAPTER in
FIXAKCE ...... 35
CHAPTER IV
OCCUPATIONS ..... 47
CHAPTER V
BEMX7MEBATI0N . . . . .70
CHAPTER VI
COKCLUSIOK ..... 89
ECONOMIC CONDITIONS
1815 AND 1914
CHAPTEE I
INTRODUCTION
The importance of the date " 1815 " for the purpose
of comparison with the present day is due to cir-
cumstances which may well be described by the
following quotations : "The history of the nineteenth
century begins about 1780 when the cotton inventions
of Arkwright and others were taking effect and when
the Bridgewater canals and improved roads were
making transport comparatively cheap and easy," ^
but "During the course of the [Napoleonic] War,
England suspended almost all internal improvement." ^
" The year 1815, indeed, marks an epoch. . . .
Twenty-five years before as it seemed Europe had
fallen into a dream ; the dream had rapidly grown
into a nightmare, and now the world, having by
dint of desperate effort thrown off the incubus and
• Lord Welby, Journal of tlie Statistical Society, January 1915.
= C. A. Fyffe, " History of Modern Europe," popular edition,
p. 367.
9
10 ECONOMIC CONDITIONS: 1815 & 1914
waked, looked forward to a life of sober reality, a
period not of dreams but of facts." ^
The fact that the year 1815 so excellently marks the
date of the " awakening " to a life of sober reahty
renders it peculiarly difficult to estimate the condition
of the people of the time. The economic stirrings
prior to the outbreak of the Napoleonic Wars were
overshadowed by and subordinated to a state of affairs
in which the economic machinery was deranged. On
the other hand, the immensity of the development
in all branches of human activity in the hundred
years following 1815 invests the inquiry with great
interest.
" Few perhaps realize that the whole framework of
modern life is economic . . . fewer still know how
new a thing that framework really is — that it began
with machinery and steam and has been built up
within a century." =
Although, in view of these statements, the warning
of Maitland, that economic history is not catastrophic,
may not be applicable to the nineteenth century,
nevertheless, Mr. L. L. Price's remark that people
are too prone to think that changes are not only
catastrophic but simultaneous and uniform is only too
true. In some places we find survivals, in others
anticipations, for in economic matters inertia is
great, and in the nineteenth century the forces
to overcome that inertia have been partial in appli-
' Alison Phillips, " Modern Europe," p. 1.
" William Smart, "Economic Annals of the Nineteenth Century,"
vol. 1801-20.
INTRODUCTION 11
cation. The history of the first decades of the
century is largely the history of the growth of that
highly praised freedom to do those things which
appeared to the practical men of the time to be
beneficial — a freedom which took its origin in the
revolutionary effects of the introduction of machinery
and steam.
One particular aspect of this laissez-faire move-
ment needs special attention. Bagehot, in dealing
with the "postulates" of political economy, treated
transferability of labour and capital as the two
most important assumptions underlying economic
argument; and in comparing the economic condition
of the people of England in 1815 with that of the
people of 1914, the reduction of the "friction" which
prevented mobility of labour in 1815 requires special
notice.
Mobility of labour may be analysed into two kinds
— place-mobility and trade-mobility. AbiHty to move
from place to place depends on legal restriction, and
expense of moving; ability to move from trade to
trade depends on Trade Union restriction, and the
nature of the trades and the extent to which division
of labour has been carried. The will to move from
place to place or from trade to trade depends upon
the spread of information which enables a com-
parison of conditions to be made, and a state of
general education which will enable people to take
advantage of information available and give them
confidence to trust themselves in new parts or other
occupations.
12 ECONOMIC CONDITIONS: 1815 & 1914
Locomotion.
Private railways were first brought into use at the
beginning of the seventeenth century in the New-
castle collieries, but the first Act of Parliament for
the construction of a public railway was passed in
1801, and by 1815 only sixteen such Acts had been
passed. The longest railway then contemplated was
26 miles (including branch lines). As late as 1838,
G. K. Porter spoke with pride of the existence of
fifty-four four-horse and forty-nine pair-horse mail-
coaches with an average speed of less than nine
miles an hour. This rate of travelling was described
by him as being " whirled along," the personal
safety of the passengers not being so endangered as
might have been expected on account of the improved
construction of the coaches and roads and of the
superior character of the drivers. This mode of
conveyance was " costly." The country in 1815
was, in fact, almost without passenger traffic.
At the present time there are over 16,000 miles of
double and single railway hne open in England
and Wales, carrying passengers at the rate of Id. a
mile to all parts of the country. There are in
addition over 2,000 miles of tramways and light
railways. Almost every large city has its own
tramway system, which plays an important part in
conveying workers to and from their work. No
less than 2,500,000,000 passengers are now carried
yearly on these 2,200 miles of tramway and light
railway.
INTRODUCTION 13
Legal Restriction.
" One instance will show the spirit of the Govern-
ment in 1815. It was penal for a skilled artisan to
seek a better market for his labour by going abroad.
He might even be arrested if suspected of meaning
to do so."^ The motives which prompted this
restriction of the workman's freedom and the con-
ditions which made its enforcement possible have
long since disappeared.
There was also the law of settlement, the founda-
tion of which was a statute of 1662, the provisions
of which were based on the fact that " by reason
of some defects in the law, poor people are not
restrained from going from one parish to another,
and therefore do endeavour to settle themselves in
those parishes where there is best stock" — a state of
affairs which is in accordance with modern economics.
Abundant evidence as to the extent to which this
law was operative was furnished to a Committee
appointed in 1815 to inquire into the state of men-
dicity and vagrancy in the Metropolis and its
neighbourhood. In the years 1812-15, when the
average expenditure on the relief of the poor was
just over six million pounds yearly, a further sum
of £330,000 was spent yearly in " law, removals,
etc."
There is, unfortunately, no definite quantitative
evidence of the immobility of the population in 1815
compared with 1914. The following figures, relating
to a quarter of a century later, emphasize the dif-
• Lord Welby, Journal of tJie Statisiical Society, January 1915.
14 ECONOMIC CONDITIONS: 1815 & 1914
ference. The census returns for 1841 show that per
100 persons enumerated in that year
159 in England, and
13-9 in Wales,
were residing out of the counties of their birth.
The corresponding figures for England and Wales
in 1911, per 100 males and females respectively,
were
32-9 males and
35-1 females.
Trade Unions.
While in 1815 lack of education and information,
legal restrictions and the expense of travelling
hindered place-mobility, there was little restriction
on trade-mobility, except indirectly owing to the
localization of industries in some cases preventing
change of trade without change of place.
Prior to 1825 combinations of workmen were for-
bidden. To-day the great industries of the country
(excluding agriculture) are organized, and " there
is . . . pretty general agreement that at present
Trade Union ideas and regulations are very inimical,
if not hostile, to trade-mobility — the many bitter
and prolonged disputes being cited in proof. So
long, for instance, as a bricklayer is prevented by
his union from doing stone-mason work, or a pattern-
maker from being a joiner, it is hopeless to speak
of mobility. . . . Mr. Ramsay MacDonald, M.P.,
gives the reason quite frankly. ' The organization
INTRODUCTION 15
of labour is absolutely essential in view of the
organization of capital, and it is practically im-
possible to organize labour if there is much fluidity
of labour between trade and trade.' " ^
Information and Education.
Prior to 1833 not a penny of public money was
spent on education. There existed in 1815 two
societies for promoting education. They were the
National Schools founded in 1811 by Dr. Andrew
Bell, and the British Schools founded in 1814, con-
tinuing the monitorial method of teaching favoured
by Lancaster. Both classes of school were supported
by voluntary efifort. Their work was partial and verj'
ineflicient. The attitude of the governing class to-
wards the question of popular education is described
in a "recollection" of Brougham (who had been chair-
man of a committee in 1816 appointed to consider
the question of pubHc instruction) that he had been
accused of aiming at "dictatorship" by "under-
mining the foundations of all property." This fear
of creating popular discontent was so great and
persistent that even in 1847 G. R. Porter could say
that the feeling "that an agricultural labourer was
little above a brute, and that to educate him would
merely have the effect of rendering him dissatisfied
with his situation of life — is fast giving way to more
enlightened and benevolent views."
The state of education, in as far as ability to sign
one's own name is a test, in 1815 is shown by an
' Majority Report, Poor Law Commusion, 1905, Cd. 4499, p. 348.
16 ECONOMIC CONDITIONS : 1815 & 19U
examination of marriage registers for the years
1839-44. Approximately one-third of the men and
one-half of the women married in those years were
unable to sign their own names. ^ The advance
since that time has been enormous. Elementary
education was made universally obtainable in 1870,
compulsory by Acts of 1876 and 1880, and free in
1891. Not only is elementary education universal,
free, and compulsory everywhere until the age of
12 years and in most places until the age of 14 years,
but secondary and university education is becoming
increasingly popular. Education, moreover, is re-
garded not merely as beneficial but "as a matter
of national importance," "a national investment."^
The benefit to the people themselves is referred
to by Sir Kobert Giffen in the following terms : The
expenditure on the old School Boards " may be
regarded as an expenditure for the improvement of
the whole people, by which their earning capacity
is to be largely improved. "3
The increased ability of the people of the country
to take cognizance of matters other than the events
occurring within the narrow circle of everyday life has
called forth the large scale production of literature —
newspapers and periodicals. It was not until 2nd
November 1816 that the price of Cobbetfs Political
• See G. R. Porter, " Progress of the Nation." Fifty per cent, of the
people married were between 20 and 25 years of age, and 25 per cent,
between 25 and 30 years of age in 1839-44.
= Marshall, " Principles," 5th edition, p. 21G.
3 " Statistics," edited by Henry Higgs, C.B. (1913).
INTRODUCTION 17
Begister was reduced from Is. O^d. to 2d. a copy, and
it was then addressed, for the first time, "To the
Journeymen and Labourers of England, Scotland, and
Ireland." The power of Cobbett's writings helped to
give the expression of discontent among the labouring
classes a new direction, turning their energies from
rioting and machine-breaking to pohtical agitation
and other less violent methods of drawing attention
to their condition. In addition to the function of
popular instructor, the newspapers, by reason of their
increased use and cheapness, became important means
of directing all kinds of employers and workers to all
sorts of workers and work respectively.
In 1909 an immense advance on this method of
"exchanging labour" was made by an Act establishing
State Labour Exchanges, under the direction of the
Board of Trade. The work of this new departure is
shown by the tables on pages 18 and 19.
It is seen that in 1914 over 2 million individuals
effected 3^ million registrations for work ; that IJ
million vacancies were notified to the Labour Ex-
changes, of which over 1 million were filled, 800,000
persons being provided with work at least once during
the year.
In each year since the Exchanges opened, the totals
have shown an increase, but in all the tables the totals
are formed roughly three-fifths of men, one-fifth of
women, the remaining one-fifth being boys and girls,
boys rather exceeding girls in number.
From Tables II and III it is seen that about
one-third of the registrations result in work being
2
18 ECONOMIC CONDITIONS: 1815 & 1914
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INTHODUCTION
19
found ; and that three-quarters of the vacancies
notified are filled by the Exchanges.
Table II.
PERCENTAGES OF NU^IBERS REGISTERED FOR WHOM
WORK WAS FOUND.
Year.
Hen.
Women.
Boys.
Girls.
ToUJ.
1911
27-5
31-7
46-7
42-9
310
1912
32-8
32-9
48-2
43-4
34-9
1913
30-8
37-9
54-1
471
34-9
1914
36-7
33-6
54-2
41-3
37-6
Table III.
PROPORTION PER CENT. OF VACANCIES FILLED TO
VACANCIES NOTIFIED.
Year.
Men and Women.
Boys and Girls.
AU.
1912
800
69-7
77-9
1913
77-8
66-6
75-4
1914
76-9
690
75-5
This work has not superseded that of the newspapers
which continue to hnk up workers and employers.
Casual labour is not included in the above tables.
It is clearly a case for organization and regulation,
and it receives special attention. In docks, for
20 ECONOMIC CONDITIONS: 1815 & 1914
example, the amount of work is fluctuating, and, on
account of harbour dues, demurrage, etc., it must be
done quickly. The aim is to reduce to as small a
number as possible the body of men doing odd jobs
for which no skill is required and employment is
intermittent. The work of the Labour Exchanges
in this respect is shown in the following tables : —
HOP AND FRUIT PICKING.
Tear.
1913
1914
Vacancies filled by
Labour Exchanges.
... 4,933
... 8,031
GENERAL POST OFFICE— CASUAL HELP.'
Year.
Applications.
Vacancies filled.
1911
—
33,264
1912
—
39,700
1913
46,894
42,343
1914
44,626
35,553
CASUAL REGISTER.
Year.
No. of Men
(Individuals)
given Casual
Employ-
ment.
No. of
Jobs Given.
Dock.
Cloth
(Man-
chester).
Cotton
(Liver-
pool).
1912
1918
1914
5,510
5,730
224,036
204,629
154,967
158,881
133,658
114,401
62,047
69,013
38,914
3,108
1,958
1,652
' Included in tables previously given.
INTRODUCTION
21
Other help is given to workers, in the form of
the payment of fares for travelling to places where
employment has been found through the Exchanges.
Years.
No. of Fares Paid.
AmoTint Advanced
(Bepayable).
1913
1914
Total 1910-1914
9.200
20,300
54,800
£2,900
£7,600
£18,000
CHAPTER II
POPULATION
In this chapter will be investigated some of the
e£fects of the changes described in the last chapter
by means of which the working population became
able to understand its position and fitly to occupy
a definite place in the economy- of the nation.
Although the inquiry relates to the " people of
England " the Welsh counties have been included
within the definition of "England"; first, and chiefly,
because so much statistical information relates to
England and Wales as a whole, and because, in
dealing with such data, the influence of Wales, on
account of the smallness of its population, is not
great ; secondly, because the counties are linked up
industrially with the adjoining English counties.
In spite of the modern practice of regarding the
"people" of England as consisting of some large
percentage of the population of England measured
from the lower end of the social scale, it is in-
expedient to attempt to draw a line at any par-
ticular class of occupation or income.
The " economic condition " of the people of
England may be otherwise described as the state of
POPULATION 23
their material welfare, the investigation of which,
for the purposes of comparison with 1815, covers
much more than a statement of wages and prices
which for a shorter period is frequently deemed
sufficient.
For the purpose of the inquiry the country has
been divided into eight areas, in the composition of
which attention has been paid to geographical
proximity and industrial similarity. The latter con-
sideration has not presented much difficulty in most
cases, for the Industrial Revolution was in full
progress at the time of the French wars, so that
for the most part counties which had made headway
in manufactures or mining or were still preponder-
antly agricultural by 1815, are the leaders of their
respective industries to-day. The differences of
intensity (of agriculture or manufactures) have,
however, become more marked.
The growth of the population of England and
Wales in the nineteenth century contrasts strikingly
with that of the preceding century, when it is
estimated (from parish registers and hearth and poll-
tax returns) that the numbers increased only from
5i millions to nearly 9 millions, two-thirds of the
increment taking place after 1760 : —
Tear.
1700
1710
1720
1730
Population
(thousand!).
Increase per cent,
in Preceding Decade
5,475
—
5,240
- 5
5,565
... -f 6
5,796 ...
... + 4
24 ECONOMIC CONDITIONS: 1815 & 1914
Tear.
1740
1750
1760
1770
1780
1790
1801
Population
Increase per cent.
(thouBands).
in Preceding Decade
6,064
... + 5
6,467
+ 7
6,736
... + 4
7,428
... + 10
7,953
... + 7
8,675
... + 9
8,892
4- 3
Between 1811 and 1911 the population increased
from 10,160,000 to 36,080,000, a 3|-fold increase.
In the decade 1811-21 the rate of increase was
18 per cent. This high percentage is described in
Marshall's " Principles " as one of the results of
" indiscriminate poor law allowances " and the
removal of " the pressure of the great war and the
high price of corn."
In the succeeding nine decades the rate of increase
has varied between 11 per cent, and 16 per cent.
Decade.
Per cent. Increase of
Population.'
1811-21
181
1821-31
15-8
1831-41
145
1841-61
12-7
1851-61
11-9
1861-71
13-2
1871-81
14-4
1881-91
11-7
1891-1901
11-7
1901-11
10-9
The changes in each of the eight areas into
which the country has been divided are set out in
the following table : —
' Cd. 6399, p. 393,
POPULATION
25
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South Wales — Monmout
Breconshire, Carmart
Northern — Cumberland,
Northumberland, D
Yorkshire, Flintshire,
South - Ea htbrn— London,
fordshire, Surrey, Bus
Midland— Derbyshire, Nc
shire, Leicestershire,
cestershire, Northam]
MiD-SouTii— Oxfordshire,
Buckinghamshire, GL
Eastern— Lincolnshire, C
shire, Norfolk, Suil
Rutlandshire
South-Wehtkrn— Cornwa
shire, Somersetshire
Rest of Wales — Ang
Merionethshire, Mont
shire, Radnorshire,
shiro, Herefordshire
a
■<
o
<
a
7.
w
26 ECONOMIC CONDITIONS: 1815 & 1914
The statement above (page 23, lines 13-16) with
reference to the workings of the Industrial Kevolution
is confirmed by this table. Whether one considers
columns (2) or (4), the order of districts is not much
different from that in which they are placed by
reference to column (5). Examination of the census
returns shows that the same order holds good if
the rates of increase in any decade of the century
be substituted for either of the columns (2), (4), or (5).
While, however, the order remains unchanged, it has
been ascertained that the range of the increments per
cent, has increased in almost every successive decade.
If the individual county rates of increase of popula-
tion be considered, the increase in the range is, of
course, more marked than in the case of the groups.
The change is illustrated in the following diagrams
and table : —
Counties showing the—
Decade.
Smallest Increase in
Population.
Greatest Increase in
Population.
1801-11
1811-21
1821-31
1891-1901
1901-11
Per cent.
Rutlandshire 0
Radnorshire 5
Yorkshire (N. Riding)
and Merionethshire 3
Westmorland ... - 3
Merionethshire ... - 7
Per cent.
Merionethshire ... 34
Lancashire 27
Monmouthshire ... 3G
Middlesex 46
Middlesex 42
The fact brought to light by the above figures, that
those parts of the country (counties, one might say)
which were developing manufactures, and in which
the growth of population was very rapid in 1815, are
POPULATION
27
DCCADL
I8II-I8Z-I.
3<Hmi MILC5.
SOOTH- i/KTE»M
I
DECADL
1901- 191
niD-sovm
eastekh
liOWTH V/ALlS.
tii^
-*r;-
FERCE!rrAO£ cha:?gzs rs population of qbocps of cocntces
OF ESGLAND Ajn) WAXES.
28 ECONOMIC CONDITIONS: 1815 & 1914
the leaders to-day, has found its greatest exempHfi-
cation in the case of towns. The manufacturing
interests in the towns encouraged migration, so far
preventing the rigid enforcement of the Settlement
Law. According to Mr. Briggs : " Much of the move-
ment was voluntary, and more, increased mobility must
have come even if there had been no revolutions. The
old Settlement Laws and the Statute of Apprentices,
which regulated entry into trade, were still nominally
in force, but were mere survivals and bound to become
a dead letter should events turn against them." ^ As
we have seen in Chapter I, events did turn against
them, but the small headway made by the towns by
the first decade of the century appears to afford proof
of the efficiency of the physical and legal and intel-
lectual hindrances to movement.
" In 1801 the condition of things was that whilst a
commencement had been made in the development of
our manufactures and mines, things had not proceeded
very far, and there was no town outside London which
contained so many as 100,000 inhabitants. The num-
ber of those which had at the least 4,000 inhabitants
I make to have been 112 ; and there were smaller
towns, ranging from a population of 1,000 upwards,
to the number of 457. . . . Even of the smaller towns
with 1,000 inhabitants and upwards, as many as 63
were so mixed up with rural populations that I have
found it better to merge them in the mass." ^
Mr. Welton's evidence is authentic.
» " Economic History," p. 21G.
* T. A. Welton, Journal of the Statistical Society, December 1900,
p. 527 seq.
POPULATION
^
The table on pages 30 and 31 sets out the popu-
lations of the largest of the towns (together with their
10-yearly rates of increase) at the first four censuses.
The figures are abstracted from "Accounts and Papers "
of the 1831 enumeration (vol. 5). It purports to give
all the towns in Great Britain having a population
of 50,000 or more. Dundee with 45,000 and Hull
with 48,000 are, however, included.
Excluding the Scottish towns, there were then, in
1811, seven towns with a population of at least 50,000.
By 1821 the number had increased to eight. These
eight towns contained, in 1821, 16 per cent, of the
whole population of England and Wales.
To compare with this we have, in 1911, no less
than ninety-eight towns with a population of at least
50,000. They contained 48 per cent, of the whole
population of England and Wales. The distribution
of these towns at the respective dates was as
follows : —
Districts
(aa in Table on page 23).
Number of Towns with Population
of at leaat 50,000.
1821.
1911.
South Wales
Northern
South-Eastern
Midland
Mid-South
Eastern
South-Western
Rest of Wales
2
1
1
2
1
1
4
•4
17
8
Total
8 1 98
!
30 ECONOMIC CONDITIONS: 1815 & 1914
s
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32 ECONOMIC CONDITIONS: 1815 & 1914
This again emphasizes the differences noted in
dealing with county populations.
Another aspect of the same question is given by the
following figures : —
Density of Population (England and Wales).
Whole population (per 100 acres)
Of population of districts whose characteristics
were rural in 1911 (per 100 acres)
The foregoing evidence of the urbanization of the
population is emphasized by the table opposite.
From the last column it is seen that after a certain
point of size is attained, the rate of increase of
population is checked — there is no more room in the
town — a point of saturation is reached — the surplus
population goes to spread the urban area outside the
town boundary. If we deal with the rate of increase
of all urban districts as compared with that of the whole
country and of rural districts, we see evidence of the
same thing.
RATES OF INCREASE OF POPULATION.'
Population of England and Wales
(a) Population of 1,137 urban districts
,, 98 largest towns
,, G57 rural districts ...
,, London
,, 105 entirely rural registra
tion districts
1891-1901.
Per cent.
11-7
15-2
15-3
2-9
7-3
1-8
1901-11.
Per cent.
10-9
111
8-7
10-2
-0-3
9-8
' (6) and (d) are included in (a), (a) contained 78 per cent, of the
population of England and Wales.
POPtfLATiON
3^
mt&AK DISTRICTS CLASSIFIED BY POPULATION.
Populations
(ttaoumndB).
Number
of
Diatricte.
Aggregate
Population
ml9U
(thooa&nds).
Aggregate
Population
(same Areas)
in 1901
(thouaands).
Mean
per cent.
Increase or
Decrease.
Over 1,000
1-
4,523
4,536
-03
500-1,000
3
1,987
1,872
+61
250-500
8
2,640
2,451
7-7
150-350
10
1,915
1,677
14-2
100-150
23
2,632
2,304
14-2
76-100
17
1,435
1.236
161
50-75
37
2,172
1,846
17-7
40-60
25
1.101
976
12-9
30-40
50
1,717
1,393
23-3
20-30
72
1,755
1,529
14-8
15-20
84
1,434
1,230
16-6
10-15
147
1,822
1,658
170
5-10
266
1,833
1,628
12-6
4-5
107
479
434
10-2
3-4
97
337
313
7-6
3-3
100
360
236
6-2
Under 2
102
137
132
3-5
Total ...
1,137
28,169
25,351
111
Loudon (Administrative County) reckoned as one district.
34 ECONOMIC CONDITIONS: 1815 & 1914
While the rate of increase of the total population
in the two decades was practically the same, London,
the largest urban area, has ceased to grow in numbers.
In the 98 largest towns (containing one-half of the
population of England and Wales) the rate of
increase dropped from 15 per cent, to 9 per cent.
In 1,137 urban districts the change was from 15 per
cent, to 11 per cent., while in the 657 rural districts
there was an increase from 3 per cent, to 10 per cent.,
and in 105 entirely rural registration districts from
IJ per cent, to 10 per cent.
To conclude, we may say: —
(1) That while in 1801-11 the urban population
was growing no faster than the rural population, in
1811-21, and again in 1821-31, the town population
began to gain on the rural population in point of
numbers.
(2) That during the century the process of urban-
ization has proceeded at a great rate.
(3) That, at the present day, " the proportion of
persons in England and Wales living under urban
conditions was 78 per cent, and under rural conditions
22 per cent."^
(4) That the process of urbanization has in places
(the most urban areas) reached "saturation point" —
the point at which in the present state of sanitation,
building, locomotion, etc., the people have ceased to
find it in their interest to increase the density of
population.
■ Prelimiuary Report of the IJll Ceusus.
CHAPTER 111
FINANCE
Before proceeding to deal with the economic con-
dition of the people of England, in the narrowest
sense, we must briefly refer to the important effect
of the immobility of population at the beginning of
the nineteenth century on the political position of
the people, and thus indirectly on their economic
condition, and how the changes described in Chapters I
and II have aided the amelioration of that condition.
The rural parts of the country in 1815 were in
the hands of the justices, bodies of whom, kept
select by a high property qualification, and chosen by
the county gentry, had enormous powers. The local
authority was the parish. It was not until 1834 that
the authority of the parish began to be reduced. The
control of the highways, paupers, sanitation, police,
and the power of levying rates were all parochial.
The greatest of these powers was the relief of the
poor, a duty which was most inefficiently performed.
In the way of public health administration, all that
existed at the beginning of the centurj' was a law
as to pubhc nuisances, damage for or restraint of
nuisance.
86
36 ECONOMIC CONDITIONS: I8l5 & 1914
Prior to 1829 there was no professional police.
Even then they were introduced into London only.
The persons appointed, often unwilhngly, by the
justices to perform police duties in most cases carried
on another occupation.
The care of roads, which had, since 1711, been
given to commissions or trusts (of which there existed
11,000 in 1820), in which the manufacturers' need for
good communications found expression, was compara-
tively efficiently performed.
There was, in fact, what has been termed a parochial
blight.
In the case of the towns, while external freedom
had been attained, internal government had become
oligarchical. The proportion of freemen to the town
populations is estimated to have decreased from one-
third about the year 1680 to one-tenth in 1835. In
other words, the governing bodies became " close."
The Commission appointed to inquire into the state
of affairs reported, in 1834, that " the corporations
look upon themselves and are considered by the
inhabitants as separate and exclusive bodies ... in
most places all identity of interest between the
corporation and the inhabitants had disappeared."
The Commissioners also reported that there was in
corporate towns ** a discontent under the burdens
of local taxation, while revenues that ought to be
applied for the public advantage are directed from
their legitimate use." Among the uses to which the
money was put were enumerated "wasteful benefit of
FINANCE 37
individuals," " feasting," and ** salaries of unimportant
officers."
In the words of Seignobos, "English society [circa
1814] was based on the distinctions between rich and
poor. . . . The whole nation, in the contemplation
of the law, was swayed by two rival aristocracies :
that of landed proprietors allied with the clergy,
supreme in the country parts ; and that of capitalists
and great manufacturers, supreme in the cities. These
were the economic masters of the country." ^
It was this state of affairs which made Disraeli
(referring to 1837-38) refer to the two Enghsh
nations — "the rich and the poor" — "between
whom there is no intercourse and no sympathy . . .
ordered by different manners, and are not governed
by the same laws."
The state of finance alleged to have existed in the
towns by the Commissioners has been noted.
The result of the above-described division of society
was that in the parishes " for the most part taxes
levied for local purposes in England are voted in
parochial assemblies by those who are to pay them or
by their delegates."^
By far the largest part of the taxes consisted of an
assessment for the support of the indigent poor.
From 1812 to 1830 the money so spent scarcely ever
fell below four-fifths of the total amount raised by
parochial assemblies.
• " Contemporary Europe,'' pp. 20 and 21.
' G. R. Porter, " Progress of tbe Nation."
38 ECONOMIC CONDITIONS: 1815 & 1914
PAROCHIAL FINANCE.
(£ million.)
1
Total Sum ,
Assessed
and Levied.
i
Expenditure.
Year.
Poor
Relief.
Law, Re-
movals, etc.
Other
Matters.
Total.
Average of
1783-85
2-2
1-9
0-1
0-2
2-2
1803
5-3
4-1
0-2
1-0
5"3
1812-13
8-6
6-7
0-3
1-9
8-9
1813-14
8-4
6-3
0-3
1-9
8-5
1814-15
7-5
5-4
0-3
1-8
7-5
1815-16
6-9
5-7
—
1-2
G-9
1816-17
8'1
6-9
—
1-2
8-1
1817-18
9-3
7-9
—
1-4
9-8
1818-19
8-9
7-5
1-3
8-8
1819-20
i 8-7
7-3
1-3
8-7
1820-21
i 8-4
7-0
—
1-4
8'3
In effect, one may say that in the matter of local
finance the welfare of the lower nation .was not con-
sidered. There was, indeed, slight further provision
made by various statutes for defraying certain
miscellaneous local public expenses by means of a
*' county rate " imposed by the justices in their several
counties. The principal objects for which provision
was made were the repair of bridges, repair and
building of gaols, houses of correction, shire-halls,
and courts of justice ; the construction and support
of lunatic asylums ; the expense of criminal prosecu-
tions and other judicial expenditure ; the expenses of
militia and of county elections. The yield of the
county rate was, however, very small, averaging
£320,000 per annum in 1801-5, £380,000 for 1806-10,
i'530,000 for 1811-15, and £625,000 for 1815-20.
FINANCE
39
It is indeed true to say that the only considerable
aid or benefit conferred upon the lower nation was
that of poor relief, and we shall see that to a great
extent this fonn of relief was in reality an addition to
wages paid.
The state of national finance must also be noticed.
In the first twenty years of the nineteenth century,
national expenditure was, on the average, nine or ten
times as great as local expenditure.
In examining the details of the national expenditure,
the outstanding feature is the " exceedingly great
proportion appropriated to the upkeep of the naval
and military forces which the circumstances of the
time made it necessary to maintain." ^
The actual position is given in the following tables.
It will be noted that in the finance of the central
government figures cannot be given separately for
England and Wales.
\
rt'AR EXPENDITURE
(£
millions.)
1801 ...
.. 37
1808
45 '
1815 ...
... 55
1802 ...
.. 25
1809
48
1816 ...
... 27
1803 ...
.. 23
1810
48
1817 ...
... 17
1804 ...
.. 24
1811
62
1818 ...
... 16
1805 ...
.. 39
1812
57
1819 ...
... 17
1806 ...
.. 41
1813
71
1820 ...
... 16
1807 ...
.. 41
1814
72
' G. R. Porter, p. 514.^
40 ECONOMIC CONDITIONS: 1815 & 1914
CENTRAL
FINANCE (UNITED KINGDOM)
. — (£ millions.)
Year.
Bevenue into
■p Exchequer.
-' Produce
of Taxes.
Beceived on
^ a/c of Loans
>' & Exchequer
Bills.
1
13
43 e
g d
a
Is
1
Is
5-
5«
13
|h.9
Eh
1792
19
—
19
10
2
8
20
1801
34
27
61
20
—
41
61
1802
36
15
51
20
—
30
60
1803
39
9
47
21
—
28
49
1804
46
15
61
21
—
39
59
1805
51
17
68
22
—
45
67
1806
56
13
69
23
—
46
69
1807
59
10
70
23
—
44
6B
1808
63
12
75
23
—
50
73
1809
64
12
76
24
—
52
76
1810
67
8
75
24
—
53
77
1811
65
19
84
25
—
59
84
1812
66
25
90
26
—
63
89
1813
69
40
108
28
—
78
100
1814
71
35
106
30
—
77
107
1815
72
20
92
32
—
61
92
1816
62
1
63
33
— -
32
65
1817
52
52
31
2
22
55
1818
54
54
31
2
21
53
1819
53
63
31
3
21
55
1820
54
—
64
31
2
21
54
FINA^'CE 41
The position may best be summarized by an extract
from Mr. S. Buxton's " Finance and Politics " : —
" Twenty-two years later [1815] they emerged from
the war — numbering some twenty millions of persons ;
burdened with a debt of nine hundred millions ; with
a revenue of nearly eighty, and with an expenditure
of a hundred millions, of which the debt now
absorbed thirty-two, and the Army and Navy over
fifty-six millions. . . . Everything taxed, all industries
' protected,' and wheat at famine prices." Above all
— " The excitement and glory of war had vanished."
" The rulers were totally out of sympathy with the
ruled."
Under taxes in column (1) opposite are included the
yields of Customs and Excise, stamps, and the Post
Office. Customs and Excise jielded £19 millions in
1801, and the yield rose steadily to £42 millions
in 181.5. This source of revenue yielded over one-
half of the income for each year. In the same period
the yield of stamp duties rose from ^£3 millions to
£6 millions ; Post Office net receipts from £1 million
to £1^ millions.
The source of income which increased most rapidly
was that of direct taxation, which mounted from
je9 millions in 1801 to £22 millions in 1815.
The position of national and local finance at the
present day is vastly different from that existing at
the beginning of the nineteenth century. The follow-
ing table gives a summary of modem local expenditure.
The contrast of the latter with the table and the
42 ECONOMIC CONDITIONS: 1815 & 1914
particulars of county expenditure in 1815 on page 38
cannot be emphasized by comment.
LOCAL AUTHORITIES' (ENGLAND AND WALES) PAYMENTS,
(£ millions.)
Inchiding Loan Charges and out of Loans.
Service.
Education — Elementary
Higher
Poor Relief
Lunatics and Aylums
HoBFiTALB (not Poot Law)
HlOHWAYS, BriDGEB, FeRRIES ...
Harbours, Docks, C.a.nals, Piers
Gasworks
Electricity Lighting (not public)
Tramways and Light Railways
Waterworks (excluding M.W.B.)
Police
Public Libraries
Public Lighting
Parks and Open Spaces
Sewerage, disposal of
Other
Total
1909-10.
25J
1910-11.
25J
5
6i
12f
12f
4
4
2
If
IG
16i
30'
9
H
n
4i
4|
9i
9i
7|
8
6|
7
%
f
n
H
If
If
6J
7
23
23
166
147
1911-1-2.
Including 22 accounted for by Port of London Authority.
FINANCE
43
AUTHORITIES SPENDING ABOVE SUMS IN 1909-10.
UsiONS AUD Pabishbs — In poor relief 15^
In other matters If
Councils and meetings ... J
Town akd McinciPAii — Police, Sanitary, etc 94J
Rural Distkict Cockcils 4J
County Acthoritiis 19J
Hap.bocb Axtthobities 30
Otheb 23
The late Sir Robert Giffen, referring to the growth
of local expenditure by 1900 as compared with the
first half of the nineteenth century, wTote : " Down
to the middle of the century the expenditure of local
authorities apsLrt from the expenditure upon relief
of the poor did not exceed a few millions sterling. . . .
I believe that all this development implies great
progress in civilization."*
In 1815 the local authority (the parish) raised
revenue by means of rates levied by those who were
to pay them. The sources of modem local revenue
may be summarized thus : —
igos-ia
{£ milliona.)
Public rates 63
Government aid 21
Tolls, dues, and duties 7
Municipal undertakings 32
RepajTnents by private persons IJ
Loans 40
Miscellaneous : fees, penalties, sale of property,
licences
168^
" Stutistics," p. 255.
44 ECONOMIC CONDITIONS: 1815 & 1914
A comparison of the attached summary of modern
central government expenditure with the table on
page 40 likewise shows great changes.
IMPERIAL EXPENDITURE (UNITED KINGDOM).
(£ millions.)
National Debt services
Payment to local taxation accounts
Development and Road Improve-
ment Fund
Other consolidated fund services
(civil list, pensions, salaries,
courts of justices, etc.)
Army
Navy
Civil Services —
Public works and buildings
Civil departments
Law and justice
Education, art, and science
Foreign and colonial services ...
Non-effective and charitable ...
Miscellaneous ...
Insurance and Labour Ex-
changes (including Old Age
Pensions)
Customs, Excise, Inland Revenue,
and Post Office
Total
1909-10.
1910-11.
1911-12.
1912-13.
21|
24J
24J
24i
9i
9|
H
9i
—
H
If
IJ
If
IJ
If
If
27i
27i
m
28
35|
40^
42f
44J
3
3
H
H
3
^
4
H
4
H
H
H
18
181
19
19J
2
2
2
2i
1
a
4
f
1
h
1
f
i
8J
91
llf
16|
22
24
24^
27
158
172
179
189
1913-14.
FINANCE
45
The development of local expenditure which met
with Sir Kobert Giffen's approval may be measmred
by the ratio of local to Imperial expenditure in
1815-10 and at the present day.
The ratios^ are: —
1814-15
8
106
1908-9
140
152
1815-16
It
92
1909-10
166
158
1910-11
147
172
1911-12 —
151
179
The story of the causes of the immense alterations
effected during the century as noted in this chapter
needs no long telling. The people have gradually
(notably since 1867) acquired a political weight which
has been of incalculable economic importance to them.
Their economic freedom has been rapidly achieved
and is now well within their own hands. "The
state seems to be God-given to enable society to
organize on a grand scale for the accomplishment
of practical ends far beyond the reach of the indi-
vidual—ends upon which the welfare of the individual
depends." 2
' Of English local expenditure to United Kingdom central ex>
penditure.
' Carl Plehn, "Public Finance," 2nd edition (1906), pp. 17 and 18.
46 ECONOMIC CONDITIONS: 1815 & ISU
The comparisons made in this chapter show clearly
how, a century ago, the possibilities implied in the
existence of " a state " were abused — or perhaps, to
be less harsh — not realized, and how great have
been the advances made in the nineteenth century
towards the accomplishment of those great practical
ends upon which the welfare of the individuals
composing the State depends.
CHAPTER IV
OCCUPATIONS
The preceding chapters have compared the numbers
and distribution of the people of England in 1815
with the present day ; and the change in the nature
and extent of State care for the welfare of its people
has been illustrated by reference to national and
local finance. In the present chapter the occupa-
tions of the people will be dealt with. In this
connection a statement as to the proportion borne
by the occupiable members of the population to the
total population at the two dates under consideration,
must be made.
It will be recalled that in the first two decades
of the nineteenth century there was a great increase
in the rate of growth of the population as compared
with the rate throughout the eighteenth century.
There was accordingly, by 1821, a large proportion
of young people.
Since 1876 (or thereabouts) the birth-rate has
declined rapidly, and there has a<jcordingly been a
decline in the proportion of young people. ^ The
■ The decline ia the infant death-rate is quite recent — since 1900.
See Registrar-General's Annual Reports.
iT
48 ECONOMIC CONDITIONS: 1815 & 1914
death-rate did not improve much in the first three-
quarters of the century, but since then the decline
has been rapid in consequence of sanitary improve-
ments and in spite of the rapid growth of urban
areas. I
The results of these changes are shown in the
diagram opposite. They may be tabulated : —
Age-group.
Percentage of Population in each
Age-group.
1821.
1841.
1911.
Under 15 years
15-50 years
Over 50 years
39
46
15
36
49
15
30
54
16
All
100
100
100
Under 20 years
Over 20 years
49
51
50
50
40
60
All
100
100
100
This comparison yields facts of great importance
in describing the economic condition of the people.
There is, unfortunately, no means of comparing the
proportion of persons actually occupied in 1815 with
that shown by the recent census returns; but the
' The basis of these statements is the Begistrar'General's Annual
Report.
OCCUPATIONS
49
" •
4r
1 — '
1 \ ! 1
^ ^ ►—
— \
«l<
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(r
k]
a
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fX>
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i- — J /\ /\ /
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ir
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l\ 1
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tsu
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\n mu t»n ■■(> il
\iji liu I8SI
(9oi \\
11
AGE DISTRIBUTION OP THE POPULATION OF ENGLAND AND WALES,
1321-1911.
50 ECONOMIC CONDITIONS: 1815 & 1914
great difference of the proportion of persons capable of
occupation at the two dates should be borne in mind.
Information as to occupations of the people at the
beginning of the century is very scanty. The table
opposite is described by G. B. Porter as " the best
abstract that has hitherto been attainable upon this
important branch of political arithmetic."
There are no earlier figures comparable with these,
for in the enumerations of 1811, 1821, and 1831, the
information obtained relating to occupations was the
number of families supported by —
(1) Agriculture ;
(2) Trade, manufacture, and handicraft ; or
(3) All other occupations, with the addition in
1831 of a return of the number of males
over 20 years of age classified under nine
heads.
In 1801 the occupation census entirely failed from
a want of uniformity in enumerating female children
and servants.
While a complete comparison of this table with the
results of the 1911 Census cannot be made, and while,
in view of the fact that the position in 1841 (twenty-
five years after the date with which we are concerned)
must have changed considerably since 1815, the table
on pages 52 and 53 is useful.
The first point of comparison lies in the proportion
of occupied to unoccupied (including " retired," pen-
sioners, and persons of independent means). The
OCCUPATIONS
51
1841.
NUMBERS EMPLOYED UNDER VARIOUS HEADS.
ENGLAND AND WALES.
(Thousands.)
Hales.
Females.
90
Tears
and
over.
Under
ao
Tears.
20
Tears
and
over.
Under
ao
Tears.
Total.
Commerce, trade, and manu-
factures
1,750
318
391
159
2,619
Agriculture
1,042
162
48
9
1,261
Labour (not agricultural)
483
85
99
7
674
Army (including "on half-pay")
and in service of East India
Company —
At home
30
6
—
.36
Abroad
89
—
—
89
Navy and Merchant Service, in-
cluding Navy half-pay, Marines,
fishermen, etc., watermen —
At home
88
7
—
95
Afloat
80
17
97
Professions —
Clerical
ao
—
—
20
Legal
14
—
—
14
Medical
18
—
1
19
Other pursuits requiring education
81
11
30
2
124
Government Civil Service
13
—
i
14
Municipal and parochial
20
—
2
—
22
Domestic servants
150
84
476
289
999
Alms people, paupers, pensioners,
lunatics, and prisoners
66
28
60
23
176
Independent means
119
5
308
14
446
1
Total occupied
4,062
724
1,416
505
1 6,707
Remainder of population ...
239
; 2,936
3,059
3,157
[ 9,391
Total
4,301
3,660
1
4,475
3,661
16,098
52 ECONOMIC CONDITIONS: 1815 & 1914
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OCCtfPATlONS 63
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o4 ECONOMIC CONDITIONS: 1815 & 1914
proportion of occupied persons to unoccupied persons
was in 1841 — gj^
and in 1911-
100
81
100
a 33 per cent, increase.^
On page 48 attention was drawn to the changes
in the age constitution of the population. From the
table on that page it will be seen that the proportions
of the number of persons between the ages of 15 and
50 years to the number of persons below and above
those ages respectively were in 1841 —
96
and in 1911 —
100
117
100
an increase of 22 per cent.
The proportions borne by the number of occupied
persons to the numbers unoccupied, distinguishing
males and females, were : —
Year.
Males.
Females.
1841
1911
135
100
186
100
23
100
34
100
Increase per cent.
88
48
I.e. 16,300,000 occupied.
12,200,000 unoccupied over 10 years of age.
7,900,000 under 10 years of age.
OCCUPATIONS
55
These figures emphasize the changes in the rela-
tions of the numbers of earners to the numbers of
dependents; but the following presentation of the
same facts gives a more concise idea of the changes.
Number occupied per 100 of population ...
„ „ 100 males
,, ,, 100 females
Numbers aged 15-50 years per 100 of
population
18U.
1
19U.
1
1 38
«
! ^'
65
19
26
49
5i
Per Cent
Increase.
18
14
32
10
The conclusions are that the proportion of male
persons occupied has increased not less than the
proportion capable of being employed; and that the
employment of women has increased at a much greater
rate than the proportion of women between the ages
of 15 and 50 years, in spite of the great decline in
the numbers employed in agriculture.^
The number of women who, to-day, are engaged
in duties other than the management of a household
is, however, small. The family is still the economic
centre to the support of which the earnings of the
various occupied members, and the work of the
"unoccupied," are directed; and some attention must
be given to the changes in the means by which this
support is obtained. A broad outline of the changes
which have occurred is given by the diagram on the
' See Journal of Oie Statistical Society, June 1907. Paper by Lord
Eversley.
56 ECONOMIC CONDITIONS: 1815 & 1914
next page, which is based (for the years 1841-81)
on the results obtained by Mr, Booth from a study
of the census returns ; ^ and (for the years 1891-1911)
on the results obtained by Mr. J. W. Nixon, who has
diligently pursued Mr. Booth's methods of classification.
The portion of the diagram 1811 to 1841 is based
upon the results of the censuses of those years : —
ENGLAND AND WALES.
Total Number
of Families.
Porcentage Supported by—
Year.
Agi-i-
culture.
Trade and
Manu-
factures.
Other.
Total.
1811
1821
1831
2,142,147
2,493,423
2,911,874
36
34
29
45
47
42
19
19
29
100
100
100
In 1841 the classification by occupations referred
to individuals and not to families. The continuance
of the decline of agricultural families is, however,
shown by the following table taken from the census: —
PERCENTAGE OF MALES OVER 20 YEARS OF AGE
ENGAGED IN—
Year.
Agriculture. MSa^ctu^r'es.
other.
All.
1831
1841
32
2G
39
43
29
31
100
100
' See Journal of the Statistical Socicdj, Juno 1886.
OCCUPATIONS
57
rA^HLlE■5■!H»»»^/funaEHS^f^p^)rtD•^^^A>^DDePE■NDt^^•oN.
Itil i%xi i>*i t>W'»W '»n i«t< ir)i »«ii 'm ■»e« lyl.
Pc^CtMTAqtS OF TMt Po'OtATION Or
4 Enclano amo V/alcs
5«fP0(»Tet> 8r Ce((.TAiN (i«Ov>0i OF OcCt^fATIONSi
tail — 1911.
58 ECONOMIC CONDITIONS: 1815 & 19U
If we assume that the number of males over
20 years of age who were engaged in agriculture
bore the same ratio to the number of agricultural
famihes in 1841 as in 1831, it would appear that
in 1841 the number of families supported by agri-
culture^ was 23| per cent, of the total number of
families, i.e. —
II X 29 = 23i.
This percentage is almost exactly the same as that
arrived at by a different method (examination of the
census returns) by Mr. Booth, as representing the
percentage of the population supported by agri-
culture in 1841, 24'3 per cent.
The shaded area at the foot of the diagram may
therefore be regarded as providing a satisfactory
measure of the decline of agriculture as a means of
supporting the population.
The decline, moreover, was general. In all parts
of the country there was, without exception, a dechne
in the numbers engaged in and supported by agri-
culture. The decline was also regular ; that is to
say, the order in which the counties stood (relative
to each other) when arranged in order of the pro-
portion supported by agriculture was not much
different in 1841 from that in 1811. ^
The percentages of the population of each of the
groups of counties, on page 25 above, supported by
agriculture in 1821 were : —
» In the sense used by the enumerators of 1831.
• VitZe Porter, "Progress ..." [1847], pp. 58, 69.
OCCUPATIONS
59
Per cent.
Per cent
South Wales ...
... (43)'
Mid- South
... 50
Northern
... 31
Eastern
... 59
South-Eastem
... 37
South-West ...
... 43
Midland
... 36
Salop and Hereford
... 63'
These percentages were not very different from
those obtaining in 1811, and may therefore be regarded
as applying to 1815, when as we have seen no less
than one-third of the families in England drew their
chief support from agriculture. The position of
this industry in 1911 as a wage provider is vastly
different. The proportion of the population engaged
in and dependent upon it has fallen to j\. For the
purpose of comparing the distribution of the industry
over the country with the distribution in 1821 as
given above, we may refer to the 1911 census returns,
on which the following table is based : —
PROPORTION OF THE MALE POPULATION OF ADMINIS-
TRATIVE COUNTIES OF ENGLAND AND WALES
ENGAGED IN AGRICULTURE.3
Per cent.
Per cent
South Wales *...
... 10
Mid-South
... 21
Northern
... 15
Eastern
... 33
South-Eastem
... 11
South- Western
... 21
Midland
... 13
Salop and Hereford
... 31
' Monmouth only; there being no data for the other counties of
this group.
" Salop and Hereford are the only two counties of the " Rest of
Wales" group for which there are data.
3 Details given in Census, 1911, vol. x, " Occupations."
♦ Monmouth, 6 per cent. ; Glamorgan, 3 per cent. ; Brecknock,
20 per cent. ; Camartheu, 18 per cent. In the other districts, the
homogeneity of the groups in this respect is much greater.
60 ECONOMIC CONDITIONS: 1815 & 1914
Particular note must be made of the fact that all
the county boroughs are excluded from the above
table. The county boroughs contain about 17
million persons out of the total population of 36
millions in England and Wales. In these boroughs
the proportion of the males engaged in agriculture
was, with three exceptions, less than 3 per cent.,^
so that the percentages given in the table relate to
that half of the population which is living in the more
rural parts of the country. Although this table is not
numerically comparable with that given for the year
1821, it shows that the variations between the dif-
ferent parts of the country with regard to agricultural
employment are much greater to-day than in 1815.
If the county boroughs were included with their
containing or adjoining counties the variations would
be more marked, for in those groups of counties and
county boroughs in which the proportion of agri-
cultural workers in the non-county borough popula-
tion is smallest, the proportion of the total population
living in the county boroughs is greatest.
In other words, the non-agricultural counties of
to-day are more distinctly non- agricultural (in com-
parison with the agricultural counties) than were
those of 1815. There has also been localization and
intensification of the manufacturing areas ; whole
spaces of land have become entirely urban either for
residential or manufacturing purposes ; and although
these urban areas cover a small portion of the surface
' Eastbourne, 3^ per cent. ; Hastiugs, 3| per cent. ; Canterbury,
6 per cent.
OCCUPATIONS 61
of the country, their saturation is proceeding rapidly.
Already 17 million people live in county boroughs, and
78 per cent, of the whole population lives under urban
conditions.
If we turn to occupations other than agriculture,
we find that although the classification of occupations
in 1811-31 was : —
1. Agriculture,
2. Trade and manufactures,
3. Other,
we are warned, as might be expected in the light
of experience of later enumerations, that owing to
the uncertainty and inconsistency of the classification
throughout the country, it is advisable to treat the
two non-agricultural groups together. The persons
collecting and tabulating the returns, however, could
hardly fail to distinguish from all others those families
who draw their support from agricultural occupation.
The growth of these groups from 1811 to the present
day is shown in the diagram on page 57, while since
1841 we have the classification of Mr. Booth and
Mr. Nixon. While Mr. Booth places reliance on the
comparison as far back as 1851, and while he gives
his results for 1841,^ the usefulness of the comparison
for the purpose in hand should not be over-estimated.
» "Our picture of what has happened would be much more com-
plete if we could go back to 1801, but we can only do this by drawing
largely upon the imagination." — Mr. Booth in Journal of the Statistical
Society, June 188G, p. 328.
62 ECONOMIC CONDITIONS: 1815 & 1914
In the case of agriculture, in which probably of
all industries the least changes have occurred, the
methods and nature of the work and the conditions
under which the work is done do differ to such an
extent from the methods and conditions of 1815 as
to make a comparison of earnings subject to many
qualifications. In other industries the differences are
much greater, and the limitations are accordingly
increased. These revolutions in industries have prac-
tically amounted to the creation of new occupations,
although old names are used. Instead of attempting
what is likely to prove to be an immense and in-
conclusive series of statements, it would appear to
be sufficient, if not more fruitful, to consider the
movement of wages as a whole, and to consider the
effects of the forces which have been at work in all
industries altering the nature of the work and the
conditions under which it has been done.
We may therefore proceed to contrast the nature
of the occupations pursued in 1815 with those of the
present day as shown in the diagram on page 57.
The striking feature of the diagram is the change
in the importance of agriculture. In the literature
of the nineteenth century, the adjective "poor" has
commonly been applied to a country in which the
proportion of people engaged in agriculture has been
large. This use of the term " poor " is justified
historically by the development in the " progressive "
countries of the world from agriculture to manu-
facture; and in England by the fact that at the
OCCUPATIONS 63
beginning of the century agricultural workers were
almost entirely pauperized, while to-day their earnings
are lower, on the whole, than those of the workers in
any other body of workers sufficiently homogeneous
to form a measurable group.
It is an economic fact of importance that there is
a tendency for persons to enter those trades in which
the rate of remuneration is relatively high, and to
leave those in which it is relatively low.
The average wages of the occupied population of
a country may therefore rise without any change in
the rate of wages paid in each occupation, solely
on account of a change in the distribution of the
population among the various industries.
A few remarks on the changes in the nature of the
occupations of the people and in the conditions of
work will form a necessary prelude to the considera-
tion of the change in remuneration. An outline
based on the diagram on page 57 will suffice.
Building.
As far as one can judge, building has occupied much
the same position as a branch of human activity in
England throughout the century. The population
has increased fairly regularly and houses have had
to be built to accommodate it. The influence of
machinery is probably felt least of all in the building
trades. Bricks, putty, wood, the trowel, hod, saw,
plane, hammer, and chisel, all worked or wielded by
hand, are still used. Modern building with iron and
concrete constructions have enabled larger buildings
64 ECONOMIC CONDITIONS: 1815 & 1914
to be erected, but greater speed in construction has
tended to counterbalance the addition of labour to
be performed on them.
The stability of this group of occupations is shown
by the fact that the men employed in them form from
7 per cent, to 10 per cent, of the occupied males in
almost every county and county borough of England.
The exceptions are a few of the newer progressing
county boroughs, e.g. —
Bournemouth, 12 per cent. ; Croydon, 13 per cent.;
Eastbourne, 13 per cent. ; and Wales and East Anglia,
where the population has increased very slowly through-
out the century and is now stationary, the proportions
being from 5 per cent, to 7 per cent. In the county
boroughs of these districts the proportion is about 7
per cent.
Although the use of machinery has not affected the
building industry, the building trades (unhke agri-
culture) have developed considerable trade union
organizations. The economic position of workers in
the building trades has, for this reason (among others),
improved more than that of agricultural workers.
The trade unions have obtained standard rates of
wages and the limitation of hours.
" In the building trades — over eight hundred local
agreements are in operation regulating wages and hours
and other conditions of labour." The areas covered by
those agreements are distributed all over England. "In
addition there are many districts in which though there
are no signed agreements, the same rates are operative."'
' Cd. G054, 1912.
OCCUPATIONS 65
Mining.
The figures for mining (see diagram) include all
kinds of mining, the chief of which, however, is
coal-mining, the growth of which has evoked much
comment throughout the century. At the present
time the production of coal is over twenty times the
estimated production in 1800.' The value of the coal
produced in the last fifteen years is estimated to be
over two-thirds of the total value of all minerals
produced in England. The only other considerable
mining industry is that of iron-mining, which, how-
ever, is very far behind coal-mining as an employer
of labour. The outputs of copper, lead, tin, and zinc
are now quite small.
In 1815 the Xorth-Eastern coalfields were far and
away more important than any other. The South
Wales output was quite insignificant. The position
to-day in the different groups of counties is as
shown in the table at the foot of the next page.
The localization is, of course, enforced and it is
verj' intense.
In this industry the workers are strongly organized
and form at the present day a well-paid body of the
' Estimated total production of coal : —
Year.
Million Tons
1800
10
1850
56
1900
.. 225
1910
.. 264
1911
.. 271
See D. A. Thomas, Journal of tJullStatistical Society, September 1903.
5
66 ECONOMIC CONDITIONS: 1815 & 1914
community. Since about 1880 the sliding-scale
method of adjusting remuneration has come into
operation. The strong organizations have helped to
build up the political power of " the miners," which is
now very considerable, and has resulted in the passage
of many measures by Parliament in their favour.'
The importance of the improvement in the conditions
in mines is increased by the fact that the proportion
of the male population engaged in coal-mining is now
much greater than in 1815.*
Transport.
The tremendous growth of the numbers employed
in transport needs no further comment {vide
Chapter I). The huge railway service has grown
PERCENTAGE OP OCCUPIED MALE POPULATION ENGAGED
IN COAL- AND SHALE-MINING IN COUNTIES (c.) AND
COUNTY BOROUGHS (c.b.) OF ENGLAND AND WALES.
South Wales.
Northern .
Midland.
c.
Monmouth
42
c.
Northumberland 34
c.
Derby ... 29
c.
Glamorgan
44
c.
Durham
.39
c.
Notts ... 25
0.
Brecon
25
c.
Yorkshire, W.R.
21
c.
Staffs ... 15
c.
Carmarthen
18
c.
Denbigh
'Jl
c.
Leicester 14
c.
Flint
14
c.
Warwick 10
!.B.
Merthyr ...
48
c.
Lancashire ...
11
c.
Cumberland ...
16
C.B.
, Stoke ... • 15
c.
Yorkshire, N.R.
8
C.B.
Dudley... 10
Others.
C.B.
Walsall... 8
C.
Glou:-ester...
7
C.B.
S. Shields ...
16
C.
Somerset ...
5
C.B.
Gateshead
11
Elsewhere
C.B.
Rotherham . . .
20
inconsiderable.
The first act regulating conditions of work in mines was passed in
1842.
* The proportion has doubled since 1841,
OCCUPATIOXS 67
up entirely within the century. Great railway centres
have sprung up (Swindon, Crewe, Rugby, Doncaster),
and in London are situated the head offices, employing
large clerical staffs.
Motor transport has largely displaced horse
transport.
Canals have almost entirely lost their importance.
Under the remaining heads — manufacture, dealing
and industrial service — are accumulated the vast
changing mass of activities in which are swallowed
about half of the occupied male population. The
outstanding trades are : textile, iron and steel manu-
facture, and engineering — all highly organized trades,
the developments of which have a considerable written
history. The rest is a multitude of clerks, retail
traders, and the vast mass of ungraded workers of
all kinds.
In the case of those trades in which there has been
any semblance of organization, legislation and in-
dustrial disputes have raised the workers from the
intolerable conditions of toil which existed at the
beginning of the century. All have, however, bene-
fited by the continual interjection of the law into
industrial matters. From the reign of the manu-
facturers supported by the laissez-faire economists
to the modern State regulation is a far cry. Three
great extensions of the franchise and the realization
of the dogma expressed by Jevons, that "if on a
calculation of the factors which enable man to forecast
the results of a given policy on the general welfare,
68 ECONOMIC CONDITIONS: 1815 & 1914
the balance was against individual libert}', that liberty
must make room for the intervention of the State,"
have brought about a revolution in the attitude of
the leaders and the people towards the question
of State regulation and control. Limitation of hours
of labour, sanitation of factories, machine-fencing,
and the innumerable miscellaneous requirements
which it is the duty of the unique English " in-
spectorate " (introduced in 1834) to see are fulfilled,
are now customary and no longer odious.
In 1909, a new departure of great significance was
made. In that year the Trade Boards Act was passed,
having for its object the abolition of sweating by the
establishment of Trade Boards with power to fix
minimum rates of wages in those trades in which
" the rate of wages prevailing in any branch of the
trade is exceptionally low as compared with other
employments." Minimum rates of wages have been
or are in course of being fixed for all workers in the
chain, lace finishing, paper box, tailoring, sugar con-
fectionery and food preserving, hollow-ware, and tin
box and canister trades, and for female workers in
the shirt-making trade.
Without entering into detail, we may say that the
minimum time rates for male workers are about
6d. an hour, and for females 3|d. or 3Jd. an hour.
If piece rates are paid, each piece rate must be
sufi&cient to yield to an ordinary worker, in the
circumstances of the case, at least the equivalent
of the minimum time rate. The number of workers
to whose employment these minimum rates are
OCCUPATIONS 69
applicable is not far short of one million — and that
million may roughly be taken to be the workers in
the seven lowest-paid definitelj' distinguishable trades.
The condition of workers when not actually at
work has also received the attention of the Legis-
lature. The beneficent work of the National
Insurance Act (Health and Employment), 1911, and
the Workmen's Compensation Act have come further
to shield the unfortunate from the cold blast of
ruthless individualism which spelt in sickness the
Poor Law Infirmary and in distress the Workhouse.
CHAPTER V
REMUNERATION
Finally, we come to the remuneration of the workers
under the above-described conditions.
Agriculture.
The great changes of the latter half of the
eighteenth century had not left agriculture un-
touched. The revolutions in the methods of farming,
the enclosing of the land, and the disappearance of
the small-holders who worked on the land and whose
families partly supported themselves by home indus-
tries, were by 1815 nearly completed. This statement
with regard to enclosing is borne out by the statistics
(estimates) on the opposite page. The enclosures that
had taken place prior to 1780 are deemed, however,
by one eminent authority to have consisted "largely
of old enclosures or the lord's demesne land lying side
by side with the open fields."^ He adds : " The truth
is that the life of the common field system was still
the normal village life of England."
The effect of the great war, affording a great
protection to English wheat-growers, was to expedite
the enclosures.
■ Hammond, " Village Labourer," p. 42.
70
REMUNERATION
71
Precise statistics of the extent of enclosure are not to be had, but
there have been various careful estimates.
L»vy :—" Large
and Small Holdings," p. 24
•
Years.
Number of Acts.
Area Affected.
1702-60
1760-1810
246
2,438
1 1
400,000 acres
6,000,000 „ (nearly)
JoHiTBON : — " Disappearance of Small Holdings," p. 90, based on
Dr. Slater's detailed estimate (" English Peasantry and En-
closure . . . ," Appendix B).
Common Field and some
Waste.
Waste only.
Years.
Acts.
152
1,479
1,075
Acreage.
Acts.
Acreage.
170O-6O
1761-1801 '
1802-44 1
237,845
2,428,721
1,610,302
56
521
808
74,518
752,150
939,043
Total ...
2,706
4.276.868
1,385
1,765,711
Evidence of a Commons Committee (Select Committee, 1344) ;
Before 1800
1800-44 ...
1,700 private Acts.
2,000
Porteb;—" Progress of the Nation" (1847), p. 154. From Com-
mittee of Commons. 1797. and brought to date, 1844, by Porter.
Years.
Acres Enclosed
1760-69
704,550
1770-79
- 1,207,800
1780-89
450,180
1790-99
858,270
1800-09
1,550.100
1810-19
1,560,990
1820-29
375,150
1830-39
248,880
1840-44
120,780
Total
7,076,610
?2 ECONOMIC CONDITIONS: 1815 & 1914
The result of the sudden transition loas catastrophic,
and the events of the enclosure period were not con-
fined to any one part of the country. They mark
a national revolution making sweeping and profound
changes in the form and character of agricultural
society in England.^
By 1815 the labouring classes had been rendered
literally landless. Their relations with the ruling
caste have been partly dealt with in Chapter III.
It has been well said of the first three-quarters of
the nineteenth century that the "history of agri-
cultural distress is the history of agricultural
abundance," and the history of the first fifteen
years of this period forms no exception to this
statement.
In the speech of the Prince Regent on the occasion
of the opening of Parliament in 1816, it was stated
that " the manufactures, commerce, and revenue of
the United Kingdom" were in a "flourishing
condition." The omission of agriculture was
significant.
The prices of wheat before the harvest in the
following years were : —
1808
1809
1810
1811
1812
1813
Per Quarter.
8. d.
74 6
100 0
120 0
104 0
136 0
136 0
Cf. Hammond, p. 42.
REMUNERATION 73
That was the period of great enclosures — "an affair
of grasping ignorance — a scramble for excessive gain.' ^
In 1814, with fear of peace and abundance, the
prices fell to an average of 7os. ; in 181G the cry of
"distress" was at its height. In this manner agri-
cultural "distress" has been associated with cheap
com, while " good " years have been years of high
prices. The complete absence of sympathy between
the landlords and the landless — the complete divorce
of the ruling class from the labourers at this period
is emphasized by the very comparison of this asso-
ciation with the condition of the workers at this
time.
The parochial nature of life in 1815 was described
in the chapters on the growth of population and
finance, in which it was seen that the provision of
poor relief was by far the most important local
function.
The extent of this poor relief as a means of support
has been commented on by many writers, two of
whom may be quoted.
Miss Martineau said : " The squire, the clergyman,
and the farmer constituted themselves a tribunal for
the suppressioxi of vice and the encouragement of
virtue, and they succeeded in producing either
desperation or hypocrisy amongst the entire labouHng
popiilation. . . . Parish functionaries were led away
into the belief that they were the great patrons of
the whole labouring population. . . . They almost
forced pauperism upon the entire working community."
' Hiss H. Martineau, "History of the Thirty Yearb" Peace."'
U ECONOMIC CONDITIONS: 1815 & 1914
Seignobos wrote : "Now as nearly all the lands of
England belonged to the gentry, the English peasants
had ordinarily no means of self-support, so the greater
number of them fell into the class of assisted poor." '
These statements, however, appear to be too
sweeping.
The nature of the pauperization is far better
expressed by Porter, ^ who, after an examination of
the statistics of Poor Law expenditure, made the
following statement : —
" One of the greatest evils which had grown up
under the administration of the old Poor Law was the
practice of paying the wages of labour partly out of
rates levied for the relief of the indigent poor. . . .
Under such a system the labourer in an agricultural
district was inevitably rendered a pauper."
Porter draws a distinction between the agricultural
labourer and the town worker, a distinction most
properly drawn ; and to this extent he modifies the
bold assertion of Miss Martineau, who, however, in
view of the overwhelmingly rural nature of life in
1815 may be partly forgiven.
An effect of this state of affairs in agricultural
districts in 1815 is to make it impossible to make
use of such agricultural wage statistics as exist. The
conclusion of Dr. Bowley 3 as to the condition of
agricultural labourers from 1795 to 1821 is : "Some-
times by adjustment of wages, sometimes by adapta-
' "Contemporary Europe, " p. 21.
; "Progress ..." [1817], p. 90.
3 " Wages iu the United Kingdom in the Nineteenth Century," p. 31.
REMtNERAtlON 75
tion of relief, the receipts of the labourer were made
just sufficient to support him and his family what-
ever the price of wheat."
This conclusion is supported by the fact that
although the fluctuations of the prices of wheat from
1801 onwards were very great, the quantity of wheat
purchasable at those prices by the sums expended on
the rehef of the poor fluctuated very little.
The loss of the cottage industry contributed to this
degradation, but in view of the facts as to the actual
condition of the agricultural labourers, investigation
is superfluous.
Such was the condition of at least one-third of the
population of England in 1815.
Other Indastries.
" In a commercial country hke England, every half-
century develops some new and vast source of public
wealth, which brings into national notice a new and
powerful class. A couple of centuries ago, a Turkey
Merchant was the great creator of wealth ; the West
Indian Planter followed him. In the middle of the
last century appeared the Nabob. . . . The expendi-
ture of the revolutionary war produced the Loan-
monger, who succeeded the Nabob ; and the apphcation
of science to industry developed the Manufacturer."'
" Manufactures and commerce," said the Prince
Regent, " are in a flourishing condition." During
the time that war was devastating the Continent,
■ Disraeli, "Sybil," published in 1845.
76 ECONOMIC CONDITIONS: 1815 & 1914
the woollen, cotton, coal, and iron industries had
made great progress ; but in manufacturing industry,
as in agriculture, the progress of the employers was
not a guide to the condition of the workers. Their
discontent found expression in rioting, machine-
breaking, and incendiarism. Already, in 1812, the
Commons had, in alarm at the outbreaks, passed an
Act "for the more exemplary punishment of persons
destroying or injuring any stocking or lace frames or
other machines or engines used in the framework
knitting manufactory or any articles or goods in such
frames or machines." The workers' attitude towards
machinery was a result, first of their actual dis-
comfort, but chiefly of the fact that they had no
other means of redress. The cessation of rioting is
attributed by Miss Martineau not to the repressive
effect of the criminal law of the time, but to the re-
duction of the price of CobbeU's Register from Is. OJd.
to 2d. a copy (in November 1816), which enabled it
to be read " on nearly every cottage hearth in the
manufacturing districts of South Lancashire, Leicester,
Derby, and Nottingham." Cobbett directed his readers
to the true cause of their suffering — misgovernment.
In 1815, however, the happy event had not occurred.
In the midst of the turmoil of war and rioting,
money wages in industry other than agriculture had
been rising. The following figures ^ show that by the
' Mr. G. H. Wood, Ecommlc Journal, 1899, pp. 588-92. Mr. Wood
states that most of the authorities mentioned by Miss Hopkinson and
Dr. Bowley in a complete bibliography of wage statistics (Economic
Review, October 1898) have boexi consulted.
REMUNERATION
years 1810-16, money wages generally were near the
culminating point of a great rise. This conclusion is
based on figures for many different industries and
districts.
mDEX NUMBERS OF WAGES BETWEEN 1790 AND 1860.
Year.
1790
1795
1800
1805
1310
1816
1820
Index Namber.
72
82
93
104
122
115
109
Year.
[□dex Number.
1824
112
1831
103
1840
100
1845
99
1850
102
1855
116
1860
116
I
[1840 = 100]
The details on which the above index numbers
are based cover '2'ii districts and nearly 50 different
occupations, and show a maximum in 1810 in all
the districts except Leeds, where the highest point
was in 1816, 129 as compared with 115 in 1810 ; and
in Macclesfield, where the number for 1816 was 114,
and for 1810, 107.
" The high figure for 1810 seems inflated at first
sight, but it rests on better evidence than any other
except those for 1840, 1850, and 1860. The figure
for 1790 also rests on good evidence."'
For the purpose of comparison with the present
day, Mr. Wood's excellent index number for the years
1810-40 may be supplemented by figures from Dr.
Bowley's "Wages in the United Kingdom in the
Nineteenth Century," and another index number by
Mr. W^ood for the years 1860-1906. The evidence
of the last two since 1880 is supported by a Board
of Trade index number.
• Economic Journal, 1899, p. 592.
78 ECONOMIC CONDITIONS: 1815 & 19U
The series are combined in the following table,
the figures in parentheses being those previously
published : —
Wood.
Bowley.
Wood.
Year.
Weighted,
allowing for
Board of
Trade.'
Un\reighted.
Change in
Numbers
employed.
1810
1816
(122)
(115)
103
99
—
—
—
1620
(109)
94
—
—
—
1824
(112)
98
—
—
—
1831
(89)
89
—
—
—
1840
(100)
86
(89) 85
—
—
1846
(99)
84
—
—
—
1850
(102)
88
(90) 86
(65) 90
(56) 88
—
1855
(116)
100
—
(73) 101
(65) 102
—
1860
(116)
100
(105) 100
(72) 100
(64) 100
—
1866
(117) 112
(79) 110
(74) 116
—
1870
—
(119) 113
—
—
—
1871
—
—
(82) 114
(77) 120
—
1874
—
(142) 135
(92) 128
(87) 136
—
1877
—
(135) 119
(89) 124
(85) 133
—
1880
—
(129) 123
(86) 119
(82) 128
(81) 123
188S
—
(132) 126
(87) 121
(84) 131
(84) 128
1886
—
(130) 124
(85) 118
(83) 130
(81) 123
1890
—
—
—
(90) 137
1891
—
(144) 137
(92) 128
(91) 142
(91) 1.38
1896
—
—
(92) 128
(91) 142
—
1900
—
—
(100) 1.39
(100) 156
(100) 152
1906
—
—
(100) 139
(101) 158
(98) 149
1912
i
(100) 152
' For Building, Coal-mining, Engineering, and Textiles only.
These figures are given in the diagram opposite.
The footnotes to the diagram are taken from an
article on " Wages " by Dr. Bowley in the " Dictionary
of Political Economy," except for the years since 1904.
ON
1
o
oo
I
2r
o
o
UJ
V-
:2
U
<c
>
u
z
o
"^ •.'
!
1 i
1
l4.|iv.s
"^'S
V
5! 5 W*
^
—
\
\
1?^
1
"kiii-iiTi
K
t
»
ivl^r
4-S
\
n
f
Q
h
k^
1
0
. r
1
a
> .5
S
1
r
«
^
►
~
r^
^
1 r^^-i
1^
k
.
4
5 .
3
K
K
V
k
\\
i
6
1 ^
-4K
3
1
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i
<
1
! -
u.
>
4<
•
r
5
3
/
^5
0
<•
S Ui
11
so ECONOMIC CONDITIONS: 1815 Sc 1914
which are given by Mr. W. T. Layton in "Capital
and Labour."
The conclusion with regard to money wages is that
on the average the wages of the non-agricultural
classes of the population were in 1913-14 between
50 per cent, and 60 per cent, above the level of 1815.
The general movement of agricultural wages since
1840 (when the evil effects of the " old " Poor Law
had disappeared and agricultural wages were measur-
able) has been similar to that of wages in general, and
the index of the level of wages in general is only
affected to the extent of 1 or 2 per cent, by the
exclusion of agriculture.'
That the movement of wages is general, that the
wages in all trades tend to move in the same direction
and to the same extent, has been shown to be true
of the years 1790-1860 by Mr. Wood's collection
of data.
The same is shown to be true for the years 1840-91
by a diagram given by Dr. Bowley in " Wages in the
United Kingdom in the Nineteenth Century," and
since 1891 by Index numbers published by Mr. Wood
and by the Board of Trade.
The fluctuations in individual trades are, of course,
wider than in the average for all trades, but the
general progress is the same.
So far, then, the comparison with 1815 is favourable,
• For confirmation see " Wages in the Nineteenth Century," p. 132,
and Cd. 7131/13, p. 82.
REMUNERATION
81
but the "things that matter" are not the money
receipts but the commodities obtainable with the
money. Ever since the study of working-class con-
ditions has existed, the difficulty of discovering
exactly how the people fare has been encountered.
In the present century the difficulty is almost
resolved into the discovery of reliable statistics of
retail prices. To attempt to deal with retail prices
of a century ago is a hopeless task.
In the way of general price movements, it must
suffice to say that according to the calculations of
Jevons and Sauerbeck, the average of wholesale
prices of general commodities in England for the
years 1912-14 was between one-half and two-thirds
of the average for 1810-20. The relations of retail
prices of the commodities purchased by the people to
the wholesale prices at the two dates are mysterious
and indefinite.
We are, however, very fortunate in possessing
reliable statistics of the changes in the prices of
wheat and bread.
PRICE OP WHEAT PER QUARTER.
(Gazette averages.)
1. d.
1. d.
ISOS ...
74 6
1908
... 32 0
1809 ...
.. 100 0
1909 .
... 36 11
1810 ...
.. 120 0
1910 .
... 31 8
1811 ...
.. 104 0
1911 .
... 31 8
1812 ...
.. 136 0
1912
... 34 9
1813 ...
.. 136 0
191.3
... 31 8
1814 ...
.. 75 Q
1914 .
... 34 11
82 ECONOMIC CONDITIONS: 1815 & 1914
The price of the quartern loaf and the price of
wheat in the two periods were : —
Years.
Average Price of
Quartern Loaf.
Gazette Average of
Wheat per Quarter.
d.
B.
d.
1800-9
12
85
0
1810-19
13
91
0
1900-4
6-3
28
0
1906-9
5-7
31
0
1910
5-9
31
8
1911
5-6
31
8
1912
5-8
34
9
1913
5-8
31
8
1914
5-8
34
11
Besides noting the change in the level of the
prices of wheat and bread, it must be observed that
in the earlier period the prices were subject to very
great fluctuations, while in the modern period the
changes have been, on the whole, very slow and very
small.
The importance of bread as a food at the present
day is very great, as will be seen from the table
opposite.
The amount spent on bread and flour is seen to be
exceeded only by that spent on meat. The fact that
"urban population" may be considered to cover
about three-quarters of the population at the present
day must be remembered. Sir Robert Giffen drew
attention in the Statistical Society's Journal to the
accompaniment of urbanization or industrialization
of the population by the change from a wheat to a
fl
REMUNERATION 83
WEEKLY BUDGET OF URBAN WORKMEN'S FAMILIES
IN 1904 (Cd. 3864/08).
Averages of Budgets Collected.
Number of family budgets
Range of incomes of families
Average income
Average number of children at home
289
25s. to SOs.
371.
3-3
416
SOs. to 35b.
32b.
3-2
Expenditure on j
Bread and fioar
Food.
Cost.
6. d.
3 4
Cost.
8. d.
3 3}
Meat (by weight)
3
5
4 3i
Other meat (including fish)
0
9
0 10
Bacon
0
9
0 10
Eggs
0
Si
0 11
Fresh milk
1
0
1 3
Cheese
0
5i
0 6
Butter
1
7
1 10
Potatoes
0
10
0 10
Vegetables and fruit
0
7
0 10
Currants and raisins
0
2
0 2
Bice, etc
0
5
0 6
Tea
0
11
1 1
Coffe*, cocoa
0
3
0 3^
Sugar
0
10
0 11
Jam, etc
0
5
0 6
Pickles
0
2
0 3
Other
1
4
1 6i
Total
17
10
20 9
84 iBCONOMlC CONDITIONS: i8i5 & 1914
meat diet; and he published evidence to show that
prior to 1840 meat was hardly ever eaten by the
working classes.^
The change in the price of bread has therefore
permitted considerable improvement in the standard
of living of the working classes. Even to-day, when
wheat is very cheap, the price of bread is of great
importance, and a consideration of the high prices of
1800-20, in the light of the evidence of the greater
importance of bread as an article of diet in those
years as compared with to-day, indicates one of the
chief causes of working-class discontent in 1815 and
the preceding years.
In view of the fact that prior to 1860 only small
improvement in the condition of the people could
have been made (see page 79, footnotes to diagram), ^
the diagram opposite, although it refers only to the
years subsequent to 1860, is valuable evidence. It
presents pictorially the results of Mr. G. H. Wood's
manipulation of statistics of consumption, which
resulted in his obtaining an "index number of
consumption — a unique measure based on the per-
centage changes in the consumption per head of the
enumerated commodities." Mr. Wood's figures relate
' " Progress of the Working Classes." Attention has already been
drawn to the predominantly rural nature of life in 1815.
• Mr. Sidney Webb is responsible for the assertion that " there
seems to be reason to believe that in 1837 some large sections of the
dim inarticulate multitude were struggling in the trough of a century's
decline in all that makes life worth living for."
REMUNERATION
■ My, .%7».^ ,ft7f., ^-t. |,yf-» ,3^^ ,ty^ .^^ .^^ ^^
8d ECONOMIC CONDITIONS: 1815 & 1914
to the years 1860-99, since which date I have con-
tinued his method. Ignoring the immense increase
in the consumption of cocoa (which appears in the
diagram out of all proportion to its importance), it
is seen that since 1860 the consumption per head
of the commodities inchided in the calculation has
increased by 42 per cent. This is the increase shown
by arithmetically averaging the individual rates of
increase ; but Mr. Wood, in his paper, showed con-
clusively that the difference between the arithmetic
average and the average obtained when each com-
modity is assigned a " weight " proportional to its
importance in consumption is inconsiderable.
To the great changes for the better which have
been made in these fifty years must be added the
improvement of 1850-60, when " real wages " were
" rising considerably," and the improvement of 1815-50,
when real wages were rising slowly.
The general result of an inquiry into "real wages
and standard of comfort " by Mr. G. H. Wood in
1909 was that "the standard of comfort of the
British wage-earner is now, on the average, not
less than 50 per cent, and probably nearer 80 per
cent, higher than that of his predecessor in 1850."
The conclusion is, roughly, that nine-tenths of
the working population (and dependents) at the
present day are individually nearly twice " as well
off" as two-thirds of the population in 1815.
The remaining one-tenth in 1915 and one-third in
1815 consists of the agricultural workers and dependents.
Their position in 1815 has been dealt with at length,
REMUNERATION 87
At the present day they form the lowest paid body of
labourers pursuing a definite industry. Since 1840 we
have seen that their earnings have increased relatively
as much as those of the non-agricultural classes.
An attempt to compare the improvement since the
beginning of the century was made by Thorold Rogers
(quoted by Cunningham), who calculated the quantity
of wheat which agricultural earnings would have
purchased at the various dates given below.
The comparison has been brought up to date : —
Quarters.
Quarters
1789
8
1874 ...
16
1807
11
1891 ...
22
1810
6S
1895 ...
32
1823-55
10
1908 ...
28
1859
15
1912 ...
24
1867
11
The features of the table are (1) the fluctuation in
the war period (when wages were supplemented by
poor relief) ; (2) a stationary period from the close
of the war until 18-50. Since 1850 the position has
improved at least two-fold.
Women.
The position of women in industry has an important
bearing on the economic position of the family. With
regard to the latter there are no data as to the compo-
sition of working-class families prior to those published
in " Livelihood and Poverty," ^ as the result of
investigations made in four English towns.^ By
' By Dr. Bowleyand A. R. Bumett-Hurst (G. Bell & Sons, Ltd.,
1916).
' Reading, Northampton, Warrington, and Stanley.
88 ECONOMIC CONDITIONS: 1815 & 1914
reverting to the figures in a previous chapter, however,
we see that whereas in 1821 in every 100 of population
there were 39 below the age of 15 years, in 1911 there
were only 30 (the numbers below the age of 20 years
being 49 and 40 respectively). In other words, for
every 100 people over 15 years of age, in 1821 there
were 64 under that age, and in 1911 43 under that age.
If the age limit be placed at 10 years the proportions
would be 100:37 in 1821 and 100:27 in 1911.
There was then, evidently, a considerably heavier
burden on the family earnings in 1815 as compared
with 1915. In spite of the absence of statistics, in
view of the magnitude of this change, it is safe to say
that all classes of workers must have been affected.
With regard to women's wages, the , available
evidence (most of which is summarized by Mr.
G. H. Wood in Appendix A to "A History of
Factory Legislation," Hutchins and Harrison) shows
that their wages have increased at almost the same
rate as men's.
The lack of legislative regulation in 1815, which
permitted women and children to work in mines and
factories for very long hours, has been remedied.
The employment of women in agriculture has
practically ceased, while there have come into
existence occupations which can be carried on by
women, in which regulations as to hours, sanitation
of work-place, and, in a number of cases, wages,
are enforced by Government departments under Acts
of Parliament,
CHAPTER YI
CONCLUSION
To turn from this review of the great improvements
of the century in the economic condition of the
people — one of the results of vast material progress
achieved by overcoming natural physical hindrances
and economic inertia — to a consideration of the
actual achievements creates at first a hopeless
feeling — so much progress and so little satisfaction.
The struggle for existence appears not to have
abated ; all the works of science and art have not
produced happiness.
The reasons appear to be that " Men do not desire
to be rich, but to be richer than other men." ^ " We
are dissatisfied because we compare our progress with
that of our neighbours instead of with that of our
forbears. "2
These reasons, however, give only part of the
answer. The complete answer is — that men com-
pare their condition not only with that of their
forbears, not only with that of their neighbours, but
with what might be.
' J. S. Mill, ' ' Posthumous Es<»ay on Social Freedom, ' '
? liartle^ Withers, ■• Poverty and Waate,"
89
90 ECONOMIC CONDITIONS: 1815 & 1914
The meaning of "what might be " has been recently
brought home to many by the publication of the
results of an honest inquiry into the conditions of
the working classes in four English towns, under
the title of " Livelihood and Poverty."
Among the fair and reasonable statements contained
in the book are : —
1. In Stanley "one-half of all the working-class
houses in that town are overcrowded."
2. " Twenty-seven per cent, [of the children living
in the four towns investigated] are living in families
which fail to reach the low standard taken as
necessary for healthy existence."
3. "Of households living in poverty, the cause is
to be found in the fact that the chief wage-earner's
income is insufficient for his family of three children
or less in 26 per cent, of the cases, and his inability
to support his family of four children or more
in 45 per cent.," the other cases being caused
by accidents (sickness, death, unemployment, or
irregularity of work).
As Mr. B. S. Eowntree remarked in reviewing this
work, no country is worthy of the name of " gi-eat "
which permits such things to exist. The realization
of these facts and the desire to alter the state of
affairs has already found expression in many Acts
of Parhament.
The past has been devoted to the accumula-
tion of wealth, the future is to its more equal
distribution.
CONCLUSION 91
Viewed in this way, the non-material progress of
the people of England assumes great importance.
The consideration of the rise from the state of servility
which existed in 1815, to the present state in which
the " people " is becoming identified with the
"nation," indicates how the improving condition of
the people gradually fitted them to play increasingly
important and difficult r6les in the national delibera-
tions and decisions whereby their material welfare
has been improved, and shows also the strength of
the people to improve still further their own con-
ditions. For further progress in the latter no prayer
for revolutionary changes will avail or is needed ; the
true greatness of the English nation will be achieved
in the "English" way.
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