Wages in 1873: Address read before the Social Science Association at Norwich

by Earl Thomas Brassey Brassey

In the evidence, which he gave before the Committee, Mr. Lothian Bell stated that the greatly increased demand for the manufacture of iron, although not the sole cause, was one of the causes, of the rapid advance in the price of coal.

In his district the iron trade gave a great stimulus to the coal trade. ‘But,’ he observed, ‘all industry throughout the country has been, and still is, in a very flourishing condition. The manufacture of alkali in the North, the increase of railways, the substitution of steam for sailing vessels, all added to demands on an output not very greatly increasing.’ It is to be observed that the rise in the price of iron preceded the rise in the price of coal. Mr. Lothian Bell quoted figures, from which it appeared that, in September 1871, forge pig iron was selling for 50s., while coke was selling for from 10s. to 12s. a ton. In July 1872, the forge pig iron rose to 120s.—more than double the price of nine months before—and coke, following the advance in iron, rose from 37s. 6d. to 41s. a ton.

The Committee rightly observe, in commenting upon these figures, that, although the disturbance in the proportion between the demand and the supply of coal might not appear sufficient to explain fully the great rise of prices, yet a comparatively small deficiency in the supply of an article of paramount necessity may produce a disproportionate increase of price, through the eagerness of buyers competing with each other, each for his own supply.

Rise of wages in collieries.

Other reasons for the rise in the price of coal have been urged, and among these more especially the reduction in the hours of labour, and the great advance of wages. The advance in the wages paid to miners is in truth extraordinary. In a large colliery, in which I have an interest, I will give the advance in the weekly wages of some of the principal trades. The weekly wages of hewers in 1869 were 24s. 5d.; they have risen in 1873 to 48s. 9d. The wages of timbermen in 1863 were 25s.; in 1873 they are 53s. 4d. Haulers, in 1869, 20s.; in 1873, 31s. 6d. Landers, in 1869, 21s.; in 1873, 36s. 9d. Labourers in 1869, 15s.; in 1873, 24s. a week. The average wages of all the men employed were 20s. 11d. for 1869, as compared with an average of 36s. 8d. per week in 1873.

A similar rise of wages has been established in other parts of the country, of which I have no personal knowledge. Wages have risen, since 1870, 48 per cent. in Northumberland, and 50 per cent. in Durham. The requirements of the Mines Regulation Act have involved an additional expenditure, estimated by some authorities at 12½ per cent. upon the cost of production. It was estimated by Mr. Pease that the total cost of working, in the collieries with which he was connected, had increased 50 per cent. between 1870 and 1872. Mr. A. Macdonald, the president of the Miners’ National Association, confirming the opinion of Mr. Pease, estimated that the cost of getting coal in Northumberland had increased, between 1868 and 1872–73, from 60 to 65 per cent., while the selling price had risen 120 per cent.

Increased profits of colliery proprietors.

It might be easily made to appear that the rise of wages was the principal cause of the advance in coal. But the case would be imperfectly presented for examination, if the profit derived from the working of the pits were not ascertained. The colliery, to which I have already referred, had, for years, been worked at a serious loss—there being no dividend for the proprietors in the years 1870 and 1871. Indeed, the prospects were so gloomy in the latter year, that some of the shareholders in the undertaking made over their interest to their co-proprietors at a considerable discount. At length, however, the tide suddenly turned, and in 1872 an ample dividend was earned; while there is every prospect that the results of the present year may be still more favourable.

Rise of wages has followed advance in price of coal.

My individual experience abundantly confirms the opinion expressed by the Committee of the House of Commons, to the effect that the prices of coal, which prevailed for years before the present rise commenced, were so low that they did not afford a reasonable profit to the owners of collieries in general, or such remuneration as the workmen might, with regard to the hazardous and arduous nature of their labour, reasonably expect. The rise in the rate of wages has not, under the exceptional circumstances, been unreasonable; and it is certain that the real order of events has been, first, the rise in price of iron, then a rise in the price of coal, and lastly a rise in the rate of wages. On the other hand, great as the profits in the coal trade have been, it is a question whether the last two years have compensated the coal-owners for the former protracted era of stagnation, and, in many cases, of serious loss.