“Saving enriches, and spending impoverishes, the community along with the individual. Society at large is richer by what it expends in maintaining and aiding productive labour, but poorer by what it expends in its enjoyments.”[52]
Now if a stalwart race could have existed, and have done 20 per cent. more work on the lower rate of wages,—although, doubtless, some improvement in the condition of workmen was desirable,—50 per cent. appears to be a large margin, when we consider that the price of provisions is said to be unaltered. The British workman is proverbially extravagant and improvident. High wages encourage extravagance, whilst surplus cash furnishes the means, and short hours the leisure, for gratifying a taste for drink.
Setting aside for the moment the serious evils of intemperance, we have practically, with high wages, the causes that lead to the impoverishment of a community.
A glance at the statistics of Mr. Giffen seems to indicate this, for whilst the consumption per head of those commodities which are termed necessaries of life, have only increased 33 to 40 per cent. respectively, the consumption of those which may be considered luxuries—namely, tea and sugar—have increased 232 and 260 per cent. respectively.
Again, statistics show that, whilst the other classes of the community have increased in number by 335 per cent. of late years, the working classes have only increased by 6½ per cent. In other words, the unproductive classes have increased largely, but, whilst there is only 6½ per cent. numerical increase in the productive classes, their labour has decreased by 20 per cent. from shorter hours of labour.
The drones in the hive have increased very largely, and the workers have not done so, but have developed an alarming taste for honey.
The question of waste of wealth would be comparatively of minor importance were it not seriously complicated by the existence of Free Trade; but we have now to confront the fact, that, in the present day, we have to pay 50 per cent. more money for 20 per cent. less labour than we did forty years ago; whilst Free Trade brings into the market the products of the keen competition of a thrifty and parsimonious class of workmen who accept lower wages and work longer hours. The result must be a gradual extinction of our industries:
Cotton and woollen industries are struggling hard for existence.[53]
Silk manufacture is dying out.
Iron industries in a bad way.