The Condition of i lie Agriculhiral Labourer 



427 



per week. He contrasted those earnings 

 with the wages paid to carpenters and brick- 

 layers in country places, the former receiving 

 but 1 8s. and the latter.2os. per week, although 

 one had to find ' expensive tools, and the 

 other was unable to work in frosty weather, 

 while the agricultural labourer was mostly 

 employed throughout the winter; and he 

 contended that the real evil consisted in the 

 existence of so many beer shops, which pre- 

 \ented agricultural labourers from being a 

 thriving, prosperous, and improving class. 



Dr Hodson shewed that Canon Girdle- 

 stone's propositions would destroy that inde- 

 pendence which he professed to contend for, 

 and traced, in some measure, the present 

 condition of the agricultural labourer in Eng- 

 land to class legislation, and to the law of 

 settlement. That there is a silver lining to 

 the cloud of the agricultural labourer's social 

 sky was shewn by Professor Leone Levi, who 

 described the labour of the agriculturist as 

 healthy compared w-ith that of certain trades. 

 The working men of Sheffield might earn £2 

 to jQt, a week, but their lives were shortened 

 by the nature of the work; and, taking a 

 broad view of the subject, he did not think 

 that wages paid to labourers in rural districts 

 were unfairly low. 



yix H. E. Blyth, speaking as a Norfolk 

 farmer, protested against the application of 



Canon Girdlestone's illustrations to the con- 

 dition of the agricultural labourer of Norfolk. 

 He was sorry to say, indeed, that fifty 

 years' experience as a master, that labourers 

 set less value on character than formerly, and 

 that masters were less strict as to the cha- 

 racter of those whom they employed. The 

 agricultural population was not progressing 

 as it ought to do, either in a moral, social, or 

 economical point of view, but he attributed 

 this to the example set by those above them. 

 A resolution proposed by Mr Webster was 

 ultimately carried. It was to the effect that 

 with a view to give a practical turn to the 

 discussion, a committee, consisting of the 

 Rev. Canon Girdlestone, Mr Corrance, M.P., 

 Sir John Bowring, Professor Levi, Mr S. 

 Breame, and himself (Mr Webster), with 

 power to add to their number, should be 

 appointed, and requested to consider whether 

 any steps should be taken to improve the 

 condition of the agricultural labourer, and to 

 report to the next meeting of the Association, 

 which will be held at Exeter. Canon Girdle- 

 stone will then be fighting his battle on his 

 own ground, and from what fell from the 

 Rev. Mr Brereton, in defence- of Devonshire 

 landlords and Devonshire fanners, it looks 

 as if the Rev. Canon will have some difii- 

 cultv in maintaining his position. 



