THE PROGRESS OF THE WORKING-CLASSES. 41 



ber of partnerships to which individuals belonged, or from partner- 

 ships as a rule comprising a greater or less number of individuals. 

 Using the figures with all these qualifications, we get the following 

 comparison : 



Kiaixber of Persons at Different Amounts of Income charged under 

 Schedide D in ISJfS and 1879- SO compared \in England\^ 



Here the increase in all classes, from the lowest to the highest, is 

 between two and three times, or ratlier more than three times, with 

 the exception of the highest class of all, where the numbers, however, 

 are quite inconsiderable. Again a proof, I think, of the greater dif- 

 fusion of wealth so far as the assessment of income to income-tax 

 under Schedule D may be taken as a sign of the person assessed hav- 

 ing wealth of some kind, which I fear is not always the case. If the 

 owners of this income, at least of the smaller incomes, are to be con- 

 sidered as not among the capitalists, but among the working-classes — 

 a very arguable proposition — then the increase of the number of in- 

 comes from £150 up to say £1,000 a year is a sign of the increased 

 earnings of working-classes, which are not usually thought of by that 

 name. The increase in this instance is out of all proportion to the 

 increase of population. 



In giving these figures I have omitted the incomes under £1.~>0. 

 There is quite a want of satisfactorj^ data for any comparison, I think, 

 except as regards incomes actually subject to assessment, and the data 

 at the beginning of the period are specially incomplete. 



Whichever way we look at the figures, therefore, we have this re- 

 sult, that while the increase of personal property per head of the capi- 

 talist class, according to the probate returns, is comparatively small, 

 being only about 15 per cent, yet there is an increase of the number 



* The figures for 1843 can not be given for either Scotland or Ireland. 



