l8b4' cohcerhirtg tht Value of Labour. 43y 



ces he has enumerated will raife the price of labour. I fliall only 

 fay, that, when i laid my complaint, nofie oi the cauies he has iVated 

 exilled, which, perhaps, he may believe, when he has read the 

 following cafe, which has happened to myfclf. 



I have for feveral years^ continued to employ the mafon who 

 long worked for my father, and he was fo good a workman 

 that I never wilhed to employ any other ; and he was fo far 

 fatisficd with the profpeils he had, that he aiked a fmall farm, 

 which 1 gave to him. Lad year, his demands appeared to me 

 very extravagant. He had not to complain of inconjlancy of 

 employment, being obliged to work far from home in the midft 

 of an * unilieltered heath, ' or to hibour under any of the dilad- 

 vantages pointed out fo feelingly by your correfpondent. On the 

 contrary, he had only to take an agreeable walk through fertile 

 fields, and by ' the living haunts of men. ' At the commence- 

 ment of this feafon, he told me that he could not work for me, 

 unlefs I agreed to give him three guineas per rood ; and he en- 

 forced his demand by adding, that this was the county price. I 

 told him that it might be fo, and that I hoped he would procure 

 many jobs, but that I had none for him at that rate. A mafon 

 from another county came to me, and faid that he would do my 

 work for two guineas per rood. Having inquired into his charac- 

 ter and profefiional ikiil, I clofed with him ; and he is at this mo- 

 ment at work, and has obtained a variety of other jobs. Here, 

 then, is a moil fortunate occurrence. Our people, feeing that a 

 competition is created againit theni by flrangers, will, I hope, 

 return to their fenfes ; and the price of labour come to a pro- 

 per level. Is it illiberal policy in me, or any perfon, to em- 

 ploy a man who will work one tliird cheaper than another ? 

 Would your learned correfpondent, for the fake of enforcing his 

 maxims, give three guineas for what might be obtained for two I 

 Pol-Oiconomicus would make you believe, that I confounded a 

 combination of the workmen and/ a competition of the mailers, 

 and crows moil luflily at this important difcovery. The fact is 

 this : The workmen did politively fettle that they would demand 

 an increafc of wages, and the mailers had no fpirit to compete? 

 with each other, but quietly acquiefced in the demands of the 

 men, and increafed their own demands on their employers. There 

 was no fuch thing as a competition among the mailers, nor did 

 there exifl * a natural combination not to raife the wages. ' I 

 rather imagine that the mailers are indifferent about it, or would 

 be glad of the plea of an increafe of wages, in order to raife their 

 rates, which they generally do in an increaiing proportion, as 

 wages rife, and, of courfe, derive larger profits when wages are 

 high, than when they are low. 



F f 2 From 



