WAGES BOARDS n 



labourers who by reason of age, infirmity, or 

 other exceptional causes are incapable of earning 

 a living wage. 



4. The provisions of the Bill encourage the 

 extension of piecework, which is the surest 

 method of obtaining good results and rewarding 

 labour according to its merits. 



5. This proposal is in no way to conflict with 

 historic Tory doctrines, which were laid down at 

 the time of the passing of the Factories Acts. 

 The principle of Toryism is not that freedom of 

 contract cannot be interfered with under any 

 circumstances, but that it should not be inter- 

 fered with unless the policy of allowing such 

 freedom has failed to produce desirable results 

 from the point of view of the State. In the case 

 of agricultural wagres. as in the case of the 

 Factories Acts, the policy of laissez /aire has 

 produced results inimical to the race, and, there- 

 fore, the State, for its own preservation, is 

 bound to step in. In the matter of social legisla- 

 tion, as in other directions, the worker in the 

 country has received far less consideration than 

 the worker in the towns. 



We would ask those critics who are opposed 

 to the establishment of Wages Boards to suggest 

 some other scheme by which wages may be 

 raised. The evil is admitted on all sides ; and 

 any constructive proposal is certain to receive 

 full consideration. In the absence of a counter- 



