64 



low, the wages of their operatives would be high, 

 as high or higher than they were in 1825. The 

 author of the Wealth of Nations, says, " that upon 

 examining the accounts which had been published 

 of the annual produce of the manufacture of linen 

 in Scotland, and that of coarse woollens in the 

 West Riding of Yorkshire, he had not been able to 

 observe that its variations had had any sensible 

 connection with the dearness or cheapness of the 

 seasons."* Yet, as I have repeated before, we 

 admit that the cost of the necessaries of life influ- 

 ences, but in a very small degree, the price of the 

 labour of the manufacturing operative ; but still, 

 even the cost of the necessaries of life is far from 

 governing it ; much less can this be said of the 

 price of one article of his consumption, namely, 

 corn. Consider the variety of articles on which 

 his earnings are expended bread, cheese, bacon, 

 potatoes, cloathing, fuel, house rent, tea., malt, 

 sugar, soap, candles, &c., and surely, then, it is a 

 complete mistake to assert that the price of corn 

 governs the remuneration of his labour. Even 

 supposing, what is not the case, that the value of 

 these articles together did uniformly do so, how 

 much would the difference of Is. 9d. a bushel in 

 the price of wheat reduce his earnings ? Suppose, 

 that with our ports open to foreign corn, at a duty 

 of 10y. a quarter, corn would be sold in our 

 markets on the average, at 4(X?. a quarter, or 14y. 

 a quarter lower than the probable average price. 



* Wealth of Nations, vol. ii, page 129. 



