The Rural Labourer 



steadily, thanks largely to the efforts of the 

 Trades Unions, but it seemed impossible to 

 induce the rural labourers to combine — circum- 

 stances were all against their doing so. 



Still, when the right man — in the person of 

 Joseph Arch — appeared, he succeeded in obtain- 

 ing a greater amount of cohesion than has been 

 known before or since, and his union had the 

 most practical result of raising the wages of 

 farm labourers throughout the kingdom, — East 

 Anglia, Lincolnshire, Wiltshire, Dorset, varying 

 in degree according to the local strength of 

 Arch's Union. Thus began the improving of 

 the general condition. 



Unfortunately, this improvement is not at 

 all uniform, and there are still many counties 

 where the wages are deplorably low. Thirteen 

 and fourteen shillings a week is not enough upon 

 which to bring up a family — even admitting that 

 the house rent is low. 



In Lincolnshire, Yorkshire and the Northern 

 counties generally higher wages prevail, averag- 

 ing about 1 8s. per week all round: and it is safe 

 to assume that i8s. per week in the country is 

 fully equal to 22s. per week in a city, while, over 

 and above the question of hard cash, the country 

 man has undoubtedly in many cases a consider- 

 able quantity of garden produce, which makes a 

 great difference to the healthy feeding of the 

 family. It is fairly safe, I think, to conclude 



119 



