342 LAND REFORM 



The following table gives the weekly budget of 133 

 labourers, so far as the items of wages, bread, tea, and 

 tobacco are concerned : — 



From the above it will be seen that if a reduction 

 were made on the duty of tobacco say of id. per oz., 

 and on tea of 4d. per lb., there would be a considerable 

 weekly saving on the items named taken as a whole.^ 



It would be a waste of time to pursue this subject 

 were it not for the fact that large placards have been 

 widely distributed in the rural districts and throughout 

 the country generally, illustrated with two loaves, one 

 of them about half the size of the other. The infer- 

 ence to be drawn from these pictures is that if a 

 28. duty on foreign wheat were imposed, the present 

 price of the loaf would be raised enormously. It is 

 stated that this placard has had more effect than any 

 other electioneering device, especially on rural voters, 

 who, being deceived by the imposture, naturally 

 shrank from the prospect of having the price of 

 bread nearly doubled. The proceeding is a low one, 

 for whatever might be its motive, its certain effect is 

 to deceive the poorer and less instructed classes of 

 our fellow-men, whose condition ought to command 



* The above returns I have obtained direct from labourers themselves 

 who live in different districts throughout England and Wales — districts 

 selected with a view to get a fair average return. Mr. Wilson Fox, in his 

 interesting report, gives the average rate of wages for England and Wales 

 at 17s. 6d. (instead of i6s. lod). "Earnings of Agricultural Labourers," 

 Wilson Fox. Cd. 2376. 1905. In both cases the value of allowances in 

 kind is included. 



