TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION F. 709 



superior iu effectiveness to tbe very worst necessarily in use. Its limits (as well 

 as tiieira) prevent it trencliin|i^ on any of the three other classes. 



5. The Effect of Income ClassificatioJi upon Income Distribution. — With unre- 

 strained individual ownership, in perfect frictionless competition and universal 

 omniscience, the objective distribution would constantly coincide with the subjec- 

 tive classification. Private property in capital, whether immovable or movable, 

 necessarily involves the power to extract as mere ' rent ' tbe equivalent of the whole 

 economic advantage of all instruments of production exceeding in effectiveness the 

 worst necessarily in use. The remuneration of those human beings who contribute 

 their personal services cannot permanently exceed what they would produce with 

 instruments merely of marginal efiectiveness. Abstracting (scarce) personal capital, 

 the ordinary labourer cannot permanently obtain, under individualism, more than 

 his potential individual product at the very margin of utilisation of land, capital, 

 and skill. He cannot possibly have any interest or share in fertile lands, superior 

 machineiy, or exceptional skill, which are, for him, virtually non-existent. 



0. Application of the modern wage theory to co-operation, technical education, 

 factory legislation, taxation, &c. 



4. Report of the Committee on the teaching of Science in Elementary 

 Schools. — See Reports, p. 131. 



5. Apprenticeship in the Engineering and Shiphuilding Trades. 

 By Sir Benjamin Bkowne, i).G.L., M.Inst. G.E. 



Taking the trade of an engineer as typical of all the trades employed in engi- 

 neering and shipbuilding, the writer describes the ordinary training of an appren- 

 tice who wishes to be a first-class workman. It is an object for him to be educated 

 cheaply, and to earn some wages as soon as is practicable. Experience shows that 

 apprenticeship generally should be six years, or fi ve at least — preceded by good 

 schooling. 



To be a good mechanic long training is necessary ; and, above all, to know good 

 work from inferior work. A regular course of progress from one class of work to 

 another should be carefully followed so as to teach every class of work up to the 

 most difficult. In this the real interest of the employer is the same as that of the 

 lad — viz., to learn every step thoroughly, and then pass on to something rather 

 more difficult. 



1. Is the training of a manufacturing workshop absolutely necessary, or can 

 any substitute be found P 



2. Is such training all that is necessary, or is anything else required to supple- 

 ment it ? 



The writer contends that a long training in a manufactory is absolutely neces- 

 sary, but that this certainly ought to be supplemented b}' theoretical and technical 

 training. 



Referring to the practice of employers as to the latter, the Elswick Works 

 nearly forty years ago commenced the Elswick Mechanics' Institute, with science 

 clas-ses, for training their apprentices. This was less common then than it is now, 

 and the good work done by this Institute has been very great. 



Since then many good cla.sses have been established in Newcastle; and when 

 the firm R. & W. Hawthorn was reconstructed, in 1870, instead of commencing new 

 classes the partners decided to pay the fees of every apprentice who attended any 

 evening class approved by the firm. Besides evening classes, if it were possible, it 

 would probably be a great gain to give a lad six or eight months of theoretical 

 teaching when he was just out of his apprenticeship. 



In a trade like plumbing there is a great opening for really good scientific 

 teaching to supplement, not to supersede, the ordinary workshop education. This 

 is now supplied in many places. 



In boiler-making and shipbuilding it has to be borne in mind that a young boy 

 is not physically able to do or learn much at first, so he may, if need be, get 



