ON WAGES AND THE HOURS OF LABOUR. 485 
= Average No. unemployed) Average Percent- 
— No. of Members ye pst =f 
per Month age per Month 
1872 41,075 397 0-9 
1873 42,382 465 HEAL 
1874 43,150 674 16 
1875 44,032 1,077 2-4 
1876 44.578 1,627 3°6 
1877 45,071 2,118 AT 
1878 45,408 2,974 6°5 
1879 44,078 5,879 13°3 
1880 44,692 2,646 59 
1881 46,101 1,630 35 
1882 48,388 889 1°8 
1883 50,418 es 2°3 
1884 50,681 2,591 51 
1885 51,689 3,240 6:2 
1886 52,019 3,859 TA 
1887 51,869 3,292 6°3 
1888 53,740 2,239 4:2 
1889 60,728 1,208 19 
These figures show conclusively that the number of hours in a skilled 
industry may be reduced, and yet many workers in the industry may 
remain unemployed. A bad harvest, a commercial crisis, a hostile tariff, 
are examples of causes that affect employment; such causes would not be 
removed by a reduction in the hours of labour. 
Fourth Report of the Committee, consisting of Dr. GirFreN (Chair- 
man), Professor F. Y. EpGEworts (Secretary), Mr. 8. BouRNE, 
Professor H. S. FoxweE.u, Professor ALFRED MARSHALL, Mr. J. B. 
Martin, Professor J. 8. Nicnotson, Mr. R. H. INGLIs PALGRAVE, 
and Professor H. SipGwick, appointed for the purpose of inves- 
tigating the best methods of ascertaining and measuring Varia- 
tions in the Value of the Monetary Standard. 
Your Committee have further considered the matters referred to them, 
with special attention to the question as to the way in which the method 
of an ‘index-number ’ for the prices of leading commodities, which they 
have found to be the best method of ‘ascertaining and measuring varia- 
tions in the value of the monetary standard,’ may be applied in practice. 
They have come to the conclusion that, in practice, what will have to 
be done, when opinion is ripe on the subject, will be, that Governments 
should appoint special commissions or direct existing departments of State 
to collect a sufficient number of prices officially, to publish these prices 
officially, to deduce one or more index-numbers from them, and to publish 
the variations in these index-numbers annually, or at more frequent 
periods if found desirable. 
In doing so, it would be desirable that Governments should have 
regard to the theoretical principles explained in our previous reports, 
especially to the principle of weighting the different articles, of which the 
prices are to be obtained, according to their relative importance in the 
