95 



Thus, between 1873 and 1893, 



The price of Steel Bails declined 46 per cent 



Cotton 



)» 



46 



Tea 



3J 



43 



Wheat 



JJ 



39 



Sugar 



)J 



37 



Beef 



J) 



4 



Butter 



)> 



6 



Coal 



)j 



17 



Botatoes 



increased 



1 



Copper 



?j 



5 



Tobacco 



j> 



4 



Fish. 



jj 



11 



Coffee 





56 



Salt 



i> 



59 



This demonstrates that the fall in price of important 

 articles, such as rails, cotton, tea, wheat, and sugar, cannot 

 be due to the alleged appreciation of gold, for the latter 

 cause would tend to produce a uniform fall in all prices. 



If this be' true, and if it be also admitted that cost of pro- 

 duction is the true primary law of economic value or price, 

 then it may be confidently affirmed that any attempt made by 

 governments to fix arbitrary laws for determining the relative 

 exchange values of any two commodites — such as gold and 

 silver as in the scheme of bi-metallism — would be as futile as 

 to pass arbitrary laws for determining their absolute specific 

 gravities. Of course, I except the useful token relation of 

 silver to gold, where one is subordinate to the unit standard, 

 and limited in amount of tender as money. 



The true cause of decline in prices is mainly due to the 

 increasing improvements in steam, chemistry, electricity, and 

 labour-saving machinery and forces, whereby man's labour is 

 year by year made more effective, his reward is made greater, 

 and his wants more abundantly satisfied in proportion as 

 prices of commodities decline. Whatever local injury is 

 now done to particular countries, or to particular industries 

 in any one place, is due to the introduction of more 

 favoured competitors in the same region, or in the same 

 branch of industry, and not to the causes which are so 

 frequently alleged. As a single example of the wonderful 

 advantage to the effectiveness of man's labour by the intro- 

 duction of labour saving forces and machinery, let us take 

 the case of steam. It is estimated that the steam force now 

 employed as an auxiliary to man's labour has multiplied the 

 original power more than fifteen fold. When we realise that 

 in the United Kingdom alone, since 1840, 8,600,000 

 additional horse-power is employed in transport, and in other 

 industrial directions, represents the added nominal force of 



