PROCEEDINGS, NOVEMBER. 



XXXU1 



NOVEMBER, 1890. 

 The last monthly evening meeting of the present Session was held 

 on Monday, November 17th, 1890. The President, Sir R G C 

 Hamilton, was in the chair. 



NEW MEMBERS. 



Messrs. A. J. Ogilvy and A. R. Browne, M.A.M.I.E., F.G.S., were 

 elected Fellows of the Society. 



AUSTRALASIAN ASSOCIATION. 



The Secretary (Mr. A. Morten) read a letter from the Hon. P Fysb 

 premier, intimating a vote of £500 from the Government towards 

 aetraying the expenses attendant upon the 1S92 session of the Austral- 

 asian Association which is to be held at Hobart. He also intimated 

 *nat congratulations had been received fiom Hew South Wales 

 victoria, and New Zealand, at the proposed arrangements for holding 

 the meeting here in 1892. s 



STRIKES AND WAGES. 



Mr. A. J. Ogilvy read a paper, in which he asked the question 

 ^an the toiling masses really improve their condition by these 

 incessant and unhappy strikes, or are they only beating their hands 

 against the iron bars of inexorable economic law 2 The paper was a 

 reply to the paper read by Mr. R. M. Johnston at the September 

 neetmg on the influence of strikes on real wages. Dealing in the 

 "rat place with the question as it affected primary industries 

 ">at is those which are concerned in extracting or producing the 

 raw materials of wealth from the land as in agriculture or mining 

 i • contended that in all such industries every increase of wa^es woufd 

 ^omeoutof rent He regarded rent as the surplus which remained 

 "iierpaying working expenses and tenants' ordinary profit. Every 

 "se in the expenses or fall in the profits would reduce the rent 

 proportionately, and, therefore, he concluded that in every department 

 frn™ ?u St , ry 1 whi ° h 1S c ° n3erned in applying the raw material of wealth 

 iom the land, every enforced rise of wages will be clear gain to tha 

 labourer, but the loss would fall on the landlord, and stay there 

 -"i the secondary industries of manufactures and commerce which were 

 th? a • ' n workin g of and distributing the material produced by 

 le primary industries, increased wages signified increased price 

 i goods. Those goods were of two kinds— those which the masses 

 onsumed, and those which they did not. After pointing out that a 

 *■ Proportion of industry was concerned in providing luxuries and 

 ijoyments for the rich, he concluded that in all those commodities 

 WniU f if under Pai d do no* consume, the loss due to increased wages 

 train 1 ;i.T. c the over P aid - and stay there, again leaving the whole net 

 siu to the labourer. On those goods which the masses consumed the 



la -/u" 1 ' 1 Suffer l0SS ' but the loss would not ec l ual tha gain. It 

 le B « said that if the upper classes lost so much there must be so much 

 ess employment for labour, and so the loss will come round to the 

 lp« i alL He maintained, however, that there would be no 



so mn 1 "? i° ym , en o- F ° r ' he asked ' Wh y wU1 the u PP er classes n ave got 

 It i , ,' dimply because the lower class have got so much more, 

 is not a loss, but a mere transference of employing power. What 

 .ne masses want more money for is to spend it, and they can only spend 

 Th«™ ■?, - In ? goods and hirin S services just as the upper class did 

 bv I T V Q Sh . 0rt ' to the extent o£ the transference, be employed 

 y each other instead of by theii old employers. There was, of 



c 



