222 



GENERAL INCEEASE OF WAGES, ETC. 



comfortable state of existence among a section of our industrial 

 classes would in itself have an infinitesimal influence upon 

 invention, discovery, and increased energy. The new idea 

 springs from the single mind, and not irom|the society or 

 aggregate. 



" ™, en P erislled in winter winds till one smote fire 



f hey gorged on flesh tell one sowed corn . . 



They mowed and babbled till some tongue struck speech. 



What good gift have my brothers, but it came from 



search, and strife, and loving sacrifice." 

 Professor Hearn had a clear perception of the conditions 

 which determine invention when he wrote the following 

 words : — ■ * 



" At every time and in every place the master of all arts 

 and the bounteous bestower of genius is Want. It quickens 

 the perception and sharpens the power of contrivance. This 

 action is felt in every part of industry. There is scarcely 

 one of the great improvements in the" arts which has not 

 immediately been connected with the expansion of some 

 want. The want may be caused by the natural development 

 of the capacities of the person by whom it is felt, or by the 

 presence of some external obstacle. But whatever may be 

 its origin, or whatever form it may assume, there is always a 

 want, and a want of considerable persistence and intensity." 



It was to strikes among workmen and the deamessor 

 scarcity of skilled labour in America and in other countries 

 that we mainly owe the origin of many ingenious labour- 

 saving instruments, such as the cotton gin, the reaper and 

 binder, and sewing machines. It was the craving for more 

 leisure to play or scrog which led the boy Humphrey Potter 

 to discover the first method for making the steam engine 

 self-acting. 



A.— It seems to me that the logic of your argument is to 

 undervalue the results arising from improvements in the 

 material condition of the people, and to magnify the influence 

 of difficulties, obstacles, and want. 



B.— You are no doubt in one sense justified in making this 

 observation; but remember it is restricted by me to the 

 following questions :— What are the potent influences in 

 promoting useful invention or discovery ? Do thev spring 

 more freely from men's minds when their material conditions 

 are improved, or are they originated more frequently under 

 the pressure of wants and difficulties. My own opinion 

 tends to the conviction that the latter are the more potent 

 influences. 



In closing this imaginary dialogue, which might be greatly 

 extended with advantage, let me now touch upon the 



* P. 194. Plutology.-Extent of Invention-Circumstances which determine it. 



