250 



MY LIFE 



[Chap. 



be to have a conference of all the leading politicians and 

 advanced thinkers to discuss the question, "What are the 

 best means, consistent with justice and equity, for bringing 

 about a more equal division of the accumulated wealth of the 

 country, and a more equal division of the daily products of 

 industry between Capital and Labour, so that it may become 

 possible for all to enjoy a fair share of material comfort 

 and intellectual culture, possible for all to lead a dignified 

 life, and less difficult for all to lead a good life ? " 



He proposed to devote £1000 for the expenses of the 

 conference, and the following gentlemen agreed to act as 

 trustees : Sir Thomas Brassey, Mr. John Burnett, Mr. Thomas 

 Burt, the Earl of Dalhousie, Professor Foxwell, Mr. Robert 

 Giffen, and Mr. Frederic Harrison. 



But these gentlemen did not adopt the very clear state- 

 ment of the problem Mr. Miller wished to be enlightened 

 upon, nor the highly humane and moral object he had in 

 view, as shown by his own words given above. Instead of 

 it they adopted a comparatively hard and colourless state- 

 ment in the following terms : — " Is the present system or 

 manner whereby the products of industry are distributed 

 between the variotis persons and classes of the community 

 satisfactory? Or, if not, are there any means by which that 

 system could be improved? And this was again rendered 

 still more bald and systematic by being stated under five 

 heads and ten subdivisions, in the approved manner of the 

 political economists, so as to limit the questions discussed 

 to utilities, while excluding as much as possible all questions 

 of justice or equity, of moral or intellectual advancement. 



The conference lasted three days, with morning and after- 

 noon sittings ; about one hundred and fifty delegates repre- 

 senting the chief labour associations of the kingdom attended ; 

 and twenty representatives of political and social science, 

 including myself, were invited to read papers. These papers, 

 with some valuable statistics in appendices, and a report of 

 the discussions on the chief papers, were published by Cassell 

 and Co. in a thick 8vo volume of over 500 pages, entitled 

 Industrial Remuneration Conference Report." In the 



