302 = 56 
British Agriculture. 
of which an enterprising man could make the venture of moving 
iiis labour to places in which it would command a better return. 
And during the long period that this continued, his condition 
was low, and still shows itself in his small stature and slow gait. 
From the pressure of this system he was at last emancipated by 
the extension of his legal right of relief from the parish to the 
Union, a district much more extensive, and by the simultaneous 
increase in the demand for labour arising from the rapid de- 
velopment of the other industrial resources of the country. The 
great extension of steam-communication with America, and the 
encouragement thereby afforded to emigration, drew off rapidly 
the surplus agricultural population of Scotland and Ireland ; 
wages in both countries quickly increased, and this soon ex- 
tended its influence southwards. Agricultural labourers' unions 
were formed in the depressed districts just when this wholesome 
feeling was spreading throughout the country, and to their efforts 
much of the natural effect of other causes in producing a rise of 
wages has been ascribed. This increase of wages was attended 
by a most useful result, for it forced upon farmers the more exten- 
sive use of machinery, and, in the end, brought about a higher 
scale of wages to the labourer, while the additional cost .to the 
farmer is met to some extent by superior skill, and greater 
economy in the application of labour. It is worthy of note that 
the increase of agricultural wages has been greatest in Scotland, 
where labourers' unions have not taken root. 
CotifliiioD now The general condition of the agricultural labourer was 
better than at probably never better than it is at present. Compared witb 
peri od"^' com- years ago, in the time of Elizabeth, wages have riser 
paring their sixfold, while the price of bread has only doubled. Tw( 
wages with the centuries later, in 1770, the farm-labourer's wages was Is. 2(i. t 
price 0 rea . jjj^y^ when the price of wheat was 46s. a quarter. In 1846 
immediately before the repeal of the Corn Laws, wages wer 
Is. Id., when wheat was 53s. At the present time wages hav 
risen 60 per cent., while wheat has not increased in price. I 
other words, the labourer's earning power in procuring the sta 
of life, cost him five days' work to pay for a bushel of wheat i 
1770, four days in 1840, and two-and-half days in 1870. H 
is better lodged than he ever was before ; though, in many par 
of the country, there is still much room for improvement i 
that respect. Compared with the labourer in towns, his positif, 
is one of greater comfort ; he lives in a better atmosphere, he 
more free from anxiety, and has a closer and more friend 
relation with his employers, and with the schoolmaster ai 
clergyman of his parish. He is kind to animals, understan 
liow to manage them, and in his family shows a good exampi 
on the whole, of sobriety and industry. 
