Population of England and Wales, d'c, of 1871 and 1881. 101 
admittedly a certain amount of confusion in the I'eturns between general and 
agricultural labourers, it may be well to deal here with this group of workers, 
and it will be convenient to give a summary view of all such labourers as 
were abstracted separately. 
1871 1881. 
(Corrected numbers). 
Agriculti;rallabourers 962,348 .. 870,798 
General labourers 506,273 .. 559,769 
Railway navvies and platelayers .. .. 44,lH9 .. 58,847 
Eoad labourers 8,136 ,. 10,947 
1,520,926 1,500,361 
There is a considerable increase under each headinpr, excepting the agricultural, 
the general labourers having increased 10-6 per cent., the railway labourers 
33'2 per cent., and the road labourers 34'6 per cent. The whole mass of 
labourers put together, exclusive of labourers in more specialised occupations, 
was 1,520,926 in 1871, and was 1,500,361, or practically the same, in 1881. 
Thus the class of labourers had remained stationary, while the general popu- 
lation had increased by 14'36 per cent. 
Had the labouring class increased in the same ratio as the general population 
there would have been 239,016 more of them than were actually enumerated. 
This number, therefore, may be supposed either to have emigrated or to have 
adopted more specialised kinds of work. 
Let us now examine the tables with the view of answering, 
so far as possible, the questions proposed in the earlier part 
of this article. 
First. — The tables show that the decrease in the numbers of 
the aggregate agricultural population of the farmers, and of 
labourers (excluding shepherds), who together form the bulk of 
that population, was general throughout England and Wales, 
and that it was not confined to any particular part or parts of 
the countr)'. 
Secondh/. — The tables show that the general decrease was not 
equally distributed throughout the country, but, on the contrary, 
that it varied to a very large extent in different counties. Thus, 
the decrease in the number of farmers varied from 2 per cent, 
in Cornwall to 22 4 per cent, in Oxfordshire and 22-3 per cent, 
in Surrey ; and the decrease in the number of labourers varied 
from "7 per cent, in the county of Rutland to 20 2 per cent, in 
that of Huntingdon, 24-6 per cent, in that of Radnor, and 25"2 
per cent, in that of Brecon ; and the decrease in the aggregate 
agricultural population varied from 1-7 per cent, in the county 
of Rutland to 18*8 per cent, in the county of Buckingham, 
and to 20 per cent, in that of Radnor, 
Arrr.nging the variations of decrease into the five divisions 
of under 5 per cent., from 5 per cent, to 10 per cent., from 10 
to 15 per cent., from 15 per cent, to 20 per cent, and over 20 
per cent., we have the following results for England and Wales 
respectively : — 
