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they warn their countrymen that they must not sleep, for that the}’ may 
then be overtaken, or even surpassed by the English, who are ever on the 
search after improvement, and who act with intrepidity and disregard of 
expense in order to dispute with their rivals the first position in foreign 
markets. The reporters then remark in detail, hut briefly, on the whole 
of the productions in their class shown at the Exhibition. AVe cannot 
follow them through these special notes ; suffice it to say that our Moroccos 
are well spoken of, that English calf leather is generally condemned as 
wanting in suppleness, that our sole-leather is accused of sponginess, that 
our dressed pig-skins for saddles and other purposes are declared to be 
perfection in their way, and that some of our bookbinder’s calf is highly 
lauded. 
Finally, the reporters give an account of what they saw of the London 
factories, and of the impression made in their minds by a comparison of 
their own condition with that of English workmen in their own class ; and 
we are sorry to find from the report that the delegates were so ill-satisfied 
with the reception afforded them by the master tanners and leather- 
dressers, that they express a hope that any future commission may have 
better opportunities. The reporters are of opinion that France excels in 
the fundamental part of the leather-dressing, namely, tanning — both as 
regards material and manipulation ; and they express an opinion that the 
universal tendency of the English to substitute machinery for hand labour 
may contribute to their inferiority in this respect. It is admitted, how- 
ever, that some firms in London approach nearer than those of any other 
country to the French standard, and that in the preparation of pig-skins 
we stand unrivalled — a superiority which is curiously attributed “ solely 
to the care which our neighbours exhibit towards the porcine race,” as if 
poor piggy’s education involved the first principles of tanning his hide. 
But the remarkable portion of these reports is the positive evidence of 
the superior position of the English as compared with the French work- 
man. “ Certainly,” say the reporters, “we could not expect that in this 
comparison France would take the first place.” On the contrary, the 
report declares that, “ during the last forty years, the causes of complaint 
have grown like the snowball,” and that “no one can expect French 
workmen to glorify their present position.” Again — “ France no longer 
ranks in the first class of nations in the eyes of those who see the miserable 
pay she gives her children, her workmen of all classes, whether industrial 
or agricultural.” 
The French workmen naturally regard with great interest the freedom 
of combination and discussion enjoyed by Englishmen, and declare that 
employers in France act, in the matter of wages, in a narrow and arbitrary 
spirit. As regards the comparative rates of payment in the two countries, 
the following passage is too striking to be omitted : — 
“ The wages paid in England since 1812 are, on an average, 30 per cent, 
higher than those received by French workmen, and in the case of w r axed 
calf the English workman makes twice as much as his brother in 
France ! ” 
This enormity, says the report, is in no way counterbalanced by the 
expense of living ; for the delegates declare that they lived with English 
