TESTIMONIALS 
 
 rX FAVOtn< OF 
 
 W. J. ASHLEY, M.A. 
 
 FELLOW OF LIxVCOLN COLLEGE, OXFORD ; 
 LECTURER AT LINCOLN AND CORPUS CHRISTI COLLEGES. 
 
 A CANDIDATE 
 
 FOR THE 
 
 PROFESSORSHIP OF POLITICAL SCIENCE 
 
 IN THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO. 
 
1"' ^ ' * " " "^ "^ "^^K* -SMC* 
 
 t - a- fci --*i 
 
 K^-i ^^ -^Vvr-^ 
 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Letter of Application ..... 3 
 Testimonials : — 
 
 I. From the Rt. Rev. William Stubbs, D.D., LL.D., 
 Bishop of Chester; sometime Regius Professor 
 of Modem History in the University of Oxford . 5 
 II. From E. A. Freeman, Esq., D.C.L., Regius Pro- 
 fessor of Modern History in the University of 
 Oxford ...... 6 
 
 III. From the Rev. B. Jowett, M.A., D.D., (Leyden), 
 
 Master of Balliol College, and Regius Professor 
 
 of Greek . . . . . . ' 7 
 
 IV. From M. Emile de Laveleye, Professor of Political 
 
 Economy in the University of Libge ; Correspond- 
 ing Member of the Institut, &c. . . .8 
 V. From the Rev. W. W. Merry, D.D., Rector of Lin 
 coin College, and Public Orator . 
 
 VI. From Alfred Marshall, M.A., Professor of Poli 
 tical Economy in the University of Cambridge 
 England ; sometime Fellow of Balliol College 
 Oxford ...... 10 
 
 VII. From the Rev. Andrew M. Fairbairn, D.D., M.A 
 Oxon; Principal of Mansfield College, Oxford 
 Ex-Chairman of the Congregational Union of 
 England and Wales . . . .11 
 
 VIII. From William Markby, Esq., D.C.L., Reader in 
 Indian Law in the University of Oxford ; Fellow 
 and Tutor of Balliol, and Fellow of All Souls; 
 late Judge in the Supreme Court, Calcutta . 12 
 
 IX, From Frederick York Po'"ell, Esq., M.A., Senior 
 Student, Tutor, and Lecturer of Christ Church, 
 Oxford; sometime Deputy to the Regius Pro- 
 fessor of History; Examiner in the School of 
 Modern History to the University of Oxford; 
 Joint Editor of the " Corpus Poeticum Boreale." 13 
 
11 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 X. From A. Milner, Esq., M.A., Fellow of New Col- 
 lege, Oxford ; Private Secretary to the Chan- 
 cellor of the Exchequer; late Assistant Editor 
 of the "Pall Mall Gazette." . . .14 
 
 XI. From H. L W. Lawson, Esq., B.A., M.P. St. Pan- 
 eras (London) . . . . • ^5 
 
 XII. From John Tracey, Esq., B.A., Tutor and Lecturer 
 
 of Keble College, Oxford . . .16 
 
 XIII. From M. Leon Vanderkindere, Rector of the 
 University of Brussels, and Professor of History ; 
 late Member of the Belgian Chamber of Repre- 
 sentatives ; Author of " Le Sihde des Artevelde " 
 [written in 1883] . . . . • 17 
 
 XIV. From H. C. Adams, Ph.D., Professor of Political 
 Economy in Cornell and Michigan Universities ; 
 Author of " Public Debts " . . .18 
 
TO THE HONOURABLE, THE MINISTER OF EDUCATION, ONTARIO, CANADA. 
 
 Lincohi College, Oxford, 
 March 12, 1888. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 I beg to offer myself as a Candidate for the Professor- 
 ship of Political Science in the University of Toronto. 
 
 I am in my twenty-ninth year. Entering Balliol 
 College, Oxford, in 1878, with a Scholarship in History 
 and Law, I took a First Class in the Honour School of 
 Modern History in 1881, and in 1882 received the Lo- 
 thian (University) Prize for an Essay on James and Philip 
 van Artevelde, which, upon the recommendation of Pro- 
 fessor Stubbs, Messrs. Macmillan published in the follow- 
 ing year. After three years' further residence at Oxford, 
 occupied in the study and private teaching of History and 
 Economics, I was elected in February, 1885, to a Tutorial 
 Fellowship at Lincoln College ; to which, a few months 
 later, was added a Lecturership in History, with full 
 tutorial work, at Corpus Christi College. 
 
 Thus I have had seven years' experience in teaching, 
 during the last three as a college tutor and lecturer. I 
 have taught all the subjects required for the Honour 
 School of Modern History, incl^iding Political Science 
 and Political Economy ; but I have lectured chiefly on 
 Economics, in one course stating and criticising modern 
 theories, in another tracing the development of Economic 
 History and Theory in their relation to one another ; and 
 I have had audiences consisting during some terms of as 
 many as eighty or a hundred students. Since 1886 I 
 have been Secretary to the Oxford Economic Society, 
 composed of most of the senior resident members of the 
 University interested in Economic questions. Last year 
 I was appointed Examiner to the University in the Pass 
 School of Political Economy, and the appointment has 
 been renewed for this and the following year. 
 
 B 2 
 
My own studies have lain chiefly in the direction of 
 Economics and Constitutional History. In 1884 I took 
 a considerable share in the preparation for publication 
 of the late Arnold Toynbee's Lectures on the hidnstrial 
 Revolution of the Eighteenth Century in England, of which 
 I have subsequently prefaced a second edition. In 1886 
 I contributed a chapter on Feudalism to " Constitutional 
 Essays," edited by Messrs. Wakeman and Hassall : last 
 year I wrote a paper on the Early History of the Woollen 
 Industry, since published by the American Economic 
 Association : and within a few weeks will appear the first 
 volume of an Introduction to English Economic History 
 and Theory, based on my lectures of the last three years. 
 Besides these, I edited the first volume, entitled Ed- 
 ward III. and his Wars, in a series of volumes of ex- 
 tracts from original authorities, now in course of publica- 
 tion ; and I have written for Mr. Stedman's " Oxford : its 
 Life and Schools" (1887), a paper on The Honour School 
 of Modern History, since reprinted in the "Johns Hop- 
 kins University Studies in Historical and Political Science," 
 Dec. 1887, p. 44, seq. 
 
 In Oxford I have had the advantage of studying under 
 the present Bishop of Chester, Dr. Stubbs, and the present 
 Regius Professor, Mr. Freeman. During the vacations 
 I have repeatedly visited Germany, and I have made 
 myself intimately acquainted with the University system 
 of that country : at Gottingen I attended the lectures of 
 the late Reinhold Pauli. I may venture to add that I 
 have watched with the utmost sympathy the recent ex- 
 periments in the teaching of Political Science in France, 
 Germany, and the United States. Should I receive the 
 honour of appointment to the chair at Toronto, I would 
 do my best to promote studies which are of such vital 
 importance to modern society. 
 
 I have the honour to be 
 Yours faithfully, 
 
 W. J. ASHLEY. 
 
I. 
 
 From the Rt. Rev. William Stubbs, D.D., LL.D., Bishop 
 of Chester ; sometime Regius Professor of Modem History 
 in the University of Oxford. 
 
 The Palacr, Chester, March 23, 1888. 
 
 Having been informed that Mr. W. J. Ashley is a 
 candidate for the office of Professor of Political Science 
 in the University of Toronto, I have much pleasure in 
 offering a testimonial in his favour. 
 
 My acquaintance with Mr. ASHLEY began soon after 
 his matriculation at Oxford. I examined him when he 
 obtained his scholarship at Balliol ; he was afterwards 
 my pupil in professorial lectures ; the Lothian prize was 
 adjudged to him on my recommendation in 1882 ; and 
 on several other occasions, and in various ways, I had 
 opportunities of judging of his work, both before and 
 after he had gained the highest distinction in historical 
 studies, in 1 88 1. 
 
 Accordingly I was able to trace very accurately the 
 growth of his mind, and to estimate his power and his 
 grasp of his subjects, as well as to understand the line 
 which his studies were takirj ;. 
 
 I feel myself, therefore, fully wa. ranted in saying that 
 I believe Mr. Ashley to be so peculiarly well suited 
 to the position he seeks, that I sc^.cely know of any man 
 of his standing who could compete with him. His taste 
 has always lain in the line of Political Science ; his devo- 
 tion to the subject has been continuous, and his reading 
 upon it, as upon other historical matters, extensive, steady, 
 and judicious. As a pupil I found him independent, 
 original, and most industrious. His style was good, and 
 improved as he went on ; his interest in his work vivid 
 and sympathetic ; and his judgment cautious in exercise 
 and well balanced in conclusions. 
 
 Since I left Oxford I have heard with much pleasure of 
 his work as a teacher ; and of the distinctions with which 
 it has been recognised. But of this others will speak 
 more authoritatively. I can only add that my long 
 acquaintance has given me good reason to trust in 
 Mr. Ashley's thorough honesty as student and teacher, 
 and to feel confident of his conduct and merited success. 
 
 W. CESTR. 
 B3 
 
II. 
 
 From E. A. Freeman, Esq., D.C.L., Regius Professor 
 of Modern History in the University of Oxford. 
 
 Oxford^ March 25, 1888. 
 
 I HAVE great pleasure in giving my witness to the 
 qualifications of Mr. W. J. AsHLEY for the professorship 
 of Political Science in the University of Toronto. I know 
 him, both from his writings and as one who has attended 
 my private lectures in original authorities, as a genuine 
 historical student, and one who has taken history from 
 its economic side. He has worked carefully at the history 
 of commerce, and brought a sound and scholarly method 
 to bear on it. And I know that his work in this way has 
 been specially appreciated by competent judges in the 
 United States. 
 
 EDWARD A. FREEMAN. 
 
III. 
 
 Fror the Rev. B. JowETT, M.A., D.D. (Leyden), Master 
 of Salliol College^ and Regius Professor of Greek, 
 
 Balliol College^ March 25, 1888. 
 
 Mr. W. J. Ashley, now a Fellow of Lincoln College, 
 was formerly a Scholar of Balliol, and obtained a First 
 Class in Modern History, and also a University Prize 
 Essay. 
 
 He is a very able man, gifted with great powers of 
 acquiring knowledge, and able to express himself well and 
 clearly. He has lectured to unusually large classes at 
 Oxford. He has also had considerable experience in the 
 instruction of private pupils. 
 
 I think him extremely well suited for a Professorship 
 in an American University, and I know of no one who 
 is more likely to persevere and distinguish himself in his 
 own branch of study. 
 
 B. JOWETT. 
 
8 
 
 IV. 
 
 From M. Emile de Laveleye, Professor of Political 
 Economy in the University of Liege ; Corresponding 
 Member of the Institute etc. 
 
 Li^gCy 25 Mars, '88. 
 
 Cher Monsieur, 
 
 A mon avis, vous le savez, r^conomie politique deduc- 
 tive qui a rendu de grands services, a dit son dernier mot. 
 Pour aborder avec fruit I'^tude des redoutables probl^mes 
 de Tavenir, I'organisation du travail et constitution de la 
 propriety, il faut s'appuyer sur les faits, et sur I'expdrience 
 du pass6, c'est a dire, sur la statistique et sur I'histoire. 
 
 Vous ^tes entr6 dans cette voie, et vos travaux, notam- 
 ment votre livre sous presse, dont vous voulez bien me 
 communiquer des ^preuves, me semblent un siir garant 
 que vous rendrez de r^^ls services k notre science. 
 
 Votre bien d6vou6, 
 
 EMILE DE LAVELEYE. 
 
From the Rev. W. W. Merry, D.D., Rector of Lincoln 
 College, and Public Orator, 
 
 Lincoln College^ Oxford, March, 1888. 
 
 Mr. William James Ashley was elected a Fellow of 
 this College in March, 1885, under a special provision of 
 the Statutes sanctioning the election to a " Fellowship, 
 without examination, of a person qualified for the office 
 of Tutor or Lecturer." It should be added that this 
 Fellowship is one of limited tenure, and is bound by 
 certain restrictions as to celibacy. 
 
 The announcement of the intention of the College to 
 elect a Tutor, competent to direct the teaching of Modern 
 History and Political Economy, attracted a strong field of 
 candidates. After a careful study of the Testimonials, 
 and frequent consultation with Professors and others, 
 whose names had been given as references, the Governing 
 Body of the College elected Mr. W. J. Ashley as a 
 gentleman full of enthusiasm for his subject, and endowed 
 with the power of communicating his knowledge to others ; 
 an indefatigable student, and an independent thinker. 
 
 Mr. Ashley has abundantly justified his election. As 
 a shrewd critic, a stimulating teacher, an attractive lec- 
 turer, and a clear writer, Mr. Ashley has secured a high 
 reputation already; and the energy with which he seeks 
 to apply his wide knowledge of Modern History to the 
 elucidation and illustration of Economics, with special 
 regard to the historic development of Society, promises to 
 give vigorous life and permanent value to his writings and 
 lectures. 
 
 In thus giving my cordial testimony to Mr. Ashley's 
 high qualifications for the Professorship of Political Science, 
 for which he is a candidate, I feel that I am commending 
 to the favourable consideration of the electors one of the 
 foremost students in that School of Modern History which 
 has been the most fruitful development in recent times of 
 the studies of this University. 
 
 And I should wish to add emphatically my conviction 
 that if Mr. Ashley be appointed to this Chair he will 
 discharge its important duties with a thoroughness and 
 conscientiousness that will be appreciated both by his 
 colleagues and his pupils. W. W. MERRY. 
 
lO 
 
 VI. 
 
 Frotn Alfred Marshall, M.A., Professor of Political 
 Economy in the University of Cambridge^ England ; some- 
 time Fellow of Balliol College, Oxford. 
 
 Balliol Croft, Madingley Road, Cambridge, 
 March 26, 1888. 
 
 Hearing from Mr. Ashley, of Lincoln College, Oxford, 
 that he is a candidate for the chair of Political Science in 
 the University of Toronto, I have pleasure in saying 
 that I believe him to be a very able and energetic man, 
 with a great future before him. I regard his work in 
 economic history as remarkably good, and as of the very 
 highest promise. 
 
 ALFRED MARSHALL. 
 
VII. 
 From the Rev. A. M. Fairbairn, D.D., M.A. Oxon. ; 
 Principal of Mansfield College, Oxford ; Ex-Chairman of 
 the Congregational Uniofi of England and Wales, 
 
 Mansfield College^ Oxford^ March 26, '88. 
 
 My Dear Ashley, 
 
 I have great pleasure in bearing cordial and emphatic 
 testimony to your high qualities and promise as a student 
 and teacher in Political Science. These seem to me to 
 fit you in a peculiar degree for a Chair in such a subject 
 in a young country, and it is to this point more than any 
 other that I would now speak. 
 
 The study that has always most deeply interested you 
 has been what may be termed in the widest sense. Politics 
 in History, and in this department much of your most 
 successful work as a teacher has been done. You have 
 always loved to study political, economical, and industrial 
 forces and phenomena in relation to history, to exhibit 
 their inter-relations, their bearing on the development of 
 society, and on the progress and well-being of a people. 
 Your historical studies have not been studies of persons 
 and events, but of the action and evolution of political 
 principles, industrial agencies and conditions, legal idea 
 and custom, in a word, of the varied forces and stages of 
 social and constitutional change. Indeed, I do not know 
 any man of your standing so well qualified to handle, for 
 the benefit of a country still young, the many subjects 
 that may be grouped under the names of comparative 
 Politics and Economics, as illustrated in the history of 
 older and living peoples. 
 
 I do not like the prospect of seeing you depart from 
 Oxford, but I am certain that you would, in Toronto, be 
 in a place you are so well qualified to fill, that I cannot 
 forbear saying how high I conceive your claims to be. 
 Within the student is the man, and of him it must suffice 
 to say, his interest in his subject is even more deeply 
 human than keenly scientific. He never forgets that the 
 questions of Political and Economical Science are matters 
 that touch the happiness of man, as well as the prosperity 
 and stability of peoples ; and to say this of him is to say that 
 his teaching will never be arid or abstract and doctrinaire, 
 but solid, historical, living. A. M. FAIRBAIRN. 
 
12 
 
 VIII. 
 
 From William Markby, Esq., D.C.L., Reader in Indian 
 Law in the University of Oxford; Fellozv and Tutor of 
 Balliol, and Fellow of All Souls; late Judge in the 
 Supreme Court, Calcutta. 
 
 Headington Hill, Oxford, 
 March 27, 1888. 
 
 I HAVE known Mr. ASHLEY since he took his degree, 
 and have seen with pleasure the continued advance which 
 he has made. He produced from the first a very remark- 
 able impression as a lecturer, and he has since fully justi- 
 fied the high expectations that were then formed of him. 
 Of his special qualifications I leave others to speak, but 
 I know him to be clear, vigorous, and original, and I be- 
 lieve him also to be entirely free from any prejudices 
 which would prevent him setting a subject before his 
 hearers in all its bearings. I have much confidence that 
 Mr. Ashley will one day make a considerable reputation 
 in the studies to which he has devoted himself. 
 
 WILLIAM MARKBY. 
 
13 
 
 IX. 
 
 From Frederick York Powell, Esq., M.A., Senior 
 Student, Tutor, and Lecturer of Christ Church, Oxford; 
 sometime Deputy to the Regius Professor of History ; 
 Examiner in the School of Modern History to the Uni- 
 versity of Oxford; foint Editor of the " Corpus Poeticum 
 BcreaUy 
 
 Christ Church, Oxford, 
 March 2i, 1888. 
 
 Mr. W. J. Ashley, who is now a candidate for the 
 Professorship of Political Science at the University of 
 Toronto, I have known personally for some time. 
 
 He is an earnest and devoted student of Economic 
 Science, and he has done much to promote it in Oxford, 
 by calling special attention to certain historic and dynamic 
 sides of this science which I do not think have hitherto 
 been sufficiently attended to here. In addition to his 
 regular work he has gathered a knot of pupils round him» 
 who have been working with him seminar-fashion to their 
 great advantage. 
 
 Mr. Ashley is not only a sound honest scholar, as his 
 printed work shows, but he is a man pleasant to work 
 with, and a man that sets himself a high standard in life 
 
 and study. 
 
 FREDERICK YORK POWELL. 
 
H 
 
 From A. MiLNEK, Esq., M.A., Fellow of New College, 
 Oxford ; Private Secretary to the Chancellor of the Ex- 
 chequer ; late A ssistant Editor of the ''Pall Mall Gazette'' 
 
 47 Duke-street^ St.fames^s^ S. W. 
 My dear Ashley, 
 
 I am very glad to hear that you are applying for the 
 Professorship in Political Science at the University of 
 Toronto, and willingly add the small weight of my good 
 word to the numerous more weighty testimonials which 
 you can easily obtain. 
 
 It is some years now since we were engaged together 
 in a small but difficult piece of economic work — the edit- 
 ing of Toynbee's very fragmentary notes for his unfinished 
 book on "The Industrial Revolution." But I well re- 
 member the great assistance w^hich your acumen, your 
 grasp of economic principle, and your wide reading on 
 economic subjects afforded us at that time. 
 
 I should have pronounced you then to be qualified for 
 the post which you are now seeking. But as I know that 
 since then you have devoted the best part of your time 
 to the study of Economics, and that not only in the or- 
 dinary directions, but in branches of the subject of which 
 English economists have on the whole been regrettably 
 neglectful, I venture to think that you are now not only 
 fully, but exceptionally, fitted to do justice to the work 
 in which you are anxious to engage. 
 
 Believe me. 
 
 Yours very truly, 
 A. MILNER. 
 
15 
 
 from lpupU0. 
 
 XI. 
 
 From H. L. W. Lawson, Esq., B.A., 
 M.P. St, Pancras {London). 
 
 Royal Commission on Civil Establishments, 
 7 Whitehall Place, S. W. 
 March 23, 1888. 
 
 I READ for some months in 1884 with Mr. W. J. Ashley 
 for the Final Honours School of Modern History at 
 Oxford University. Whilst we touched most periods and 
 most sides of the subject, my studies with him were mainly 
 directed to English Constitutional History and the seven- 
 teenth ce^'itury in general. I found in his teaching an 
 inexhaustible mine of historical learning, which he was 
 able to concentrate in brilliant elucidation of particular 
 epochs and phases. His knowledge is not limited to any 
 special side of history, although for the last three or four 
 years he has devoted himself to laborious examination 
 of the economic and industrial development of nations, 
 of the results of which he is shortly going to give us 
 a first instalment. Mr. Ashley belongs to and has the 
 spirit of the new historical school of which Dr. Stubbs 
 (Bishop of Chester), Professor Freeman, and Professor 
 Gardiner are the most illustrious and widely-known ex- 
 amples. I was originally attracted to him by his high 
 reputation at the University, and I consider that the First 
 Class Honours which I obtained in 1884 were mainly due 
 to the comprehensive and luminous insight he gave me 
 into the facts and movements of those periods that I was 
 taking up for the History School. I feel certain that the 
 University of Toronto would find Mr. Ashley excellently 
 qualified for the post, if the authorities be pleased to elect 
 him to the Professorship which he aspires to fill. I 
 heartily wish him success in his candidature, not less in 
 the interest of the University than for his own sake. 
 
 H. L. V/. LAWSON. 
 
i6 
 
 XIT. 
 
 From John TraCEY, Esq., B.A., Tutor and Lecturer of 
 
 Kehle College^ Oxford. 
 
 Keble College^ 
 March 24. 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 I am informed that Mr. W. J. ASHLEY, Fellow and 
 Lecturer of Lincoln College, and Lecturer of Corpus 
 Christi College, is a candidate for the Professorship of 
 Political Science at Toronto. I had the advantage of 
 attending Mr. Ashley's lectures in the year 1885-6, and 
 found them interesting, suggestive, and full of learning ; 
 and the interest which he gave me in the subject led to 
 my becoming a member of a small Society — of which he 
 was the founder and centre — for the discussion of eco- 
 nomic subjects among the younger graduates of his Uni- 
 versity. He has shewn such enthusiasm for his subject, 
 and has already done so much to promote the study of 
 his subject, that one cannot but look forward with con- 
 siderable confidence to real and valuable work from him 
 in the future. 
 
 I have, Gentlemen, the honour to be 
 Faithfully yours, 
 
 JOHN TRACEY. 
 
17 
 
 XIII. 
 
 From M. Leon Vanderkindere, Rector of the Univer- 
 sity of Brussels, and Professor of History ; late Member 
 of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives ; Author of 
 " Le Siecle des Artevelde" [written in 1883]. 
 
 Messieurs, 
 
 Je consid^re le livre de Mr. Ashley, "James and Philip 
 van Artevelde," comme un excellent travail historique. 
 L'auteur a mis k contribution tous les documents essen- 
 tiels, sources anciennes et oeuvres modernes, et il a su en 
 composer un ensemble vrai et harmonique. II a compris 
 que pour reconter la vie d'un personnage et pour retracer 
 un episode, quelque important qu'il soit dans les annales 
 d'un peuple, il faut avant tout connaitre le pass^ de ce 
 peuple, et s'inspirer de I'^tat general de la civilisation 
 au moment donn^. 
 
 Je puis done affirmer, en toute sinc^rit^, que Mr. ASHLEY 
 possede le sens historique, qu'il sait tirer parti des docu- 
 ments, et qu'il dispose les elements de son travail en una 
 ceuvre vivante, anim^e, pleine d'int^ret. 
 
 Je suis persuade que cette ^tude attirera I'attention du 
 public lettr^ en Angleterre sur une ^poque de notre his- 
 toire de Flandre ou les deux pays avaient de si intimes 
 relations, et j*esp^re qu'elle engagera a rechercher si les 
 archives anglaises ne contiennent plus quelques docu- 
 ments int^ressants sur les rapports d'Edouard III. avec 
 Jacques van Artevelde. 
 
 Je me f^licite done de pouvoir d^livrer a Mr. ASHLEY 
 la pr^sente attestation. 
 
 L. VANDERKINDERE. 
 
i8 
 
 XIV. 
 
 H. C. Adams, Ph.D., Professor of Political Economy in 
 Cornell and Michigan Universities ; Author of '* Public 
 Debts ;" writes m Science, January 20, 1888, in a review 
 of The Early History of the English Woollen hidustry. 
 
 .... Turning now to the monograph itself, we find it 
 to be an eminently satisfactory sketch of the history of 
 the English woollen industry from earliest '.imes to the 
 period of the great inventions. The peculiar interest in 
 such a sketch lies in the fact that the history of the woollen 
 industry fairly represents the development of all industries. 
 Whether we consider the relation of artizans to early local 
 government, or the internal organization of trades, or the 
 social and political influence of changed methods of doing 
 work, we find a true picture in the history of the woollen 
 industry. . . . For us in this country the part which treats 
 of the separation of the merchant class from the main 
 body of workers is perhaps the most instructive. Ameri- 
 cans pride themselves on being cosmopolitan, and it is 
 true that their love of travel makes them familiar with the 
 existing habits and customs of many peoples ; but when 
 it comes to history, their minds are essentially provincial. 
 They are prone to regard the nineteenth century, out of 
 which their minds have never travelled, as the natural and 
 therefore the permanent order of society. Their con- 
 servatism is, on this account, unreasonably strong. It 
 would be a good thing if every business-man could be 
 brought to see that there once existed a successful indus- 
 trial society, in which a separate class of traders was not 
 known. They then might regard with less suspicion cer- 
 tain tendencies in modern times looking towards further 
 industrial changes. 
 
 But professed students of history, as well as business- 
 men, will find in this monograph much instruction. It is 
 a common error to say that machinery and steam-power 
 are responsible for the creation of a clearly defined labour- 
 
19 
 
 ing-class. Mr. ASHLEV shows that such an assumption is 
 not cx>rrect. ... 
 
 ... In closing we can only say that American students 
 are always grateful for reliable information on English 
 industrial history. They feel that the society with which 
 they deal is as much the result of English life during 
 the middle ages as is English Society itself. But this 
 they cannot study at first-hand, because of paucity of 
 material, and on that account they read with eagerness 
 all that English scholars may write upon the subject. 
 Mr. Ashley, then, has the thanks of American students 
 for his excellent monograph on the English woollen in- 
 dustry. 
 
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