Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2007 with funding from Microsoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/claimsoflabouresOOhelprich %ty Claims of JUbout; AN ESSAY ON THE DUTIES OF THE EMPLOYERS TO THE EMPLOYED. %ty Seconti (Etiitiom TO WHICH IS ADDED, AN ESSAY ON THE MEANS OF IMPROVING THE HEALTH AND INCREASING THE COMFORT OF THE LABOURING CLASSES. LONDON WILLIAM PICKERING 1845. ^V °* THE ' UIU7BIlSITy] (^ *m u There is formed in every thing a double nature of good ; " the one, as every thing is a total or substantive in itself; " the other, as it is a part or member of a greater body ; " whereof the latter is in degree the greater and the worthier, " because it tendeth to the conservation of a more general 11 form. Therefore we see the iron in particular sympathy " moveth to the loadstone ; but yet if it exceed a certain " quantity, it forsaketh the affection to the loadstone, and " like a good patriot moveth to the earth, which is the re- " gion and country of massy bodies. This double nature of " good, and the comparative thereof, is much more engraven " upon man, if he degenerate not ; unto whom the conser- " vation of duty to the public ought to be much more precious " than the conservation of life and being : according to that " memorable speech of Pompeius Magnus, when being in " commission of purveyance for a famine at Rome, and " being dissuaded with great vehemency and instance by his " friends about him, that he should not hazard himself to sea " in an extremity of weather, he said only to them, ' Ne- " cesse est ut earn, non ut vivam.' But it may be truly " affirmed that there was never any philosophy, religion, or u other discipline, which did so plainly and highly exalt the " good which is communicative, and depress the good which a is private and particular, as the Holy Faith ; well declaring, " that it was the same God that gave the Christian law to " men, who gave those laws of nature to inanimate crea- " tures that we spoke of before." /, { // Lc ^ Bacon's Advancement of Learning. u And well may masters consider how easie a transposition " it had been for God, to have made him to mount into the " saddle that holds the stirrup ; and him to sit down at the " table, who stands by with a trencher." Fuller's Holy State. OF THTS^^ .□rwivBRsiTr; K TO HENRY TAYLOR, ESQ. My dear Taylor, I have great pleasure in dedicating this book to you, as I know of no one who, both in his life and writings, has shown a more profound and delicate care for the duties of the Employer to the Employed. Pardon me, if following the practice of the world, I see the author in his hero, and think I hear you speaking, when Van Artevelde exclaims — " A serviceable, faithful, thoughtful friend, Is old Van Ryk, and of a humble nature, And yet with faculties and gifts of sense, Which place him justly on no lowly level — Why should I say a lowlier than my own, Or otherwise than as an equal use him? That with familiarity respect Doth slacken, is a word of common use. I never found it so." iv 2DeWcatfotu I have had some peculiar advantages in writing upon this subject. I should have been unobservant indeed, if, with such mas- ters as I have served under, I had not learnt something, in regard to the duties of a great employer of labour, from witnessing their ever-flowing courtesy; their care for those who came within their sphere ; their anxiety, as the heads of departments, to recognize every exertion on the part of their subordi- nates; and their ready sympathy with the poor and the friendless, a sympathy which the vexations and harassments of office, and all those things that tend to turn a man's thoughts in upon himself, could never sub- due. But, happily, it is not only amongst the high in office that such examples are to be found. The spirit, and even some of the very modes of benevolent exertion which I have endea- voured to recommend, have already been carried into practice, and I trust may be frequently seen, in the conduct towards their dependents, both of manufacturers and landed proprietors. I must also say how much I owe to the ex- SDeMcatfotu v cellent Reports which of late years have been presented to Parliament on subjects connected with the welfare of the labouring classes. It is to be regretted that these reports are not better known. I have made frequent use of them, and hope that the quotations I have given may induce my readers to turn to the original sources. With regard to the subject generally, it appears to me that knowledge of the duties of an employer is every day becoming more important. The tendency of modern society is to draw the family circle within narrower and narrower limits. Those amusements which used to be shared by all classes are becoming less frequent: the great lord has put away his crowd of retainers : the farmer, in most cases, does not live with his labouring men : and the master has less sympathy and social intercourse with his domestics. If this be so, if the family circle is thus becoming narrower, the conduct of those in domestic authority, having a more intense influence, has the more need of being regulated by the highest sense of duty : and, with respect to society in general, if the old bonds are vi 2Detucatiom loosened, other ties must be fostered in their place. You will not be likely to mistake my mean- ing, and to suppose that I look back with any fond regret at the departure of the feudal system, or that I should wish to bring the present generation under its influence. Man- kind does not so retrace its steps. But still, though the course of our race is onwards, the nature of man does not change. There is the same need for protection and counte- nance on the one side, and for reverence and attachment on the other, that there ever has been ; and the fact that society is in many respects more disconnected than it used to be, renders it the more necessary to cultivate in the most watchful manner every mode of strengthening the social intercourse between rich and poor, between master and servant, between the employers and the employed, in whatever rank they may be. I am afraid it may be said with justice, that both this letter and the following Essay are " sermoni propiora," according to Charles Lamb's translation, " properer for a sermon :" but it is impossible to dwell long on any such 2Deto (cation. vii subject as the one which I have chosen, with- out having to appeal to the best motives of human endeavour ; and the shortest way even to the good which is of a purely physical character lies often, I believe, through the highest moral considerations. Believe me, My dear Taylor, Most truly yours, The Author. London, July 1, 1844. uhiversitt; THE CLAIMS OF LABOUR. CHAPTER I. Masters and Men. IT is a thing so common, as almost to be ridiculous, for a man to express self-dis- trust at the commencement of any attempt in speech or writing. And yet, trite as this mode of beginning is, its appropriateness makes each one use it as heartily as if it were new and true for him, though it might have been a common-place for others. When he glances hurriedly across the wide extent of his subject, when he feels how inadequate his expression will be even to his conception, and, at the same time, has a yearning desire to bring his audience into the same mind with himself, it is no wonder if he begins with a few, hesitating, oft repeated, words about his 2 %ty Claims of ^Labour* own insufficiency compared with the greatness of his subject. Happily, I have not occasion to dwell much upon the importance of the subject to which I am anxious to engage attention. For a long time it has been gradually emerging from the darkness in which it had been left. The claims of labour and the rights of the humble and the poor have necessarily gained more of the attention of mankind, as Christi- anity has developed itself. That power was sure, in its gradual encroachments upon the evil nature of man, to make its voice heard in this matter. It is a voice which may come out of strange bodies, such as systems of ethics, or of politics ; but men may call it what they please, it goes on doing its ap- pointed work, " conquering and to conquer." Persons of a thoughtful mind seeing closely the falsehood, the folly, and the arrogance, of the age in which they live, are apt, occa- sionally, to have a great contempt for it : and I doubt not that many a man looks upon the present time as one of feebleness and degeneracy. There are, however, signs of an 21£agttt# and ®$m. 3 increased solicitude for the claims of labour, which of itself is a thing of the highest pro- mise, and more to be rejoiced over than all the mechanical triumphs which both those who would magnify, and those who would depreciate, the present age, would be apt to point to as containing its especial significance and merit. But what do all these mechanical triumphs come to ? It is in vain that you have learned to move with double or treble the velocity of your immediate predecessors: it is in vain that you can show new modes of luxury, or new resources in art. The inquiring histo- rian will give these things their weight, but will, nevertheless, persevere in asking how the great mass of the people were fed, and clothed, and taught: and whether the im- provement in their condition corresponded at all with the improvement of the condition of the middle and upper classes. What a sorry answer any one, replying for this age, would have to give him. Nor would it be enough, indeed, if we could make a satisfactory reply to his questions about the physical state of the people. We ought to be able to say 4 %\)t Ciafmg of labour. that the different orders of society were bound together by links of gratitude and regard : that they were not like layers of various coloured sand, but that they formed one solid whole of masonry, each part having its rela- tion of use and beauty to all the others. Certainly, if we look at the matter, we have not much to say for ourselves, unless it be in that dawning of good intentions which I have alluded to before. There is to be found in our metropolis, in our great towns, and even in our rural districts, an extent of squalid misery such as we are almost afraid to give heed to, and which we are glad to forget as soon as we have read or heard of it. It may be that our ancestors endured, it may be that many savage tribes still endure, far more privation than is to be found in the sufferings of our lowest class. But the mind refuses to consider the two states as analo- gous, and insists upon thinking that the state of physical and moral degradation often found amongst our working classes, with the ara- besque of splendour and luxury which sur- rounds it, is a more shocking thing to con- template than a pressing scarcity of provisions S^agterg and S^m* 5 endured by a wandering horde of savage men sunk in equal barbarism. When we follow men home, who have been cooperat- ing with other civilized men in continuous labour throughout the livelong day, we should not, without experience, expect to find their homes dreary, comfortless, deformed with filth, such homes as poverty alone could not make. Still less, when we gaze upon some pleasant looking village, fair enough in out- ward seeming for poets' songs to celebrate, should we expect to find scarcity of fuel, scantiness of food, prevalence of fever, the healthy huddled together with the sick, de- cency outraged, and self-respect all gone. And yet such sights, both in town and country, if not of habitual occurrence, are at any rate sadly too numerous for us to pass them by as rare and exceptional cases. Is this then the inevitable nature of things ? Has the boasted civilization of the world led only to this ? Do we master the powers of nature only to let forth a new and fierce tor- rent of social miseries upon us ? Let not such thoughts be ours. Pagans, the slaves of destiny, might well have held them. But 6 i:ije Clafmg of 3Labout\. we cannot doubt that the conditions of labour, under which man holds the earth, express the mercy and the goodness, no less than the judgment, of God. Many benevolent persons feel, doubtless, very sensitively for the sad condition of the labouring classes, and are anxiously looking about for remedies to meet it. I would not speak slightingly of any attempt in that di- rection. There are problems in political economy, in government, and, perhaps, even in the adaptation of machinery, which may be worked out with signal service to the great cause of suffering humanity. It is not my intention, however, to dwell upon such topics. My object is to show what can be done with the means that are at the present moment in every body's power. Many a man, who is looking about for some specific, has in his hands the immediate means of doing great good, which he would be ready enough to employ, if he had but imagination to per- ceive that he possessed them. My endeavour then will simply be to show what can be flpagtetsf an* $Bm. 7 done by the employers of labour in their indi- vidual and private capacity. What an important relation is that of Mas- ter and Man ! How it pervades the world ; ascending from the lowest gradation of planter and slave through the states of master and servant, landlord and labourer, manufacturer and artisan, till it comes to the higher degrees of rule which one cultivated man has to ex- ercise over another in the performance of the greatest functions. See, throughout, what difficulties and temptations encumber this relation. How boundless is the field of thought which it opens to us, how infinite the duties which it contains, how complete an exercise it is for the whole faculties of man. Observe what wretchedness is caused by a misunderstanding of this relation in domestic matters. See the selfish carelessness about the happiness of those around them of men not ill-intentioned, nor unkind, perhaps, in their dealings with the world in general, but lamentably unfit for the management of a home. Then observe the effects of similar 8 %\)t Claim? of 3Lab0ut\ mismanagement in dealing with a country. Look at the listless loiterers about an Irish town : you would naturally say to yourself, " Surely this people have done all that there can be for them to do.'' You walk out of the town, and find the adjacent fields as listless-looking, and neglected, as the men themselves. Think what a want there must be of masters of labour, that those hands and these weeds are not brought into closer contact. It may be said that the distressed condi- tion of the labouring classes is owing to tem- porary causes, and that good times, by which is meant good wages, would remove a large part of the evil. I confess it does not appear to me that a good harvest or two, or ready customers on the other side of the Atlantic, or the home demand that may arise from exhausted stocks, or any other cause of that nature which is simply to end in better wages, would of itself do all, or even any considera- ble part, of what we should desire. I do not, for a moment, mean to depreciate the good effects that would flow from an increase of gtpagterg anti S^eit. 9 employment and better wages. But still I imagine that there are many cases in which, if you were, in ordinary times, to double the amount of wages, a very inadequate propor- tion of good would follow. You have to teach these poor people how to spend money : you have to give them the opportunities of doing so to advantage : you have to provide a sys- tem of education which shall not vary with every fluctuation of trade : and to adopt such methods of working as shall make the least possible disturbance of domestic ties. No sudden influx of money will do all these things. In fact, whatever part of this sub- ject one takes up, one is perpetually brought back to the conviction of the necessity which exists for an earnest and practical applica- tion, on the part of the employing class, of thought and labour for the welfare of those whom they employ. Some of my readers may think that I have spoken of the distress of the labouring popu- lation in exaggerated terms. Let them only read the details of it in the Report of 1842, on the Sanitary Condition of the labouring io %\)t Clatmsf of labour* population, or in the Report of last year, on the condition of the children and young per- sons employed in mines and manufactures. I scarcely know what extracts to give of these direful reports, that may briefly convey the state of things to those who have not studied the subject. Shall I tell them of children ignorant who Jesus Christ was ; or of others who know no more of the Lord's Prayer than the first words, "Our Father:" and whose nightly prayers begin and end with those two words ? Shall I tell them of great towns in which one half at least of the juve- nile population is growing up without educa- tion of any kind whatever ? Shall I show that working people are often permitted to pass their labour time, the half of their lives, in mines, workshops, and manufactories, where an atmosphere of a deleterious kind prevails: and this, too, not from any invincible evil in the nature of the employment, but from a careless or penurious neglect on the part of their employers ? Shall I go into a length- ened description of the habitations of the poor which will show that they are often worse housed than beasts of burden ? Or S^agterg anti ®$tn> 1 1 need I depict at large the dark stream of profligacy which overflows and burns into those parts of the land where such Want and Ignorance prevail ? How many of these evils might have been mitigated, if not fully removed, had each generation of masters done but a small part of its duty in the way of amelioration. But it was not of such things that they were thinking. The thoughtless cruelty in the world almost outweighs the rest. " Why vex me with these things ?" exclaims the general reader. " Have we not enough " of dismal stories ? It oppresses us to hear " them. Let us hope that something will " occur to prevent such things in future. " But I am not a redresser of grievances. " Let those who live by the manufacturing " system cure the evils incident to it. Oh " that there had never been such a thing as " a manufacturing system !" With thoughts vague, recriminatory, and despondent, as the foregoing, does many a man push from him all consideration on the subject. It is so easy to despair : and the largeness of a ca- lamity is so ready a shelter for those who 12 %ty Clafmg of HalJDur* have not heart enough to adventure any op- position to it. Thus, by dwelling upon the magnitude of the evils we long to lessen, we are frightened and soothed into letting; our benevolent wishes remain as wishes only. But surely a man may find a sphere small enough, as well as large enough, for him to act in. In all other pursuits, we are obliged to limit the number and extent of our objects, in order to give full effect to our endeavours : and so it should be with benevolence. The foolish sluggard stares hopelessly into the intricacies of the forest, and thinks that it can never be re- claimed. The wiser man, the labourer, begins at his corner of the wood, and makes out a task for himself for each day. Let not our imaginations be employed on one side only. Think, that large as may appear the work to be done— so too the result of any endeavour, however small in itself, may be of infinite extent in the future. Nothing is lost. And why should we despair? A great nation is never in extreme peril until it has lost its hopeful spirit. If, at this moment, a Slpagttrg anti S^etu 13 foreign enemy were on the point of invading us, how strenuous we should be : what moral energy would instantly pervade us. Faster than the beacon lights could give the intelli- gence from headland to headland ; from city to city would spread the national enthusiasm of a people that would never admit the thought of being conquered. Trust me, these domestic evils are foes not less worthy of our attention than any foreign invaders. It seems to me, I must confess, a thing far more to be dreaded, that any considerable part of our population should be growing up in a state of absolute ignorance, than would be the danger, not new to us, of the combined hos- tility of the civilized world. Our trials, as a nation, like our individual ones, are perpe- tually varied as the world progresses. " The old order changeth, yielding place to new, And God fulfils himself in many ways." We have not the same evils to contend with as our ancestors had ; but we need the same stoutness of heart that bore them through the contest. The sudden growth of things, excellent in themselves, entangles the feet of 14 tCfte Clafmg of ?Ubouc. that generation amongst whom they spring up. There may be something, too, in the progress of human affairs like the coming in of the tide, which, for each succeeding wave, often seems as much of a retreat as an ad- vance : but still the tide comes on. The settled state of things attendant upon peace, and an unquestioned dynasty, is good, as it enables men to look more to civil affairs ; but it has, perhaps, a drawback in a certain apathy which is wont to accompany it. The ordinary arrangements of social life, for a long time uninterrupted by any large cala- mity, appear to become hardened into cer- tainties. A similar course of argument would, on a large scale, apply not only to this country, but to the world in general. Secu- rity is the chief end of civilization, and as it progresses, the fortunes of individuals are, upon the whole, made less liable to derange- ment. This very security may tend to make men careless of the welfare of others, and, as Bacon would express it, may be noted as an impediment to benevolence. I have often thought, whether in former times, when men St£a£tei# an* 9®zn. 15 looked to those immediately around them as their body guard against sudden and violent attacks, they ventured to show as much ill- temper to those they lived with as you some- times see them do now, when assistance of all kinds is a purchasable commodity. Consi- derations of this nature are particularly appli- cable when addressed to persons living in a great capital like London. All things that concern the nation, its joys, its sorrows, and its successes, are transacted in this metro- polis; or, as one might more properly say, are represented in transactions in this metro- polis. But still this often happens in such a manner as would be imperceptible even to people of vast experience and observation. The countless impulses which travel up from various directions to this absorbing centre sometimes neutralize each other, and leave a comparative calm ; or they create so complex an agitation, that it may be next to impos- sible for us to discern and estimate the com- ponent forces. Hence the metropolis may not at times be sufficiently susceptible in the case either of manufacturing or agricultural distress, or of any colonial perturbation. This 1 6 %\)t Claims of labour. metropolitan insensibility has some great ad- vantages, but it is well for us to observe the corresponding evil, and, as far as may be, to guard our own hearts from being rendered apathetic by its influence. I do not seek to terrify any one into a care for the labouring classes, by representing the danger to society of neglecting them. It is certainly a fearful thing to think of large masses of men being in that state of want and misery which leaves them nothing to hazard ; and who are likely to be without the slightest reverence or love for the insti- tutions around them. Still it is not to any fear, grounded on such considerations, that I would appeal. The flood-gates may be strong enough to keep out the torrent for our time. These things are not in our reckonings. Oc- casionally the upheaving of the waves may frighten timid, selfish, men into concessions which they would not otherwise have made ; but those whom I would seek to influence, are likely to court danger and difficulty rather than to shun it. Nor would I even care to disturb the purely selfish man by dwelling studiously on any social dangers around us, Stpagterg atiti 9®m. 17 or labouring to discern in present disturbance or distress the seeds of inevitable revolution. No, I would say to him, if it all ends here, " But here, upon this bank and shoal of time," you may have chosen wisely. It is true, there are sources of happiness which you now know nothing of, and which may be far beyond any selfish gratification you have ever experienced. Indeed, it may be, that you cannot enjoy the highest delights without sharing them, that they are not things to be given out to each of us as individuals, now to this man, then to that, but that they re- quire a community of love. But, at any rate, I do not wish to scare you into active and useful exertion by indicating that you are, otherwise, in danger of losing any of the good things of this world. The great motive to appeal to, is not a man's apprehension of personal loss or suf- fering, but his fear of neglecting a sacred duty. And it will be found here, I believe, as elsewhere, that the highest motives are those of the most sustained efficiency. But little as I would counsel despair, or c 1 8 %\z Claims of ^Labour* encourage apathy, or seek to influence by terror, it is not that I look to the " course of events," or any other rounded collection of words, to do anything for us. What is this "course of events" but the continuity of human endeavour ? And giving all due weight to the influence of those general cur- rents which attend the progress of opinions and institutions, we must still allow largely for the effect of individual character, and in- dividual exertions. The main direction that the stream will take is manifest enough per- haps ; but it may come down upon long tracts of level ground which it will overspread quietly, or it may enter into some rocky channel which will control it ; or it may meet with some ineffectual mud embankment which it will overthrow with devastation. Putting aside then such phrases as " course of events," and the like, let us look to men. And whom shall we look to first but the Masters of Thought? Surely the true poet will do something to lift the burden of his own age. What is the use of wondrous gifts of language, if they are employed to enervate, S^agtxrg anti S£eru 19 and not to ennoble, their hearers ? What avails it to trim the lights of history, if they are made to throw no brightness on the pre- sent, or open no track into the future ? And to employ Imagination only in the service of Vanity, or Gain, is as if an astronomer were to use his telescope to magnify the potherbs in his kitchen garden. Think what a glorious power is that of ex- pression : and what responsibility follows the man who possesses it. That grace of lan- guage which can make even commonplace things beautiful, throwing robes of the poor- est texture into forms of all-attractive loveli- ness : why does it not expend its genius on materials that would be worthy of the artist ? The great interests of Man are before it, are crying for it, can absorb all its endeavour, are, indeed, the noblest field for it. Think of this — then think what a waste of high intellectual endowments there has been in all ages from the meanest of motives. But what wise man would not rather have the harmless fame, which youths, on a holiday, scratch for themselves upon the leaden roof of some cathedral tower, than enjoy the unde- 20 WW Claims of labour. niable renown of those who, with whatever power, have written from slight or unworthy- motives what may prove a hindrance, rather than an aid, to the well-being of their fellow- men ? But, passing from those who are often the real, though unrecognized, rulers of their own age, and the despots of the succeeding generation, let us turn to the ostensible and immediate ruling powers. Assuredly the government may do something towards re- moving part of the evils we have been con- sidering as connected with the system of labour. It seems as if there were a want of more departments; and certainly of many more able men. The progress of any social improvement appears to depend too much on chance and clamour. I do not suppose, for a moment, that we can have the cut-and-dried executive, or legislative, arrangements that belong to despotic governments ; and it is, in some respects, a wholesome fear that we have of the interference of government. Still, we may recollect that England is not a small 9£agtei# anH S^ern 21 state, nor an inactive one, where the public energies are likely to be deadened, or over- ridden, by activity on the part of the govern- ment, which might, perhaps, with much safety undertake more than it has been wont to do. One thing is certain, that it may do great good, if it would but look out for men of ability to fill the offices at present in its gift. No government need fear such a course as destructive to its party interests. In appoint- ing and promoting the fittest men, you are likely to ensure more gratitude than if you selected those, who being the creatures of your kindness, could never, you imagine, be otherwise than most grateful for it. Weak people are seldom much given to gratitude : and even if they were, it is dearly that you purchase their allegiance ; for there are few things which, on the long run, displease the public more than bad appointments. But, putting aside the political expediency either way, it is really a sacred duty in a statesman to choose fit agents. Observe the whirlpool of folly that a weak man contrives to create round him : and see, on the other hand, with 22 Ctje Claims of Haboun what small means, a wise man manages to have influence and respect, and force, in what- ever may be his sphere. I have thought, for example, with regard to the Suppression of the Slave Trade, that amongst all the devices that can be suggested, one of the first things would be to tempt very superior men, by large inducements, to take the judicial situations in the Mixed Com- missions, or any other appointments, in slave- trading parts of the world. We may expect great results whenever real ability is brought into personal contact with the evils we wish it to overcome. There is a matter connected with the func- tions of government which seems to be worthy of notice ; and that is, the distribution of honours. These honours are part of the re- sources of the state ; and it is a most spend- thrift thing to bestow them as they frequently are bestowed. It is not merely that govern- ment gives them unworthily : it absolutely plays with them ; gives them, as one might say, for the drollery of the thing, when it adds a title to some foolish person, whose merits not even the Public Orator at a uni- 9®a$m& anti Qfyzn. 23 versity could discover. It is idle to talk of such things being customary. A great mi- nister would not recommend his sovereign to confer honours on such people ; and sensible men would be glad to see that the resources of the state, in all ways, were dealt with con- siderately. The above reflections are not foreign to the main subject of this essay; for a govern- ment, having at heart the improvement of the labouring population, or any other social matter, might direct the stream of honours towards those who were of service to the state in this matter, and so might make the civic crown what it was in ancient days. Not, however, that I mean to say that the best men are to be swayed by these baubles. The hope of reward is not the source of the highest endeavour. There is a class of persons who interest themselves so far in the condition of the labouring population, as to bring forward sad instances of suffering, and then to say, " Our rich men should look to these things. " This kind of benevolence delights to bring H W& Claims of labour* together, in startling contrast, the condition of different classes, and then to indulge in much moral reflection. Now riches are very potent in their way; but a great heart is often more wanted than a full purse. I speak it not in any disparagement of the rich or great, when I say that we must not trust to them alone. Amongst them are many who use their riches as God's stewards ; but the evils which we have to contend against are to be met by a general impulse in the right direction of people of all classes. There are instances where a man's wealth enables him to set forth more distinctly to the world's eye some work of benevolence, even to be the pioneer in improvements, which persons of smaller fortunes could scarcely have ef- fected. In such a case great indeed is the advantage of riches. But do not let us ac- custom our minds to throw the burden of good works on the shoulders of any parti- cular class. God has not given a monopoly of benevolence to the rich. What I have just said about individual rich men, applies in some measure to asso- ciations for benevolent purposes. They are gpagterg antigen* 25 to be looked upon as accessories — sometimes very useful ones — but they are not to be ex- pected to supersede private enterprise. A man should neither wait for them ; nor, when they exist, should he try to throw his duties upon them, and indolently expect that they are to think and act in all cases for him. Wherever a strong feeling on any subject exists, societies will naturally spring up in connexion with it. What such bodies have to do, is to direct their energies to those parts of the matter in which it is especially difficult for private enterprise to succeed. And pri- vate individuals should be cautious of slack- ening their endeavours in any good cause, merely because they are aware that some society exists which has the same object in view. I come now to some member of that large class of persons who are not rich, nor great employers of labour, nor in any station of peculiar influence. He shudders as he reads those startling instances of suffering or crime in which the distress and ignorance of the labouring population will, occasionally, break 26 W^t Claims of Habour* out into the notice of the world. " What can I do?" he exclaims. " I feel with intensity the horrors I read of: but what can one man do ?" I only ask him to study what he feels. He is a citizen. He cannot be such an iso- lated being as to have no influence. The conclusions which he comes to, after mature reflection, will not be without their weight. If individual citizens were anxious to form their opinions with care, on those questions respecting which they will have to vote and to act, there would be little need of organized bodies of men to carry great measures into effect. The main current of public opinion is made up of innumerable rills, so small, perhaps, that a child might with its foot divert the course of any one of them : but collected together they rush down with a force that is irresistible. If those who have actively to distribute the labour of the world knew that you, the great mass of private men, regarded them not for their money, but for their conduct to those in their employ, not for the portion which they may contrive to get for themselves, but for the well-being which they may give rise to, and regulate ^agrerg an* 9$etu 27 amongst others; why then your thoughts would be motives to them, urging them on in the right path. Besides, you would not stop at thinking. The man who gives time and thought to the welfare of others will seldom be found to grudge them anything else. Again, have not you, though not manu- facturers, or master-workmen, or owners of land, have not you dependents, in whose be- half you may find exercise for the principles to which I am convinced that study in this matter will lead you ? Your regard for ser- vants is a case in point. And, moreover, you may show in your ordinary, every day, deal- ings with the employers of labour a consi- derateness for those under them, which may awaken the employers to a more lively care themselves. Only reflect on the duty : op- portunities of testing the strength of your resolves will not be wanting. We sometimes feel thoroughly impressed by some good thought, or just example, that we meet with in study or real life, but as if we had no means of applying it. We cannot at once shape for ourselves a course that shall embrace this newly acquired wisdom. y 28 %ty Claims of Hauour. Often it seems too grand for the occasions of ordinary life ; and we fear that we must keep it laid up for some eventful day, as nice housewives their stateliest furniture. How- ever, if we keep it close to the heart, and make but the least beginning with it, our infant practice leads to something better, or grows into something ampler. In real life there are no isolated points. You, who have but few dependents, or, perhaps, but one drudge dependent upon you, whether as servant, apprentice, or hired labourer, do not think that you have not an ample opportunity for exercising the duties of an employer of labour. Do not suppose that these duties belong to the great manu- facturer with the population of a small town in his own factory, or to the landlord with vast territorial possessions, and that you have nothing to do with them. The Searcher of all hearts may make as ample a trial of you in your conduct to one poor dependent, as of the man who is appointed to lead armies and administer provinces. Nay, your treatment of some animal entrusted to your care may . S^agtettf and Open* 29 be a history as significant for you, as the chronicles of kings for them. The moral ex- periments in the world may be tried with the smallest quantities. I cannot quit this part of the subject with- out alluding more directly to the duties of the employers of domestic servants. Of course the principles which should regulate the con- duct of masters and mistresses towards their servants, are the same as those which should regulate the employers of labour generally. But there are some peculiar circumstances which need to be noticed in the application of these principles. That, in this case, the employers and the employed are members of one family, is a circumstance which intensi- fies the relation. It is a sad thing for a man to pass the working part of his day with an exacting, unkind, master: but still, if the workman returns at evening to a home that is his own, there is a sense of coming joy and freedom which may support him through- out the weary hours of labour. But think what it must be to share one's home with one's oppressor; to have no recurring time when one is certain to be free from those 30 %l)t Claims of 3Lafcottt\ harsh words, and unjust censures, which are almost more than blows, aye even to those natures we are apt to fancy so hardened to rebuke. Imagine the deadness of heart that must prevail in that poor wretch who never hears the sweet words of praise or of encou- ragement. Many masters of families, men living in the rapid current of the world, who are subject to a variety of impressions which, in their busy minds, are made and effaced even in the course of a single day, can with difficulty estimate the force of unkind words upon those whose monotonous life leaves few opportunities of effacing any unwelcome im- pression. There is nothing in which the aid of imagination, that handmaid of charity, may be more advantageously employed, than in considering the condition of domestic ser- vants. Let a man endeavour to realize it to himself, let him think of its narrow sphere, of its unvarying nature, and he will be careful not to throw in, unnecessarily, the trouble even of a single harsh word, which may make so large a disturbance in the shallow current of a domestic's hopes and joys. How often, on the contrary, do you find that masters seem to have no apprehension of the feelings of those under them, no idea of any duties on their side beyond "cash payment," whereas the good, old, patriarchal feeling to- wards your household is one which the mere introduction of money wages has not by any means superseded, and which cannot, in fact, be superseded. You would bear with lenity from a child many things, for which, in a servant, you can find nothing but the harshest names. Yet how often are these poor, un- educated, creatures little better than chil- dren ! You talk, too, of ingratitude from them, when, if you reflected a little, you would see that they do not understand your benefits. It is hard enough sometimes to make benefits sink into men's hearts, even when your good offices are illustrated by much kindness of words and manner ; but to expect that servants should at once appre- ciate your care for them is surely most un- reasonable, especially if it is not accompanied by a manifest regard and sympathy. You would not expect it, if you saw the child-like relation in which they stand to you. Another mode of viewing with charity the 32 %ty Claims oi labour* conduct of domestic servants, is to imagine what manner of servant you would make your- self, or any one of those whom in your own rank you esteem and love. Do you not per- ceive, in almost every character, some ele- ment which would occasionally make its pos- sessor fail in performing the duties of do- mestic service? Do you find that faithfulness, accuracy, diligence, and truth pervade the circle of your equals in such abundance that you should be exorbitantly angry, the mo- ment you perceive a deficiency in such quali- ties amongst those who have been but indif- ferently brought up, and who, perhaps, have early imbibed those vices of their class, fear and falsehood; vices which their employers can only hope to eradicate by a long course of considerate kindness ? I do not speak of the conduct of masters and mistresses as an easy matter : on the contrary, I believe that it is one of the most difficult functions in life. If, however, men only saw the difficulty, they would see the worthiness of trying to overcome it. You observe a man becoming day by day richer, or advancing in station, or increasing in pro- fessional reputation, and you set him down as a successful man in life. But, if his home is an ill-regulated one, where no links of af- fection extend throughout the family, whose former domestics (and he has had more of them than he can well remember) look back upon their sojourn with him as one unblessed by kind words or deeds, I contend that that man has not been successful. Whatever good fortune he may have in the world, it is to be remembered that he has always left one im- portant fortress untaken behind him. That man's life does not surely read well whose benevolence has found no central home. It may have sent forth rays in various directions, but there should have been a warm focus of love — that home nest which is formed round a good man's heart. Having spoken of some of the duties of private persons, we come now to the great employers of labour. Would that they all saw the greatness of their position. Strange as it may sound, they are the successors of the feudal barons, they it is who lead thousands to D 34 ^^ Claims of Eabour* peaceful conquests, and upon whom, in great measure, depends the happiness of large masses of mankind. As Mr. Carlyle says, " The Leaders of Industry, if Industry is ever " to be led, are virtually the Captains of the " World ; if there be no nobleness in them, " there will never be an Aristocracy more.' , Can a man, who has this destiny entrusted to him, imagine that his vocation consists merely in getting together a large lump of gold, and then being off with it, to enjoy it, as he fancies, in some other place : as if that which is but a small part of his business in life, were all in all to him ; as if indeed, the para- ble of the talents were to be taken literally, and that a man should think that he has done his part when he has made much gold and silver out of little? If these men saw their position rightly, what would be their objects, what their pleasures ? Their objects would not consist in foolish vyings with each other about the grandeur or the glitter of life. But in directing the employment of labour, they would find room for the exercise of all the powers of their minds, of their best affections, and of whatever was worthy in their ambition. gpagtttg anti 99etu 35 Their occupation, so far from being a limited sphere of action, is one which may give scope to minds of the most various capacity. While one man may undertake those obvious labours of benevolent superintendence which are of immediate and pressing necessity, another may devote himself to more remote and indi- rect methods of improving the condition of those about him, which are often not the less valuable because of their indirectness. In short, it is evident that to lead the labour of large masses of people, and to do that, not merely with a view to the greatest product of commodities, but to the best interests of the producers, is a matter which will suffi- ciently and worthily occupy men of the strongest minds aided by all the attainments which cultivation can bestow. I do not wish to assert a principle larger than the occasion demands : and I am, there- fore unwilling to declare that we cannot justly enter into a relation so meagre with our fel- low-creatures, as that of employing all their labour, and giving them nothing but money in return. There might, perhaps, be a state of society in which such a relation would not be 36 %l)t Clafmg of %muz+ culpable, a state in which the great mass of the employed were cultivated and considerate men; and where the common interests of master and man were well understood. But we have not to deal with any such imaginary case. So far from working men being the considerate creatures we have just imagined them, it is absolutely requisite to protect, in the most stringent manner, the interests of the children against the parents, who are often anxious to employ their little ones most immaturely. Nay more — it is notorious that working men will frequently omit to take even the slightest precaution in matters connected with the preservation of their own lives. If these poor men do not demand from you as Christians something more than mere money wages, what do the injunctions about charity mean? If those employed by you are not your neighbours, who are ? But, some great employer may exclaim : " It is hard that we the agents between the consumer and the producer should have all the sacrifices to make, should have all the labouring population thrown, as it were, on our hands." In reply, I say that I have laid down no such doctrine. I have urged the consumer to perform Iris duties, and tried to point out to him what some of those duties are. As a citizen, he may employ himself in understanding this subject, and in directing others rightly; he may, in his capacity of voter, or in his fair influence on voters, urge upon the state its duty, and show, that as an individual, he would gladly bear his share of any increased burdens which that duty might entail upon the state. He may prove in many ways, as a mere purchaser, his concern for the interests of the producer. And there are, doubtless, occasions on which you, the great employers of labour, may call upon him to make large sacrifices of his money, his time, and his thoughts, for the welfare of the labouring classes. His example and his en- couragement may cheer you on; and as a citizen, as an instructor, as a neighbour, in all the capacities of life, he may act and speak in a way that may indirectly, if not directly, support your more manifest endeavours in the same good cause. It is to no one class that I speak. We are all bound to do something 38 Wit Claims of ^labour* towards this good work. If, hereafter, I go more into detail as regards the especial me- thods of improving his work-people that a manufacturer might employ, it is not that I wish to point out manufacturers as a class especially deficient in right feelings towards those under them. Far from it. Much of what I shall venture to suggest has been learnt from what I have seen and heard, amongst the manufacturers themselves. CHAPTER II. Social Government. SUPPOSING, reader, that whether you are manufacturer, master-workman, owner of land, or private individual, you are now thoroughly impressed with the duty of attending to the welfare of your dependants ; I proceed to make some general reflections which may aid you in your outset, or sustain you in the progress, of your endeavours. And, first, let me implore you not to delay that outset. Make a beginning at once, at least in investigating the matters to which I have striven to draw your attention. It is no curious work of art that you have to take up ; it requires no nicety of apprehension ; 1/ 40 %\)t Clatmg of Habour. you can hardly begin wrongly, I do not say in action, but in the preparation for action. However little of each day you may be able to call your own for this purpose, it is better to begin with that little than to wait for some signal time of leisure. Routine encumbers us ; our days are frittered away by most minute employments that we cannot control ; and, when spare moments do occur, we are mostly unprepared with any pursuits of our own to go on with. Hence it is, that the most obvious evils go on, generation after generation, people not having time, as they would say, to interfere. Men are for ever putting off the concerns which should be dearest to them to a " more convenient sea- son," when, as they hope, there may be fewer trifles to distract their attention : but a great work, which is to commence in the heart, requires not to have the first stone laid for it, with pomp, upon some holiday. It is good to have made a beginning upon it at any time. The wisdom, or the folly, of delay is in most instances like that of a traveller coming to a stream, and wishing to ford it, yet con- Social dffotientment* 41 tinuing his journey along its banks : and whe- ther this is wise, or not, depends mainly on the simple fact, of whether he is walking up to the source, or down to the fall. The latter is apt to be the direction in the case of our generous resolves : their difficulty widens as we delay to act upon them. Throughout the progress of your work, there is nothing that you will have more fre- quently to be mindful of than your views with respect to self-advancement. To take one form of it, the acquisition of money. Money, as Charles Lamb, a great despiser of cant, observed, is not dross, but books, pictures, wines, and many pleasant things. Still I suspect that money is more sought after to gratify vanity, than to possess the means of enjoying any of the above named pleasant things. Money is so much desired, because it is a measure of success; so much regretted, because we fancy the loss of it leaves us powerless and contemptible. That kind of satire, therefore, which delights to dwell upon the general subserviency to wealth is not likely to make men less desirous of riches. 42 W&z Clafmg of labour* But a man would be likely to estimate more reasonably the possession of money and of all kinds of self-advancement, if he did but perceive, that even a man's worldly success is not to be measured by his success for him- self alone, but by the result of his endeavours for the great family of man. There is a source of contemplation which nature affords us, one, too, that is open to the dweller in crowded cities as well as to the shepherd on Salisbury plain, and which might sometimes suggest the foolishness of an inordinate love of money. Consider the prospect which each unveiled night affords us, telling of wonders such as we have hardly the units of measurement to estimate; and then think how strange it is that we should ever allow our petty personal possessions of to-day to render us blind to the duties, which, alone, are the great realities of life. There was some excuse, perhaps, for the men of olden time, who looked upon this earth, the birth-place of their gods, as no mean terri- tory. That they should dote upon terres- trial things was not to be wondered at. But what is to be said for us who know that this Social (^otierntmnt* 43 small planet is but a speck, as it were, from which we look out upon the profusion of im- mensity. To think that a man, who knows this, should nevertheless not hesitate to soil his soul, lying here, cringing there, pursuing tortuous schemes of most corrupt policy ; or that he should ever suffer himself to be im- mersed, innocently, if it may be so, in selfish, worldly pursuits, forgetful of all else ; when, at the best, it is but to win some acres of this transitory earth, or to be noted as one who has been successful for himself. The folly of the gambling savage, who stakes his liberty against a handful of cowrie shells is nothing to it. Perhaps the next thing that is likely to divert you from useful endeavours for the benefit of others is fear of criticism : you do not know what the world will say : indeed, they may pronounce you an enthusiast, which word, of itself, is an icy blast of ridicule to a timid mind. You shudder at doing anything unusual, and even hear by anticipation the laugh of your particular friends. You are especially ashamed at appearing to care for 44 W$t Claims of iLaUour. what those about you do not care for. A laugh at your humanity, or your " theories," would disconcert you. You are fearfully anxious that any project of benevolence you undertake should succeed, not altogether on its own account, but because your sagacity is embarked in it, and plentiful will be the gibes at its failure, if it should fail. Put these fears aside. All that is prominent, all that acts, must lay itself open to shallow cri- ticism. It has been said that in no case of old age, however extreme, has the faculty for giving advice been known to decay ; de- pend upon it, that of criticism flourishes in the most indolent, the most feeble, the most doting minds. Let not the wheels of your endeavour be stayed by accumulated rubbish of this kind. We are afraid of responsibility, afraid of what people may say of us, afraid of being alone in doing right : in short, the cou- rage which is allied to no passion — Christian courage as it may be called — is in all ages and amongst all people, one of the rarest possessions. The fear of ridicule is the effeminacy of the soul. Social dSotacnment* 45 Great enterprises — and for you this attempt to make your working men happier is a great enterprise — great enterprises demand an ha- bitual self-sacrifice in little things : and, hard as it may be to keep fully in mind the enter- prise itself, it is often harder still to maintain a just sense of the connection between it and these said trifling points of conduct, which, perhaps, in any single instance, seem so slightly and so remotely connected with it. But remember it is not always over great impediments that men are liable to stumble most fatally. You must not expect immediate and ob- vious gratitude to crown your exertions. The benevolence that has not duty for its stem, but merely springs from some affectionateness of nature, must often languish, I fear, when it comes to count up its returns in the way of grateful affection from those whom it has toiled for. And yet the fault is often as much in the impatience and unreasonable ex- pectation of the benefactors, as in any ingra- titude on the part of the persons benefited. 46 W$z Claims of Habour* If you must look for gratitude, at any rate consider whether your exertions are likely to be fully understood at present by those whom you have served ; and whether it is not a reversion, rather than an immediate return, that you should look for — a reversion, too, in many cases to be realized only on the death of the benefactor. Moreover, it is useless and unreasonable to expect that any motives of gratitude will uniformly modify for you the peculiar tempers and dispositions of those whom you have served. Your benefits did not represent a permanent state of mind : neither will their gratitude. The sense of obligation, even in most faithful hearts, is often dormant; but evil tempers answer quickly to the lightest summons. In all your projects for the good of others, beware lest your benevolence should have too much of a spirit of interference. Con- sider what it is you want to produce. Not an outward, passive, conformity to your wishes, but something vital which shall ge- nerate the feelings and habits you long to see manifested. You can clip a tree into Social