第21章

Itwasnaturalthatmanymindssearchingafterawayofescapefromthe

growingdistressofthelabourers，atatimewhenwageshadnotkeptpace

withprices，shouldhaveturnedtothedeviceofassessingwagesbylawin

accordancewiththepriceofprovisions。Ifpricescouldnotbeassimilated

towages，couldnotwagesbeassimilatedtoprices？NathanielKent，nowild

visionary，hadurgedemployerstoraisewagesinproportiontotheincrease

oftheirprofits，buthisappealhadbeenwithouteffect。Butthepolicy

ofregulatingwagesaccordingtothepriceoffoodwasrecommendedinseveral

quarters，anditprovokedagreatdealofdiscussion。Burke，whosedayswere

closingin，wastemptedtotakepartinit，andheputanadvertisementinto

thepapersannouncingthathewasabouttopublishaseriesofletterson

thesubject。Thelettersneverappeared，butArthurYounghasdescribedthe

visithepaidtoBeaconsfieldatthistimeandBurke’sramblingthunderabout

’theabsurdityofregulatinglabourandthemischiefofourpoorlaws，’and

Burke’spublishedworksincludeapaperThoughtsanddetailsonScarcity，

presentedtoPittinNovember1795。InthispaperBurkearguedthatthefarmer

wasthetrueguardianofthelabourer’sinterest，inthatitwouldnever

beprofitabletohimtounderpaythelabourer：anuncompromisingapplication

ofthetheoryoftheeconomicman，whichwasnotlesssuperficialthanthe

Jacobins’applicationofthetheoryofthenaturalman。

InOctober1795ArthurYoungsentouttothevariouscorrespondentsof

theBoardofAgricultureacircularlettercontainingthisquestionamong

others：’Ithavingbeenrecommendedbyvariousquarter-sessions，thatthe

priceoflabourshouldberegulatedbythatofbreadcorn，havethegoodness

tostatewhatyouconceivetobetheadvantagesordisadvantagesofsuch

asystem？’(55*)ArthurYoungwashimselfinfavouroftheproposal，andthe

Suffolkmagistrates，atameetingwhichheattendedonthe12thofOctober，

ordered：’ThattheMembersforthiscountyberequestedbythechairmanto

bringabillintoparliament，sotoregulatethepriceoflabour，thatit

mayfluctuatewiththeaveragepriceofbreadcorn。’(56*)Mostofthereplies

wereadverse，buttheproposalfoundawarmfriendinMr。Howlett，theVicar

ofDunmow，whoputintohisanswersomeoftheargumentswhichheinreply

toafterwardsdevelopedinapamphletpublished。Pitt’scriticismsofWhitbread’s

Bill。(57*)HowlettarguedthatParliamenthadlegislatedwithsuccessto

preventcombinationsofworkmen，andasanexamplehequotedtheActsof

8GeorgeIII，whichhadmadethewagesoftailorsandsilkweaverssubject

totheregulationsofthemagistrates。Itwasjustasnecessaryandjust

aspracticabletopreventacombinationofadifferentkind，thatofmasters。

’Notacombinationindeedformallydrawnupinwritingandsanctionedunder

handandseal，acombination，however，ascertain(theresultofcontingencies

orprovidentialevents)andasfatallyefficaciousasifinwritingithad

filledfivehundredskinsofparchment：acombinationwhichhasoperated

formanyyearswithaforcerapidlyincreasing，acombinationwhichhaskept

backthehireofourlabourerswhohavereapeddownourfields，andhasat

lengthtorntheclothesfromtheirbacks，snatchedthefoodfromtheirmouths，

andgroundthefleshfromtheirbones。’Howlett，itwillbeseen，tookthe

sameviewasThelwall，thatthepositionofthelabourerswasdeteriorating

absolutelyandrelatively。HeestimatedfromasurveytakenatDunmowthat

theaveragefamilyshouldbetakenasfive；ifwageshadbeenregulatedon

thisbasis，andthelabourerhadbeengivenperheadnomorethanthecost

ofapauper’skeepintheworkhousesixtyyearsago，hewouldhavebeenvery

muchbetteroffin1795。Hewouldhimselftakeahigherstandard。Inreply

totheargumentthatthepolicyoftheminimu

后续内容为VIP可读请开通VIP，或购买此章节