第41章

Later，Cobbettsawthattherewereotherinterests，theinterestsoflandowners

andoftithe-holders，whichtheStatewouldhavetosubordinatetonational

claimsifthelabourerwastobesaved。Inthatconflict，too，thelabourer

wasbeaten。HewasunrepresentedinParliament，whereastheopposinginterests

weremassedthere。CobbettwantedParliamentaryReform，notlikethetraditional

Radicalsasaphilosophyofrights，butasanavalancheofsocialpower。

ParliamentaryReformwasneveranendtohim，northemeanstoanythingshort

oftheemancipationofthelabourer。Inthis，hismainmission，Cobbettfailed。

Theupperclasseswincedunderhisruthlessmanners，andtheytrembledbefore

hisBerserkerrage，butitisthesadtruthofEnglishhistorythatthey

beathim。Nowif，insteadofthrowinghimselfagainstthisworldofprivilege

andvestedinterestsinthehopesofwringingapittanceofjusticefora

sinkingclass，ithadbeenhistasktomaintainapositionalreadyheld，

hewouldhavefoughtunderverydifferentconditions。If，whenpricesbegan

tofall，therehadbeenacustomarywageinmostEnglishvillages，thequestion

wouldnothavebeenwhethertherulingclasswastomaintainitsprivileges

andsurplusprofitsbylettingthelabourersinkdeeperintothemorass，

butwhetheritwastomaintaintheseprivilegesandprofitsbytakingsomething

openlyfromhim。Itiseasiertopreventadogfromstealingabonethan

totaketheboneoutofhismouth。Cobbettwasnotstrongenoughtobreak

thepowerofthegoverningclass，buthemighthavebeenstrongenoughto

defendthecustomaryrightsofthelabouringclass。Asitwas，thegoverning

classwasonthedefensiveateverypoint。Therentreceivers，thetithe

owners，themortgagers，thelenderstotheGovernmentandthecontractors

allclungtotheirgains，andthefoodallowanceofthelabourerslowlyand

steadilydeclined。

TherewasthisgreatdifferencebetweentheSpeenhamlandsystemanda

fixedstandardofwages。TheSpeenhamlandsystemafter1812wasnotapplied

soastomaintainanequilibriumbetweentheincomeandexpenditureofthe

labourer：itwasappliedtomaintainanequilibriumbetweensocialforces。

Thescalefellnotwiththefallofpricestothelabourer，butwiththe

fallofprofitstothepossessingclasses。Theminimumwasnottheminimum

onwhichthelabourercouldlive，buttheminimumbelowwhichrebellionwas

certain。Thiswasthewayinwhichwagesfoundtheirownlevel。Theygravitated

lowerandlowerwiththegrowingweaknessofthewage-earner。IfCobbett

hadbeenattheheadofamovementforpreservingtothelaboureraright

bestowedonhimbyActofParliament，eitherhewouldhavesucceeded，or

thediseasewouldhavecometoacrisisin1816，insteadoftakingtheform

ofalingeringandwastingillness。Either，thatis，otherclasseswould

havehadtomaketheeconomiesnecessarytokeepthelabourers’wagesat

thecustomarypoint，orthelabourerswouldhavemadetheirlastthrowbefore

theyhadbeendesolatedandweakenedbyanotherfifteenyearsoffamine。

Thereisanotherrespectinwhichtheminimumwagepolicywouldhaveprofoundly

alteredthecharacterofvillagesociety。Itwouldhavegiventhevillage

labourersabondofunionbeforetheyhadlostthememoriesandthehabits

oftheirmoreindependentlife；itwouldhavemadethemanorganisedforce，

somethingliketheorganisedforcesthathavebuiltupastandardoflife

forindustrialworkmen。AnimportantpassageinFielding’sTomJonesshowsthattherewasmaterialforsuchcombinationinthecommonersofthe

oldvillage。Fieldingistalkingofhisborrowingsfromtheclassicsand

hedefendshimselfwiththisanalogy；’Theancientsmaybeconsideredas

arichcommon，whereeverypersonwhohaththesmallesttenementinParnassus

hathafreerighttobattenhismuse：or，toplaceitinaclearerlight，

wemodernsaretotheancientswhatthepooraretotherich。Bythepoor

hereImeanthatlargeandvenerablebodywhichinEnglishwecallth

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