A Few of my Ideas Upon these Questions Sixteen Years Ago.

In order to shew that the tendency of my ideas has for a very long time been in this direction, I give an extract from a few words I addressed to our workpeople on the occasion of a Christmas tea and jollification that we gave to them in 1877, or nearly sixteen years ago. There were about 200 present, including friends.

"When we consider the system of compulsory education that has now been established as the law of our land, we may expect that in the future the children of the middle and poorer classes will be placed in such a position that they may obtain an education equal to that which the most lavish expenditure of the rich can procure; it will be a question of who will work hardest at their studios, and bring the brightest faculties to bear upon them. The best tuition that can be had seems now to be placed within reach of all, from the richest to the poorest, and not only that, but there are inducements held out by the noble philanthropy of; many gentlemen by which those who excel may have the highest education free of any charge.^*

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"These and other matters, upon which I cannot enter now, are calculated to work great changes in the masses of the people of this land, and I believe will have the effect of raising in the esteem of all factory life and factory labour, so that it will be looked upon with more favour and more respect, both by those who are employed in it and those who are not.

"Since we met together before in this way, there has also been another change—viz., a reduction in the hours of factory labour by law, and I do not think that we have by any means reached the limit in this direction; but I do think that, taking the whole manufacturing world, and the vast extension of manufacturing in this and other countries, and the wonderful and numerous inventions by which production has been vastly increased and is still increasing, I do think, taking all this into account, that the world could produce more than its requirements in eight hours per day, and let the other sixteen hours be spent in domestic requirements and comforts, and in self-improvement, recreation, and rest; and until then, all these inventions and extensions of trade and production will not have had their legitimate result. I believe in only one kind of slavery, and that is—mind making a slave of matter, and man making inanimate things in nature do his drudgery for him; but it is no use inventing things for this purpose if we do not take advantage of them, but go on working as long as before, at an ever-increasing rate of production.

"Now, I believe that England has set all other nations a glorious example in this respect, and that we have gone quite far enough in reducing the hours of labour until other nations follow after us a little nearer, and also grant us free trade as well; when that happens, but not before, I think we might safely extend our good example, by showing them that eight hours a day was quite sufficient, and that the factory people of this country could go to their work at eight o'clock, after a comfortable warm breakfast, like people in many other occupations do now, and could also afford an hour for dinner and leave for good at 5.30.

"Perhaps trade would then be healthy once more, and as a sign of this, like all healthy people, it would sometimes be hungry, and swallow up more nearly the production of the world; perhaps we should hear less of old stocks fearfully depreciated in value because they could not be sold at a reasonable price while they were fashionable, and perhaps we should also hear of more regular employment, because of a production more equal to the demand."