Wages in England and America.

Auckland Star, Volume XXVI, Issue 85, 18 April 1885, Page 3

Wages in England and America.

A rAi'ER was read at a rocont meeting in London of tho Statistical Society on " Tho Comparative Efficiency and Earnings of Labour at Homo and Abroad." Tho writer, Mr Jeans, of tho Iron and Stool Institute, claimed that in almost all the leading in-

-itrics of tho world England held a po

sition superior to that hold by any other important industrial nation, both in regard to tho extent of its manufactures and in regard lo tho individual efficiency of tho workers ongaged therein. Taking the cot-

n trade, it was shown that in the number

of spindles to oach operative Great Britian was ... por cent hotter than the average of the seven othor leading countries of the world. Tho product of labour aB regards tho number of spindles employed was 27 por cent bettor in thoUnited Kingdom than in the United States, and as regards the working of looms the superiority was equal to fully 80 per cent. Referring to the wool and worsted trade, it was shown that the number of spindles to each worker was greater in France than in either the United Kingdom or the United States. Statistics wore also given showing that in work mainly dependent upon strength and energy English labour was considerably superior to any other country with regard to quantity, although the cost por unit of an Englishman's work was rather moro than that of tho labour of other countries, on account of the higher wages paid to Eng-

lish workmen. Statistics given with regard to wages proved that in tho United States wages were higher than in Great Britain by 84 por cent, while they ranged 205 per cent above Franco and 162 per cent above Germany. Great Britain was 42 per cent better than Germany, and SO per cent better than France The th-rd section of the paper dealt with the increase of wages in differant countries within recent years, and showed that in ten of tho leading industries of the world the average increase between 1850 and ISB3 was in England 40

per cent, a figure which, somewhat curiously, was almost identical with that ascertained to have been the percentage of increase in the wages of the working classes of the United States between 1860 and ISS3, while in France statistics collected by tho Government showed that between ISSO and ISSO the average increaso of wages in 23 leading industries was 53 per C3nt. in Paris, and 65 per cent, in the provinces. The comparative cost of living in different countri... was also dealt with at somo length, the conclusion being that there wero grounds for believing that it was not loss tolerable in England than in other countriesfor those who laboured for their daily bread. B. Whitworth, M.P., followed with a statement that he " did not believe that the wages of the labourer in America would buy the same amount of comforts and necessaries that the labourer could get in this country (England) on tho wages paid here." Ho furthermore expressed the opinion that " unless thero waH an improvement shortly, wages in England would have to be reduced, as all the losses in trado fell upon the employed." Figures skilfully manipulated can be made to tell almost any story, but those who from actual experience know the condition of the working men in England and this country must smile at tha absurd conclusions drawn by Mr Whitworth,