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fore, also brings in its train the uplifting of the labour serving it,tlie latest Factory Act would certainly be an advantage for India,but scarcely for Lancashire .
As in the cotton industry, the argument advanced applies alsoto other modern centralised industries, as far as their productionsare measurable and are comparable all over the world. In thisrespect the iron trade conies before all others. From the German Iron “ Enquete,” in 1878, we find that the cost of labour for a tonof pig-iron amounted to less in Cleveland than in Germany , whilstthe English shift-wages were far higher than the German (ID).The same quantity of pig-iron produced in a day at the German furnaces would cost in Cleveland only 115'77 marks, instead ofI-fo'77 marks in Germany , for labour. The greater capacity ofthe English and Belgian ironworkers is expressly acknowledged inthe Bcport of the Inquiring Commission (p. -30). The English ironmaster, Lowthian Bell , confirms this relation. “ None of theseligures,” he, says, speaking of the production of pig-iron per man inGermany , “reach by far the capacity of a worker at the furnacesof Cleveland , and proves that well-nourished and highly-paidlabour is by no means always dearer than less well-nourished andlower-paid labour. As a fact, I have scarcely found that the costof labour is anywhere lower than in Cleveland ” (20). Similarly,according to Schoenhof, the cost of labour per ton of pig-iron is lessin North America than in Germany ($1’20 against $1'66) (21),whereas the American wages are known to be double as high andever higher than the German .
It is true the Iron “ Enquetc ’’ mentions expressly that in Ger-many also the capacity of the worker has been increased, “ in itselfas well as by changes in technical appliances.” “ It is clear fromthe particulars brought to light that the number of workers en-gaged in the iron industry proper has been reduced, and, indeed,in a higher degree than could be expected, by the almost similar
1!). Compare “ ITotokolle.” p. 259, Question S ; p. (>98. Question 9 : p. 789,Table 11. Respecting these latter tables, they can be turned to account bycombining the average shift wages per worker paid by the “Bochume’rVereiu ” with those of the Clarence Works in Cleveland (columns 7 and 8).and by the consideration that the production of a furnace at the Clarence Worksamounted to seven-ninths of what a furnace at Bochum produced per shift.
20. Quoted by Schiinhof: "Industrial Situation " fNew York. 1885), p. 77.
21. Quoted by Schiinhof. pp. 77, 78. Compare also li. Atkinson: -Dis-tribution of Products,” p. 355.