AND ON THE CONTINENT.

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trophies in that victorious procession of humanity—extendinghack to olden times—mean subjugation of the elements of naturalpower and the freeing of labour.

The opposing opinion is here, as everywhere, to be refuted in themanner that one recognises it as relatively justified as the result ofa- certain stage of development. Before Centralised Industrygrasped trade, the division of a nation’s earnings was regulatedby custom or by law. As, according to Tacitus , the agriculturallots were divided “ secundum dignationem,” thus similarly in thewhole Middle-Age society were the lots of life. The selling pricesof trade productions, and therefore the profits, were fixed byGuilds . Wages and hours of labour were likewise regulated bythe Guilds or authorities, or at least fixed by custom. The rent tobe paid to the ground landlord for the utilisation of land was alsoauthoritatively fixed. Interest on capital as yet hardly existed,because large outlays of capital for industrial concerns were notnecessary; it was originally forbidden by law. In comparisonwith to-day, the slight total production of labour was dividedpartly between worker and employer, granting to both a bareexistence but no more, and the balance fell to the landed droprietor,who also socially asserted his precedence. Otherwise than pre-pared by commerce with the interweaving of isolated industriesamong one another flourished centralised industry. This de-pended from the commencement on competition, and demandedthe removal of the old arrangements .of law and custom.

What is, in this stage, when Centralised Industry enters, itsinfluence on the division of national income! Regarding wageswe have the so-called minimum standard of life, because the opera-tive physiologically still belongs to the old time. Only byadvancing conditions can wages rise a little above it, since theincrease of marriages and births serves for the continuation of thatreserve army which at once streams to it and presses down wagesto the old level. With declining conditions wages can themselvesgo below the minimum standard of living, in which case the deficitis replaced in many cases by poor-relief, taxes, robberies, etc.Since, on the other hand, the flourishing industry requires capital,but such is still little at command, the rate of interest, as com-pared with later times, stands remarkably high. >

The difference between the price on the one side and interest oncapital on the other is received by the employer. He has, in fact,