ABSTRACT
Labour varies in demand as compared with supply, as the people have attempted to show in a concise table farther on, and it therefore varies in value. The table which the people may now consider shows accurately the general demand for labour year by year since 1859, a low rate of pauperism meaning a high market price for labour. But the rule worked ill, for it excludes many considerations, such as the cost of coal and other materials, which must bear distinctly on the rate of profit which will induce manufacturers to remain in and increase their business, and which therefore affect the demand for labour. When labour rose in value, as it did most rapidly in 1872, the unions were the vehicle for exacting increased wages, and the vehicle became confounded with the motive power. Migration or emigration generally succeeds an unsuccessful strike, and has always been a great element in making a demand for increased wages effectual.
