Butapeoplewhohaveonceadoptedthelargesystemofproduction，eitherinmanufacturesorinagriculture，arenotlikelytorecedefromit;andwhenpopulationiskeptindueproportiontothemeansofsupport，itisnotdesirablethattheyshould。Labourisunquestionablymoreproductiveonthesystemoflargeindustrialenterprises;theproduce，ifnotgreaterabsolutely，isgreaterinproportiontothelabouremployed:thesamenumberofpersonscanbesupportedequallywellwithlesstoilandgreaterleisure;whichwillbewhollyanadvantage，assoonascivilizationandimprovementhavesofaradvanced，thatwhatisabenefittothewholeshallbeabenefittoeachindividualcomposingit。Andinthemoralaspectofthequestion，whichisstillmoreimportantthantheeconomical，somethingbettershouldbeaimedatasthegoalofindustrialimprovement，thantodispersemankindovertheearthinsinglefamilies，eachruledinternally，asfamiliesnoware，byapatriarchaldespot，andhavingscarcelyanycommunityofinterest，ornecessarymentalcommunion，withotherhumanbeings。Thedominationoftheheadofthefamilyovertheothermembers，inthisstateofthings，isabsolute;whiletheeffectonhisownmindtendstowardsconcentrationofallinterestsinthefamily，consideredasanexpansionofself，andabsorptionofallpassionsinthatofexclusivepossession，ofallcaresinthoseofpreservationandacquisition。Asastepoutofthemerelyanimalstateintothehuman，outofrecklessabandonmenttobruteinstinctsintoprudentialforesightandself—government，thismoralconditionmaybeseenwithoutdispleasure。Butifpublicspirit，generoussentiments，ortruejusticeandequalityaredesired，association，notisolation，ofinterests，istheschoolinwhichtheseexcellencesarenurtured。Theaimofimprovementshouldbenotsolelytoplacehumanbeingsinaconditioninwhichtheywillbeabletodowithoutoneanother，buttoenablethemtoworkwithorforoneanotherinrelationsnotinvolvingdependence。Hithertotherehasbeennoalternativeforthosewholivedbytheirlabour，butthatoflabouringeithereachforhimselfalone，orforamaster。Butthecivilizingandimprovinginfluencesofassociation，andtheefficiencyandeconomyofproductiononalargescale，maybeobtainedwithoutdividingtheproducersintotwopartieswithhostileinterestsandfeelings，themanywhodotheworkbeingmereservantsunderthecommandoftheonewhosuppliesthefunds，andhavingnointerestoftheirownintheenterpriseexcepttoearntheirwageswithaslittlelabouraspossible。Thespeculationsanddiscussionsofthelastfiftyyears，andtheeventsofthelastthirty，areabundantlyconclusiveonthispoint。Iftheimprovementwhicheventriumphantmilitarydespotismhasonlyretarded，notstopped，shallcontinueitscourse，therecanbelittledoubtthatthestatusofhiredlabourerswillgraduallytendtoconfineitselftothedescriptionofwork—peoplewhoselowmoralqualitiesrenderthemunfitforanythingmoreindependent:andthattherelationofmastersandwork—peoplewillbegraduallysupersededbypartnership，inoneoftwoforms:insomecases，associationofthelabourerswiththecapitalist;inothers，andperhapsfinallyinall，associationoflabourersamongthemselves。
5。Thefirstoftheseformsofassociationhaslongbeenpractised，notindeedasarule，butasanexception。Inseveraldepartmentsofindustrytherearealreadycasesinwhicheveryonewhocontributestothework，eitherbylabourorbypecuniaryresources，hasapartner’sinterestinit，proportionaltothevalueofhiscontribution。Itisalreadyacommonpracticetoremuneratethoseinwhompeculiartrustisreposed，bymeansofapercentageontheprofits:andcasesexistinwhichtheprincipleis，withexcellentsuccess，carrieddowntotheclassofmeremanuallabourers。IntheAmericanshipstradingtoChina，ithaslongbeenthecustomforeverysailortohaveaninterestintheprofitsofthevoyage;andtothishasbeenascribedthegeneralgoodconductofthoseseamen，andtheextremerarityofanycollisionbetweenthemandthegovernmentorpeopleofthecountry。AninstanceinEngland，notsowellknownasitdeservestobe，isthatoftheCornishminers。’InCornwalltheminesareworkedstrictlyonthesystemofjointadventure;gangsofminerscontractingwiththeagent，whorepresentstheownerofthemine，toexecuteacertainportionofaveinandfittheoreformarket，atthepriceofsomuchinthepoundofthesumforwhichtheoreissold。Thesecontractsareputupatcertainregularperiods，generallyeverytwomonths，andtakenbyavoluntarypartnershipofmenaccustomedtothemine。Thissystemhasitsdisadvantages，inconsequenceoftheuncertaintyandirregularityoftheearnings，andconsequentnecessityoflivingforlongperiodsoncredit;butithasadvantageswhichmorethancounterbalancethesedrawbacks。Itproducesadegreeofintelligence，independence，andmoralelevation，whichraisetheconditionandcharacteroftheCornishminerfarabovethatofthegeneralityofthelabouringclass。WearetoldbyDrCarham，that\"theyarenotonly，asaclass，intelligentforlabourers，butmenofconsiderableknowledge\"。Also，that\"theyhaveacharacterofindependence，some。thingAmerican，thesystembywhichthecontractsareletgivingthetakersentirefreedomtomakearrangementsamongthemselves;sothateachmanfeels，asapartnerinhislittlefirm，thathemeetshisemployersonnearlyequalterms\"……Withthisbasisofintelligenceandindependenceintheircharacter，wearenotsurprisedwhenwehearthat\"averygreatnumberofminersarenowlocatedonpossessionsoftheirown，leasedforthreelivesorninety—nineyears，onwhichtheyhavebuilthouses\";orthat\"281，541l。aredepositedinsavingbanksinCornwall，ofwhichtwo—thirdsareestimatedtobelongtominers\"。’（1*）
MrBabbage，whoalsogivesanaccountofthissystem，observesthatthepaymenttothecrewsofwhalingshipsisgovernedbyasimilarprinciple;andthat’theprofitsarisingfromfishingwithnetsonthesouthcoastofEnglandarethusdivided:one—halftheproducebelongstotheowneroftheboatandnet;theotherhalfisdividedinequalportionsbetweenthepersonsusingit，whoarealsoboundtoassistinrepairingthenetwhenrequired。’MrBabbagehasthegreatmeritofhavingpointedoutthepracticability，andtheadvantage，ofextendingtheprincipletomanufacturingindustrygenerally。（2*）
Someattentionhasbeenexcitedbyanexperimentofthisnature，commencedabovethirtyyearsagobyaParistradesman，ahouse—painter，M。Leclaire，（3*）anddescribedbyhiminapamphletpublishedintheyear1842。M。Leclaire，accordingtohisstatement，employsonanaveragetwohundredworkmen，whomhepaysintheusualmanner，byfixedwagesorsalaries。Heassignstohimself，besidesinterestforhiscapital，afixedallowanceforhislabourandresponsibilityasmanager。Attheendoftheyear，thesurplusprofitsaredividedamongthebody，himselfincluded，intheproportionoftheirsalaries。（4*）ThereasonsbywhichM。Leclairewasledtoadoptthissystemarehighlyinstructive。Findingtheconductofhisworkmenunsatisfactory，hefirsttriedtheeffectofgivinghigherwages，andbythishemanagedtoobtainabodyofexcellentworkmen，whowouldnotquithisserviceforanyother。’Havingthussucceeded’（IquotefromanabstractofthepamphletinChambers’Journal，（5*））’inproducingsomesortofstabilityinthearrangementofhisestablishment，M。Leclaireexpected，hesays，toenjoygreaterpeaceofmind。Inthis，however，hewasdisappointed。Solongashewasabletosuperintendeverythinghimself，fromthegeneralconcernsofhisbusinessdowntoitsminutestdetails，hedidenjoyacertainsatisfaction;butfromthemomentthat，owingtotheincreaseofhisbusiness，hefoundthathecouldbenothingmorethanthecentrefromwhichorderswereissued，andtowhichreportswerebroughtin，hisformeranxietyanddiscomfortreturneduponhim。’Hespeakslightlyoftheothersourcesofanxietytowhichatradesmanissubject，butdescribesasanincessantcauseofvexationthelossesarisingfromthemisconductofworkmen。Anemployer’willfindworkmenwhoseindifferencetohisinterestsissuchthattheydonotperformtwo—thirdsoftheamountofworkwhichtheyarecapableof;hencethecontinualfrettingofmasters，who，seeingtheirinterestsneglected，believethemselvesentitledtosupposethatworkmenareconstantlyconspiringtoruinthosefromwhomtheyderivetheirlivelihood。Ifthejourneymanweresureofconstantemployment，hispositionwouldinsomerespectsbemoreenviablethanthatofthemaster，becauseheisassuredofacertainamountofday’swages，whichhewillgetwhetherheworksmuchorlittle。Herunsnorisk，andhasnoothermotivetostimulatehimtodohisbestthanhisownsenseofduty。Themaster，ontheotherhand，dependsgreatlyonchanceforhisreturns:hispositionisoneofcontinualirritationandanxiety。Thiswouldnolongerbethecasetothesameextent，iftheinterestsofthemasterandthoseoftheworkmenwereboundupwitheachother，connectedbysomebondofmutualsecurity，suchasthatwhichwouldbeobtainedbytheplanofayearlydivisionofprofits。’
UntilthepassingoftheLimitedLiabilityAct，itwasheldthatanarrangementsimilartoM。Leclaire’swouldhavebeenimpossibleinEngland，astheworkmencouldnot，inthepreviousstateofthelaw，havebeenassociatedintheprofits，withoutbeingliableforlosses。Oneofthemanybenefitsofthatgreatlegislativeimprovementhasbeentorenderpartnershipsofthisdescriptionpossible，andwemaynowexpecttoseethemcarriedintopractice。MessrsBriggs，oftheWhitwoodandMethleycollieries，nearNormantoninYorkshire，havetakenthefirststep。Theynowworktheseminesbyacompany，two—thirdsofthecapitalofwhichtheythemselvescontinuetohold，butundertake，intheallotmentoftheremainingthird，togivethepreferencetothe’officialsandoperativesemployedintheconcern’;and，whatisofstillgreaterimportance，whenevertheannualprofitexceeds10percent，one—halftheexcessisdividedamongthework—peopleandemployes，whethershareholdersornot，inproportiontotheirearningsduringtheyear。Itishighlyhonourabletotheseimportantemployersoflabourtohaveinitiatedasystemsofullofbenefitbothtotheoperativesemployedandtothegeneralinterestofsocialimprovement:andtheyexpressnomorethanajustconfidenceintheprinciplewhentheysay，that’theadoptionofthemodeofappropriationthusrecommendedwould，itisbelieved，addsogreatanelementofsuccesstotheundertakingastoincreaseratherthandiminishthedividendtotheshareholders。’