Itwasnaturalthatmanymindssearchingafterawayofescapefromthe
growingdistressofthelabourers，atatimewhenwageshadnotkeptpace
withprices，shouldhaveturnedtothedeviceofassessingwagesbylawin
accordancewiththepriceofprovisions。Ifpricescouldnotbeassimilated
towages，couldnotwagesbeassimilatedtoprices？NathanielKent，nowild
visionary，hadurgedemployerstoraisewagesinproportiontotheincrease
oftheirprofits，buthisappealhadbeenwithouteffect。Butthepolicy
ofregulatingwagesaccordingtothepriceoffoodwasrecommendedinseveral
quarters，anditprovokedagreatdealofdiscussion。Burke，whosedayswere
closingin，wastemptedtotakepartinit，andheputanadvertisementinto
thepapersannouncingthathewasabouttopublishaseriesofletterson
thesubject。Thelettersneverappeared，butArthurYounghasdescribedthe
visithepaidtoBeaconsfieldatthistimeandBurke’sramblingthunderabout
’theabsurdityofregulatinglabourandthemischiefofourpoorlaws，’and
Burke’spublishedworksincludeapaperThoughtsanddetailsonScarcity，
presentedtoPittinNovember1795。InthispaperBurkearguedthatthefarmer
wasthetrueguardianofthelabourer’sinterest，inthatitwouldnever
beprofitabletohimtounderpaythelabourer：anuncompromisingapplication
ofthetheoryoftheeconomicman，whichwasnotlesssuperficialthanthe
Jacobins’applicationofthetheoryofthenaturalman。
InOctober1795ArthurYoungsentouttothevariouscorrespondentsof
theBoardofAgricultureacircularlettercontainingthisquestionamong
others：’Ithavingbeenrecommendedbyvariousquarter-sessions，thatthe
priceoflabourshouldberegulatedbythatofbreadcorn，havethegoodness
tostatewhatyouconceivetobetheadvantagesordisadvantagesofsuch
asystem？’55*ArthurYoungwashimselfinfavouroftheproposal，andthe
Suffolkmagistrates，atameetingwhichheattendedonthe12thofOctober，
ordered：’ThattheMembersforthiscountyberequestedbythechairmanto
bringabillintoparliament，sotoregulatethepriceoflabour，thatit
mayfluctuatewiththeaveragepriceofbreadcorn。’56*Mostofthereplies
wereadverse，buttheproposalfoundawarmfriendinMr。Howlett，theVicar
ofDunmow，whoputintohisanswersomeoftheargumentswhichheinreply
toafterwardsdevelopedinapamphletpublished。Pitt’scriticismsofWhitbread’s
Bill。57*HowlettarguedthatParliamenthadlegislatedwithsuccessto
preventcombinationsofworkmen，andasanexamplehequotedtheActsof
8GeorgeIII，whichhadmadethewagesoftailorsandsilkweaverssubject
totheregulationsofthemagistrates。Itwasjustasnecessaryandjust
aspracticabletopreventacombinationofadifferentkind，thatofmasters。
’Notacombinationindeedformallydrawnupinwritingandsanctionedunder
handandseal，acombination，however，ascertaintheresultofcontingencies
orprovidentialeventsandasfatallyefficaciousasifinwritingithad
filledfivehundredskinsofparchment：acombinationwhichhasoperated
formanyyearswithaforcerapidlyincreasing，acombinationwhichhaskept
backthehireofourlabourerswhohavereapeddownourfields，andhasat
lengthtorntheclothesfromtheirbacks，snatchedthefoodfromtheirmouths，
andgroundthefleshfromtheirbones。’Howlett，itwillbeseen，tookthe
sameviewasThelwall，thatthepositionofthelabourerswasdeteriorating
absolutelyandrelatively。HeestimatedfromasurveytakenatDunmowthat
theaveragefamilyshouldbetakenasfive；ifwageshadbeenregulatedon
thisbasis，andthelabourerhadbeengivenperheadnomorethanthecost
ofapauper’skeepintheworkhousesixtyyearsago，hewouldhavebeenvery
muchbetteroffin1795。Hewouldhimselftakeahigherstandard。Inreply
totheargumentthatthepolicyoftheminimumwagewoulddeprivethelabourers
ofallspurandincentivehepointedtothecaseoftheLondontailors；they
atanyratedisplayedplentyoflifeandingenuity，andnobodycouldsay
thattheLondonfashionsdidnotchangefastenough。Employerswouldnomore
raisewageswithoutcompulsionthantheywouldmakegoodroadswithoutthe
aidofturnpikesortheprescriptionofstatutesenforcedbythemagistrates。
Hismostoriginalcontributiontothediscussionwastheargumentthatthe
legalregulationshouldnotbelefttotheunassistedjudgmentofthemagistrates：
’itshouldbetheresultoftheclearest，fullest，andmostaccurateinformation，
andatlengthbejudiciouslyadaptedtoeachcounty，hundred，ordistrict
ineveryquarterofthekingdom。’Howlettdifferedfromsomeofthesupporters
ofaminimumwage，inthinkingthatwagesshouldberegulatedbytheprices
ofthenecessariesoflife，notmerelybythatofbreadcorn。
ThesamepolicywasadvocatedbyDaviesinTheCaseofLabourersin
Husbandry。58*Daviesarguedthatiftheminimumonlywerefixed，emulation
wouldnotbediscouraged，forbetterworkmenwouldbothbemoresureofemployment
andalsoobtainhigherwages。Hesuggestedthattheminimumwageshouldbe
fixedbycalculatingthesumnecessarytomaintainafamilyoffive，orby
settlingthescaleofdaywagesbythepriceofbreadalone，treatingthe
otherexpensesastolerablysteady。Hedidnotproposetoregulatethewages
ofanybutdaylabourers，nordidheproposetodealwithpiecework，although
pieceworkhadbeenincludedintheActofElizabeth。Hefurthersuggested
thattheregulationshouldbeinforceonlyforhalftheyear，fromNovember
toMay，whenthelabourers’difficultiespressedhardestuponthem。Unfortunately
hecoupledwithhisminimumwagepolicyaproposaltogivehelpfromthe
ratestofamilieswithmorethanfivemembers，ifthechildrenwereunable
toearn。
Butthemostinterestingofallthedeclarationsinfavourofaminimum
wagewasadeclarationfromlabourers。Acorrespondentsentthefollowing
advertisementtotheAnnalsofAgriculture：——
’ThefollowingisanadvertisementwhichIcutoutofaNorwichnewspaper：
AtanumerousmeetingofthedaylabourersofthelittleparishesofHeacham，
Snettisham，andSedgford，thisday，5thNovember，intheparishchurchof
Heacham，inthecountyofNorfolk，inordertotakeintoconsiderationthe
bestandmostpeaceablemodeofobtainingaredressofallthesevereand
peculiarhardshipsunderwhichtheyhaveformanyyearssopatientlysuffered，
thefollowingresolutionswereunanimouslyagreedto：——1st，That——The
labourerisworthyofhishire，andthatthemodeoflesseninghisdistresses，
ashathbeenlatelythefashion，bysellinghimflourunderthemarketprice，
andtherebyrenderinghimanobjectofaparishrate，isnotonlyanindecent
insultonhislowlyandhumblesituationinitselfsufficientlymortifying
fromhisdegradingdependenceonthecapriceofhisemployerbutafallacious
modeofrelief，andeverywayinadequatetoaradicalredressofthemanifold
distressesofhiscalamitousstate。2nd，Thatthepriceoflabourshould，
atalltimes，beproportionedtothepriceofwheat，whichshouldinvariably
beregulatedbytheaveragepriceofthatnecessaryarticleoflife；and
thatthepriceoflabour，asspecifiedintheannexedplan，isnotonlywell
calculatedtomakethelabourerhappywithoutbeinginjurioustothefarmer，
butitappearstoustheonlyrationalmeansofsecuringthepermanenthappiness
ofthisvaluableandusefulclassofmen，and，ifadoptedinitsfullextent，
willhaveanimmediateandpowerfuleffectinreducing，ifitdoesnotentirely
annihilate，thatdisgracefulandenormoustaxonthepublic——thePOORRATE。
“PlanofthePriceofLabourproportionatetothePriceofWheatperlast。perday。
Whenwheatshallbe14l。thepriceoflabourshallbe1s。2d。
Andsoon，accordingtothisproportion。
“3rd，Thatapetitiontoparliamenttoregulatethepriceoflabour，
conformabletotheaboveplan，beimmediatelyadopted；andthatthedaylabourers
throughoutthecountybeinvitedtoassociateandco-operateinthisnecessary
applicationtoparliament，asapeaceable，legal，andprobablemodeofobtaining
relief；and，indoingthis，notimeshouldbelost，asthepetitionmust
bepresentedbeforethe29thJanuary1796。
“4th，Thatoneshillingshallbepaidintothehandsofthetreasurer
byeverylabourer，inordertodefraytheexpencesofadvertising，attending
onmeetings，andpayingcounseltosupporttheirpetitioninparliament。
“5th，Thatassoonasthesenseofthedaylabourersofthiscounty，
oramajorityofthem，shallbemadeknowntotheclerkofthemeeting，a
generalmeetingshallbeappointed，insomecentraltown，inordertoagree
uponthebestandeasiestmodeofgettingthepetitionsigned：whenitwill
berequestedthatonelabourer，properlyinstructed，maybedeputedtorepresent
twoorthreecontiguousparishes，andtoattendtheaboveintendedmeeting
withalistofallthelabourersintheparishesheshallrepresent，and
paytheirrespectivesubscriptions；andthatthelabourer，sodeputed，shall
beallowedtwoshillingsandsixpenceadayforhistime，andtwoshillings
andsixpenceadayforhisexpences。
“6th，ThatAdamMoore，clerkofthemeeting，bedirectedtohave
theaboveresolutions，withthenamesofthefarmersandlabourerswhohave
subscribedtoandapprovedthem，advertisedinoneNorwichandoneLondon
Raper；whenitishopedthattheaboveplanofapetitiontoparliamentwill
notonlybeapprovedandimmediatelyadoptedbythedaylabourersofthis
county，butbythedaylabourersofeverycountyinthekingdom。
“7th，Thatallletters，postpaid，addressedtoAdamMoore，labourer，
atHeacham，nearLynn，Norfolk，willbedulynoticed。”59*
Thisisoneofthemostinterestingandinstructivedocumentsofthetime。
Itshowsthatthelabourers，whosesteadydeclineduringthenextthirty
yearsweareabouttotrace，wereanimatedbyasenseofdignityandindependence。
Somethingoftheoldspiritofthecommonersstillsurvived。Butthereis
nosequeltothisincident。Thisgreatschemeofalabourers’organisation
vanishes：itpasseslikeaflashofsummerlightning。Whatistheexplanation？
Theansweristobefound，wesuspect，intheTreasonandSeditionActsthat
PittwascarryingthroughParliamentinthisverymonth。UnderthoseActs
nolanguageofcriticismwassafe，andfiftypersonscouldnotmeetexcept
inthepresenceofamagistrate，whohadpowertoextinguishthemeeting
andarrestthespeaker。Thosemeasuresinflictedevenwiderinjuryuponthe
nationthanFoxandSheridanandErskinethemselvesbelieved。
ThepolicyofaminimumwagewasbroughtbeforeParliamentinthewinter
of1795，inaBillintroducedbySamuelWhitbread，oneofthesmallband
ofbraveLiberalswhohadstoodbyFoxthroughtherevolutionarypanic。Whitbread
isapoliticiantowhomhistoryhasdonelessthanjustice，andheisgenerally
knownonlyasanimplacableopponentofthePeninsularWar。Thatopposition
hecontrivedtoconduct，asweknowfromtheCreeveyPapers，insuchaway
astowinandkeeptherespectofWellington。Whitbread’sdisapprovalof
thatwar，ofwhichLiberalslikeHollandandLordJohnRussell，whotook
Fox’sviewofthedifferenceoffightingrevolutionsbytheaidofkings
andfightingNapoleonbytheaidofpeoples，werestrongsupporters，sprang
fromhiscompassionforthemiseriesoftheEnglishpoor。Hismostnotable
qualitywashisvividandenergeticsympathy；hespenthislifeinhopeless
battles，andhediedbyhisownhandofpublicdespair。TheBillhenowintroduced
wasthefirstofaseriesofproposalsdesignedfortherescueoftheagricultural