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108 Wbt &*&&£?+ [Saturday,
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/fiNtttVit /(PYrtttri^t I (11/411, U (ibUHIiril* *
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There is no learned man but will confess...
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WHEAT PRICES.—MR. S. SANDARS'S CASE. Sib...
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SUBSISTENCE AND LAND. Snt,—As comment ra...
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THE EDUCATION OF THE POOR. Edinburgh, Ap...
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THE OXFORD CREDIT SYSTEM. April 23,1850....
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
•What's O'Clock? Numbers And Music Go To...
to us an inscrutable mystery , and we believe that none bat clergymen and freemasons are initiated . But Alfred Novello has cracked the egg of Columbus : — " For it would be sufficient to ensure the general adoption of the plan of calling the hours of a day £° F / JLfro ^ * n ^ Vere authorities of the Post-office and the Bailway Companies were to begin with it ; and if the railway time-books were to contain on their last page the table of hours , ^ jtj ^ unmng head--line at the top of each page to thia effect : — ' « h . ° " : , " ^* «™ Jff are numbered 1 to 24 . beginning from midnight / most peraons would learn the arrangement in a montn .
108 Wbt &*&&£?+ [Saturday,
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There Is No Learned Man But Will Confess...
There is no learned man but will confess he hath much profited by reading controversies , his senses awakened , and his j udgment sharpened . If , then , it be profitable for him to read , why should it not , at least , be tolerable for his adversary to write . —Milton .
Wheat Prices.—Mr. S. Sandars's Case. Sib...
WHEAT PRICES . —MR . S . SANDARS'S CASE . Sib , —Having received a number of your paper , sent through the medium of my publisher , requesting me to explain the apparent anomaly of the British Farmer not being able to compete with the American Farmer , the former only giving 2 bushels a week for the wages of labour , and the latter giving ( as you assume ) 5 bushels a week for wages , and likewise " how I can shew that 20 s . worth of labour is embodied in the cost of British wheat at 50 s . per quarter , I have no hesitation in giving you the following general approximations in answer to these questions : — In my essay on the productive cost of corn , I have assumed the cost of cultivating an acre of arable land in this country , when wages are 9 s . to 10 s . a week , with the existing rents and taxation , to be £ 5 9 s . per acre , and the productive cost of wheat at 50 s . per quarter , and the yield 4 quarters per acre . The following are the 10 elements of such cost : — 1 . Great tithes 5 s . per acre . 2 . Small tithes , poor , county , highway , and church rates 6 s . 3 d . 3 . Labourer ' s wages ,.... 25 s . 4 . Tradesman ' s bills 4 s . 5 . Maintenance of horses 18 s . 9 d . 6 . Maintenance of farmer ' s family , & c . & c 13 s . 7 . Seed Corn 9 a . 8 . Casualties Is . 9 . Interest of Capital 7 s . 10 . Rent 20 s . £ 5 9 s . The elements of labour in such expenditure are as follows : — 1 . Wages 26 s . per acre . 2 . Animal labour 18 s . 9 d . 3 . Tradesman ' s bills for labour or the products of labour 4 s . 4 . Maintenance of the farmer for labour , if superintended , & c . 13 s . 5 . Proportion of seed corn that consists of 2 s . 5 d . cost of labour . 3 s . Gd . Divide by 4 quarters 64 s . 3 d . 16 s . Id . per qr . It thus appears such element of labour-cost is lGs . Id . ; b \ it in cultivating wheat the actual cost requires a greater quantity of labour than is expended in the general rotation of crops , and such increased amount of labour I shall assume to be 25 per cent ., which gives the total cost as 20 s . per quarter . The second question is one of great importance . You ask , ' Why I assume the English farmer is not able to compete with the American farmer from the high rate of wages in England , whilst he only gives 2 bushels a week for the labourer's wages , and the American farmer ( as you assume ) gives 5 bushels a week to the American labourer ? " This question can only be answered by entering upon the elementary cost of American wheat as follows : — supposed cost ov cultivating an ague op arable LAND IN AMERICA . L . Great and small tithes nil . I , Highway , church-rates , and comparatively no poor-rates nil .
3 . Labourer ' s wages , assuming your rate of 20 s . a week 50 s . Od . 4 . Tradesman ' s bills , one-half British 2 0 5 . Keep of horses , from the cheapness of corn and hay , one-half British cost .. . 9 4 6 . Maintenance of farmers , one-half British 6 6 7 . Seed corn , two-thirds British 6 0 8 . Casualties * ° 9 . Interest of capital and rent of land , one half British cost 13 6 Divide by 4 quarters an acre ... . ) 88 4 Cost per quarter 24 2 But , allowing that the wheat crop requires a greater expenditure than the general average of other crops , we will allow 25 s . per quarter or 6 0 Cost of wheat per quarter in the state of New York 30 0 America is a great except ion to the general axioms of political economy , which assumes the cost of subsistence to regulate the wages of labour in all old and thickly inhabited countries , and such element of the cost of subsistence has hitherto been generally adopted as the measure of the wages of labour and of value , as exemplified in the fixed price of silver and gold , which is based on the supposed amount of subsistence , or so many days labour required to produce the ounce of silver and gold . We will now proceed to test the productive cost of corn by the quantity of wheat or subsistence given for labour in cultivating arable land in Poland . ELEMENTS OP SUCH COST . 1 . Tithes nil . 2 . Poor-rates , highway , & c nil . 3 . Wages 4 d . per day , or 2 s . a week , or one-fifth of British wages is 5 s . Od . per acre . 4 . Tradesman ' s bills one-fourth of British Is . 5 . Keep of horses , one-fourth ditto 4 s . 8 d . 6 . Maintenance of overseer or bailiff 2 s . 7 . Seed corn , one-fourth 2 s . 3 d . 8 . Casualties 6 s . 9 and 10 . Interest of capital and rent of land 15 s . 30 s . 5 d . To this add 25 per cent , for additional cost of the wheat crop 7 s . 7 d . Admitting the cultivation to be less productive than British , or 3 quarters 38 s . Od . per acre . It gives 12 s . 8 d . per qr . To this sum add 7 s . 4 d . per quarter for transport of the wheat to the shipping ports of the Baltic and Black Sea , it gives the cost of such Polish wheats at Dantzic and Odessa as 20 s . per quarter . We thus see the Polish labourer with wages at 2 s , a week , and the cost of the wheat 12 s . 8 d . per quarter , receives 1 bushel and 1 peck of wheat for his weekly wages . The English labourer , with wages at 9 s . a week , and wheat at 48 s . a quarter , or 6 s . a bushel , receives l £ bushels of wheat for his wages . Whilst an American labourer , with your assumed wages of 20 s . a week , gets 5 bushels of wheat for his weekly wages . And that with such high rate of wages the productive cost of wheat is only about 30 s . per quarter . I now leave the question of competition between the British and foreign growers of corn to the consideration of those persons who may be inclined to enter further into that enquiry . I am , Sir , your obedient servant , fe » fe « ¦ ' .
Subsistence And Land. Snt,—As Comment Ra...
SUBSISTENCE AND LAND . Snt , —As comment rather than reply to Mr . Barton ' s letter , might it not be well to remark—shifting the discussion from the rights of those who want to the duties of those who have—that , so far as regards property in land , our noblest idea of society ( exclusive of spiritual aims ) is such organization as shall best develope earth ' s capabilities . If Mr . Barton's 11 island " be extended to the entire globe , all must suhsist by the land ( all cannot work on it , of course ); and all , therefore , have " reason , " if not " right , " to desire its proper treatment .
The objection to private holding is that it interferes with this , preferring its highland deer-parks to its lowland corn-lands—its game-preserves to its pastures ; and it is difficult to conceive any justifiable claim to property in land that is not based on the idea of trust for the benefit of all , getting , of course , a remunerative interest for superintendence . R . A .
The Education Of The Poor. Edinburgh, Ap...
THE EDUCATION OF THE POOR . Edinburgh , April 16 , 1850 . Sin , —Among the many projects for improving the condition of the masses to which every year gives birth , there is one which I have long regarded as preeminently entitled to an attentive examination ,
and I gladly avail myself of the liberal arrangement of your admirable paper to make upon it a few , not hasty , but well-considered remarks . The project to which I allude is at first sight , I most readily admit , one of the most startling which could well be conceived , nothing less , in short , than a reform in our orthography so sweeping and entir e as to reduce our written language at once to a character the most perfectly phonetic . Althoug h it i s difficult [ to conceive that any language written by means of an alphabet , could have been originally intended to be otherwise than strictly phonetic , yet out
language has for very many ages departed so far , so very far , from this character , that any proposal to bring it suddenly back to something like what it must have or would have been had it not been hampered by an imperfect alphabet , seems , to say the least , nearly absurd . Yet this is gravely proposed . Nay more , a vigorous attempt is now ' being made to effect it ; and what is yet more surprising , this , full of novelty , comparatively speaking , as it is , has met with favour not only among the many but even among the learned—a circumstance so remarkable that proof seems almost necessary ! From my
own knowledge I am able to state that this is true to at least some extent . And already some men of note have declared their conviction publicly . Mr . A . J . Ellis , who last year attempted to establish a phonetic newspaper in London ( much to the amusement of the wondering public , and our dear old friend Mr . Punch ) , is a man of varied learning and decided talent , and has devoted his time and his means to the promotion of this remarkable reform with an enthusiasm which must entitle him to the respect of all who admire generosity and public spirit . And , again , a distinguished linguist and ex-professor of
literature ( Dr . Latham ) has lately given to the world several able papers on phonetic spelling . While looking nearer home , i . e ., my home , I find a learned professor in our university filling the office of president of a society lately formed in this city for the promotion of this reform . Moreover , when it is borne in mind that a considerable number of books have already appeared in the new spelling—including a good many reprints of notable books , among which I need only mention the Holy Bible , the Common
Prayer-book , and some of the works of Shakespeare , Goldsmith , Samuel Johnson , Bunyan , & c , besides some monthly and one fortnightly periodical—while not a few of the ignorant are being taught to read on the new plan , I cannot but think that these , and a host of other facts all tending the same way , but with which it seems unnecessary to trouble you , sufficiently evince that , however startling the proposal to effect a radical reform in our spelling may be , I am at least justified in seriously bringing it under the notice of your readers .
This apology is not so long , at least if I may judge by the way in which I find the subject set aside by some who , knowing nothing about it , unceremoniously decline to give it any part of their attention . It is needless to disguise the fact , that a long examination of the merits of the question has in my case resulted in a serious conviction of the reasonableness and the desirableness of a sweeping reform
in our own very ridiculous system of spelling , and that I anxiously desire to lay before the followers of the Leader the various circumstances which conspired to produce that result . But , sir , finding that I cannot count upon your indulging me with many more lines at present , I beg respectfully to request your acceptance of a second letter , in which I shall endeavour to furnish such information on the nature and probable consequences of the spelling reform , as may be within my reach .
In the meantime it must suffice to say that I sincerely believe the object of the promoters of this reform to be exactly what they state , namely , *[ to make the education of the poor possible by rendering the art of reading simple and easy to acquire . " I am , sir , obediently yours , W . P . W .
The Oxford Credit System. April 23,1850....
THE OXFORD CREDIT SYSTEM . April 23 , 1850 . Sir , —The proposed remedy for the cure of Oxford extravagance and bad debts which Mr . F . Newman in your latest number backed by his great authority , appears to me , with all due deference to him , somewhat questionable . No one who has , however remotely , seen its workings , both upon the members of the university and the citizens of Oxford , but will readily admit that the credit system is a curse to all . The mere money loss must be enormous ; and the loss to individuals , families , and the state , by the immoralities and sins which grow up in this hotbed of credit is beyond calculation . These facts are patent . Perhaps not even a Sibthorp would dispute them .
But the Oxford tradesmen are in a very peculiar position . They must give credit . Refuse credit , and their trade would speedily diminish to a vanishing point . They are as dependent a body of men as you could find in this empire . I doubt much whether a law making shop-debts irrecoverable being passed to-
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), April 27, 1850, page 12, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_27041850/page/12/
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