One illustration more. Thirty years ago there were few more wretched
trades than the shoemakers of Northampton. Wages were low, the labour
was severe, the social condition of the workmen was necessarily low
also. The sewing-machine, with some special adaptations to make it
sew leather, increased about sixfold the bootmaking power of a
workman. It is needless to say that the Northampton shoemakers met
the introduction of this machine with the fiercest opposition: they
said five-sixths of their number must be thrown out of employment.
The struggle was won by the machine (as in other cases); shoemakers'
wages have ruled 50 to 100 per cent higher ever since, at the same
time that the shoemaking population has largely increased; and the
social comforts and character of the workpeople have improved vastly
too. This is an example that has always puzzled the workmen
themselves; but it requires no explanation after what has been said
about the efficiency of labour. The puzzle to the shoemakers is what
becomes of the additional boots and shoes made. They do not reflect
that, even of a necessary of life, only a certain quantity is used at
a certain price. Nothing is more necessary in London, especially in
winter, than coal; but, when coal some years ago went up to 40s. a
ton in London, it was marvellous how people in all ranks managed to
reduce their consumption of coal. Much more in the case of boots,
which will bear the cost of export to remote countries, did the
demand increase as the price fell. A fall of 10 per cent only in the
price of boots would cause every wholesale boot exporter to export on
the largest scale. No doubt the invention of a self-acting machine
which should turn out 1000 pairs of boots an hour at a nominal cost
of workmanship per pair would reduce the shoemakers of Northampton to
idleness and starvation. But in practice it has rarely happened that
any machine has been introduced in any trade that has thus completely