ECONOMIC LAWS.
[To THE EDITOR OP THE "SPECTATOR.") SIR,—In criticising the various suggestions put forward for the settlement of the coal strike you correctly insist that no arrangement, even though sanctioned by Parliament, can, if it run contrary to economic laws, win in the end against their operation. This fact would, I think, be made clearer and carry deeper conviction if what an economic law really is were generally grasped. There is a tendency to regard it as a kind of mysterious entity possessing, per se, a power to bite or kiss according as it may be opposed or placated. When, however, it is realized that an economic law is merely the mean result, concisely put, of past experiences in a particular field it can be easily understood. At the same time it appeals, as such, to common sense as the safest of all guides. All sub- scribe to the truth that " experience teaches" ; the condensed experience expressed in a " law " should teach to the point of
firmest conviction.—I am, Sir, &c., Joint BEES. Llanelly.
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