The Home Secretary, Mr. Asquith, made a not very im-
portant speech at Leeds on Monday, in which, after reiterating a good deal of what he said in Scotland, he panegyrised what Mr. Acland had done in the Education Department, on the whole, we think, not unfairly, though Mr. Acland has certainly inclined too much towards pressing hard on the voluntary schools. Mr. Asquith proceeded to urge on the municipal employers of labour that they ought to set a good example to other employers of labour in respect to the payment of wages sufficient to render a decent and progressive mode of life possible. That is wise enough ; but it does not solve the question as to what is to be done, if paying such wages as these renders it necessary to contract greatly the amount of work undertaken, and so to improve the condition of a small class of labourers at the expense of the majority. That is the real crux of the problem, and no general or abstract solution of it can possibly be found.
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