A Cheap Labour Reservoir Lord Hugh Cecil gave an interesting
demonstration of the mediaevalism to which he occasionally reverts in his speech on the school leaving age at the Church Assembly on Tuesday. Opposing a motion in favour of the raising of the school age, he declared it to be an economic fallacy to say that raising the age would diminish unemployment. On the contrary, to prevent cheap labour going into industry was to restrict industry, and to restrict industry was to create unemployment. Academically the thesis can no doubt be argued, but Lord Hugh would find it hard to sustain it against any competent economist—quite apart from humanitarian considerations. Unfortunately he was not content to be merely . academic, but declared the supporters of the motion wrong in every single respect. Yet Lord Hugh presumably believes in the Factory Acts.
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