Mr. T. Brassey delivered on Monday in Westminster a valuable
lecture on English and foreign labour and the effects of competi- tion. It was too gritty with statistics, but the general effect of it WWI that the English manufacturer could still undersell 'hit Con- tinental rival, though occasionally beaten by his American com- petitor. In other words, he is not in danger from the cOmpetition of cheap, but from the competition of dear labour. The cause of this is that the underpaid artisan of the Continent will not db so much or do it so well as the Englishman, while the highly-paid American, besides having the advantage of the extreme ingenuity which is applied to machines intended to relieve labour, works hard and works long hours. Mr. Brassey showed that all over the Continent the manufacturers dread English competition, and where possible, protect themselves against it by prohibitory tariffs. Mr. Brassey's general deduction from his facts was that the Eng- lish workman could still defeat the world, if only he would avoid placing suicidal restraints upon his own labour, the victory going to the man whose industry was least fettered.
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