Show the coal famine in england some persons who have heard heard of the present price rice of coal have imagined that coal itself was scarce searce not only scarce marce in the market w which no doubt it is but scarce in in the mine also but this is a complete mistake the commissioners in 1870 reported that there was 1000 of tons which might greasor reasonably bably be expected to be available for use and that as the rate of annual consumption was in 1869 a little over wo we have plainly enough coal in the mine for many years what has happened in the coal trade though veryla very important por tant is very simple simpie there was as is well known acost unusual demand for coal A demand greatly in excess of the usual supply the prices consequently rose rapidly A lano lar large laro o number of laborers saw th their air employers implom tile tiie coal owners were getting very veny unusual profits and become becoming I 1 ng rapidly very rich and they matur naturally allf dIly tho thought llight that as cheh labor wrought out the coal they were entitled to share largely in in those profits and they thought n t a niso also Is o that by striking they them could exact arise a nise rise of wages bagos and aud nd KO so obtain that share the strikes reduced the quint quantity ity of coal in the markets and the consequence is a great rise offrice of price at first sight that rise might seem not only gre great at but extravagant but not so if we examine it coal is for many purposes ah absolute it is a familiar maxim of political economy that areal wreal scarcity of any though that scarcity is is not large though it Is a small fraction only in comparison of the whole supply willivery will wil lvery ivery very much raise the price of the article everybody wants the article but there is not enough of it for everybody the petition competition om kom becomes ve very wery eager and the prices very high in this way the price of corn has lias often risen by ky a large percentage when wh en the yield of th the harvest has bas ass been bien deficient only by a small percentage and as coal is d a necessary its value in this case as in oth ers must f follow llo lio NV the economic law 1 1 y the extent to which coalts coal is a ne cesary ce sa is best seen by analyzing the ways in which it is used common people have their thoughts en on grossed by common house coal but that is ollya small part of th 0 mat tei as will be seen from a most valuable table which the commission of 1871 gives us i to tons tou tob total al quantity ot of coal raised in 1869 1889 total quantity of coal exported 1710 leva leaving ang for homo consumption I 1 coal used in iron manufacture zt fig 08 coal used in general manufacture for steam power and other pur poses 25 13 coal used in other n coal used in mines minea and coll eries ertes eq i a coal used lu in gas and water works yorks oal oai used in steamships 1 coal used on hallways rail vall ways 2 am domestic consumption miscellaneous 1 5 total t v the domo domestic sulo stio use in in coal is therefore not ilot a gifth fifth of the total amount used in in this counti country ry the iron iton industry alone aldno consumes nearly twee as much coal is the motive power of our manufactures it is to them wh aLthe st steam eam cam ell eri engine L is to the tiie train it is that which pubs puts them in ahola and keeps them 1 in motion if it there were no coal boal the whole of these industries would stop and all those ein oin employed foyed voyed in them must bo be disbanded therefore at ata a time ahne when the whole business busness of the country y is in r niost coif neif neit rapid ravid progress when it starts for forward vard as 48 mn gladstone Gladston 6 says not ifft ciby riby by steps but by leaps and bounds bound the demand for coal becomes enormous avis lois if is as ais necessary to gilr ilar our manufactures as food is to man if you yoh thenus wark ish nat only him with food but them with coal accordingly ill lii thel as to the progress of our coal mines towards extinction c the critical u estion lia TIB S g always vim nia ya been bean at what paco vm mut mur our carlu manufactures fae fractures fac tures luci itol advance vance and lind at tut what rate crate will twill they consume corl coal 00 0 oo this subject the commissioners were at issue with mr jevons they said that the bonsu consumption would go on at a slower rate he at a quicker but as yet mr mf jevons has been right for the last few years the thel increase in the consumption has been as much as hebald basald he said sald it would be whon whoa wo we rece receive ige lie the figure for 1872 we suspect that we shall shail nind find that for that teat yik year lit it was vast vastly lynore more there never before was any such sucu deman d ifor for chaas there has been this year for there never was vas so bo great an iron trade or so tar lar large ge a general bt business igness to require it THE L LABORERS PLEA P noth nothing ing can be more natural than that the laborers employed employ eil in such kuch a trade should fancy that they ware were not only entitled toone to one advance of w wages aads but to many the owners odthe mines to la which they worked were getting rich tich why should not they and of course cours 0 it wins wlas was kas the interest of the oa asters masters to make many concessions to use usei so good an opportunity p port unity before it was over and to make mako hay while the sun shone but there is no permanent reason why the men who work in very profitable imenes should be paid more than those who work I 1 in n less profitable that profit is gained by the possession of a valuable monopoly but ut these men have haie no monopoly they have learnt leama a very disagreeable gree able employment in which there is little A skill aill ill iii which requires but little learning which most men of the sort wanted could soon leam leab if such person persons are arc laid paid exceedingly high wa wages esmore asmore more laborers will throng to oell obtain those wages and the excessive rate will soon sogn coffi come como 0 down when a mine becomes very vers profitable very rapidly it is buit buet bu t natural that tb the e laborers in it should envy the income of ts ovner ovner lout but there is no reason at least no lasting reason why they thoy should share it they may play make good terms for a amo imo moment but the evident condition of human life will be too strong for them in the end the owner owner has something of great value vaine which others have riot and they have no such thing lie he therefore will can continue to receive a it prize income but they must not hope for it TIB PROSPECT no unusual price of bf coa coaL 1 l cail cau therefore there fore fole I 1 bd due permanently to the high bazes exacted by the laborer b oi in jceal mines high wages e can ha have hare 7 aon eon on th he e price i 4 of C coal oal no effect which they ta hac hae lse the iho arite ance of all other articles article S and Ard ft is s 1 equally untrue that bombina among tinion abal which much has hee bee heen been n said sold can permanently nent ment braff affect et the price the thecial coal trade is in 1100 a too loo many fiands h ands borsuch for sueh such stich combinations and coal mining is t moo too 00 tj blett P pt a pul pui pursuit asuit such price sas we now see eee will bring out all tile the coal which the presed present mines can furnish and abd ind many new hiew fiew mines min es will be fe opened no artificial cial elal scarcity 8 ty can be maintained when prices rae the are aro so tempting and sohl igli gh the post gost ost I 1 of production willin will in the irid grid end brid regulate labethe the price of coal as oali other oiher articles the cost of bf production that L is to say under the least liast favorable circumstances the worst linb lastingly in the market faaet the tho worst mine which can be bb kept wept at work aud and which will yield I 1 its ts owner the average rate of prof profit t is th tho the mine which will determine tho price the worst circumstanced producer who tail eail ean can keep in market will nix fix what the tho article articie in this case alse as in all others shallie sh shall shail allbe alibe be sold at better d pro decors will sell seil at the samo same price aud and ud gain gilli a greater af pf profit rofle the mine which just payvand pay sand no more fettle the price the owne owner iba dof of it it gels zef all ho can cap and it lie yie 1 s gal gai sallied sal salis sails Wied nied fied the owners of better i mines n iries fries can sell at the same price and be more than satisfied ultimately therefore the tha cost of producing educing pi coal will determine the value of it as ag of all similar articles butari the meantime what will happen ben ven jen ding the course courso of lof this tilis slow siow process duing tiie tile the development of od old mines and the opening of new 0 ones nes wa we hase haye to meet a scarcity value of cc coal al ahil and how shall we i meet heet it we IVO must enforce an economy in iti consumption and antl this though very veny painful phin ful fui is lit very tery possible at AX ire bre present almonti almos aimos tali fall M idad of edilu siry stry arg wor working their full tuli maximum but some somo of them perhaps all bf tf them J must cease toworu to work that maximum maxima M J the high price of coal eoal will of itself effect llis ilis this it willa will cause causo ius jus many bany or ders not tobe tove to be profitable which otherwise er avis tvis e would have been behl so these orders will TV ill lii in consequence be lie ie re Jec fed oed 4 tho 11 ct mu machinery chinery which t t y have executed them will stand idle the men who would xou rou id ha have ve abeen beerd beeri employed in them will be dascha discharged deag ed supposing this thiede doag cline to affect lct let lne lue one oro or two great indus A soon oon ono affect act all others rathe ifon lion iron trade is badall badali the indus tnie trie which depend on the iron strade at bad j if to vau indus industries tillos on tiko tite iron trade trado become bad then ahen so do those who depend nd on and fisli to tb sell to those indis industries tries annd aund and arid so by a quick transmission decline Is propagated through business if this were an ordinary time if the sear scar eity city price rice rico of coal hadbo had to be ie met and curey cured when most industries were only employed as usual the inevitable diminution of employment must be terrible and might be dangerous but happily the calamity falls on a time of extreme prosperity all industries being unusually active can brafa bea a relaxation of ac unusual ease the th pain aln ain of a diffused decline must ae always a Ys be great but it is smallest when we begin to descend from the highest prosperity pros iros erity and have far to fall ue fare we ve reach the worst adversia tyl tyland and that is our case now second we vve must economize in production we must use every a ery way fay of cheapening the cost dost of coal which we ean can this tim in ordinary cases w would oula be a much slower process to mike owners receiving la larger r erl profits profits than usual would be ayt apt to be E e less careful than usual such is the common course nature but in this case nobe so the exactions of labor have haye stimulated the thile scarcity and the therefore employers will be incessantly anxious to nind find and to use laborsaving labo labor saving machines mac mae liWes which will economize inize ruize the tile price of 61 the article I ari hundreds of cases the consumer has bas in the end thus thiis been indirectly bene fitted by the exactions of labor libor though at first they were asere as hurtful to overy every lon don iwo n I 1 i t 11 i |