whether there were no beggars, or whether there were ten thousand beggars, would have no effect upon the probability of the sale of a statue which cost one hundred thousand dollars. The demand, is of necessity, limited to the wealthy; and that form of social organization which is most favorable to the accumulation of large estates, and to the retaining of them in the hands of single individuals, will always be most favorable to the cultivation of the fine arts. In this country, where we have few beggars, and where, but for intemperance and vice, we should have none, a first-rate sculptor or painter would starve. In many of the countries of Europe, where the poor are frequently famishing, and where a large proportion of the population are beggars, you may frequently find, in the gallery of a single gentleman, a finer collection of paintings, than could be made from all the pictures in the whole United States. Hence, I think that the prospect for the arts, in this country, is by no means encouraging.

SECTION II.

OF THE SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES BY WHICH, IRRESPECTIVELY OF THE INFLUENCE OF CAPITAL, THE

WAGES OF LABOR ARE AFFECTED.

In the preceding section, I have endeavored to show in what manner wages, or the price of labor are affected by capital. The general principle there illustrated, is, that wages will be high, when the proportion of capital to labor is great; and low, when the proportion of capital to labor is small: and that wages will be rising or falling, as this proportion of capital to labor is increasing or diminishing. On this principle, I suppose that the difference of wages,

in different countries, under the same physical conditions, may be explained.

The same principle may be carried a step farther. Whenever, in any country, capital is removed from one kind of employment to another, the wages, in that form of labor to which capital is transferred, will be raised. Thus, if a people find it for their interest to employ their capital in manufactures, instead of navigation; the wages of manufacturers will rise, and those of sailors will fall. This will continue, until the demand for manufacturing labor is supplied. But, when the current is once set in any direction, it frequently continues to move, after the force which was originally applied, has ceased, Hence, it will frequently happen, that a change of this sort will abstract from navigation too large a number of laborers, so that there will not be a sufficient supply to meet even the diminished demand. In this case, the wages of seamen will rise again, somewhat above the proper average.

But, supposing all these circumstances to be adjusted, there will yet remain others of a different kind, to affect the wages of labor. We do not find that the wages of all laborers are the same, whether labor be high or low, and whether the productiveness of labor be great or small. A captain receives higher wages than a sailor; a master manufacturer, higher wages than his journeyman; and a merchant, higher wages than his clerk. The circumstances which cause these differences, remain now briefly to be noticed.

1. The price of labor is affected by the ease or difficulty, the pleasure or pain, of the employment. When the employment, for instance, requires great muscular effort, the number of persons who can accomplish it, is comparatively small. This diminishes the supply, and, of course, increases the price. When this is the case, as men are not usually attracted by the prospect of hard labor, a smaller number apply for this kind of employment. This still

further diminishes the supply. Hence, the price will rise, as the wages must be increased sufficiently to overcome this repugnance. On the contrary, when the labor is easy, the number of persons, both able and willing to perform it, is increased; thus, the supply is large, and wages fall in proportion.

The same effect is produced by the general estimation of the pleasantness or unpleasantness of the employment. Any kind of industry, which, from necessity, is uncleanly, commands higher wages than one which can be performed without interfering with personal neatness. One which is considered disgraceful, can be supplied with laborers, only by paying an unusual price. The business of a public executioner, though not difficult, is disagreeable, and generally considered disgraceful; and hence, in countries where it is made a distinct profession, it commands high wages. The labor in the learned professions, is considered honorable; and, therefore, it is less highly recompensed than the same degree of labor and skill in other employments.

2. Wages are affected by the skill required in performing the operation. This arises from two circumstances: First, skill can be acquired only by practice and education. This, as has been explained, is in itself costly, and is an investment, for which the possessor of right receives an emolument. And, secondly, unusual skill, generally supposes some unusual endowment. But, in proportion to the rarity of the endowment, must be the smallness of the supply, and, of course, the rise of price which must be paid for the product.

Wherever a great

3. The confidence reposed. amount of capital is employed, it must, to a very considerable degree, be placed in the power of some one or more agents. Hence, if this power be abused, or used unwisely, the whole is liable to be lost. If the manager be careless, he may destroy it by negligence; and, if he be dishonest, he may convert it to his own emolument. Now, this union of judgment

with incorruptible integrity, is absolutely necessary in many of the operations of production. But, such a union is rarely to be found. Hence, while the demand is imperative, the supply is small. On this account, though the wages of such persons are high; it is generally found more economical to employ them, at any price, than to intrust important affairs to the incompetent and the vicious. This is one of the rewards, which, in the course of human events, God bestows upon wisdom and virtue.

4. Certainty or uncertainty, constancy or inconstancy of employment. Division of labor requires that a man devote himself exclusively to a single employment, and, therefore, that his whole emolument be derived from that employment. Hence, when the opportunities of employment are rare, the wages for each particular operation must be greater; since we must pay, not only for the time actually employed, but also for that time which is lost to the laborer, while waiting for employment. We pay more for riding a mile in a hackney-coach, than for riding the same distance in a stage-coach; because the hackney-coachman may stand half a day in waiting, before he finds another customer. For the same reason, although horse keeping is higher in the city than in a country town, you pay less for coach hire in the former case, than in the latter, because of the greater steadiness of the employment. Thus, also, when a trade can be exercised for only a part of the year, as in the case of a brick-layer, you pay to the laborer higher wages; because he must receive enough to compensate for the time in which he is obliged to lie idle.

5. Another circumstance which affects the price of wages, is the certainty or uncertainty of success. In most of the ordinary avocations of life, if a man acquire the requisite skill, he will invariably find employment. In the professions, it is not so. Those who have prepared themselves at great expense for the practice of a profession, unable to find employment, sometimes relinquish it for an other pursuit.

When such a risk exists, the wages of labor should be greater; for the laborer is entitled to a remuneration for the risk of this loss of time and of capital.

These, I believe, are the principal circumstances on which, irrespectively of the influence of capital, the price of labor depends. It will be at once seen, that they are susceptible of very great variety of modification, and combination; and that, frequently, several of them must be taken into the account, in order to explain the reason of the high or low price of any particular form of labor. I think, however, that by such combination, the various phenomena of wages may be generally explained.

The preceding remarks are intended to apply to those cases, in which the individual is supported wholly by his own labor. When an individual, or a class of individuals, have any other means of support, the price of labor, of course, falls, and can be subjected to no general rule. Thus, a large portion of the laboring class of females are supported, in part, by their relatives; some of them receiving house-rent, others, both house-rent and board, for nothing. Hence, they are enabled to labor for a price, far less than the actual cost. This is one reason why the price of female labor, especially of that labor which requires but little skill, and which can be done at home, is so low. Another reason is, that the customs of society, restrict the modes of production in which female labor may be employed. Hence, in these modes of production, the supply of labor is greater than the demand. Hence, also, the establishment of a manufactory, or the introduction of any kind of labor, which furnishes a new mode of female employment, advances the price of female labor. This, also, is the reason why the labor performed in nunneries, monasteries, and state prisons, is sold below the market price. The fact is, that the laborers are supported, either in whole or in part, by a separate fund; and hence, there is no natural price for their products, since it is not regulated by the

cost.