I have hitherto spoken of the increase of wealth and wages, as if that were the main object on which the labourers should concentrate their attention, and which bound up their interests so indissolubly with those of Ability. But it must also be pointed out that were Ability unduly hampered, and its efficacy enfeebled either by a diminution of its rewards, or by interference with its action, the question would soon arise, not of how to increase wages, but of how to prevent their falling. This point I have indeed alluded to already; but I wish now to exhibit it in a new light. As I mentioned in an earlier chapter, of the inhabitants of this country, who are something like _thirty-eight millions_ in number, _twenty-six millions_ live on imported corn, and about _thirteen millions_ live on imported meat; or, to put it in another way, we all of us—the whole population—live on imported meat for nearly _five months_ of the year, and on imported corn for _eight months_; and were these foreign food supplies interfered with, there are possibilities in this country of suffering, of famine, and of horror for all classes of society, to which the entire history of mankind offers us no parallel. This country, more than any country in the world, is an artificial fabric that has been built up by Ability, half of its present wealth being,—let me repeat once more,—the marvellous product of the past fifty years; and the constant action of Ability is just as necessary to prevent this from dwindling as it is to achieve its increase. But in order that Ability may exert itself, something more is needed than mere freedom from industrial interference, or security for its natural rewards; and that is the maintenance of the national or international position which this country has secured for itself amongst the other countries of the world. [Sidenote ◆1 And this brings us round to what is commonly called Politics; which have, as this book will show, a far closer interest for the labourer than is commonly thought.]