trade unionists have been so moderate in their demands, considering the misery and poverty amidst which they grew up. § 5. THE WORKING CLASSES FIFTY YEARS AGO--For it must continually be remembered that the condition of the mass of the people in the first half of this century was one of the deepest depression. Several writers have commented upon this, and have taken occasion to remark upon the great progress in the prosperity of the working classes since that time. It is true they have progressed since then, but it has hardly been progress so much as a return to the state of things about 1760 or 1770. The fact has been that after the introduction of the new industrial {193} system the condition of the working classes rapidly declined; wages were lower and prices were higher; till at length the lowest depth of poverty was reached about the beginning of the reign of Queen Victoria. Since then their condition has been gradually improving, partly owing to the philanthropic labours of men like Lord Shaftesbury, still more owing to the combined action of working men themselves. To quote the expression of that celebrated statistician, Mr Giffen: “it is a matter of history that pauperism was nearly breaking down the country half-a-century ago. The expenditure on poor-law relief early in the century and down to 1830–31 was nearly as great at times as it is now. With half the population in the country that there now is, the burden of the poor was the same.” The following table will show the actual figures of English pauperism at a time when the wealth of the nation was advancing by leaps and bounds. It will be noticed that the rate was highest in 1818, which was shortly after the close of the great Continental War, but fell rapidly after 1830, and since 1841 the rate per head of population has not been much more than six or seven shillings. +------+-------------+----------------+----------------+ | Year | Population |Poor Rate raised| Rate per head | | | | | of Population | +------+-------------+----------------+----------------+ | | | | _s._ _d._ | | 1760 | 7,000,000 | £1,250,000 | 3 7 | | 1784 | 8,000,000 | £2,000,000 | 5 0 | | 1803 | 9,216,000 | £4,077,000 | 8 11 | | 1818 | 11,876,000 | £7,870,000 | 13 3 | | 1820 | 12,046,000 | £7,329,000 | 12 2 | | 1830 | 13,924,000 | £6,829,000 | 10 9 | | 1841 | 15,911,757 | £4,760,929 | 5 11⁠¾ | +------+-------------+---------------------------------+