true of the individual is true on a larger scale of the nation also. Man is by no means a purely economic animal, but the material wants of human life must be satisfied, and much of human activity must be directed toward their fulfilment. The history of mankind is the history of man’s activity, and so long as human nature and men’s material conditions are what they are, so long must economic and industrial factors have a potent influence in the course of political and social life. We have seen in these pages how such factors have influenced the growth of our own nation and contributed towards bringing us into our present position; and it is only reasonable to believe that commercial and industrial considerations must weigh more and more heavily with us if that position is to be secured and maintained. And those of us who wish to help in maintaining and advancing our national progress must seek carefully to answer the economic questions that are forcing themselves continually upon us, by looking at them in the light afforded by the industrial history of a great industrial nation. [68. This paragraph originally formed the conclusion to Dr Gibbins’ volume.] {241} NOTE ON AUTHORITIES FOR INDUSTRIAL HISTORY For the earlier periods of English industrial history the ordinary student will find Cunningham’s _Growth of Industry_ and Ashley’s _Introduction to English Economic History and Theory_ useful. Besides these he should endeavour by all means to read the _Domesday Book_, a translation or copy of which may be found in most public libraries. The well-known histories of Stubbs and Freeman are also a great help. Then, for the whole of the period from Henry III. to the eighteenth century, the large work, _The History of English Agriculture and Prices_ (in six volumes) by Professor Thorold Rogers affords a perfect mine of information. The same author’s _Six Centuries of Work and Wages_ and _Economic Interpretation of History_ are absolutely indispensable for anyone who wants to understand, not only our industrial, but our general history. Time spent over these two books is amply repaid. For the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries especially, Toynbee’s _Industrial Revolution_ and Leone Levi’s _History of Commerce_ must be read, and the Blue-books of the period should also be consulted. Besides these works by modern authors, Arthur Young’s _Northern and Southern Tours in England_, and Defoe’s _Tour_ afford a valuable picture of English industries in the last century, as also does the _Wealth of Nations_ by Adam Smith. There is likewise a useful little _History of British Commerce_, from the earliest times, by G. L. Craik (published in 1844 by Charles Knight, but now long since out of print), which I have found very helpful and fairly complete.