Lendle

From Content: “GENTLEMEN, I have been, for some time, engaged in preparing an extensive work upon the financial and commercial resources of the country. This work contains some chapters upon wages, and upon the effects of combinations for regulating them, which appear peculiarly applicable at the present crisis; and, therefore, without waiting for the more general work, of which they form a component part, I publish them in a detached and separate form. To the Inhabitants of Bolton, it is of paramount importance, that wages should be permanently high. The great majority of the people, whose only source of income is their labour, have a direct and immediate interest in obtaining for that labour the greatest possible reward; the house keepers who engage in the local trade of the district, have a more indirect, but a not less certain interest in high wages, inasmuch as, with the increase in the labourers’ means of purchasing, their business and their profits must increase also; and the proprietors of houses, of cottages, and of building ground, have an interest in high wages, because, in proportion to the general prosperity, the demand for tenements will increase, and rents will improve, and be more punctually paid. Thus, it is the universal interest of the town, that labour should obtain an ample reward; and, as the representative of that universal interest, I have felt it to be my duty to endeavour to ascertain, upon what principles, and to what extent, it is practicable to increase wages. Bolton has had the honour of originating some of the most important improvements in the great staple manufacture of England; and I trust that it is destined to have the further honour, of setting an enlightened example, of the manner in which those improvements may be rendered most conducive to the prosperity of the country, and to the permanent comfort and happiness of the people. With these views I request permission, to dedicate the following pages to you, as a testimony of my sincere respect, and as a memorial of the enduring gratitude I feel, for the proud distinction which your partial favour has conferred upon me. I have the honor to be, GENTLEMEN, Your faithful Servant, and very sincere Friend R. ?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” /TORRENS ”