equally high; the price of two rooms on a floor has risen from 48. 6d. or 58. to 78. 6d., 88., or 8s. 6d. per week; single rooms, such as could be obtained at from 2s. 6d., 38., or 3s. 6d., are now 4s. 6d., 58., or 5s. 6d. each. The demand for apartments is so great, that all the Peabody Buildings, and also the Model Dwellings built by limited liability companies, are full to repletion, and applicants are numerous enough to fill as many more, notwithstanding the fact that the terms are not low, for the most that can be said of them is that they are convenient, and the rents moderate.

Coal is an item not to be overlooked, and especially at the exorbitant prices charged in London for some years past. Its enhanced price at present is not far short of 50 per cent. over and above what it was thirty years ago, and for two or three years it was considerably over 100 per cent. Poor people generally have to be content with buying it in by the hundredweight, the price now charged being 18. 8d. per cwt., or 338. 4d. per ton. The coal so retailed is the most inferior of all that is brought to the London market; often it is little better than slack, it yields neither warmth nor brightness. Coke is equally enhanced in price, and with bad coal burns dead and lifeless. But these people have not only to put up with bad coal,-they are cheated by measure and weight, so that they have to pay exorbitantly for bad articles and short weight, which is a double injury. Usually they have neither convenient storage nor pecuniary means for having a ton at a time.

Boots and shoes are much dearer than they were, and the leather is not so good; those articles are of the first importance to working men, and especially to those who work out of doors, or who have to walk long distances to their work. Wet or damp feet lay the foundation for sickness and disease, and should be guarded against as much as fire or pestilence. Clothing in some cases has gone up in price, although not in the same proportion as shoe-leather, but, as most of the articles sold to the working people are machine-made, they do not last so long as formerly. Articles for light wear are cheaper in proportion than those worn by workmen, who need strength and durability. Cottons and woollens are much cheaper than they were, but stuffs and homespuns are dearer at retail prices, and as a rule they are much inferior in quality. Many of the smaller articles used in domestic life, and some of those worn by the wives and children of workmen, are certainly cheaper; this will account for a little more ornamentation and decoration than were in use some twenty-five or thirty years ago.

Many previous writers on this subject seem to have taken the highest average wages, and the lowest average prices of provisions; now this is obviously unfair and misleading, inasmuch as it is manifestly impossible to draw any useful deductions from premises so illogical. For instance, if a workman be taken whose wages are £2 per week,

and no allowance be made for loss of time, he will not be a fair example of the average workman, or represent his annual earnings. Similarly if Greenwich Hospital or Bethlehem Hospital be selected for a tariff of prices either as to provisions or coal, these will very inadequately represent the actual cost of living to working men and their families. The folly of taking market prices as a test of cost to the consumer ought to be self-evident. One example, however, may be found useful. On the 19th of February last, the highest price quoted in the market for best coal was 17s. 6d. per ton; the selling price to the consumer was, on the same day, 288. per ton, or, if the cash was paid on delivery, 268. per ton, which was 8s. 6d. per ton above the highest market price. Whether the margin of difference was or was not too much is not here the question: the fact is as stated.

Suppose we take the high average of £1 158. per week, or £91 per annum, as representing the earnings of the skilled workmen of the metropolis: let us see what they can do with so much money,-how far it will go in providing good homes, substantial food, warm clothing, and the thousand and one little things which go to make up domestic comfort and constitute the necessaries of life,-and then try to ascertain what margin there is left for saving and investment. In this calculation we leave out altogether those luxuries or extravagances so often laid to their charge, as these form a separate item. From the figures before quoted it will be seen that for the last thirty years the rise in the price of provisions and other things has kept pace with the increase of wages; indeed, as a matter of fact, it usually precedes any rise in wages, the demand for which is generally based on the complaint that the cost of living has increased beyond the workman's means.

The average family of working people is generally assumed to be five-the man, his wife, and three children; they are oftener six than five in a poor man's home, so by taking five we shall be quite within the mark. There are five then to be fed, clothed, housed, warmed, and three to be educated. In or out of work, in sickness and in health, all this has to be done day by day, all the year round, for there can be no cessation in these demands: whether they are satisfied or not is quite another question. The means at the disposal of the workman to meet the constant requirements of the home and the incidental calls upon his purse have now to be considered; these will be tested by the light of the facts previously given, and by others which long experience, and a careful examination of the subject, enable us to furnish bearing directly upon the matter before us.

Having ascertained as nearly as possible the several advances in wages during the past thirty years, and their aggregate amount, together with the percentage of the total rise, and having also given the increased cost of provisions during the same period, and compared the percentage of increase in both cases, the next point is, what

proportion of the earnings of the workman is needed for actual living. and what reasonable amount has he left for savings and investment? The first item to be considered is rent, including rates and taxes. Mr. C. J. Wahale, of Birkenhead, C.E., a gentleman who has paid considerable attention to this branch of the subject, says that the rent should not exceed the proportion of one-seventh of a man's income; on £91 a year this would amount to 5s. per week or £13 per annum. In the metropolis the proportion is greatly in excess of the above sum; it is generally considerably over one-sixth, or £15 38. 4d.= 58. 10d. a week; often one-fifth, or £18 48., 78. a week; sometimes it is even higher. The average rental paid by London workmen cannot therefore be put down at less than 58. 10d. per week, an estimate rather below than over the mark. Coal may be placed in the same category, for it forms part of the household expenses quite apart from the cost of living. The consumption of coal, averaging the year through, cannot be less than 1 cwt. per week, the present cost of which is 18. 8d. This is only a moderate computation, for even in summer there must be a fire to cook the food, and in winter-at least eight months in the year in our climate-it is required for warmth also. To this must be added at least 6d. per week for schooling. To this must be added 1s. a week for the society or club, to which the majority of workmen belong. Here then we have, at the lowest estimate, to deduct 98. a week from £1 15s. leaving a net balance of £1 68., with which to feed and clothe five persons, and find the means for providing all the little but needful household expenses, however humble that home may be.

The actual available amount then is 268. a week, or at the rate of 108. for the man, 6s. for the wife, and 3s. for each child, leaving 18. for incidentals. It will be seen that these figures, when reduced to their elements, and when the sum is apportioned individually, do not amount to very much; there would appear to be little more than sufficient to live upon, and certainly no room for extravagance. There is, moreover, one other fact of considerable importance, and one which bears directly and practically upon the whole question,-namely, that the man--the bread-winner-is generally compelled to breakfast and dine away from his home on every day except Sundays. For breakfast he is obliged to take tea or coffee made over night, and re-warmed for use next morning, and such fare as he can afford, as bread and butter, dried up and hard by being cut and prepared on the preceding night. If he goes to a coffee-house he fares worse if anything, so he puts up with the lesser evil. He requires something hot and substantial for dinner, such as a steak or chop, or a plate of meat cut from the joint. Now a plate of hot meat, with vegetables, bread, and half a pint of beer, cannot be obtained at a less cost than 1s.,—seldom, indeed, at that price at the present rates. This subtracts at once 68. a week from the amount allotted to the man, leaving him but 4s. for

tea and his food on Sundays. Or if we deduct it from the full balance, after paying for rent, coal, education, and his club, of 26s. a week, it leaves only £1 for the whole family, food, clothing, and extras included. Out of this amount we may well put the Sunday dinner and expenses at 38. 6d., the only day in the week when the family are all able to dine together at home; and this is scarcely too much at the present prices of meat and vegetables.

The amount is now reduced to 16s. 6d., to be divided between five persons, or about 4s. each for the man and his wife, and 2s. 6d. each for the three children; and of this fully 78. a week would be required for bread, butter, tea, coffee, and sugar, exclusive of vegetables and other things, leaving 18. per week for clothing and other necessaries. Where, then, may well be asked, are the funds to come from for wasteful extravagances and indulgences? Echo answers, Where? These details may appear tedious and troublesome, but they are absolutely essential if we desire to understand fully the position and requirements of those whose conduct and habits are under review.

There are a few other points deserving of attention :-(1.) The condition of a workman's home is all-important; upon this depend to a great extent the health of the wife and children, their present comforts and future happiness, and also their habits of cleanliness and decency of behaviour. Crowded and unhealthy homes are not only disastrous to the dwellers therein, but a source of danger to the neighbourhood and the body politic. The medical profession is alive to this, and Parliament has recently done something towards providing a remedy. Much, however, remains to be done, both by private commercial enterprise and by corporate bodies. (2.) The quality of the food is of the highest importance; little and good is better than a quantity of that which is bad or inferior. Some of the meat sold to poor people is as tough as leather, and contains only a trifle more nourishment. Plain food is the best; it is generally more substantial, and yields a greater amount of nutriment, and gives greater physical support, than those kinds which may be described as "messes." In some respects the working people are behind the middle and upper classes in these matters; as, for instance, in the use of oatmeal, certainly one of the very best articles that could be used for daily consumption. Working people regard oatmeal with unwonted prejudice; they denominate it generally as "skilly," turn up their noses at it as though it were an abomination. And yet the highest medical authorities tell us that it is not only most nutritious for children, but one of the very best articles of daily diet for adults also. The Scottish people know this, and profit by it. So with many other farinaceous foods, and also with some vegetables not quite so popular but more nourishing than potatoes. (3.) The preparation of the food is quite as important as its selection. The complaint is often made that the working classes do not know how to cook their food, and that they are wasteful in

consequence. The charge is not altogether unfounded. How could it be otherwise? what chances have the young girls of gaining a proper knowledge of cookery? Every dinner during the week, except Sunday's, is merely a makeshift; the wife cannot afford to "cook' for herself and the children. Still there is a lack of knowledge, and as a natural result there is waste, but not to the extent which many well-intentioned persons would lead us to suppose. One of the chief faults arises from the manner of cooking, another is that in a great number of cases the food is insufficiently cooked. There is in fact too much of the frying-pan, and too little of the saucepan, or in some cases of the gridiron. It is impossible to apply all the rules laid down by the advocates of improved methods of cooking food, unless the working people are content to forego the privacy of the simple English home, and to adopt the co-operative, communistic, or hotel principle, and have their meals in common. Recommendations are sometimes made which would be economical if the entire family could dine together, or better still if several families combined for the purpose; but as applied to the workman's home under existing circumstances they would be wasteful, expensive, and are altogether impracticable.

III. There still remains the question of thrift-the making of provision, however small, for the future. This is a duty incumbent on all men, whatever their station; to the working classes it is a matter of life or death. There is a point where it is scarcely possible for a man to lay by anything, no matter how frugal he may be, for his wages at best only amount to a bare subsistence. There are other instances in which, by a little self-denial, a trifle could be, and ought to be, stored up for future contingencies. And this is done oftener than many people suppose, or the pauper roll would be heavier than it now is.

No one will contend that the whole of the working classes are extravagant and improvident; that there is a large and daily increasing number of frugal and saving people will also be conceded; the extent to which those provident habits are carried may be disputed; and that there remains a large number who do not use their wages or their opportunities to the best advantage may be admitted as a sad truth deplorable alike to the men and to their families. It is not easy to distinguish between the savings of particular classes, or to draw a line which will enable us to define the proportion of the savings in London and the provinces, and thereby judge relatively of the frugal habits of special districts. It will therefore be necessary to assume that they are about equal both in the metropolis and elsewhere. The following statistics will give a faint idea of the provident habits of the working people in the aggregate, and thereby show that they are not wholly blind to their duty, or indifferent to their future welfare:

(1.) From the returns recently issued by the Registrar of Friendly Societies, it appears that there are 26,087 registered societies, with a