As it is, the two sets hold one another very nearly in balance, the former slightly preponderating. While the population of England continues to increase, those who are out of health in body or mind are certainly not an increasing part of the whole; and the rest are much better fed and clothed, and with a few exceptions are stronger than they were1.

1 It is sometimes urged that the death-rate in some large towns, and especially in London, is not as high as might have been anticipated if town life is really injurious to health and vigour. But this argument seems untrustworthy, partly because many of the town influences which lower vigour, do not much affect mortality; and partly because the majority of immigrants into the towns are in the full strength of youth, and of more than average energy and courage; while young people whose parents live in the country generally go home when they become seriously ill.

It is not to be concluded from this that the race is degenerating physically, nor even that its nervous strength is on the whole decaying. On the contrary the opposite is plainly true of those boys and girls who are able to enter freely into modern outdoor amusements, who frequently spend holidays in the country and whose food, clothing and medical care are abundant, and governed by the best modern knowledge. But until quite recently the children of the working classes in large towns have had a bad time: and it is doubtful whether the recent diminution of their hours of labour, the advances of sanitation and medical science, improvement of their food and clothing, of their education and even in some cases their playgrounds quite make up for the evils inherent in town life.

The old English Life Table, based on the figures of the years 1838-54, shows one-half of the males dying before they are 45, and of the females before they are 47, while the New Table, based on the figures of 1871-80, raises these ages to 47 and 52 respectively. The death-rate is much lower than it was in the earlier years of life, though higher in the later years: and of the total number of years added to life by the greater longevity, two-thirds fall within the most important period of 25 to 65 years of age.

CHAPTER VI.

INDUSTRIAL TRAINING.

§ 1. HAVING discussed the causes which govern the growth of a numerous and vigorous population, we have next to consider the training that is required to develop its industrial efficiency1.

Unskilled la

term.

Very backward races are unable to keep on at any kind of work for a long time; and even the simplest bour a relative form of what we regard as unskilled work is skilled work relatively to them; for they have not the requisite assiduity, and they can acquire it only by a long course of training. But where education is universal, an occupation may fairly be classed as unskilled, though it requires a knowledge of reading and writing. Again, in districts in which manufactures have long been domiciled, a habit of responsibility, of carefulness and promptitude in handling expensive machinery and materials becomes the common property of all; and then much of the work of tending machinery is said to be entirely mechanical and unskilled, and to call forth no human faculty that is worthy of esteem. But in fact it is probable that not one-tenth of the present populations of the world have the mental and moral faculties, the intelligence, and the self-control that are required for it: perhaps not one half could be made to do the work well by steady training for two generations. Even of a manufacturing population only a small part are capable of doing

1 For some remarks on the influence of training on the forms taken by natural vigour, see Principles VI. vi. 1.

many of the tasks that appear at first sight to be entirely monotonous. Machine-weaving, for instance, simple as it seems, is divided into higher and lower grades; and most of those who work in the lower grades have not "the stuff in them" that is required for weaving with several colours. And the differences are even greater in industries that deal with hard materials, wood, metals, or ceramics.

Some kinds of manual work require long-continued practice in one set of operations, but these cases are not very common, and they are becoming rarer: for machinery is constantly taking over work that requires manual skill of this kind. It is indeed true that a general command over the use of one's fingers is a very important element of industrial efficiency; but this is the result chiefly of nervous strength, and self-mastery. It is of course developed by training, but the greater part of this may be of a general character and not special to the particular occupation; just as a good cricketer soon learns to play tennis well, so a skilled artisan can often move into other trades without any great and lasting loss of efficiency.

Manual skill that is so specialized, as to be wholly incapable of being transferred from one occupation to another, is becoming steadily, less and less important. Putting aside for the present the faculties of artistic perception and artistic creation, we may say that what makes one occupation higher than another, what makes the workers of one town or country more efficient than those of another, is chiefly a superiority in general sagacity and energy which is not specialized to any one trade.

To be able to bear in mind many things at a time, to have everything ready when wanted, to act promptly and show resource when anything goes wrong, to accommodate oneself quickly to changes in details of the work done, to be steady and trustworthy, to have always a reserve of force which will come out in emergency, these are the qualities

which make a great industrial people. They are not peculiar to any occupation, but are wanted in all; and if they cannot always be easily transferred from one trade to other kindred trades, the chief reason is that they require to be supplemented by some knowledge of materials and familiarity with special processes.

We may then use the term GENERAL ABILITY to denote

General and

Specialized ability.

those faculties and that general knowledge and intelligence which are in varying degrees the common property of all the higher grades of industry: while that manual dexterity and that acquaintance with particular materials and processes which are required for the special purposes of individual trades may be classed as

SPECIALIZED ABILITY.

Influence of the home.

§ 2. General ability depends largely on the surroundings of childhood and youth. In this the first and far the most powerful influence is that of the mother. Next comes the influence of the father, of other children, and in some cases of servants. As years pass on the child of the working man learns a great deal from what he sees and hears going on around him; and when we enquire into the advantages for starting in life which children of the well-to-do classes have over those of artisans, and which these in their turn have over the children of unskilled labourers, we shall have to consider these influences of home more in detail. But at present we may pass to consider the more general influences of school education.

Little need be said of general education; though the influence even of that on industrial efficiency is It is true that the

School. greater than it appears. children of the working classes must very often leave school, when they have but learnt the elements of reading, writing, arithmetic and drawing; and it is sometimes argued that part of the little time spent on these subjects would be better given to practical work. But the advance made during

school-time is important not so much on its own account, as for the power of future advance which a school education gives. Reading and writing afford the means of that wider intercourse which leads to breadth and elasticity of mind, and which is enabling the working man of to-day to be as capable a citizen as was the country gentleman of last century1.

Technical education.

§ 3. Technical education used to mean little more than imparting that manual dexterity and that elementary knowledge of machinery and processes, which an intelligent lad quickly picks up for himself when his work has begun; though if he has learnt it beforehand, he can perhaps earn a few shillings more at starting than if he had been quite ignorant. But such so-called education does not develop faculties; it rather hinders them from being developed. A lad, who has picked up the knowledge for himself, has educated himself by so doing; and he is likely to make better progress in the future than one who has been taught in a school of this old-fashioned kind. Technical education is however outgrowing its mistakes; and is aiming, firstly, at giving a general command over the use of eyes and fingers2 (though there are signs that this work is being taken over by general education, to

1 It is true that learning to spell does not educate the faculties to any considerable extent, and that the time spent on it is nearly wasted. If spelling and pronunciation could be brought into harmony in the English language, as they are in most other languages, children would, it has been estimated, be able to read fluently a year earlier than they can now.

2 According to the best English opinions, technical education for the higher ranks of industry should keep the aim of developing the faculties almost as constantly before it as general education does. It should rest on the same basis as a thorough general education, but should go on to work out in detail special branches of knowledge for the benefit of particular trades. Our aim should be to add the scientific training in which the countries of Western Europe are ahead of us to that daring and restless energy and those practical instincts, which seldom flourish unless the best years of youth are spent in the workshop; recollecting always that whatever a youth learns for himself by direct experience in well-conducted works, teaches him more and stimulates his mental activity more than if it were taught him by a master in a technical school with model instruments.