One hundred and twenty thousand workmen were in enforced idleness at once, and one hundred and fifty thousand pounds were lost every week in wages during the time that they remained idle.
What the employers think of the recent flash of "prosperity," can easily be imagined.

But it may not be unnecessary to quote some of the statements of correspondents.

A large employer of labour in South Lancashire says: "Drunkenness increases, and personal violence is not sufficiently discouraged.

High wages and household suffrage came upon the people before education had prepared them for the change." In a large iron-work near Newcastle, where the men were paid the highest wages for rolling plates and rails--and where they were earning between three and four hundred pounds a year--the proprietors observe: "Except in a few instances, we are afraid that workmen and their families spend most of their earnings." Another employer in South Staffordshire says: In the majority of cases, the men employed in the iron-work spend the whole of their wages before the end of the following week.

There are, of course, some exceptions; but they are, unhappily, very few." Another, in South Wales, says: "As to the thrifty habits of the men, a small minority are careful and saving; they generally invest their money in cottage property.