Page:The Economic Journal Volume 1.djvu/265

 Rh statement of the Miners' Federation is very valuable as regards specific information inasmuch as it gives particulars for each mine separately. Unfortunately all reference to the length of the working week is omitted, and no attempt has been made to arrive at averages for each district. The return of the Home Office is well arranged, the averages being given for each district and for each class of men. The value of the return would have been greatly increased had it stated on what principle the averages were calculated. A true average is as useful as a false one is misleading. A little consideration will show that in calculating the average hours in a district it is necessary to have regard not merely to the variation of hours but to the number of men employed. If 10,000 men are employed for nine hours in one colliery and 1000 men in another colliery for ten hours, it would be very misleading to say that the average length of the day in the two collieries is nine and a half hours. The 11,000 men work 100,000 hours in the day, which gives an average of 9·09 hours for each man. I propose to assume that the averages in this return are true averages. In the following Table A will be found a statement of the number of hours worked in each coal district, of the number of hours worked per week, and of the number of hours miners would work per week under an eight hours day assuming them to work the same number of days as they do at the present time. This table is based on the return of the Home Office on the Hours of Labour in Mines. From this table it will be seen that in Northumberland, Durham, South Staffordshire and Worcestershire, no change would occur in the hours of hewers. In the other districts the weekly hours would be reduced as much as six and a half hours in Lancashire, and as little as ·3 of an hour in Argyll. Restricting our attention to the more important coal-fields, it appears that (col. 6) there would be a weekly reduction of seven hours in Nottinghamshire and Lancashire, nearly seven hours in South Wales, six and a half hours in Lancashire, and four hours in Yorkshire. These are very substantial reductions, but they are based on the supposition that after the shorter day is introduced the same time as now will be taken for meals, and that the miners will only work the same average number of days per week. But in those districts where eight hours is already the rule but little or no break occurs for meals. In the seventh column will be found the average times now taken for meals, and it will be seen that in many districts the saving of the meal time will more than compensate for the reduction in hours;