The Ministry5 which you have honored with your confidence has naturally paid great attention to so serious a subject, and has sought in its wisdom for a protection which might be substituted for that which appears compromised. It proposes to you to forbid your faithful subjects the use of the right hand.
Sire, do not wrong us so far as to think that we lightly adopted a measure which, at the first glance, may appear odd. Deep study of the protective system has revealed to us this syllogism6, on which it entirely7 rests:
The more difficulties one has to conquer, the more one labors.
Ergo, the more difficulties one has to conquer, the richer one is.
What is protection, really, but an ingenious application of this formal reasoning, which is so compact that it would resist the subtlety9 of M. Billault himself?
Let us personify the country. Let us look on it as a collective being, with thirty million mouths, and, consequently, sixty million arms. This being makes a clock, which he proposes to exchange in Belgium for ten quintals of iron. "But," we say to him, "make the iron yourself." "I cannot," says he; "it would take me too much time, and I could not make five quintals while I can make one clock." "Utopist!" we reply; "for this very reason we forbid your making the clock, and order you to make the iron. Do not you see that we create you labor?"
Sire, it will not have escaped your sagacity, that it is just as if we said to the country, Labor with the left hand, and not with the right.
The creation of obstacles to furnish labor an opportunity to develop itself, is the principle of the restriction11 which is dying. It is also the principle of the restriction which is about to be created. Sire, to make such regulations is not to innovate12, but to preserve.
The efficacy of the measure is incontestable. It is difficult—much more difficult than one thinks—to do with the left hand what one was accustomed to do with the right. You will convince yourself of it, Sire, if you will condescend13 to try our system on something which is familiar to you,—like shuffling14 cards, for instance. We can then flatter ourselves that we have opened an illimitable career to labor.
When workmen of all kinds are reduced to their left hands, consider, Sire, the immense number that will be required to meet the present consumption, supposing it to be invariable, which we always do when we compare differing systems of production. So prodigious15 a demand for manual labor cannot fail to bring about a considerable increase in wages; and pauperism16 will disappear from the country as if by enchantment17.
Sire, your paternal18 heart will rejoice at the thought that the benefits of this regulation will extend over that interesting portion of the great family whose fate excites your liveliest solicitude19.
What is the destiny of women in France? That sex which is the boldest and most hardened to fatigue20, is, insensibly, driving them from all fields of labor.
Formerly21 they found a refuge in the lottery22 offices. These have been closed by a pitiless philanthropy; and under what pretext23? "To save," said they, "the money of the poor." Alas24! has a poor man ever obtained from a piece of money enjoyments25 as sweet and innocent as those which the mysterious urn10 of fortune contained for him? Cut off from all the sweets of life, how many delicious hours did he introduce into the bosom26 of his family when, every two weeks, he put the value of a day's labor on a quatern. Hope had always her place at the domestic hearth27. The garret was peopled with illusions; the wife promised herself that she would eclipse her neighbors with the splendor28 of her attire29; the son saw himself drum-major, and the daughter felt herself carried toward the altar in the arms of her betrothed30. To have a beautiful dream is certainly something.
The lottery was the poetry of the poor, and we have allowed it to escape them.
The lottery dead, what means have we of providing for our proteges?—tobacco, and the postal31 service.
Tobacco, certainly; it progresses, thanks to Heaven, and the distinguished32 habits which august examples have been enabled to introduce among our elegant youth.
But the postal service! We will say nothing of that, but make it the subject of a special report.
Then what is left to your female subjects except tobacco? Nothing, except embroidery33, knitting, and sewing, pitiful resources, which are more and more restricted by that barbarous science, mechanics.
But as soon as your ordinance34 has appeared, as soon as the right hands are cut off or tied up, everything will change face. Twenty, thirty times more embroiderers, washers and ironers, seamstresses and shirt-makers, would not meet the consumption (honi soit qui mal y pense) of the kingdom; always assuming that it is invariable, according to our way of reasoning.
It is true that this supposition might be denied by cold-blooded theorists, for dresses and shirts would be dearer. But they say the same thing of the iron which France gets from our mines, compared to the vintage it could get on our hillsides. This argument can, therefore, be no more entertained against left-handedness than against protection; for this very dearness is the result and the sign of the excess of efforts and of labors, which is precisely35 the basis on which, in one case, as in the other, we claim to found the prosperity of the working classes.
Yes, we make a touching36 picture of the prosperity of the sewing business. What movement! What activity! What life! Each dress will busy a hundred fingers instead of ten. No longer will there be an idle young girl, and we need not, Sire, point out to your perspicacity37 the moral results of this great revolution. Not only will there be more women employed, but each one of them will earn more, for they cannot meet the demand, and if competition still shows itself, it will no longer be among the workingwomen who make the dresses, but the beautiful ladies who wear them.
You see, Sire, that our proposition is not only conformable to the economic traditions of the government, but it is also essentially38 moral and democratic.
To appreciate its effect, let us suppose it realized; let us transport ourselves in thought into the future; let us imagine the system in action for twenty years. Idleness is banished39 from the country; ease and concord40, contentment and morality, have entered all families together with labor; there is no more misery41 and no more prostitution. The left hand being very clumsy at its work, there is a superabundance of labor, and the pay is satisfactory. Everything is based on this, and, as a consequence, the workshops are filled. Is it not true, Sire, that if Utopians were to suddenly demand the freedom of the right hand, they would spread alarm throughout the country? Is it not true that this pretended reform would overthrow42 all existences? Then our system is good, since it cannot be overthrown43 without causing great distress44.
However, we have a sad presentiment45 that some day (so great is the perversity46 of man) an association will be organized to secure the liberty of right hands.
It seems to us that we already hear these free-right-handers speak as follows in the Salle Montesquieu:
"People, you believe yourselves richer because they have taken from you one hand; you see but the increase of labor which results to you from it. But look also at the dearness it causes, and the forced decrease in the consumption of all articles. This measure has not made capital, which is the source of wages, more abundant. The waters which flow from this great reservoir are directed into other channels; the quantity is not increased, and the definite result is, for the nation, as a whole, a loss of comfort equal to the excess of the production of several millions of right hands, over several millions of left hands. Then let us form a league, and, at the expense of some inevitable47 disturbances48, let us conquer the right of working with both hands."
Happily, Sire, there will be organized an association for the defense49 of left-handed labor, and the Sinistrists will have no trouble in reducing to nothing all these generalities and realities, suppositions and abstractions, reveries and Utopias. They need only to exhume50 the Moniteur Industriel of 1846, and they will find, ready-made, arguments against free trade, which destroy so admirably this liberty of the right hand, that all that is required is to substitute one word for another.
"The Parisian Free Trade League never doubted but that it would have the assistance of the workingmen. But the workingmen can no longer be led by the nose. They have their eyes open, and they know political economy better than our diplomaed professors. Free trade, they replied, will take from us our labor, and labor is our real, great, sovereign property; with labor, with much labor, the price of articles of merchandise is never beyond reach. But without labor, even if bread should cost but a penny a pound, the workingman is compelled to die of hunger. Now, your doctrines, instead of increasing the amount of labor in France, diminish it; that is to say, you reduce us to misery." (Number of October 13, 1846.)
"It is true, that when there are too many manufactured articles to sell, their price falls; but as wages decrease when these articles sink in value, the result is, that, instead of being able to buy them, we can buy nothing. Thus, when they are cheapest, the workingman is most unhappy." (Gauthier de Rumilly, Moniteur Industriel of November 17.)
It would not be ill for the Sinistrists to mingle51 some threats with their beautiful theories. This is a sample:
"What! to desire to substitute the labor of the right hand for that of the left, and thus to cause a forced reduction, if not an annihilation of wages, the sole resource of almost the entire nation!
"And this at the moment when poor harvests already impose painful sacrifices on the workingman, disquiet52 him as to his future, and make him more accessible to bad counsels and ready to abandon the wise course of conduct he had hitherto adhered to!"
We are confident, Sire, that thanks to such wise reasonings, if a struggle takes place, the left hand will come out of it victorious53.
Perhaps, also, an association will be formed in order to ascertain54 whether the right and the left hand are not both wrong, and if there is not a third hand between them, in order to conciliate all.
After having described the Dexterists as seduced55 by the apparent liberality of a principle, the correctness of which has not yet been verified by experience, and the Sinistrists as encamping in the positions they have gained, it will say:
"And yet they deny that there is a third course to pursue in the midst of the conflict; and they do not see that the working classes have to defend themselves, at the same moment, against those who wish to change nothing in the present situation, because they find their advantage in it, and against those who dream of an economic revolution of which they have calculated neither the extent nor the significance." (National of October 16.)
We do not desire, however, to hide from your Majesty56 the fact that our plan has a vulnerable side. They may say to us: In twenty years all left hands will be as skilled as right ones are now, and you can no longer count on left-handedness to increase the national labor.
We reply to this, that, according to learned physicians, the left side of the body has a natural weakness, which is very reassuring57 for the future of labor.
Finally, Sire, consent to sign the law, and a great principle will have prevailed: All wealth comes from the intensity58 of labor. It will be easy for us to extend it, and vary its application. We will declare, for instance, that it shall be allowable to work only with the feet. This is no more impossible (for there have been instances) than to extract iron from the mud of the Seine. There have even been men who wrote with their backs. You see, Sire, that we do not lack means of increasing national labor. If they do begin to fail us, there remains59 the boundless60 resource of amputation61.
If this report, Sire, was not intended for publication, we would call your attention to the great influence which systems analogous62 to the one we submit to you, are capable of giving to men in power. But this is a subject which we reserve for consideration in private counsel.
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1
disseminating
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| 散布，传播( disseminate的现在分词 ) | |
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doctrines
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| n.教条( doctrine的名词复数 )；教义；学说；（政府政策的）正式声明 | |
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insolence
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| n.傲慢；无礼；厚颜；傲慢的态度 | |
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labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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ministry
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| n.(政府的)部；牧师 | |
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syllogism
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| n.演绎法，三段论法 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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labors
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| v.努力争取(for)( labor的第三人称单数 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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subtlety
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| n.微妙，敏锐，精巧；微妙之处，细微的区别 | |
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urn
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| n.（有座脚的）瓮；坟墓；骨灰瓮 | |
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restriction
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| n.限制，约束 | |
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innovate
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| v.革新，变革，创始 | |
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condescend
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| v.俯就，屈尊；堕落，丢丑 | |
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shuffling
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| adj. 慢慢移动的, 滑移的 动词shuffle的现在分词形式 | |
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prodigious
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| adj.惊人的，奇妙的；异常的；巨大的；庞大的 | |
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pauperism
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| n.有被救济的资格，贫困 | |
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enchantment
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| n.迷惑，妖术，魅力 | |
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paternal
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| adj.父亲的，像父亲的，父系的，父方的 | |
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solicitude
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| n.焦虑 | |
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fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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lottery
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| n.抽彩；碰运气的事，难于算计的事 | |
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pretext
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| n.借口，托词 | |
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alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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enjoyments
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| 愉快( enjoyment的名词复数 )； 令人愉快的事物； 享有； 享受 | |
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bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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hearth
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| n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面 | |
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splendor
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| n.光彩；壮丽，华丽；显赫，辉煌 | |
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attire
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| v.穿衣，装扮[同]array；n.衣着；盛装 | |
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betrothed
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| n. 已订婚者 动词betroth的过去式和过去分词 | |
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postal
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| adj.邮政的，邮局的 | |
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distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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embroidery
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| n.绣花，刺绣；绣制品 | |
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ordinance
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| n.法令；条令；条例 | |
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precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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perspicacity
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| n. 敏锐, 聪明, 洞察力 | |
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essentially
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| adv.本质上，实质上，基本上 | |
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banished
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| v.放逐，驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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concord
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| n.和谐；协调 | |
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misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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42
overthrow
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| v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆 | |
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overthrown
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| adj. 打翻的，推倒的，倾覆的 动词overthrow的过去分词 | |
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44
distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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presentiment
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| n.预感，预觉 | |
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46
perversity
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| n.任性；刚愎自用 | |
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inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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48
disturbances
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| n.骚乱( disturbance的名词复数 )；打扰；困扰；障碍 | |
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defense
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| n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩 | |
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50
exhume
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| v.掘出，挖掘 | |
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51
mingle
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| vt.使混合，使相混；vi.混合起来；相交往 | |
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52
disquiet
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| n.担心，焦虑 | |
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53
victorious
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| adj.胜利的，得胜的 | |
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54
ascertain
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| vt.发现，确定，查明，弄清 | |
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55
seduced
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| 诱奸( seduce的过去式和过去分词 )； 勾引； 诱使堕落； 使入迷 | |
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56
majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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reassuring
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| a.使人消除恐惧和疑虑的，使人放心的 | |
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58
intensity
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| n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度 | |
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59
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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60
boundless
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| adj.无限的；无边无际的；巨大的 | |
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61
amputation
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| n.截肢 | |
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62
analogous
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| adj.相似的；类似的 | |
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