THE WEALTH OF NATIONS.

103

Thirdly, the wages of labour in different occupations varywith the constancy or inconstancy of employment.

Employment is much more constant in some trades thanin others. In the greater part of manufactures, a journey-man may be pretty sure of employment almost every day inthe year that he is able to work. A mason or bricklayer, onthe contrary, can work neither in hard frost nor in foul wea-ther, and his employment at all other times depends upon theoccasional calls of his customers. He is liable, in conse-quence, to be frequently without any. What he earns, there-fore, while he is employed, must not only maintain him whilehe is idle, but make him some compensation for those anxiousand desponding moments which the thought of so precariousa situation must sometimes occasion. Where the computedearnings of the greater part of manufacturers, accordingly^arc nearly upon a level with the day-wages of common la-bourers, those of masons and bricklayers are generally fromone half more to double those wages. Where common la-bourers earn four and five shillings a week, masons and brick-layers frequently earn seven and eight; where the formerearn six, the latter often earn nine and ten; and where theformer earn nine and ten, as in London , the latter com-monly earii fifteen and eighteen. No species of skilledlabour, however, seems more easy to learn than that ofmasons and bricklayers. Chairmen in London , during thesummer season, are said sometimes to be employed as brick-layers. The high wages of those workmen, therefore, arenot so much the recompense of their skill, as the compen-sation lor the inconstancy of their employment.

A house carpenter seems to exercise rather a nicer and moreingenious trade than a mason. In most places, however, forit is not universally so, his day-wages are somewhat lower.His employment, though it depends much, does not dependso entirely upon the occasional calls of his customers; andit is not liable to be interrupted by the weather.

When the trades which generally afford constant employ-ment happen in a particular place not to do so, the wages of theworkmen always rise a good deal above their ordinary propor-tion to those of common labour. In London almost all journey-men artificers are liable to be called upon and dismissed bytheir masters from day to day, and from week to week, in thesame manner as day-labourers in other places. The lowestorder of artificers, journeymen tailors, accordingly, earn there