MASTERS OR WORKMEN.

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workmen and of masters may, with advantage, agreeupon rules to be observed by both parties, in theestimation of the proportionate value of various kindsof work executed in their trade, in order that timemay be saved, and disputes between them may beprevented. They may also be most usefully em-ployed in acquiring accurate information of the numberof persons working in the various departments of anymanufacture, their rate of wages, the number ofmachines in use among them, and other statisticaldetails. Information of this nature is extremelyvaluable, both for the guidance of the parties whoare themselves most interested, and also to enablethem, on any application to Government for assist-ance, or with a view to legislative enactments, to sup-ply those details, without which the propriety of anyproposed measure cannot be fitly decided upon.Such details may be collected by men actually en-gaged in any branch of trade, at a much smallerexpense of time than by persons less acquainted with,and less interested in it.

(277.) One of the most legitimate and most im-portant objects of such associations as we have justmentioned, is to agree upon ready and certain modesof measuring the quantity of work done by the work-men. For a long time a difficulty upon this pointexisted in the lace trade, which was justly com-plained of by the men as a serious grievance ; butthe introduction of the “ rack,” which counts thenumber of holes in the length of the piece, has en-tirely put an end to the most fertile cause of disputes.This was adverted to by the Committee of 1812,and a hope expressed, that the same contrivancer 2