You are so right. I suppose the equivalent today is someone losing his job and having a mortgage still to pay and various other taxes besides with very little coming in from the various benefits that are also taxed. It is not only the reduction in wages but the loss of status and dignity in the community that goes with it. You only have to read of the hardship of the day and also depicted in some of the literature around at the time, reports in the newspapers and so on, to see how desperate people could be. As you say, it's hardly surprising they rioted. But then, there were the hellish new machines that they blamed for their distress as well as the mill owners who employed them. Now a days buildings are set on fire and then machines were smashed. Reactions differ little and causes can also be similar, even though we often fail to appreciate them at the time. Audrey ----- Original Message ----- From: "Gordon Barlow" <barlow@candw.ky> To: <OLD-ENGLISH-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Friday, April 02, 2004 5:17 PM Subject: [OEL] Fw: low pay, 1812 > More than for the general interest of the wage levels, my posting (below) > was intended to highlight the drastic reduction of the wage. A reduction > from 28 to 11 1/2 of anything is a massive chop. What was left over for > food and clothing dropped from 20s1d to 4s1d. In any economy it is not the > ordinary level of income that has the impact, but the difference between the > old and the new. To lose four fifths of one's income (unless the rent > dropped by the same amount, which it probably did not) would have had a > devastating effect. No wonder they rioted! We don't see that sort of thing > today, of course. > > Gordon > > > > From my notes, the following snippet on Carlisle: 1812 riots over low pay > > etc. (A weaver's wages had been reduced from 28/- for "working a piece of > > gingham" to 11/6 less rent of machinery etc = net 7/5; house-rent, firing > > etc cost 3/4 p.w., leaving 4/1 for food & clothing.) Amazing! > > > ==== OLD-ENGLISH Mailing List ==== > OLD-ENGLISH Web Page > http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~oel/ > >