Q.-D35—ÀfbG- Ends

et: AAD

interests of the community. Those who labour at a trade or calling do not promote the general welfare in such a fashion as this; but they do in the most important way benefit the na ition, though less directly. We have insisted that, since it is the end of Society to make men better, the chief good that Society can be possessed of is Virtue. Nevertheless, in all well-constituted States it is a by no means unimportant matter to provide these bodily and external commodities, the use of which is necessary to virtuous action’, And in the provision of material well-being, the labour of the poor—the exercise of their skill and the employment of their strength in ihe culture of the land and the workshops of trade— is most efficacious and altogether indispensable. Indeed, their co-operation in this respect is so important that it may be truly said that it is only by the labour of the working man that States grow rich. Justice, therefore, demands that the interests of the poorer population be carefully watched over by the Administration, so thatthey who contribute so largely to the advantage of the community may themselves share in the benefits they create—that being housed, clothed, and enabled to support life, they may find their existence less hard and more endure: ble. It follows that whatever shall appear to be conducive to the well-being of those who work, should receive favourable consideration. Let it not be feared that solicitude of this kind will injure any interest; on the contrary, it will be tothe advantage of all; for it cannot but be good for the commonwealth to secure from misery those on whom it so largely depends.

We have said that the State must not absorb the individual or the family; both should be allowed free and untrammelled action as far as is consistent

2 St. Thomas of Aquin. De Regimine Principum, I. cap. 15.

yur at a welfare ie most directend of rd that theless, ans unind exsary to aaterial reise of igth in trade— le. Inimporby the w rich.

sof the by the o largeehemselt being e, they ndura-

to be work, tit not ire any 'antage mmonm it so

rb the lowed isistent

with the common good and the interests of others. Nevertheless, rulers should anxiously safeguard the community and all its parts; the community, because the conservation of the community is so emphatically the business of the supreme power, that the safety of the common wealth is not only the first law, but itis a Government's whole reason of existence ; and the parts, because both philosophy and the Gospel agree in laying down that the object of the administration of the State should he, not the advantage of the ruler, but the benefit of those over whom he rules. The gift of authority is from God, and is, as it were, a participation of the highest of all sovereignties; and it should be exercised as the power of God is exercised—with a fatherly solicitude which not only guides the whole, but reaches to details as well.

Whenever the general interest or any particular class suffers, or is threatened with, evils which can in no other way be met, the public authority must step in to meet them. Now, among the interests of the public, as of private individuals, are these: that peace and good order should be maintained; that family life should be carried on in accordance with God’s laws and those of nature; that Religion should be reverenced and obeyed; that a high standard of morality should prevail in public and private life ; that the sanctity of justice should be respected, and no one should injure another with impunity; that the members of the commonwealth should grow up to man’s estate strong and robust, and capable, if need be, of guarding and defending their country. If by a strike, or other combination of workmen, there should be imminent danger of disturbance to the publie peace; or if circumstances were such that among the labouring population the ties of family life were relaxed; if Religion were found to suffer through the workmen

Atq t rimane S et

not having time and opportunity to practise it; it in workshops and factories there were danger to morals through the mixing of the sexes or from any occasion of evil; or if employers laid burdens upon the workmen which were unjust, or degraded them with conditions that were repugnant to their dignity as human beings; finally, if health were endangered by excessive labour, or by work unsuited to sex or age—in these cases, there can be no question that, within certain limits, it would be right to call in the help and authority of the law. "The limits must be determined by the nature of the occasion which calls for the law's interference—the principle being this that the law must not undertake more, or go further, than is required for the remedy of the evil or the removal ol the danger.

Rights must be religiously respected wherever they are found; and it is the duty of the publie authority to prevent and punish injury, and to protect each one iu the possession of his own. Still, when there is question of protecting the rights of individuals, the poor and helpless have a claim to special consideration. The richer population have

many ways of protecting themselves, and stand less in need of help from the State; those who are badly off have no resources of their own to fall back upon and musi chiefly rely upou the assistance of the State. And it is for this reason that wage-earners, who are undoubtedly among the weak and necessitous, should be specially cared for and protected by the common wealth.

Here, however, it will be advisable to advert expressly to one or two of the more important details. It must be borne in mind that the chief thing to be secured is the sale-guarding, by legal enactment and policy, of private property. Most of allis it essential in these times of covetous greed, to keep the multitude within the line of duty ; for if ali may justly

ti Jim morals ccasion 2 workn with nity as ngered ) SEX OT n that, linthe iust be ch calls ne this further, or the

herever public to pro- Still, ights of laim to yn have nd less e badly k upon of the earners, necessi-

cted by

vert exdetails.

> to be ent and ssential c multi-

y justly

strive to better their condition, yet neither justice nor the common good allows anyone to seize that which belongs to another, or, under the pretext of futile and ridiculous equality, to lay hands on other people's fortunes. It is most true that by far the larger part of the people who work prefer to iniprove themselves by honest labour rather than by doing wrong to others. But there are not a few who are imbued with bad principles and are anxious for revolutionary change, and whose great purpose it is to stir up tumult and bring about a policy of violence. The authority of the State should intervene to put restraint upon these disturbers, to save the workmen from their seditious arts, and to protect lawful owners from spoliation.

When work-people have recourse to a strike, it is frequently because the hours of labour are too long, or the work too hard, or because they consider their wages insufficient. The grave inconvenience of this not uncommon occurrence should be obviated by publie remedial measures; for such paralysis of labour not only affects the masters and their workpeople, but is extremely injurious to trade, and to the general interests of the public; moreover, on such occasions, violence and disorder are generally not far off, and thus it frequently happens that the public peace isthreatened. The laws should be beforehand, and prevent these troubles from arising ; they should lend their influence and authority to the removal in good time of the causes which lead to conflicts between masters and those whom they employ.

But ifthe owners of property must be made secure, the Workman, too, has property and possessions in which he must be protected ; and, first of all, there are his spiritual and mental interests. Life on earth, however good and desirable in itself, is not the final purpose for which man is created ; it is only the way and the means to that attainment of truth, and that

ob

practice of goodness, in which the full life of the soul consists. It is the soul which is made after the image and likeness of God; it is in the soul that sovereignty resides, in virtue of which man is commanded to rule the creatures below him, and to use all the earth and the ocean for his profit and advantage. Fill the earth and subdue it; aud rule over the fishes of the sea, and the fow's of the air, and all living creatures which move upon the earth'. In this respect all men are equal; there is no difference between rich and poor, master and servant, ruler and ruled, for the same is Lord over all». No man may outrage with impunity that human dignity which God Himself treats with reverence, nor stana in the way of that higher life which is the preparation for the eternal life of Heaven. Nay, more; a man has here no power over himself. To consent to any treatment which is calculated to defeat the end and purpose of his being is beyond his right; he cannot give up his soul] to servitude; for it is not man's own rights which are here in question, but the rights of God, most sacred and inviolable.

From this follows the obligation of the cessation of work and labour on Sundays and certain festivals. This rest from labouris not to be understood as mere idleness; much less must it be an occasion of spending money and of vicious excess, as many would desire 1t to be; but it should be rest from labour consecrated by religion Repose u ited with *eligious observance disposes man to forget for a while the business of this daily life, and to turn his thoughts to heavenly things and to the worship Which he so strictly owes to the Eternal Deity. It is this, above all, which is the reason and motive of the Sunday rest; a rest sanctioned by God's great

I Genesis i. 28.

2 Romans x. 12.

of the ter the ul that s comto use dvantrer the living 'espect tween ruled, utrage | Himof that sternal re no atment pose of up his rights

' God,

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| great

law of the ancient covenant, Remember th ou keep holy the Sabbath Day, and taught to the world by His own mysterious “rest” after the creation of man:

He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done :

If we turn now to things exterior and corporeal, the first concern of all is to save the poor workers from the cruelty of g ‘asping speculators, who use human beings as mere instruments for making money. It is neither justice nor humanity so to grind men down with excessive labour as to stupely their minds and wear out their bodies. Man's powers, like his general nature, are limited, and beyond these limits he cannot go. His strength is developed and increased by use and exercise, but only on condition of due intermission and proper rest. Daily labour, therefore, must be so regulated that it may not be protracted during longer hours than strength admits. How many and how long the intervals of rest should be, will depend on ihe nature of the work, on circumstances of time and place, and on the health and strength of the workman. Those who labour in mines and quarries, and in work within the bowels of the earth, should have shorter hours in proportion as their labour is more severe and more trying to health. Then again, the season of the year must be taken into account ; lor not unfrequently a kind of labour is eesy at one time which at another is intoler. able or very ditlicult. Finally, work which is suitable for a strong man cannot reasonably be required from a woman or a child. And, in regard to children, great care should be taken not to place them in workshops and factories until their bodies and minds are sufticiently mature. For just as rough weather destroys the buds of spring, so too early an

I Exod. xx. 8.

2 Genesis ii. 2.

experience of life's hard work blights the young promise of a child's powers, and makes any real education impossible. Women, again, ar» not suited to certain trades; for a woman is by nature fitted for home-work, and it is that which is best adapted at once to preserve her modesty and to promote the good bringing up of children and the well-being of the family. As a general principal it may be laid down, that a workinan ought to have leisure and rest in proportion to the wear and tear of his strength ; for the waste of strength inust be repaired by the cessation of work.

In all agreements between masters and workpeople, there is always che condition, expressed or understood, that there be allowed proper rest for soul and body. To agree in any other sense would be against what is right and just; for it can never be right or just to require on the one side, or to promise on the other, the giving up of those duties which a man owes to his God and to himself.

We now approach a subject of very great importance, and one on which, if extremes are to be avoided, right ideas are absolutely necessary. Wages, we are told, are fixed by free consent; ana therefore the employer, when he pays what was agreed upon, has done his part and is not called upon for anything further. The only way, it is said, in which injustice could happen would be if the master refused to pay the whole of the wages, or the workman would not complete the work undertaken ; when this happens the State saould intervene, to see that each obtains his own—but not under any other circumstances.

This mode of reasoning is by no means convincing to a fair-minded man, for there are important considerations which it leaves out of view altogether. To labour is to exert one's self for the sake of procuring what is necessary for the purposes of life, and most of all for self-preservation. In the sweat of thy

uig pro- | educauited to tted for ipted at iote the jeing of ' be laid ure and treneth ;

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importavoided, 5, Weare fore the pon, has anything injustice d to pay ould not happens . obtains

ances.

nvincing fant contogether.

e of prolife, and al of thy

brow thou shall eat breads. Therefore a man’s labour has two notes or characters First of all, it is personal ; for the exertion of individual power belongs to the individual who puts it forth, employing this power for that personal profit for which it was given. Secondly, man's labour is necessary ; tor without the results of labour & man cannot live; and self-conservation is a law of Nature, which it is wrong to disobey. Now if we were to consider labour merely so lar as it is per nal, doubtless it would be within the workman's right to accept any rate of wages whatever; for in the same way as he is free to work or not, so he is ‘“ee to accept a small remuneration or even noue at ali. But this is a mere abstract supposition ; the labour of the working man is not only his personal attribute, but it is necessary ; and this makes all the difference. The preservation of lite is the bounden duty of each and all, and to fail therein is a crime. [t follows that each one has a right to proeure what is required in order to live; and the poor can procure it in no other way than by work and wages.

Let it be granted, then, that, as a rule, workman and employer should make free agreements, and in particular should freely agree as to wages; nevertheless, there is a dictate of nature more imperious and more ancient than any bargain between man and man, that the remuneration must be enough to support the wage-earner in reasonable and frugal comfort. If through necessity or fear of a worse evil, the workman accepts harder conditions because an employer or a contractor will give him no better, he is the victim of force and injustice. In these and similar questions, however—such as, for example, the hours of labour in different trades, the sanitary precautions to be observed in factories and work-

I Genesis iii. 19,

shops, ete.—in order to supersede undue interference on the part of the State, especially as cireumstances, times, and localities differ so widely, it is advisable that recourse be had to Nocieties or Boards such as We shall mention presently, or to some other method of safe-guarding the interests of wageearners; the State to be asked for approval and protection,

If a workman’s wages be sufficient to enable him to maintain himself, his wile, and his children in reasonable comfort, he will not find it difficult, if he is a sensible man, to study economy ; and he will not fail, by cutting down expenses, to put by a little property: nature and reason would urge him to this, We have seen that this great Labour question cannot be solved except by assuming as u principle that private ownership must be held sacred and inviolable. The law, therefore, should favour ownership, and its policy should be to induce as many of the people as possible to become owners

Many excellent results will follow from this; and first of all, property will certainly become more equitably divided. For the effect of civil change and vevolution has been to divide society into two widely differing castes. On the one side there is the party which holds the power because it holds the wealth; which has in its grasp all labour and all trade, which manipulates for its own benefit and its own purposes all the sources of supply, and which is powerfully represented in the councils of the State itself. On the other side there is the needy and powerless multitude, sore and suffering, and always ready for disturbance. If working people can be encouraged to look forward to obtaining a share in the lana, the result will be that the gulf between vast wealth and deep poverty will be bridged over, and the two orders will be brought nearer together. Another consequence will be the

rferenimstanad visa- Is such | other wacend pro-

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greater abundance of the fruits of the earth. Men always work harder and more readily when they work on that which is their own : nay, they learn to love the very soil which yields in response to the labour of their hands, not only food to eat, but an abundance of good things for themselves and those that are dear to them. It is evident how such a spirit of willing labour would add to the product of the earth and to the wealth of the community, And a third advantage would arise from this: men would cling to the country in which they were born ; for no one would exchange his country for a foreign land if his own afforded him the means of living a tolerable and happy life. These three important benefits, however, can only be expected on the condition that a man's means be not drained and exhausted by excessive taxation. The right to possess private property is from nature, not from man; and the State has only the right to regulate its use in the interests ofthe publie good, but by no means to abolish it altogether. The State is therefore unjust and cruel if, in the name of taxation, it deprives the private owner of more than is just.

In the last place—employers and workmen may themselves effect much in the matter of which We treat, by means of those institutions and org@anisations which afford opportune assistance to those in need, and which — »w the two orders more closely together. Among ese may be enumerated : Societies for inutual help; varions foundations established by private persons for providing for the workman, and ‘or his widow or his orphans, in sudden calamity, in sickness, and in the event of death: and what are called * patronages ” or institutions for the care of boys and girls, for young people and also for those of more mature age

The most important of all are Workmen's Associations ; for these virtually include all the rest. History attests what excellent results were effected by the Artificer’s Guilds of a former day They were the means not only of many advantages to the workmen, but in no small degree of the advancement of art, as numerous monuments remain to prove. Such associations should be adapted to the requirements of the age in which we live--an age of greater instruction, of different customs, and of more numerous requirements in daily life. It is gratifying to know that there are actually in existence not a few Societies of this nature, consisting either of workmen alone or of workmen and employers together; but it were greatly to be desired that they should multiply and become more effective. We have spoken of them more than once; but it will be well to explain here how much they are needed, to show that they exist by their own right, and to enter into their organisation and their work.

The experience of hisown weakness urges man to call in help from without. We read in the pages of Holy Writ: It is better shat two should be together than one ; for they have the advantage of their society, If one fall he should be supported by the other. Woe to hum that is alone, for when he falleth he hath none to lift him up'. And further: A brother that is helped by his brother is like a strong city’. Itis this natural impulse which unites men in civil society ; and it is this also which makes them band themselves together in associations of citizen with citizen ; associations which, it is true, cannot be called societies in the complete sense of the word, but which are societies nevertheless.

These lesser societies and the society which con-

1 Ecclesiastes iv. 9, IO.

2 Proverbs xviii. 19.

sgocla- [istory jy the re the kmen, art, as h assoof the uction, oquire- = that ties of e or of | greatly and ' them n here y exist ganisa-

man to iges of her than ely, If Woe to e lo lift lped by natural nd it is ogether clations | in the ocieties

ch con-

stitutes the State differ in many things, because their immediate purpose and end is different. Civil society exists for the common good, and therefore is concerned with the interests of all in general, and with individual interests in their due place and proportion. Hence it is called public society, because by its means, as St. Thomas of Aquin says, Men communicate with one another in the setting up of a commonwealth: But the societies which are formed in the bosom of the State are called privaie, and justly so, because their immediate purpose is the private advantage of the associates, Now a private society, says St. Thomas again, ts one which is formed for the purpose of carrying out private business ; as when two or three enter into a partnership with (he view of tra'ing in conjunction ?. Particuler societies, then, although they exist within the State, and are each a part of the State, nevertheless cannot be prohibited by the State absolutely and as such. For to enter into “ society " of this kind is the natural right of man; and the State must protect natural rights, not destroy them ; and if it forbids its citizens to form associations, it contradicts the very principle of its own existence; for both they and it exist in virtue of the same principle, viz., the natural propensity of man to live in society. There are times, no doubt, when it is right that the law should interfere to prevent association ; as when men join together for purposes which are evidently bad, anjust, or dangerous to the State. In such cases the public authority may justly forbid the the formation of associations, and may dissolve them when they already exist. But every precaution should be taken not to violate the rights of individuals and not to make unreasonable regulations under the pretence of public benelit. For laws only

1 Contra impugnantes Dei cultum et religionem, Cap. II. 2 Lbid,

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Was viole REA dde MR RUEDA GAAP UD M Cu ESI IKE missi clTe eii c cud ri neh t i rg o ite i taa rt i

bind when they are in accordance with right reason, and therefore with the eternal law of God '.

And here we are reminded of the Confraternities, Societies and Religious Orders, which have arisen by the Church's authority and the piety of the Christian people. The annals of every nation down to our own times testily to what they have done for the human race, It is indisputable, on grounds of reason alone, that such associations, being perfectly blameless in their objeets, have the sanction of the

: law of nature. On their religious side, they rightly claim to be responsible to the Church alone. The administrators of the State, therefore, have no rights over them, nor can they claim any share in their management; on the contrary, it is the State's duty io respect and cherish them, and, if necessary, to defend them from attack. It is notorious that à very different course has been followed, more especially in our own times In many places the State has laid violent hands on these Communities, and committed manifold injustice against them ; it has placed them under the civil law, taken away their rights as corporate bodies, and robbed them of their property. In such property the Church had her rights, each member of the body had his or her rights, and there were also the rights of those who had founded or endowed them for a definite purpose and of those for whose benefit a:.d assistance they

T existed. Wherefore We cannot refrain from com-

i4 plaining of such spoliation as unjust and fraught Í with evil results; and with the more reason because

at the very time when the law proclaims that association is [ree to all, We see that Catholic socie-

1 Human law is law only in virtue of tts accordance with right reason :

anit thus it ts manifest that it flows from the eternal law, And tn so far as i it deviates from right reason it is called an unjust [aso : in such case duri nct. law at all, but rather a spectes of violence, — t. Thomas of Aquin,

Summa Theologica, ta 2% Q. xcili, Art, iii.

reason,

rnities, | arisen of the n down one for s of reaerfectly n of the rightly e, The o rights in their e's duty sary, to is that a |, more ices the nunities, nem; it en away them of urch had s or her ose who purpose nee they jm comfraught | because ims that slic socie-

right reason :

{au so far as wh case él Us as of Aquin,

ties, however peaceable and useful, are hindered in every way, whilst the utmost freedom is given to men whose objects are at once hurtful to Religion and dangerous to the State.

Associations of every kind, and especially those of working men, are now far more common than formerly. In regard to many of these there is no need at present to inquire whence they spring, what are their objects, or what means they use. But there is a good deal of evidence which goes to prove that mauy of these societies are in the hands of invisible leaders, and are managed on principles far from compatible with Christianity and the publie wellbeing; and that they do their best to get into their hands the whole field of labour and to force workmen either to join them or to starve Under these cireumstances Christian workmen must do one of

two things; either join associations in which their.

religion will be exposed to peril, or form associations among themselves—unite their forces and courageously shake off the yoke of an unjust and intolerable oppression. No one who does not wish to expose man's chief good to extreme danger will hesitate to say that the second alternative must by all means be adopted.

Those Catholies are worthy of all praise—and there are not a few— who, understanding what the times require, have, by various enterprises and experiments, endeavoured to better the condition of the working people without any sacrifice of principle. They have taken up the cause of the working man, and have striven to make both families and individuals better off; to infuse the spirit of justice into the mutual reiations of employer and employed; to keep before the eyes of both classes the precepts of duty and the laws ofthe Gospel—that Gospel which, by inculcating self-restraint, keeps men within the bounds of moderation, and tends to establish

odit