posed in France, where a society supported by the
liberality of M. Bischofsheim, the well known banker, has been formed
for the purpose of encouraging periodical voyages. The travellers will
be scientific men, Dwuyn l'Lhuys being at their head, and as in the
American expedition, the vessel will be commanded by a naval officer.
The first voyage will be from Marseilles, and will occupy less than a
year, the line of travel being to America and India.

* * * * *

THE WAGES VALUE OF STEAM POWER.

Prof. Leone Levi, in a lecture to workingmen on "Work and Wages,"
estimated the amount of capital required to carry on some of the
industries in Great Britain. There are 20,000,000 acres of land
cultivated, which at L8 is L160,000,000. The cotton trade requires
L80,000,000, wool trade L30,000,000, iron trade L30,000,000, merchant
marine L70,000,000; railways have L600,000,000 invested in them, and
the waterworks, gasworks, docks, and other undertakings all call for
similar vast sums. Construction may be considered as the fixation of
work, and here we have about a thousand million pounds worth of fixed
labor. Labor in use deals with figures and values that are quite as
large. The annual industrial production of France is L480,000,000, and
of this L200,000,000 is labor, the remainder being _called_ material,
though if the items of its cost were ascertained, current labor would
be found to make up a great portion of that sum also.

But taking French manufactures as they are reported, we can obtain from
them an estimate of the value of machines. The first steam engine was
introduced into that country by the city of Paris in 1789, the year of
revolution. At that time the cost of labor in manufactures was 60 per
cent. and of material 40 per cent. of the whole cost. On this basis the
L280,000,000 worth of material used now would require L420,000,000 of
labor to work it up. The present industrial population of France is
8,400,000, though all are not fully effective, and on the old basis
this would have to be increased to 17,640,000 persons. The other
divisions of population, tradesmen, etc., would also increase, and the
result is finally apparent that France is not large enough to contain
and raise food for the people that would be needed to carry on the
modern business on the old methods. The _man_ power of the steam
machinery introduced into the industries is estimated at 31,500,000,
and as it