The increased knowledge of the intrinsic value of articles, owing to exhibitions and greater competition from the facilities given by telegraph and railways, has caused quite a revolution in every department of business. The old easy way of doing trade is gone; those countries that used to buy largely of us now compete with us at home and abroad. The deterioration in the value of money the last ten years has, and must, lessen the purchasing power of that large class whose income depends upon their invested capital. From these and other causes, our commerce has lost its power of expansion, our manufacturing and distributing trades are not so remunerative. Various reasons are assigned, and remedies suggested. Those who ask for Protection forget that we have always had hostile tariffs, against which we used to successfully contend; if we fail to do so now, there must be some other cause. If we have lost this or that market, the reason will be found to be that other nations can supply what we used to cheaper or better. There has been a great development of manufacturing power abroad, and we oppose powerful competition by "paternal" factory legislation. For some years prior to the passing of the Act in 1874, which came into operation in 1875, and reduced the working time of factories to fifty-six hours per week, France and Belgium were making such rapid strides in flax and woollen spinning, that British spinners had hard work, even with sixty hours, to hold their own against the seventy-two hours worked on the Continent. In 1874, the late Mr. John Crossley, M.P.,