I  ¿

xliv

Cost  of  the  average  British  Working-man’s  Budget  (excluding  Tea  and  Coffee)  at
the  predominant  prices  paid  by  the  Working  Classes  of  (1)  England  and
Wales,  (2)  Germany,  in  October,  1905.

2.

Commodity,

Quantity
in  average
British
Budget.

Predominant  Prices  at  October,  1905,  in

England  and  Wales.

Germany.

Cost  in  Pence
of  quantity  in
Col.  2  in

England
and
Wales.

Germany,

Sugar
Bacon
Cheese
Butter
Potatoes
Flour  (wheaten)
Bread  (wheaten,  in
England).
Equivalent  wheaten
flour  in  Germany,
Milk  ...
Beef  ...
Pork  ...
Mutton
Coal  ...

5^  lb.
St  ;;
2  »
17  „
10  „
22  „
22  „
5  qts.
U  lb.
01  „
4  „
2  cwt.

2d.  per  lb.
7d.  to  9d.  per  lb.
Id.  per  lb.
Is.  1  \d.  per  lb.
2\d.  to  3^(7.  per  7  lb.
8(7.  to  10d.  „
4\d.  to  5\d.  per  4  lb.

3d.  to  Ad.  per  qt.
6f(7.  per  lb.
l\d.  to  8\d.  per  lb.
d.  per  lb.
9\d.  to  Is.  per  cwt.

Total  cost  of  the
above...
Index  Number

2\d.,  2\d.  per  lb.
8f(7.  to  11(7.  „
5d.  ,,  G^d.  ,,
Is.  Id.  to  Is.  2§d.  per  lb.
2\d.  to  3d.  per  7  lb.
ll^e7.to  Is.  Ifd.  „

11  \d.  to  Is.  If  d.  per  7  lb,
2\d.,  2|d.  per  qt.
7|d.  to  8|d.  per  lb.
8#  „  lid.  „
7\d.  „  9\d.  „
10|(7.  to  Is.  Ad.  per  cwt.

124

185

100

39|
if 1
5
13*
26$

2184

118

The  answer  obtained  in  this  way  is  that  the  English  working  man  would
have  to  spend  nearly  219  pence  in  Germany  in  order  to  purchase  the  same
goods  that  he  could  have  bought  for  185  pence  in  England,  or  in  other  words
he  would  have  to  increase  his  expenditure  in  the  ratio  of  100  to  118.  This
method  of  approaching  the  question  has,  accordingly,  led  again  to_  practically
the  same  conclusion,  viz.,  that  prices  in  Germany  may  be  taken  as  about
18  per  cent,  higher  than  in  England.  But  the  difficulties  of  the  comparison
are  illustrated  by  the  omissions  and  assumptions  made  in  compiling  the
two  budgets  used.  The  Englishman’s  tea  has  been  omitted,  as  he  would
find  it  simply  unobtainable  in  Germany,  at  a  price  which  he  could  pay.
If  he  substituted  the  German’s  usual  j  lb.  of  coffee  at  11  d.  for  his
accustomed  0'6  lb.  of  tea  at  Is.  6(7.,  he  would  save  2\d.  Again,  as  the  Englishman ­
  could  seldom  purchase  white  household  bread  in  Germany,  we  have
credited  him  with  the  purchase  of  22  lbs.  of  flour,  assuming,  say,  that  he  would
bake  at  home.  Actually  22  lbs.  of  flour  are  not  required  for  making  22  lbs.  of
bread,  but  no  allowance  has  been  made  for  the  cost  of  other  materials  nor  of
baking,  and  as  the  predominant  cost  of  bread  per  lb.  "in  England  (1*25(7.)  is
almost  identical  with  the  cost  of  flour  (1*29(7.)  the  method  adopted  seems  fair.
If  he  consumed  instead  22  lbs.  of  German  grey  bread,  in  lieu  of  the  wheaten
bread  to  which  he  was  accustomed  in  England,  he  would  save  about  8 Ä d.
a  week.  If  then  our  English  emigrant  took  to  grey  bread  and  coffee  in  place
of  white  bread  and  tea,  his  total  weekly  expenditure  would  be  only  about
12  per  cent,  more  than  in  England.  But  that  is  merely  to  say  that  if  he  lived
more  like  the  German  his  expenditure  would  be  less  ;  and  the  mode  in  which
the  above  table  has  been  constructed  gives  the  more  accurate  answer  to  the
question  as  to  the  expenditure  of  an  English  emigrant  who  retained,  as  far  as
possible,  his  English  habits  and  English  food.  It  is  proposed,  therefore  to
take  the  figure  118  as  representing,  for  working-class  expenditure  from  ’  the
English  standpoint,  the  price  level  in  Germany  as  compared  with  the  price  level
in  England.