Vol. 67, No. 6

Chiaki YAMAMOTO
Two labour markets in nineteenth century English agriculture: agricultural labourers at the Trentham Home Farm, Staffordshire

Traditionally, historians have tended to accept the view that agricultural labourers in nineteenth-century England were subject to seasonal unemployment. In this article, however, it is argued that this is an over-simplification, and that there were in fact two coexisting labour markets.

The author’s question is straightforward. How many days did agricultural labourers work per year? The question will be answered with two sets of micro data, a wage book, and the Census Enumerators’ Books. Answering this rather simple question will reveal (1) that there were two groups of agricultural labourers: those who were employed throughout the year (core workers) and those employed only in the busiest season (casual workers); (2) that the core workers and casual workers performed different tasks; (3) that they had different places of residence; and (4) that the casual workers’ wages were more market-dependent.

The movement of wages at the time of the arrival of Irish migrant labourers sheds further light on the different natures of the two markets. While core workers’ wages appear to have been unaffected by this change in labour demand, English casual workers’ and women’s wages increased. This might suggest that whereas the employer had non-economic influence over his core workers, it is probable that he was forced to pay the market price for casual labour.

Takeyuki KUNI
The agricultural policy of the Ministry of Home Affairs in early Meiji Japan (1879~81)

The purpose of this paper is to clarify the agricultural policy of the Ministry of Home Affairs by analyzing National Industrial Exhibitions, agricultural meetings, agricultural communications and agricultural districts. Since research up till now has concentrated on the technical aspects of the Ministry's agricultural policy, for example the introduction of western technology, the policy has received a negative evaluation. However, this evaluation is challenged by the new analysis of the institutional aspects of agricultural policy undertaken in this paper.

National Industrial Exhibitions and agricultural meetings promoted domestic industry and encouraged farmers, while agricultural communications helped to set up agricultural exhibitions and spread knowledge about agriculture all over Japan. On the other hand, agricultural districts, which had been conceived as a way of encouraging agriculture, only served to define the routes followed by agricultural inspectors.

In conclusion, it is clear that the negative evaluation of the Home Ministry's agricultural policy is somewhat distorted. A positive contribution was made to the development of agricultural techniques, to the growth of an agricultural information network, and to reforming the way in which farmers thought.

Nobuhito NAGAI
The wealth of French elected representatives: a case study of Paris municipal councillors during the first half of the Third Republic (1870~1914)

This article investigates the wealth of Paris municipal councillors from 1870 to 1914. The Third Republic, based as it was on the principles of universal suffrage and meritocracy, was expected to democratize politics, and allow a 'new social class' access to power. However, research into members of parliament and local mayors in this period has indicated that the hopes of democratization were only partially realized; the elite of the period of constitutional monarchy did not lose their influence until the twentieth century. These studies usually assess social position according to occupation, but here attention is paid to assetts - in this case the assets recorded in the inheritance registration documents of Paris municipal councillors.

The research showed that almost all the councillors belonged to the upper strata of Parisian society - and of French society as a whole, and that they adhered to traditional financial patterns in preferring real estate to securities. There was a difference between the wealth of left- and right-wing councillors. However, the introduction of salaries for councillors in 1881 was important in democratizing the municipal assembly. If future research builds on these findings by investigating the personal relations and general activities of councillors, further light will be shed on French politics and society during this period.

Junichi HASEGAWA and Hideo ICHIHASHI
The challenge of Labour revisionists and modernisers in post-war Britain

Until the late 1980s, the British Labour Party under the leadership of Gaitskell and Wilson was perceived to have been much less successful than the Party had been under Attlee. But in recent years, with the emergence of 'New Labour', more sympathetic analyses have gained ground. This article will reassess the various interpretations through surveying both old and recent writings on the Labour Party of the 1950s and 1960s. In particular, we will look closely at the much questioned attempts by Gaitskell and Wilson to modernise the Party: the removal of Clause IV, the widening of the Party's electoral appeal, and the modernising of Britain through a 'scientific revolution'.

Overall, faced by the increased affluence of the 1950s and 1960s, it became more and more difficult for the Labour Party to continue an interventionist stance. On balance, we accept the view that modernising projects were inevitable and necessary. However, Labour revisionists failed to show their own coherent version of a socialist Britain. We also find some difficulty in rehabilitating Wilson and his governments. Although he successfully united the Party traditionalists and modernisers with a new vision of a socialist society, once elected his priority was to remain in office rather than to make and implement policy.