"Hops for the Workers" is the sug gestive title of a recent article in the Spectator, which ought to be of interest to most of us, since there are very few, at any rate in the colonies, who are not workers in some shape or other. It so happens, however, that the "hope" which our con temporary has to offer is more especially held out to one particular section of workers, namely, factory operatives. Fromthe anxiety with'which we pile on protective duties in these colonies, with; a view of diverting the popula-j tion from the country, and crowd-1 ing them into town manufactures, it might very well be imaffined that we regarded life in a factory as the summit of human felicity. The Socialists at Home look at the matter in & very different light, as they picture workers herded together in cheerless, dust-begrimed, ften evil-smelling, and always evfl lobking mills," condemned to work long hours at thankless and monotonous toil. Even the Spectator, conservative as it is supposed to be, admits that " in certain ways the picture is true as it is terrible/ Fortunately we have not got to this pitiable state of things, in New Zealand yet, but it is idle to shut our eyes to the fact that with the growth of factories and the increase of competition there is always a danger of the operations being carried on under more or less comfortless conditions. It ie at this point that the Spectator cornea to us with a message of hope in regard to the future. The silent working of economic laws, it believes, is already preparing a change, and it is confident that " before long the progress of modern civilisation will not only have enormously enhanced .the reward of ali labor, but will have done away with,. the industrial slavery How existing in factory, mill and workshop." The first " sign of the times " on which thia hopeful anticipation, is based is the lowering of the rate of interest on capital. A little while ago the city of New York was actually able to borrow money at less than 2£ per cent. "Within the last thirty yeare the rate of interest has fallen one-half, while wages have risen 25 per cent. As long as capital goes on increasing the game tendency must continne. 