' A remarkable
instance of this is mentioned of a country which generally constitutes
an honourable exception to this unhappy rule. Switzerland is a country
famous for its education and its watches; yet the following passage from
the report will show that neither knowledge nor skill will suffice
without the exercise of that higher quality on which I have been
dwelling. 'As a rule,' it says, 'Swiss workmen are competent in their
several trades, and take an interest in their work; for, thanks to their
superior education, they fully appreciate the pecuniary advantages to
their masters, and indirectly to themselves, of adhering strictly to
this course. A striking instance of the impolicy of acting otherwise has
lately happened at St. Imier, in the Bernese Jura, and produced a deep
impression. In this district, for some years past, a great falling off
in the quality of the watches manufactured has taken place, owing to the
inhabitants finding it much more profitable to increase the production
at the cost of the workmanship than to abide by the old rules of the
trade. They prospered beyond all expectation for a considerable time,
but finally their watches got such a bad name that they became
unsaleable, and the result is a general bankruptcy of nearly all the
watchmakers of this particular district.
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