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as seamers" at two years of age. The hours of labour are also quite out of all fair proportion to the strength of the children, it being a not infrequent practice for children, as well as adults, to work through the whole of the night. The children, or, more properly speaking, infants, are generally employed as "winders" and seamers;" the "winding" consisting in putting the spun material in the bobbins ready for the use of the weaver; while "seaming" signifies joining, where requisite, the edges of the articles woven. Seaming is generally done by the workpeople at their own homes, the mothers and children being usually thus employed. The scale of remuneration is very small, that of the children being extremely so; while the effects, both mental and physical, of their occupation are most deplorable. The "winders" and "seamers" belong to the poorest class of the community, and display a shocking amount of ignorance, which is likewise shared by a large proportion of the adults. It should, however, be observed that, in those trades where the youngest children are the most extensively employed, the manufacture is gradually being absorbed by the large establishments, where, to some extent, steam machinery takes the place of child-labour. Among the witnesses examined by Mr. White, was Edwin Hadden, aged four years!

THE FINISHERS, HOOKERS, &c.

"Finishing" is the term applied to the preparation of textile goods for the market. The pieces of calico, woollen, &c., which, in the draper's shop present such a neat, smooth, and attractive appearance, do not come thus from the factory, but have to undergo the final process in a finishing establishment, each branch of the textile-fabric manufacture possessing its own class of finishers. A piece of printed calico on being taken to the finisher's is calendered, hot-pressed, and so on, by the finishers, and afterwards folded into the requisite lengths by the "hookers," so called from the machine, known as the "hooking machine," at which they work. Children as well as adults are employed; but the ages of the children are seldom under 12, while the usual hours of labour are from 12 to 13 daily. The work itself is not unhealthy or fatiguing, unless rendered so by the tender age of the child and the length of the hours of labour.

FUSTIAN-CUTTERS.

Although the word "fustian" is properly used to designate one particular fabric, yet in the term "fustian-cutting" it is generally taken to include all other products of the loom, whether of silk or cotton, such as silks, velveteens, and "cords," the "pile" of which is raised by cutting the weft threads of the woven cloth. The number of persons at present engaged in fustian-cutting, so far as it can be ascertained in a trade carried on still to a great extent in private dwellings, and at all times liable to sudden changes in the supply of hands, falls little short of 4,000, of whom a very large proportion are children and young persons. The trade is carried on in Manchester and the neighbourhood, and appears to exercise a most demoralizing effect upon those employed in it. The age at which the children

commence learning the trade varies from seven to nine, and the long, irregular hours of work, the mischievous influence of which is increased by the intemperate habits of the adults, are productive of an immense amount of social mischief. The physical consequences of the employment are also extremely pernicious, being the cause of a large amount of bodily distortion and infirmity of the worst possible description. The greater part of the trade is carried on in small workshops, garrets, and similar places; the people, old and young, of both sexes working indiscriminately together, and the consequences, as might be expected by those acquainted with the details of industrial life, are extremely saddening. According to Mr. Lord: "The combined results of ignorance, irregularity, overwork, and bad example, exaggerated by the dangerous precocity of premature independence, are to be traced in the habits of adults, rather than among the rising generation, in whom that leaven is working. Bold, ignorant girls, slatternly, helpless women; boys idle and reckless, men improvident and disreputable; that is the substance of the account which even the fustian-cutters give of themselves." It is to be feared that Mr. Lord's description is equally applicable to some of the other trades previously noticed, and in many of those, such as the shoe, clothing, stay, and other manufactures, which have not yet come under the attention of the Commissioners. But be this as it may, the general evidence adduced by Mr. Lord tends to prove that the trade of fustian-cutting, as at present carried on, is one of the worst in which it is possible to place a child, whether it be considered from an educational, moral, or physical point of view.

CHIMNEY-SWEEPS' CLIMBING-BOYS.

Notwithstanding that the employment of children and persons of tender years in climbing chimneys is already prohibited by law, it would appear that large numbers are still thus employed, especially in the rural districts. This is partly occasioned, though not mentioned in the Report, by the large size of many of the old-fashioned flues which are yet to be found in country cottages. In the towns, and even in some of the villages, it is otherwise; still, I believe that, so far as my own knowledge goes, the evidence relative to the employment of climbing-boys is far from being over-stated. Mr. E. S. Ellis, a magistrate of Leicestershire, says that "from facts that have come to my knowledge, I am satisfied that great numbers of these children are regularly bought and sold; and that practically they are as completely slaves as any negro children in South Carolina." Another witness, Mr. Clarke, of Nottingham, says that the system "is as bad as negro slavery, only it is not known." The condition of the boys is one of the most painful that can be conceived. They are the helpless victims of a tyranny of the most atrocious nature, which robs them of every chance of procuring any of those educational blessings, without which their fate must continue to be little, if any, better than that of the beasts of the field. Altogether this portion of the Report must produce a very painful effect upon those who had fondly imagined that the climbing-boys had become superseded by the chimneysweeping machine.

The evidence which accompanies the Commissioners' Report affords

much information in connection with the general question of childlabour. It would appear that the majority of children employed in the various trades and manufactures are the offspring of intemperate and improvident parents; and that their employment is, of course with some exceptions, less the result of poverty than of misconduct on the part of the parents, who frequently expend more money weekly in intoxicating liquors than they obtain from the labour of their children. On this point, Mr. James Edwards, earthenware manufacturer, of Fenton, says: "Were it not for the number of beer-houses, many parents who now waste their money in drink would have plenty of money to keep their children at home and at school, without having to send them to work." This statement is applicable to the majority of trades, as I can corroborate from my own personal knowledge. As a rule, it may be said that the sober, steady, and intelligent artisan would readily sacrifice a few pence weekly to give his children the benefit of school education up to the age of 10 or 12; but, although the number of such parents is continually on the increase, they form, comparatively speaking, but a small proportion of the industrial community. The practice of sending the children to labour at an early age is attended with the worst possible effects. They grow up ignorant in mind, stunted in body, demoralized in their habits, and accustomed to an almost animal state of existence. The children appear to be employed more extensively in private houses and small workshops than in large factories. In factories on a large scale, machinery is frequently introduced for the purpose of superseding child-labour, and many salutary rules and regulations are enforced with respect to those actually employed. This is strikingly exemplified in the lucifer-match manufacture. It is scarcely possible to conceive a more remarkable contrast than that presented by the works of Messrs. Bell and Black, at Stratford, and of Messrs. Bryant and May, at Bow, as compared with any of the little workshops so common in all parts of the kingdom. In the factories named, there is a dislike to employing children under 12; besides which, every possible precaution is taken to preserve the health of those employed, and to maintain social order amongst them; while in the small workshops, the poverty of the employer obliges him to be content with any labour which he may be able to procure, and to neglect every safeguard against the physical dangers and demoralizing effects peculiar to his trade. Indeed, it may be said that the worst cases are precisely those which the Factory Acts are unable to reach.

One great and crying evil connected with the smaller class of establishments is the indiscriminate mingling of the sexes, arising from want of sufficient room. This is illustrated but too faithfully in` the evidence taken by Mr. Lord in connection with the fustian-cutters. Thomas Gatley, fustian-cutter, of Lymm, speaking of the operatives employed in his trade, says: They are very demoralized, not only from want of being taught, but from the mixing of the sexes at all ages. I speak from my own experience; I am sure it is very bad. Many of the girls are mothers before they are wives; many are not married at all, though they have children, and those that do marry, don't know how to keep house at all, or bring up a family." The evidence of Mr. Gatley is fully corroborated by that of other wit

nesses, and it may be taken as an admitted fact that the admixture of the sexes in any workshop, however well conducted, is—as a rule-more or less productive of demoralizing habits. There are few working-men who cannot testify to the horribly obscene nature of the conversation carried on in many factories and workshops, and of the habits of licentiousness and depravity with which it is generally accompanied. In all future legislation on the subject, this is a point which should not be lost sight of. The employers have frequently been reproached with conniving at this state of things, but the fact, in reality, lies the other way. The more orderly, moral, and educated the operatives, the more regular, valuable, and free from trouble their labour becomes. The employers do not have the control of the labour-market. They are obliged to take the supply as it comes; and, it may be said that, generally speaking, if the present class of intemperate, uneducated, and demoralized workers could be replaced by others precisely the reverse, the employers would be glad of the change, even at the expense of temporary inconvenience and an increase of wages, because the improved amount of skill and attention would afford ample compensation for any loss which might be occasioned at first.

Long hours of work are also more frequent in the smaller establishments than in those on a large scale. The general testimony of both employers and employed proves beyond all doubt that long hours and over-time are the least productive in the long run. On this point, I can speak from personal experience. The working people, especially children, will perform as much labour under a system of moderate and regular hours, and with much greater ease, as under a system of irregular hours and over-time. The effects of over-time upon the children and young people are more apparent than even in the older ones. They lose all taste for home; and, young as they are, their existence appears to alternate between the workshop, the concert- and dancing-room, the penny-show, the beershop, and the street. In some cases, as in that of the Hinckley hosiery workers, the evils of child-labour, over-time, and irregular hours of employment, are occasioned by the unavailing competition of the lowest class of hand-workers against the improved machinery which has found its way into the trade. They may be said to occupy a position similar to that of the London needle-women at the time of the introduction of the sewing-machine; and, as a rule, are gradually becoming absorbed in other trades. The one great obstacle, however, which prevents the majority of workers in an ill-paid trade from entering with facility into one where the scale of remuneration is higher, arises from their deficiency of education,-a deficiency occasioned by their early employment in factories and workshops. Unless the education is supplied to the working-classes during their earlier years, they have very little chance of procuring it afterwards. If by any means we could extend the blessings of education to the children now employed in factories and other places, there would be no difficulty with succeeding generations. Mr. Heyman, lace-manufacturer, of Nottingham, observes that: "If education were once generally enforced throughout the country for a short period, it would be so generally valued that there would be no further occasion to take

any measures to secure it." If the social and moral condition of the working-classes is to be permanently improved, we must begin with the children. This is a fact generally conceded, the only question being as to how it should be effected, and whether legislative action is required. The general testimony of employers goes to show that child-labour, up to the age of 11 or 12, can, in a great measure, be dispensed with, and that they would gladly be freed from the necessity of employing it; but that this can only be accomplished by legislative enactment, especially in the case of small establishments. It may also be said that there is little real objection to a limitation of the hours of labour; in fact, it is found to be almost indispensable to the proper working of a well-conducted factory, as the employers find it cheaper and more profitable to employ ten men during regular hours, than seven or eight during irregular hours. Over-time work is also accompanied with many objections, which render it the interest of the employer to dispense with it as much as possible. It occasions an increased cost for management, gas, &c., and also produces a much larger amount of unnecessary wear and tear of machinery; while the actual labour itself is the least productive. Mr. Wills, lace-manufacturer, of Nottingham, speaking on this point, says: "I believe that nothing is really gained by night-work. A person who works late at night feels the effects of it the next day, is apt to come late, and cannot do the work so well." Consequently, there is a tendency in the factory system towards a limitation of hours. The effect of this is observable in many ways; and is shown by the fact that in the majority of trades and manufactures there are traces of unconscious imitation in this respect, so far as the middle class of workshops and factories are concerned.

The real difficulty of legislation is to reach those employed in small establishments; and, unless this can be done, the core of the evil will remain untouched. There are a larger number in the aggregate of children of tender years employed in these places than in the larger factories. It would seem as if the only way to protect the children in these smaller establishments from the avarice or misconduct of the parents, is to render it punishable therein to employ children under a certain age, say ten or eleven, in any trade or manufacture whatever not coming under the factory laws. The parents should also, in certain cases, be rendered amenable, for it is clear that, to a very great extent, the employment of child-labour is forced by them upon the employers. But for the forced competition of the children with the adults, a larger number of the latter would be employed, and at a higher rate of wages. A partial withdrawal of the children from employment has been tried with success in Lancashire and other places, where the provisions of the Factories' Regulation Act have been enforced. This system is known as the "short-time" system, and under its action the children between the ages of eight and twelve are partly occupied in the factory, and partly in the school. The results of this system have been to prove the correctness of the principles advanced by Mr. Edwin Chadwick, in his plan for half-time teaching. The short-timers who attend school prove as ready at learning, and often become better scholars, than those who attend all day. It was predicted, when the short-time system was intro

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