The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1883-03-17 00:00:00

A

FEMALE LABOUR IN THE BLACK COUNTRY.

On Tuesday evening a very large meeting was
held in the Trinity Hall, Old Hill, for the purpose
of considering the praxis I legislation to restrict
fernale labour in the nail and chin trades. W.
Bassano, Esq , presided. A good number of the
local nail and chain manufacturers were present on
the platform, and there were upwards of 1,500
operatives prevent.
The Chairman said that the meeting was called
to consider the provision of a bill which was in-
tended to be submitted to the House of Commons,
dealing with female labour. Before he entered up-
on the subject by readi ig the bill, he thougnt it
was his duty to read some letters from gentlemen
who were uutib'e to attend. He then read letters
from Mr. R. Hineley, Dr. B.andish, Dr. T. V. De
Define, Mr. 'l'. Williams, and the Rev. H. W.
Atkinson. The rev, gentleman wrote that as he
was not able to attend the meeting he might be
allowed to express his opinion on the question of
female labour in the chain and nail trade in that
district. The results of his observations were
briefly these :—(l)—The condition under whieh the
labour was carried on seemed to him to be not more
objectionable than those in fact uies tied workshops,
—(3)—As to the charge of immorality which had
been so fully brought against the system, he must
ly that in hi, judgment it was not borne out by
facts ,—(3)—He had not found that it affected their
health injuriously, but, un the contrary, they
were, as a rule, strong and healthy —(4)—To
abolish female labour amongst the nail and chain
makers, without substituting anything in its place
would be productive of great mischief, as the women
and girls thUS employed were, from the nature of
their occupation, unfitted for domestic service. His
attention had been called to a paper in the _Daily
News, of March 6th, and as vicar of one of the
places mentioned by the writer, he thought it won d
be difficult to substantiate many of the statements
it contained. The chairman me' the clause of the
bill relating to the proposed suppression of labour
in the nail, chain, bolt or serew trades by females
under fourteen years of aee. That, briefly put, was
the provision which it was proposed to add to the
existing Factory and 'Workshops Act, that no girl
under the age of 14 years should be employed in
any shop in the peocess of nail making or anything
belonging thereto. The first thing that struck him
in this matter was as to the persons who wale
bringing the matter before the attention cf Parlia-
ment. The bill was broueht in by Mr. Brore.).hurst,
Sir Charles Forster, Mr. Burt, Mr. Henry Fowler,
and Mr. Rowhy Hill. He had nothing whatever
to say about those gentlemen. They brought this
bill in consequence of representations ',chin had
been made to them presumably on behalf of the
nail and chain makers. Those representations had
been made by Mr. Richard J ug Line, secretary to the
Nut and Bolt Makers' Associa ion, and Mr. Charles
Williams, who pretended to act as their representa-
tive. He should like to know whether he was en-
titled to act on their behalf (Voices : No, no.)
He asked those who considered themselves repre-
sented by Mr. Charles Wil iams to hold up their
hands, aed one hand only was held up. (Voices:
We don't want him.) That confirmed him in his
previous idea that they were not represented by a
man who came from the other side of Birmingham,
and who had had nothing to do with them before.
Mr. Juggins did not belong to their trade and he
would be better attending to his nuts and bolts at
Smethivick—(cheers), If there was one thing more
certain than another it was that the first intention
of these people was to do away with female labour
altogether. He should like to see the women do
nothing else but housework, but the grim realities
of life compelled them all to work. Tee only work
of that district was nail and chain making, and he
considered that it would be nothing less than
criminal to pass an act which would prevent them
earning a living. It would be taking taway from
them the only bread they had aud giving them
nothing in lieu of it. What would bec ,me of those
women who had no husbands and who were depend-
ent upon the nail making for them and their
children? What would become of those females
where the men had been hurt in pits if the children
could not help to get bread for them? It would be
all very well if there was SOM9 other employment
to go to. The price was the main element in the
question of nails. Some said take the women out
of the trade, the men would than make the nails end
would be able to get some good wages, and that
females would be better off than they are now. If
that were true their nails ceuld be sold to-day in
compe ition with machine-made nails. That could
not be and they had only got to raise the price of
wrought nails to dt ive them out of the market, if
it were not through the employment of women and
girls nails could not be made et the price they are
now, and could not be sold. If the iernale labour
in these trades were abolished, the nischine-made
nails would monopolise the markets, and the 25,1;00
Or 30,000 operatives who were engaged in their
manufacture weuld be thrown on to the world with-
out the means of subsistence. He could only con-
sider such a policy as criminal mid nothing lees.
With reference to the charges of immorality that
hid been made—(Voices : It is all lies). The
Chairman: It is a lie.—(Applause). lie did not
mean to say there was no immorality in to district,
but he did not know where to go to find a district
with such a dense popu;ation and so little iannor-
adty.—(Hear, hear, and applause). Let them
bring their factories from the 14,1 e towns and com-
pare their immorality with the immorality of that
dist-ict—(cheers)—they would come out a precious
lot the cleanest. The condition of female labour
in Birmineham, Manchester, Leeds, and other
places were not nearly so favourable as they were
in the nail and chain trades—(A voice: "Right").
Its the nail and chain trades the girls were working
in the presence and under the care of their fathers
and mothers, it was alleged that the nailshops
were Fcenes of gross immorality. He had lived in
that ceentry over.3o years, and he declared that he
had never known anything of the kind. To say
that the chain and nailshops favoured immorality,
that the naiishops were scenes of gross immortality,
it was a foul slander He quite agreed that female
labour should be regulated and restricted, and he
disapproved of girls working in the shops until late
at night. The Factory and Workshops Act con-
tained all that was required for the regulation of
their trades, but they wanted one or two more work-
ing factory insp?ctors in the district.
Mr. B. Priest, nsil and chain manufacturer, then
moved "That the charge male by Mr. Richard
Juggins at a meeting at Sedglsy of whieh Mr. Jos.
Pfesons was chairman, that there was immorality
generally known to take place in the nailshopsewas
utterly false." The mover explained that he hail
been b:cieght up in the nail trade and knew the
goings in and comings out of the nailere, and
might sly that during the while of his experience
in the nail trade he had never known the slightest
immorality take place in any of the nailehops that
he.ltad been in—(applause).
Mr. J. Fellows seconded the resolution, and said
the remarks of Mr, Juggins were a gross slander on
a poor, theuzh very respectable, class of people.
Mr. John Price, president of the Nailmaker
Association, supported the resolution, end
vigorous speech repudiated the remarks that had
been made by Mr. Juegins and Mr. Williams, who,
he said, had treated him worse than a highwayman,
He expressed himself totally opposed to anyone
interfering in zeference to taking a bill into Parlia-
ment to suppress female labour in the chain and
nail trades, and coutendea that the restrictions
contained in the Factory and Education Acts were
sufficient if carried out.

The resolution was carried unanimously.
Mr, John Green moved 'That this meeting is of
opinion that the work of making chains and nails is
not injurious to the health of girls or boys; that
there is no other occupation whatever for girls in
this district; and that the people cannot keep them
without work until they are 14 years old, no more
than boys.". _

Mr. J. Holt secondod, and Mr. 13. Billiugharn
supported the resolution, which wa3 unanimously
carried,

Mr. George Green moved 'That this meeting,
having heard the statements irota the " Daily
News," read by Mr. Green, declares that they are
untrue, and is of opinion that the writer has not
talked with many nailers, and has not been in half-
a-dozen nailshops, his evident intention being to
help Mr. Broadhurst's bill." Mr. Green said that
Mr. Juggins was a vile slanderer. Harrison was
his brother, and Williams, who said lie was the re-
presentative of the millers, had made use of the name
of the secretary to the Nailinakers' Association that
he may sell those nailcre and their interests to th.,
Trades Congress Association in London, and by that
means 1.),, the tiist to oi.ng u bill turough Parlia
ment.

This rosolEttion vr.,s a' o carried unanimowily.