The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1872-04-27 00:00:00

LABOUR IN FACTORIES.

The Manchester Chamber of Commerce held its
quarterly ineetiug on Monday.
Mr. Hugh Mason, the President, in introducing the
business of the day, said the quarterly meetings of the
Chamber were for the purpose more of conference
among the members than of reviewing the action
of the directors dnriug the quarter just expired.
Many subjects of a most valuable character
had been suggested for consideration at those
quarterly meetings, and it was that which made
those meetings so usefuL lie did not think, there-
fore, that it would be out of place if he oc-
cupied a few minutes in speaking upon a bill which
had just been introduced into Parliament, and
which might affect a great industry in this
country—he meant the cotton industry. That bill pro-
posed to impose further restrigtions upon the hours of
labour in cotton factories of adult women. That bill,
which was introduced by Mr. Mundeda, was backed
by several other influential members of Parliament,
several of them connected with the cotton industry.
In January a very large conference of working men
was held in the town of Nottingham, and one of the
principal topics under discussion at the conference
was the question of the hours of labour for men.
He had followed the daily proceedings of the con-
ference with considerable interest, and he was dis-
appointed to find that they occupied their time in
discussing the hours of labour for themselves
only (Ifhar, bear), and that the hours of labour of child-
ren and young persons in factories seemed never to
have entered their minds. He thought it was rather
selfish on the part of those men, for he found that there
were a great number of persons connected with the
cotton industry who were opposed to further re-
strictive legislation as regarded adults, hut who were
in favour of further legislation of a restrictive charac-
ter as regarded young persons and children. At
present young children could be and were intro-
duced into the factories at the early age of eight years,
but he thought at the present day a little more time
should be afforded children for education and re-
creation, and therefore, as an employer connected
most intimately with the cotton industry, he would
not hesitate most warmly to recommend that no child
should be admitted into the factories at a younger
age than nine years. lie would go a step further. At
present, when a child had attained the age of 13
years, up to which time it ha.l worked half time and
gone to school half time, that child was then free to
leave the school and to work full time equal to any
adult. It seemed to him that a little further time
should be allowed to those children, and that they
should not be allowed to work full time until they had
attained the age of 14 years. Those two years which
he would propoee to give to children were very im-
portant years. both for education and for affording the
necessary rest and recreation which were so vital to
their health and growth. In his opinion, the present
hours of labour in the factories were moderate, and
were very different to the hours which he had worked
when, at the age of ten years, he was Rent into a
factory to earn his daily bread. Mr. Leigh, a cotton
operative, of Hyde, near Manchester, at a conference
of working men in London, had stated that the cotton
factories were still ill-ventilated and the atmosphere
full of dust, and that the work had gut heavier. Those
statements were contrary to the facts. Mr. Leigh
at the same time claimed further restrictions of
the hours of tabour in favour of women, on the gravid
that frequently they had to go to work before their
husband., and the husbands returned home before their
wives. More shame for those men to allow their
wives to go into the factories at all. (Hear, hear.) If
those men were husbands in the proper sense if the
term, and had any regard for the comfort and well-
being of their wives and children, no working man
with the present wages need drive his wife into the
factory to earn her bread. If the man who thus sent
his wife and young children into the factory spent his
own earnings as he ought to do, those wages at the
present day, especially with the help of the elder mem-
bers of his family, were amply sufficient to maintain in
comfort the whole of his family. A statement, therefore,
like that maileby Mr. Leigh, and which, he was afra4l,
was true, was no reason why further restrictions
should be imposed upon the adult labour of women in
the factories. Mr. R. Raker, the Inspector of Fac-
tories, in his last report to the Home Secretary, made
cope remarks with ngard to the observance of "Saint
Monday" among the working classes ; that explained
why wives went to work before their husbands and
husbands returned from wot k before their wives. He
believed married women should not be occupied in
factories, or anywhere else but in their own homes ;
but let the reform be effected in the right way. Let it
be done by those would-be bread-winners becoming
really what many of them were only nominally. He
hoped this question of the hours uf labour weuld not
he made the football of political parties. (Rear,
hear.) There were strong indicati Ps that that
was to be the case, and at present we were told ad
nausevm that one great political party conferred the
Ten Hours' Bill on the working people and that the
other great party opposed it. The fact was that the
most eminent men of both political parties in the
country took different sides on it, irrespective of their
pasty opinions. He thought the question ought th be
left to the operation of these natural last which had
already done s. much to benefit men, women, and
children working in factories. He had taken the
liberty to make these observations on the Bill in spies-
tion because it was one which, if pastel, would
seriously interfere with the great cotton industry.
If we were to have legislation on the subject, let
it be based on the whole truth; but, above all
things, he was very aniiims that an exceptional
and abnormal time, such as the present was, in re-
gaol to labour and capital, should not be the time when
important legislative enactments affecting them should
be panned. (Hear.) There had been, of course, very
considerable prosperity in the cotton ti ade during the
past year, but that prosperity was on the wane, as very
many in the trade were prepared to say. The raw ma-
terial was 70 per cent, higher than it was exactly 12
months ago, and the cotton trade was never profitable
for a long time when the raw material was at an on-

boa

vu=l/ high prioe. They knew that factories had
• y stopped In many district', espeu-ially in East
Lancashire, and that profits had entirely diaappeared.
He thought he was joustified in looking forward, unless
a change occurred which he did not ftwesee, to very
considerable distress, to bankruptcies and eompoeitions
in connection with tie great cotton industry (hear,
be-ar); and therefore he was desirous thart the present
exceptional state of things should not be used in ordef
that permanent legislation should be carried into effect.
At all events, let the country wait aNttle longer, and
see the result of the time of activity whit, he was
afraid, was about drawing to a close.
Mr. R. Haworth said people generally aPPeored to
think that this question of the hours of labour wee
merely a question of a few hours in the week between
the employers and the operatives. But in the limited
concern with which be was connected he found that
the proposals contained in the bat would, if carried out,
cause a change to the extent of £20,000 a year. The
firm should obtain £20,000 a year more for the same
amount of production, or it would be in a worse posi-
tion than it had been in before. If that sum were mul-
tiplied by the number of establishments which wonll
be affected by the bill, there would be an aggregate
which should make people pease.
Mr. E. Wahnsley, of Stockport, also addressed the
Chamber.
On the motion of Mr. P. B. Ferguson, seconded by
Sir E. W. Watkin, it was resolved that the speeches
of the chairman, Mr. Haworth, and Mr. Walmsley
should be printed, and a copy sent to each member of
the House of Commons.