The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-03-08 00:00:00

BRIGHT'S BARTER

" Perish Savoy and Nice, too," said the Qoalar,
" If only more shoddy to France can be sold
For if bloated smilres emiM doable each acre,
Like me, their allegiance they?ff barter for gold."'
G

THE OPERATIVE BLEACHEES'

TIME BILL,

Mr. Thomas ilopely, F.S.S., and, author of several
phianthropic publications; has addressed a letter to the
periodical press, in which he says :—The operative-
' bleachers' short-time bill will be proposed in the House
of Commons for a second reading on the 21st of this
month. Members. in the Manufacturing interest have
avowed their determination to raise a strong opposition'
to its,progress through the house.
,Not a doubt existi,
therefore, but that the bill will be thrown out at the
second reading by a very large majority unless public
opinion be brought to bear on the matter previously to
the date above mentioned. With referenee to theqaes-
tion before us, what has to be considered is simply
this :--Is the case against the master bleachers, dyers,
&c., sufficiently flagrant to warrant legislative interfer-
ence ? To help the solution of this problem, I take the
liberty of putting before you certain statistics—all of
very recent date, and collated from the most authentic
sources. From the cases given we extract the following,
being evidence contained in the report of the Govern-
ment commissioner, &C., on the subject :
First, as to the hours of toil : Samuel Price, examined
by the Queen's Commissioner.—" I was in the employment
of Messrs. Ainsworth, near Bolton. It was mostly from
eleven till two o'clock in the morning before we left off.
In the last year I was with them,, from April 1853 to
April 1854, we were busy, as "welFas I can remember,
through the spring and through the summer, for six or
eight months of the year ; that is, we went to work from
six to half-past, sometimes at four, and, left off from ten
to twelve, one or two in the morning—and sometimes
after that time. All the people in the works averaged
these numbers of hours—some even more."
. Next, as to the,heat of the stoves in which many ,of
the operatives work : Wright Mather—"J.am foreman
iii the elamping-room., ° * * In summer I have
.seen the room_ 1,30 degrees; in winter it is generally
about 'BO to 100 degrees. We have come at six a.m. and
worked till nine p.m. all last week. * * • There
are four clamping-rooms, and when they are all agate,
-there are sixteen females at work in them. In the
other drying-place there are five boys; they work very
often sixteen, seventeen, and eighteen hours to the day.
The heat is very great in that room, from 100 to 15a
degrees, and that is under the mark." Among these
females " will be some from ten, eleven, to thirteen.; the
rest chiefly between that and twenty,"—working twenty-
four consecutive hours in places where the floors are
stated by witnesses to be at times so hot that they burn
the feet of those who tread on them.
Next, as to the general condition of the workers—
more particularly of their hands and feet : Mary Ann
Smith—" Last Saturday I was twelve years old, * ..-*
I commenced work nearly three years ago. Six times
in that time I have worked from six in the morning
till half-past two the next. Once I worked from
six one morning till six the next morning. I haie to
rub my instep every night before I can get my clogs off.
The skin, cracks, and I cannot abide sometimes. One ;of
my fingers is gathering from being cut by the selvage,
and the other is running." Such is the every-day com-
plaint of suffering multitudes.
Next, as to the " dead-beaten" state of the workers
"I have scores ortimes seen both' men and children
asleep at their work, and very dangerous work too"
(No. 10). " Very often they go to sleep over their
work" (No. 51).—" I have had almost every day to
take a board and beat it on the 'table to waken them, as
they were slumbering at their work. They would "be
hooking cloth ; and while they should be doing it, I see
them nodding and ,trying to catch the hook" (No. 83).
—" As to the older ones, I have Often and often seen
them down asleep, not being able to hold up for their
work, If the manager had gone out, they would drop
down in a minute in the packing-boxes and go to sleep"
(No. 68).—" We have often gone to sleep on the tables,
or with our heads on the wet cloth, or anywhere we
could sit still" (No. 378).—" The little ones very often
fall asleep standing to their work ". (No. 462).
Ten consecutive witnesses employed at different estab-
lishments mention "many cases within their knowledge,
of boys and young men having been ill and off work,
and who have died from the long hours." Naturalli,
with females matters are even worse.
Lastly, as to the patient and almost despairting, anxiety
expressed expressed among the operatives for a proat.! Is
passed this
m eb
"We are all most anxiously looking for the
Bill being gotten.!'
there any sign of the Ten Houi.-0,,i13 beg
"Is there any chance for the
times, but I dare rt9t
session." " I feel very tired
sho"rlt knowti
that
all in this room arc veroymanw.
°aid like a short time bin,
stop. I would like the shorxtietil
less wages." "I, should 'like
efYoi. ball.h 'e'
though they wet.lldver, much." "I have talked to them
" Every girl in the
earn
the short time bill. .7
the hours being shortened like the
many hthatwould
time come." "We
'They
factories.
been waiting for the short hours." "We
have long -
nett want the short time bill." " Their all
many .a time about
all very in
very much." "The short
time bill will do us a
pieceathem .
asfronmotthteenpulyleinagn-uopf
good." " I have seen the girls.
wished for the short time bill
whehninthecyfahllavaselebeepen; toankieuogf
mac ,
age. The child looked as pale
as a piece of cloth.
have seen men:take this child in 'their arms and say they
wished they could see it in London in this state—that
is, so livid and wan from
the work. I mean that if they
could see such things in Londo London, they would know that
there was a want aof bill."
Whether, continues Mr. Hopley a lam multitude of
feeble women and,helpless children' are rescued this very
session
from the cruel grasp of tyranny, or whether
they will have again to learn that the bill for which
they have "sobeen which they
long waiting," towards
" are all most anxiously looking." the bill of which they
have talked '" so often" as one to do them se much
good," has again been treated in•the House of Commons
as a matter of no moment whatever, must entirely
depend 'upon the energetic expression of public opinion.

Mr. Creasy bas been appointed Chief Justice of
Ceylon.
Mr. Haylock, who suffered severe injuries from the
Eastern Counties Railway accident, is dead.
The Daily Xews says, in most branches of trade
complaints are heard of the check which the latest phase
in foreign politics has given to the previous influx of
orders.
CALL THE DOCTOR.—Ttie Polynesian, in its list of the
officers of the Russian steamer Plastoou, mentions a
Dr. Wuischeslaozoff. We would be obliged to any one
who can furnish us with—iinall change for this jaw-
breaker.

Printed and Published by WALTER HENRY PEAT, of N?-
8, Wesley-street, in the Parish of Toxteth-Park,
at h's
Printing Establishments-3, BRUNFIVICK-STRELT (064.1.!
Cadle-street), and 40, „Laton-wrarrr, Liverpool,
1441 C 4 8, 1860,