The Express.
London, England, 1867-10-14 00:00:00

(13TAMPID, Id.

THE EARL OP KIMBERLEY AND MR. C. B.
READ, M.P., ON AORICULTURAL AFFAIRS.

A meeting of the Norfolk Chamber of Agricul-
ture was held at Norwich on Saturday, Hr. C. B. Run,
M.P., presiding, to consider the question of the employ.
ment of women and children in agriculture. A report
presented by the oonimittee expressed cordial • of
the Agricultural Gangs Act of the past session, and added
the expression of its belief that the bill would be found
sufficient to cure what was certainly an exceptional, but
still a great and perhaps chief evil in the employment of
women and children in agriculture. The committee con-
sidered any restriction in the hours of labour quite urine-
=h, as those hours were not excessive. The committee
owever, no objection to an act prohibiting the
employment of children in agricultureunder nine
years of age ; but if suck a restriction were
imposed means must be taken that the chil-
dren should attend school, and not be kept at
home in idleness. The committee considered that
education in the rural district, of Norfolk had greatly in.
creased during the last twenty years ; but notwithstand-
ing the great increase of school., the moral and social im-
provement of the labouring classes had not been such as
the friends of education had • right to expect. Should a
system of compulsory public education be adopted the
committee protested against an educational rate being
imposed solely upon real property.
The CHAIRMAN, in addressing the meeting, said the em-
ployment in which women and children engaged in 60-
' culture were occupied was light, and the hours during
which they were employed were not long. He should, there-
fore, dismiss the physical upsets of she qoastion, as not
calling for notice ; and as to the moral aspect of the
matter, he did not think there was quite so mach needed
a, some persons in towns, and especially in Londou,seemed
to think. It was quite right no doubt that in gangs the
sexes should be separated, but as to the total separation of
the sexes in all farm work, he thought they would join
with him in saying that it was impossible. For instance,
men could not be carting barley in one field and women
raking it in another. (Laughter.) It was rather at play
time than when they were at work that any evil arose ;
and supposing you kept the sexes separate on a farm you
could not keep them separate at dinner time. Everybody
knew that when you went into a village street at 9or 10
1 o'clock at night you saw great boys and girls larking
about, and in all probability some of those greet boys
and girls slept in the same room when they got
home. As to the employment of women and
; children in agriculture a great deal of what he
might call sentimental twaddle had been talked.
It was said that it was repugnant to the
refinement and delicacy of females to be employed in agri-
culture, and he supposed in time that the delicacy of dairy
maids would not allow them to go out milking, while cook
maids would say that the dressing and trussing a fowl was
such extremely disgusting work that they mast have a man
to attend to such occupations. (Laughter.) Women
engsged in agriculture were sometimes the subject of pity,
and, sometimes of reprobation ; their dress even did not
per without comment. Ile knew a lady who was milked
what she thought of the dress of the agricultural female
labourers of Norfolk, and she replied In the fashionable
vigorous language of the present day, that it was " awtnlly
disgusting.' (Laughter.) Well, he did not mean to say
, that that dress we, elegant, or, perhaps, even becoming,
but he was quite sure that it was useful ; and if you
sew the women who won, it on Sundays, you
; would find that they then had their parasols, their
veils, their crinoline, and all those other adorn-
ment.' which were supposed to be indications of the
civilisation of the day. (laughter.) He thought field
labour had been unduly blamed; it was not field labour
which did the harm, but the persons who were employed
in it. Some gentlemen said that when • poor girl went to
field work she was contaminated and spoiled ; but be con-
tended that in all probability she was contaminated and
' spoiled before she got there. It might just as well be mid
that gaols made people bad or that workhouses made
people poor as to say that field work made people vicious.
'lf there was a girl who was good for nothing she was the
' girl who went to field work. As regarded older women, he
thought that if • woman were the mother of ever so small
; • family, and that family were young, she was far better
at home; but there were many women who had little em-
' oyment in their homes, and they found field labour
both healthy and acceptable, the 4s. which
they brought home weekly being • pleasant addi-
tion to their husbands' wages. He thought a girl of 11 or
12 was as strong as a boy of about that age, and he con-
tended that there was no good farming without the assist-
' awe of this juvenile and female labour. He had travelled
in different counties, he had lived in Wales, and be had
also been in Scotland, and be never saw a well cultivated
farm in his life on which some women and children had
not been employed. In Scotland, where agriculture was
' carried on with the greaten perfection, there were more
' women employed in farming than in England; and there
were certain fiddling operations on a farm for which the
nimble fingers of children were particularly adapted. With
regard to the educational part of the question, the com-
mittee observed in the report that the, had no objection
whatever to be limited to the ego at which children should
' be employed in agriculture, and that they should not be ern.
ployed under 9 years of age. He was sure, however, that
unless • boy went to work when be was 9 or 10 years of age
he would not make a good labourer. There were certain
. seasons of the year when women and children ware em-
ployed, and must be employed in agriculture, but there
I were also periods when • greet portion of them might be
readily dispensed with. It was important to remember
that all redrictioes as to the employment of children
I would fall heavily upon their parents ; the farmers would
hardly feel them. Farmers were not opposed to educe:
• tion • on the contrary, they wished their labourers to
be educated, for all other things being equal, the educated
labourer was certainly the best. He did not think the
guardians of Norfolk could be charged with haviogirgieg;
cati leated the education of pauper children ; the
of Id. per week was so trifling, that it did
not enter into their calculations. With regard
to school attendance on alternate days or weeks,
I such • system for children employed in agri-
' culture would be perfectly useless to the farmer--it
must be something like so many hours in the year. We
must still look to night schools and Sunday schools for
perfecting and keeping up education among our rural
population. He thought compulsory education was not
needed. If we bad compulsory education we must very
soon have an educational rate, and then, as s matter of

Icourse, you would undo all the voluntary efforts which had
done so much good. (Hear, hear.)
The Earl of KIX IMBIET said be had listened with
the attention which it deserved to the speech of his
honourable friend (Mr. Read), but he thought that
I in one respect the hon. gentleman rather contradicted him-
self. First of all he said that there was no evil in the
employment of women in the fields, and then that none
but the worst kind of women took part in it.
But if this were so, it showed that the system
of female field labour was not a good one, at the same
time he thought it was out of the question to prohibit
, altogether the employment of women in the fields, as the
people had from habit been so long accustomed to it, and
so many people depended upon it. With respect to the
gang system, he concurred in the paragraph in the report
upon it. He took some part during the past session in
• strongly recommending that some legislation should take
' place on the subject, he had a good deal of communication
with his noble friend Lord Shaftesbury about it, and he
thought the bill of last session would be found sufficient
for the purpose. As to the age below which the employ-
! meat of children in the fields should be prohibited, he
concurred with what Mr. Read had said when he remarked
that boys should commence agricultural employment at an
early age. With regard to girls, be thought be should prefer
a little higher limit ; the subject west, however, a diff .
cult one, because if girls went out into the fields when they
were rather older they were exposed to greater moral
dangers, while if they went out at an early age they were
exposed to hardships to which it was not desirable to sub-
ject them. With respect to a restriction of the hours of
labour, parliament in passing the factory seta bad inter-
fered in the most stringent manner between employers and
employed ; that legislation had met with great success,
and in the reformed parliament it would probably be
further extended. There was no reason why agricultural
labour should be an exception ; in principle he saw no dis-
tinction whatever between agricultural labour and manu-
facturing labour. The Factory Acts met with the most
vigorous opposition from the manufacturers, while the
landed interest, not feeling the pinch of the
interference, ardently advocated them. Now the
tables were turned. (Laughter.) With regard to educa-
tion he thought his bon. friend in the chair was right
when be said that if you had compulsory education you
must also have a compulsory rate for education ; and he
(Lord Kimberley) was unquestionably on principle in
favour of an educational rate, although he saw no reason
why it should fall exclusively upon real property ; on the
oontrary, it should fall on the general wealth of the nation.
His feeling was that good as the voluntary system might
be, it would never reach all parts of the country, but that
there would always be exceptional places where the volun-
tau y system would practically fail. The burthen of schools
now fell upon the clergy and philanthropic persons,
whereas it should fall on all classes. With regard to the
improvement of cottage accommodation he thought we
must not be too impatient, but that we should see its fall
effects on another generation. (Cheers.)
Several other gentlemen having addressed the chamber,
the report was adopted.

THE IMPORTATION OF FOREIGN CATTLE..—A
stlp-
plement to the London Gazette. published on Saturday,
contains an order in council defining the pate of she port
of London within which foreign cattle may now be
landed.

GRRAT NORTHERN HOSPITAL, CALEDONIAN-ROAD,
ISLL'oPrON. Number of patients for the week ending
Oct. 12, 1,021, of whmb 293 were •ew ream