The Express.
London, England, 1850-02-21 00:00:00

THE FACTORY BILL—RELAYS.
the MasbeAnter Enrativer.]
Time is a legislation which tends rather to nos dile
than to decide • qaestios. It is when the principle which is
adopted by the law is is itself unsound, sad sessaquently
sot calculated to endure; or when it is opposed to the wish. s
sad isle:Teets of these whitest whets coseuereses it should
sot have bees esseted. The ?astwp Act of 1447 is liable to
ohjestio•, to some West, ea be& ties grounds. It west
upon the @apparition that esesserks. like one-Math of the
maaatawariag power 011ie eareattg sankl be sat elf without
prcdaciag injury sad dtasatoutl and it issued that,
whilst it had oat, the partial asemat et the operatives end
stet with all but the wasalasoes oppralima of the empayers,
It would be accepted without geredes as 'just, sad there.
fore • permanent law.
The recast decision is the Court of inthequer,, by which
the workiag by " relays" is declared to be 'mei. has mot
come apes us with surprise, any awe Una Mil the fret
that the °wain end osengdees of mils sadnesses& !maid
Vto serape from the mew mins sereqesesse of the
riours Act. It ay all along loses ear °risks that the
employment of " relays " was set caly permitted sad legal
audit the reeent frettley losillation, but that it was, is
reality, neoessitatid by it. Wes Meyer believed that the
wades of all our =Ms asuld be hrcibly cut gm heat 12
hours per day to 10 keen, Mama compilling the slop-
tin of every possible sandiest to "rape from the provosts
it a law whisk attempted at ems blew sash • viekdom
ee
all enuomical onsidseallems ; mad we felt coarand that,
whether we farad one grans hem the weeds of the
statute or hem the avowed agora and papoose
of thou who framed it, the " relay" system was set en
=to the latentleme ads" legiolsturs. With regard to the
of the ramie, we seed inter into so *Wier
tioa of our views; it is saideat that they bare bees pre-
unwed te bot eserestiZlSntharity, to Maids, we pro-
same, every ISO la &hr. As to the istesitems
of the Islatuve wehow a hubs, sad we arrive at
the =Winks to which we have some frem the statements
of the promoter, of ram 1155557 Ad, aad from the repeated
declaration of panorama
The promoters of ohm Ilowitay Bill /leered their elan to
legislation oa the biking helplossmeet of the woman aad
children employed is biseeries. They meamed—with hew
little reason wow pessaws la the factory districts well know—
that act young palms only, bat adult wanes, were in cir-
cumstances so depollutes to render it absolutely apeman
on the legislature es insullon for their protection. Their
beret dentilltiatiOr.ll wen hurled at a sutra which
bound Weary sad womanhood alike to the
nitrating and unfailing powers of the steam-engine. They
did not ask for mairietlase as the labour of grows weas for
they admitted • Rues right to freedom of work, as to free-
dom of wawa—sad women and children were alone the ob-
jects of their aszione sympathy. It was le these mermen-
tenons that parliament proceeded. Almost every iis. kir
in the House of Commons repudiated the notion of 4 the
hmin of work to the male adult, and the project of inter-
dicting by express enactment the working of tee steam-
anise or the water wheel beyond 10 hours per day, was
not for a moment entertained. The promoters of Om
Factory Bill said, "Ten hours' actual work per day is sa
seat as women and young pains can endure without
Warn" and the legklansre for a variety of
w's ee, with them, the bill became one of the stsrest
the realm.
And how does the act, as now declared by the highest
kcal authorities, violate them prokssions dike prosaism
ofit, and of the intention of the legislature by wink Ii
was sanctioned 3 Children under thirteen
_pears age
cannot work more than a hours per day. No penes of
either sea, leader eighteen years of age, can work more then
tea hours per day. No woman, young or old, tan weak
men din sea hours per coy. The labour of adult mea
oily, that is, of Rea above eighteen years of age, it ail
subject to legislative restriction. Is it to be assumed sow
that sawn too are helpless end dependent, and that •Ow
ciple is now to be set aside which the
of factory bills, sad parliameate, have hitherto Mingtab.
inviolable ? Or is it ;Intended that the am is astailialeall*
protective of vases and young panne, sad trait le seems
them from as arreagsamat as to their hours of week arab
may oceasiorang be imeenvealent to them, was also Nola
be rostrata, and 231 the spinning sad maaantarkg 'Ora
Waimea% of the kingdom are to be cat dews selikest
shame of redresses mean to tea hears' labour sad mane
par day ?
We are set the adman of the " relay " trim. We
know sonsethisg of its hasavraismem to all puttee 'smeared
• It Rim -1 Irate_ trorable to these vole MVO dis

is it. It at so .
et of a large setabliemeat, and it cameo mos ism
atFt;to • melee of them who are employed leder it.
Fry
is somethiag Bey much worse than Imeable to
the owner, and irregularity is the work of this may. of
of
• factory. Teets is each • thin as • trade sieh 'profit,
The produce of Iseeklasey any diminish, mad the
cost of production may Menem, until the object of
mashinery, aad modesties, sad trade, may be gone ; and a
sent bat am indestimitible ladmay may perish without
&ate* of rethwery. It is heoutes the Feetery Act placed
foetus ea trade, which trade simples to throw ad and to
Benin, that the " relay" system with all its ineoeveniences,
Is chases se the smaller of the evils width the legislature has
Wend to it.
We have the authority of the late lb. Stewart, who was
as laspeetor of factories, that the " May" system is in ope-
ration in Scotland, with the cordial cossarrence of employen
sad employed. We have also his authority for the fact that
in one CAIOII spinning and arming concern in Ireland
more titan one hundM heads are at work who would be
at once discharged if " relays" were diatuntinued. It
may appear • mile to unreamaing advocates of " skeet
time," that labour should be prohibited in • country where
employment is the one thing sandhi, to a people soak in
pauperism and on the verge of starvatioc, bat we semen the
parhament that hu voted millions of taxes to keep the Irish
people from famine, will not readily interfere to discharge
them hundred willing waken from the honest iundustry by
which they Use.
The truth of this factory question as it now stands is this:
The bill was based, to • extent, on false pretences ; and
it parodists a law as • realLWrp measure against the matt-
lacunas, by whom amnions eke ears law was repealed. It
went too far for the most intelligent of the operatives, sad it
insulted and injured the employers who wen almost unani-
mous against it. No factory lemma be of unitized, or in-
deed of any eonsiderable good, which is not, in the main,
consented to, and aempted by both capitalist and workman.
There is an honest wish with a majority of both claws, that
the bouts of labour in futon's should be km than twain.
We believe there is a majority of both classes who feel the
restr,ction to ten boors to be impolitic, if not dangereas.
Thirds also, we wouldheps, a majority of both chasm, who
are convinced thatsome commas ground may be discovered
oa which all may hereafter stand, helping each other
to maintain it. It would probably Is. better for all parties
to tie upon the term of eleven hours, without " relays," than
to act upon the exist* law. It would save the employer
from incommodes." and the employed from imgularity is
his daily labour, and it would be a reel ahoehming es**
day's work by ma hear. If all panne sena mast SS wash
an an meat as this, harmony Wild prevvil r the Saes.
All would then have as interest ia the sod* abssrvaees of
the law, and we might hops that the perils whisk threaten
the permanency and prolitablenem of the goat molded:-
tune industry of the kingdom, from a recklm e interference
with its freedom, night be wholly avoided.

PICIED OP AT Sff.A.—A seaman named lohn
Hunter was landed at this port led week, by a fishing
smack, having been picked up in the North See, floating on
a mull piece of wreck, and 6* his statement it
that he belonged to the brig Anne Maria, at mar as
South Shields, for London, with coals, end that his Teasel
was ran loul of by the bark Ben 'Nevis, off Yarmouth, dm*
a gale of wind in the night. The brig having remised musk
damage, the mew with difficulty could only succeed in keep-
* her afloat until the middle of the next day, when she
foundered, and the whole of the erew (except* himself ),
ittgether with two of the crew of the bark who had got on
board during the collision, were unfortunately drowned.—
Mnidstons asselle.

DIATtIOPiach AMONG THE WEALETANS AT Bin-
-101..—k correspondent saw t. A terrible disturbance took
Mao, as Tuesday night, at the Lasgtoa-strost, Waslaysa
Chapel, Bristol. It woad seem that the Rev. Messrs. Doan
on
ooltios, two of the expelled Wesley= minima, bev-
ies made preparations Mr preielieg ia that eity the Bet.,
the President of the Costumes.r. es. Mr. Jackson, Invited the
members of the Bristol Booth Circuit to meet him at the
Langton street Chapel, with • view to hearths from idon
an explanation of the matters in climate, and • viadloatien
of the conference policy. The 'daisies having
abezit
ticket of membership, the full particulars of what
within the walls of the seared edifies have sot transpired,
but it is known that there tremor, great diets:hones,
is the course of whisk (as same esatend prematurely) the
police of the Bedminster evilest were slat for. As NM
the president sad semi of the ministers amended the
platform, they were welled with load Ilk/ for the Ii
mimics of Mr. Deem The prookiest attempted le 'peak
but not a word amid he bard hum the lemmint
clamour of the . insferity of the magregetimie wire
demanded the adishdes sr the expelled fliiiolllll. Other
ministers tried te get a biasing, but with no seer. were,
while Mr. Orlithe, • Weiler of the %spelled odoislor, who
applied that be might ice admdibed W her tie thew
against him, was hosed with Mierahis patienserss were ems
other parties Moe eras IS the ISMS aide. The !widest
and whereat leSt.dedeved the imeling dimeired, sod loft
the Indlding, ha
ha
maim Mei needed
of the North C' ha the dalkwing
et resseser Chapel, wadi am be ortssupted. The IMM
has mused • geed dal of szsilsonent the mitt=
ladies ef the eity, awl es Tem* night Idr,
atwer• se=leatlriseranmerillthe arrigbild
**ware esenessi des.,
sway Makes* beTe
tenni ease
Tin VIINTILATINO BRICIL--All alias telabled
tea *beam tie ossitery wadi*. of tie rape have isfaly
seethed mask sossifersikes. • sea issletwed Idok. ie-
mislastal sehowil voatletkm Usk..lw hit
lase& "saw asks% whisk waif sweat te be amnia;
of the sweeties of mloYMom sad saw pewees sespielei la
Ile ensiles et boiliNgs. The alkali emit to be emeraldt
etekosese of the lola amp—Ft" e *musk belt
t the was of the baliatri, as as le marectist
assess ef the yolk est sawrlete
vet ; seensilly, Ike way SlNlSlMildeig=lllldilit
hsesisket-hossesami Wier eitheldesodples sal
Snail,* ening him emit dohs West Melte *easiest
of dle per Nat The bilk l dee MEW le be
well sigma fer pest, ir kiwi's*, lebillesr tat
isf s kw sessest el sk anier_tie
ewes= who Wain ken awl, la the NSJ --
by
sat
pert'
egt=tionfe. beet, die was
sesh,
bIM owl tie roodeowl boilable intik ea
oessikeli IMO epee of