The Sun.
London, England, 1838-02-05 00:00:00

THE SPITALFIELDS WEAVERS.

On Saturday night, at eight o'clock, a large meeting of the unem-
ployed Spitalfields Weavers was held at the Golden Heart, Phoenix.
street, for the purpose of receiving the replies to the addresses sent to
the Queen and the Queen Dowager on the subject of the distress of the
unemployed members of the above body.
About 200 were present when the chair was taken; and never was a
more heart-rending picture displayed; the majority of the human beings
here assembled were without either shirts or stockings, while others
were enveloped in rags that scarcely protected them from the opera-
tion of our criminal laws, and the most of them were covered with sores,
in consequence of being thus exposed to the severity of the weather.
A weaver named BRITTEN took the chair. He said it was his painful
duty to preside once more over a body of his fellow-workmen in the
deepest and most deplorable distress. In walking through Spitalfields
he had seen plenty of food for every one; but in visiting the wretched
holes of the unemployed weavers he had seen starvation in its worse
form; he might say he had seen famine; yes, in the land of plenty hun-
dreds who were willing to work were without tne means of buying a
loaf of bread, and this once blessed country now appeared to be becoming
a cursed country to them.—(Hear, hear.) Among other causes of their
distress was that of causing two men to do three men's work, by toiling
eighteen and twenty hours per day, including Sunday, which over-glutted
the market, while their wages were so low that they were unable to pur_
chase provisions. Their wages were so low that they could not buy any
of their clothing new, but were forced to make purchases at rag shops.

A man named MOULES had been out of work for thirteen weeks,
since which time his wife had been confined, and they might judge of his
situation. On Monday he went to Church.strcet to obtain relief from
the Adelaide Fund, which was raised by the Opera.house ball last sum-
mer, and saw two persons named Fox and Wallis. They told him he
could not be relieved without he purchased the articles of a Society
that had been established, and he replied that he had no money to do so :
so that he was left to perish for want of the money.—(Shame.)
Another weaver, named Lit COMBER, had a wife and family suffering
most severely from cold and hunger ; hls wife had not sufficient clothes
to leave her room, and neither she, himself, or children had partaken of
any thing more than a drink of water since Friday morning. He had
no shift or stockings, and his feet were covered with sores ; he had
neither bed or bedstead, and they all lay together on some straw with
nothing but a bit of sacking to cover them. He should have nothing
to cat till next Tuesday, and his child was crying for bread, and in
passing a baker's shop his heart was good to steal a loaf, but he had
persevered and overcome his feelings.
A weaver, named WELSH, then called the attention of the meeting to
the answer he had received to the address sent to the Queen Dowager,
It was as follows

.1 Gopsall, Feb. 2, 1838.

" Gentlemen—l am honoured by the commands of the Queen Dow-
ager to acknowledge the receipt of au address signed by the unemployed
weavers of Spitalfields, and praying that some part of the funds, arising
from the ball held last June, should be applied to the present exigencies
of the unemployed weavers. The money remaining after all expenses
were paid has been invested for the formation of a saving fund, bearing
her Majesty's name; but the Queen Dowager has heard, with unfeigned
satisfaction, that the Trustees have already appropriated a portion of the
money now in their hands to meet the existing distress. I regret that
my absence from St. Leonard's has caused some delay in this answer to
your address. I have the honour to be, gentlemen, your obedient hum-
ble servant, (Signed) " HOWL.
" To the Committee of the Unemployed Silk Weavers,
Sun Tavern, &c." _ _

With respect, said Welsh, to the relief that has been afforded, very
few, if any, have received it, and above a thousand are out of work.
He was sure the Queen Dowager must have been misinformed as to the
state of things. He had waited upon some of the weavers on that and
the previous day with two of his fellow-workmen, and he could report
what he had seen. At No. 4, John-street, there were nine in family, all
sick and lying on the bare boards. At No. 2, Little George-street, in
a pigeon-loft between the ceiling and tiles were actually a woman and
live children, without any furniture. In the wall two or three bricks
had been knocked out, and a piece of iron-hoop placed so as to form a
fireplace. She had not had food for a long time, and on leaving lie
could not help crying. He was pressed, however, to visit others, and
he did so. At No. 18, Phcenix-street, there was a family of five lying
on straw; and at 3, Busby-court, there were four in a similar condition,
without furniture. At No. 10, Fleet-street-hill, there were four
in family, two of them in fever. At 16, King Edmund-street,
there were eight altogether in family lying upon straw, three
of whom were sick. At No. 9, Butler's-buildings, there were six
lying upon straw ; and at 2, Swan-court, the same scene pre,:ented itself.
At No. 5, Fleet-street-hill there was a family of three, lying upon a
bedstead without any covering, and two of them sick with fever. At
No, 8, Black Bread-alley, a mail named Mouis, with a wife and four
children,
Were lying on some tailors' cuttings. The woman expected to
be confined every day, and she had nothing prepared. At 22, St. John-
street,
street, there were six in family, several of whom were sick; they have
no furniture. At No. 1, Coventry court, - Cox has a sick family of
seven, and his wife near confinement, with nothing but the bare boards
to lie on. At 7, Little George-street, seven were lying on tailors' cut-
tings, and have no furniture, At another place he (Welsh) saw a little
child with nothing but a piece of coarse sacking wrapped round it, and
another with a piece of bed-ticking. These were only a few cases, yet
it was asserted that their distresses had been relieved, although above a
thousand were at that time in a dying state.
A weaver named BEIIIIY said that they should respectfully and ur-
ge•itly press upon the Government the propriety of reducing the duty
upon raw silk, as at present the French could send their goods into
London and compete with the English manufacturers, while they (the
weavers) were compelled to eat bread for which they paid one-third snore
than the French, and rents in proportion. It was impossible these things
could go on any longer.
READ, another weaver, said that but for the exertions of himself and
two others, the money obtained at the Opera-house ball would probably
have been sunk in some manner that they never would have been able to
understand.

GILDERSLEWE, a weaver, said that among all the cases that the Com-
mittee had enquired into not a solitary instance of drunkenness pre-
sented itself. . .

Mr. COLE, the landlord of the Golden Heart, said he was anxious to
set the public right as to the original object of the meetings of unem-
ployed weavers. They first met for the purpose of ascertaining the
number of looms that were out of work, but so many attended the meet-
ing, and so many cases of distress were stated, that an address it was
agreed should be sent to the Dowager Queen praying for a portion of
the money obtained at the ball, and which had been appropriated to-
wards the formation of a society, the members connected ith which had
reason to blush as long as the lived. Dlr. Cole then ehselt at consider.
able length upon them-wilts and demerits of the society, and instanced

a number of airalling cases of distress. The average wages, he added
of the weavers were but 10s.•per week, and yet the industrious workmen
were accused of spending their money in public houses in beer and to-
bacco by those who were in the enjoyment of all the luxuries that this
world could afford. These preachers of frugality wondered how the
weaver could be worse off now than formerly, and for their satisfaction
he would show them. He then read the following ssatcment, showing
the difference in the price of work in 1824 and 1834, viz.—
Geos DE NAPLES. 1824. 1834.

s. d. s. tl. s. d.
4 double per card
4 single 0 11 .. ... 0 6 to 0 0/
3 ciouNe
Z single . . 0 9
Satin, 3.thiread,:,er yard ... 0 9
6-thread .. ~,,, ,
.6.thread
Serg,?, Per yard - 1 0
Ladies' ve:"Ct, per yard.. ... „: 0
4!aeonard's gartnento, do. . 2 :
• •• •
1 0 to 0 10
Single:Ctlrtured Tissue ......2 10 1 6 to 1 11
..
Half-double ec, .o.
Shute and shute pialm
.....,
.1 9 to 3 0
Elkine or narrow waving
hat.harols, per piece
Galoons
Double ribbons ... 1 1
Mr, Cott, after detailing some instances of oppression, said the i2boVe
statement Clem!), showed the cause of the present distress.
rhea:gall, a weaver, said that velvets were last week reduced f`c. 3cll.
per ”id, Persons had been employed in distributing the money rafts&
for the weavers at an expense of 71. 10s. per week, and he recommende4
that an application should be made to the Lord Mayor and Alderman'
Ktlly, requesting them to use their influence in obtaining the unem-
ployed weavers relief. without compelling them to join a society to
which they had insuperable objections.
A motion was ultimately carried that the whole body, with a deputa-
tion at their head, should wait upon the Lord Mayor, and the meeting
adjourned.