The Sun.
London, England, 1847-02-18 00:00:00

NAVAL INTELLIGENCE.

P orasmorm, FEB. 16 —The Dragon steam-vessel, 1,270
tons, and 560-horse power, commanded, pro tem., by Captain
Ramsay, of the Terrible, came into harbour this afternoon
from Cork, whither she had conveyed a cargo of meal from
the river. The Dragon was nearly lost in a gale off the coast
at Ireland. She broke the entablature of one of her engines
this morning, and has done herself other damages since she
has been in commission—only two months. She has now
come in to coal.

We mentioned some months since that the new armament
ordered for the walls of Portsmouth and its dependencies,
including the works on both sides of the harbour and ap-
proaches, consisted of 330 guns of heavy ulibre. They are
in course of being mounted, and comprise the following
pieces :
NUMB'S..

DESCRIPTION. WEIGHT JACIt.
13 inch mortars ... 5 tons 1 quarter
8-inch shell or shot ... 65 cwt.
8-Inch ditto ... 50 cwt.
8-inch howitzers.
56-pounders ... 97 cwt.
32-pounders ... ... 56 cwt.
24-pounders ... 50 cwt.
24-pounders ... 20 cwt.
24-pounders, carronades.
18-pounders 42 cwt.

.........
330.

In addition to the above a strong battery will be erected
on the site of the 53 houses in course of demolition on the
south side of Broad-street, " Point."

The Belleisle troop-ship, Captain J. Kingcome, sailed to-
day for Gibraltar with the .56th Regiment.
No accounts have been received from the Sphynx to-day
up to three o'clock, but the state of the wind and weather,
blowing fresh from S.W., with thick haze and rain, forbids
any hope of getting her off these springs without a change.
and that very soon, as the tides " take off " again after to-
morrow.

5 P.M.—The Ryde packet has just arrived, with Mr. Biddle-
-sAlausstteernoftothtehSet.CVominmceanntd,
ewrh-in
-Ceahrisefd. ispßaytchthese
co
frommb*Captainin,
packet we learn that the Sphynx is still safe, with her bow
to the sea, as before; but the weather continues unfit for
boats to go off to the vessel. Yesterday Captain Austen and
Mr. Biddlecombe went on board, when it was scarcely pos-
sible for the surf-boat to live; the boat was unable to land
for hours after, when the tide receded. There is no chance
of an improvement during the present high tides, as it would
be impracticable to move the Sphynx through the surf.
She must, therefore, wait more moderate weather, during
which interval Captain Austen, no doubt, will continue his
arduous duty in removing all possible weight, such as ma.
chinery, &c.
Wocamicm, Fzu. 16.—The Cockatrice victualling trans-
port-ship left Woolwich yesterday morning, with boilers for
making soup for the poorer inhabitants of Ireland. She is to
call at Sheerness to take in a quantity of boilers at that port
for the same purpose and same destination.
the Woolwich division of Royal Marines, was mo .
The Benbow, 72 guns, converted into a depot forveadptaortthoef
shteaintigonhif‘o,ormurearblyie.occupied by the Hebe to-day,
is to. be
ate, Captain Ramsay,
t istutobe
The Terrible steam-friga ,
will then be taken into
taken out of the dock to-morrow, and the high tides
the basin.
taken into the dock when the Terrible. ~
previous to proceeding un the surveying
t.s
tßakeechneoru,
exa-
mine her bottom .
service in the ensuing season.
The Mastiff surveying vessel, Captain
Master Commander Petlev,
ontoTb.ietctlnti:Vetpetaforurd-vgfi edrrowt to tow the
Woolwich, to be fitt with her boilers. Kite steam-

The Hibernia, Boston steamer, brings a box ad-
dressed to her Majesty the Queen. It is entered in the bill
ct‘it
World,
notrial, idin: so
mian qt
eount al
denetodi
ft yatsho
ef
aimpl l
ruoessstterneatt
nt etido.
of entry as "one box, contents unknown, for her Majesty
natinelendtQoptuhueeebrnli.imerWesriiecnabitieillpi
eeulNybeleiiv,cta.
MrTs.HOEsbli:rnATeE,
wAhoTsTeEestasPeThAasT
eAxictitneaDEs
her Majesty.—LireTeol Courier.
Ro
nruchDinEtßerleYst.,--is
still living. On Monday last she appeared in a rapidly
sinking state, but, by the timely administration of stimu-
lants, she rallied towards evening, and passed a tolerably
quiet and tranquil night. At the In ur of going to press we
learned, on inquiry, that though a slight change for the
better had taken place, she still continued in a state of the
greatest uncertainty and danger.—Derby Mercury.
THE ELECTRIC TELEGRAPIL—Arnonif the very
many and almost daily instances of the sterling utility of
this most wonderful invention of our inventive age, the.fol-
lowing little incident may be named, as, although the affair
serves to show the apparatus as instantaneously applicable
may not, perhaps, be one of absolute public importance, it
to subjects important in themselves, and to the parties ix-
tTell Derby a Dlr.
Ftriiie
• dearye st ed ,
evening, although
thof l
oea w i purely domes. medsosagese twicacsharreaccetivere.d Oant
folt
Harrison has escaped from the ork Asylum, and is sup-
• Chesterfield station, per telegrak,b:—"
posed to have fire-arms about his person. Search all the
trains from York. He is tall, has a crooked nose, and has
' en a green coat with pockets at the side. Tell the police to
' look out." To this message another succeeded from Leeds
as follows :—" He is caught at Leeds--they have made him
quite aecure."..Derby Mercury,

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.
HOUSE OF COMMONS, Feb. 17.
ADJOURNED DEBATE ON THE FACTORIES' BILL.
Sir ANDREW feEliil HAY (in continuation from our
Afternoon Edition of yesterday) said—That such a state
of depression existed was well known to all, and
it was a fact that these manufacturers had for years
together carried on their business, and kept their machinery
going, for the purpose, not of emolument, but in tfie hope of
f
!setter times for their trade. That was the present state
things, and he felt convinced, that if they did pass this mea-
sure as proposed by the Hon. Member for Oldlia
ofn mills,
the would, in the first place, stop altogether a number
the owners of which would not think it worth
their while to go on under such circumstances,
and would thus inflict a great injury upon the
manufacturing interest of this country. He had a letter from
a mill-owner in that part of the country, which contained a
statement that this measure would be very injurious to their
interests.—(!lsar, hear.) With regard to the working
of these mills, it appeared rational to suppose that
if the:hours of labour were reduced from twelve to ten hours,
it was absolutely impossible to suppose but that a reduction
of wages must follow, and it would injure the agricultural
interest by throwing a number of men out of employ-
ment, and making them dependent upon parochial relief.
There was another point to which he would refer. It was
impossible that a general Act of this kind could operate be-
neticially on all the manufacturers of England, Ireland, and
Scotland. There would, therefore, be considerable hardship
imposed on many of those parties. Till he had seen other
reasons to alter his opinion, he must rote against the Bill.
This was, of all other times, the most dangerous for trying
such an experiment. It was not a time of prosperity, when
it could be tried with impunity. He thanked the House for
listening so attentively to him, and, on the part of the manu-
facturers of his county, as well as on behalf of the interests
of the agriculturists of the empire, and the people generally,
he must oppose the second reading of this Bill.
Mr. BERNAL thought that, whatever side Hon. Members
might take on the present question, they ought to express
their opinions without exaggeration or prejudice. He for one
had always been consistent on this subject ; he had never
altered his opinion of its merits. Still he desired to state
that he had no sympathy with any of the illiberal or vulgar
attack:: which had been made on the master manufacturers
of the country, who, he believed, had generally acted with
the best intentions towards the operatives under their care.
All he asked of those manufacturers was, not to let prejudice
affect their minds in the condemnation of the present mea-
sure, for he believed an end to the question must come
ere long by the concession of what was now sought.—(Hear,
hear.) He felt certain that three years would not go over
their heads till a ten hours' Bill would: be carried.—(Hear,
hear.) The Bill now before the House proposed to limit
the labour of young persons between the age of thirteen and
eighteen, and all females, to ten hours a day for five days in
the week, and eight hours on Saturday. That VMS to make
the week's labour 58 hours, instead of 68 hours, as at pre-
sent. Now, in discussing the advantages that would result
from the proposed change, he would deal only with plan
arguments and matters of fact, and discard all poetry. He
admitted at once that the arrangement would also limit the la-
bour of adults in factories. This being the case,he would address
himself to one or two of the leading argument. employed
previous speakers against the teal. It had been stated that
if the hours of labour were reduced to two hours a day,
there would in consequence be a reduction of wages in the
same proportion; and it had further been stated that the
factory operatives were not prepared for that. He conceded
the first proposition, that there would be a reduction of wage.,
but he must tell the House that the operatives had over and
over again expressed themselves willing to take the measure
and abide the issue. He recollected two years ago having a
two hours' conversation with delegates from the manufac-
turing districts, and when this subject was named to them ttt sir
answer was,"We are content to encounter the risk, and abide the-
chance of reduction."—(Hear, hear.) But he did not con-
cede the point that there would be a necessary reduction of
wages to the extent named by the opponents of the Bill. He
would call the attention of those who differed with him in
opinion on this subject to the figures, the data, the facts, that
illustrated this point. Had the Acts passed during the past
year, for the regulation of the textile manufactures of the
country, reduced the rate of wages? Between 1813 and
. 1833 seven distinct statutes had been passed on the subject of
kreelactories, and for the reduction of the hours of labour. lie
eoce appealed to the Right Hon. Gentleman opposite, the Member
for Dorchester (Sir James Graham) if such. had not been
the case. To talk, therefore, of the principle of the
present Bill being new was absurd. The details he had
collected on the rate of wages at the different periods, he
had collected from the evidence contained in the large blue
books up stairs. As he had already observed, from 1813 to
1833, seven distinct Acts had been passed bearing on the
question of factory labour. What, then, was the rate of
wages in the different years? In 1833 Mr.f Holland Hoole
gave evidence on the subject of wages, and his authority was
the more important as he was well known to be opposed to
measures of the kind. He states what were the wages in eight
years. and the result is that the average wages of young per-
sons in Manchester was Bs. 4d. a week, while in 1833
they were Bs. 10d. a week, so that though the
hours of labour were reduced, the wages of those persons
had riot been reduced, but rather had increased. And the
advantage would appear still greater,when thee-considered the
pekes of provisions in relation to wages at the different periods.
He begged the House to grant him its attention while he
proceeded to read the scale of prices which prevailed in the
articles of food, anti other necessaries, in each of these re-*
spective years, and the House would remember, that in the
intermediate period enactments had been passed' limiting the
hours of labour in factories. He foetid, thy., than
the price of oatmeal was in 1813, 553;„ tr -18 n, 25,.
butcher's meat, in 1813, 6d. ; in 1833,- qn, ; o"
1813, Bd., in 1833, 6d. ; , ecantiles, „Ili 1813, lii in
d.,
in 1833, sid.; coals, in 1813, Bid., in 1833, 3id.
Salt, they were aware, was coneiderably, ISucesi, and there
had been a reduction generally in calicoes'', erticlei of dress,
cheese, and potatoes, amounting nearly to 50 per cent., so
that while the young women in 1833 got nearly the same
average wages that they did in 1813, they could supply
—• themselves with articles of food and clothing at 50 per cent.
less. Now, if the House took the average weekly earnings
in 1844 and 1845, they would find that the same facts were
exhibited. In a speech of the Hon. Member for Durham,
in which he entered at some length into the question of
wages as existing in his own and other factories in Lanca-
shire and Yorkshire, the Hon. Member stated the number
of his workers at 518, and their average earnings per week
as 9s. Id. ; Mr. Ackroyd employed 745 workers,
at an average weekly wage of 9s. 3d., while the
workers in Messrs. Eccles' and other manufac•
tories averaged 10s. 7d. He alluded to these facts
merely to show that wages in 1844 and 1845 had not been
reduced, although from the year 1833 they had passed two
other enactments limiting the hours of labour in factories.
He had, therefore, the right to assume that a doubt might be
cast on the assertion, that the reduction of the duration of
labour would be followed by a reduction of wages. He
believed it would not, and be conceived that he had as good
a right to prophecy as his opponents. When they were told
that the health of towns was a subject of vital importance to
all clisssee of the commuinity—when this subject was being
forced upon their notice, in terms which could not be disre-
garded, could they, when considering this question, forget
that the artizan was worked for 12 or 14 hours in a heated
and unwholesome atmosphere; that women ( workers also in
factories) were torn from their domestic relations, and inter-
rupted in the midst of those maternal duties which nature
had pointed out as imperative? Let the house look to the
facts elicited by Mr. Fletcher, a most intelligent surgeon of
Manchester. fie, writing to the Honourable Member for
Oldham, stated that he was startled at the statistical
details set forth in various authorities; but after he had him-
self tested their accuracy, he was obliged to acknowledge
that in no single instance were they overcharged. He had
not taken one town or district, but had compared one with the
other throughout the textile manufacturing counties. He had,
for instance, taken one district in the town of Bury, and com-
pared it with another district in which a different species of
manufacture prevailed. First, in the town district of Bury,
which he had examined, he found that great mortality pre-
vailed in consequence of defective ventilation, and that
the number of years which each worker was employed
in the factories did not exceed on en average eight years,
while in some other kinds of factories the period exceeded
fourteen years. Ile found that the deaths of infants in the
towns averaged sixty-one per cent., and in other
districts thirty-two per cent. The Hon. Member
( Mr. Milner Gibson) seemed to doubt this, but the
facts were accredited, and could be substantiated to the satis-
faction of the Hon. Member. Now in the district of Bury
North he found the mortality as 91,4 years compared to 19
years in other districts, and the deaths among infants as
54 per cent. compared to 33 per cent. in other dis-
tricts. Now they had heard a great deal of the
necessity for the construction of parks, and schools,
and athenaeums for the working classes, but he should like to
know what period the workman had to give, or what phy-
sical energy he had left, to enjoy these walks in
the parks, or that intellectual recreation in athenaeums.
Would any Hon. Gentleman who knew anything of the
physical energies of the human frame tell him that any
man or woman had sufficient bodily energy at the end of
six days' work in a factory to enjoy themselves in a park or
an athenaeum? It was truly said that manufactures at the
present moment were depressed. Now, what was the cause
of it? Why, it could be traced to the working of that mag-
nificent demon (if he might be allowed the term), the steam-
engine. By the aid of its powers the manufacturers of this
country had overstocked every market in the world, and
that was the cause of the depression in manufactures. The
consequence of all this was that all the mills throughout the
kingdom were working short time, and as there must necs-
sarily be diminished production in future, what harm was
there in passing this Bill?
Mr. DENNISTOUN was understood to remark that over-
production was an increase of good; it was net an evil.
Mr. BERNAL denied that it was an increase of good, and
maintained that over-production was a decided evil. In
America they managed things better than in this country,
and while the wages there were 15s. a week, ss. more than
in this country, the hours of labour were much shorter.
Still America was enabled to compete with British manufac-
tures. In France and Belgium the wages were lower than
in this country. But it was urged that if this Bill were
passed the price of manufactures would be increased in the
home market. Well, perhaps it might, but only to the extent
of a halfpenny a shirt. Then, again, it was urged, that if
factory labourers objected to their present hours of labour
they could combine or turn out. This, be thought, was un-
generoue, for in his opinion the operatives of Lancashire and
Yorkshire were deserving of the highest eulogium, and were
entitled to credit rather than odium for not having
long ago resorted to a turn out or a combination.
Now, why should the operatives be compelled to work more
hours a day than the mechanic? There was not a mechanic
in any mill who worked more than ten hours a day—not a
smith, joiner, or carpenter upon the average worked in a
mill more than ten hours par day, and why should the fac-
tory operatives be compelled to work longer ?—(Hear.)
He did not think that five hundred men, employed together
beneath a large shed, with this " demon power" urging them
on, could be said to be men with free will. It was a very
common thing to talk of educating the people, but he wanted
these men, who were standing upon the soles of their feet,
in an atmosphere of from 70 to 80 degrees, to have a little
reposerts well as education. A person occupied all the day
insuch occupations could not be supposed to turn to his
scholastic duties or afterwards take a pleasant walk in the
park, or pluck flowers in the green fields. It had been said
that the agricul;turttlelabourer was worked as severely as the
manufacturers
owing to the were,
however, always healthy,
Tf the Government tua
continued blessings of air and light.
notf grant the request of those who
were peacefully agitatin
they
would
be
compelledgtiaurdtoehaeaeom.theasure, sooner or later
But it had been said
forernnnonsceelfssitons would, b©
that if this measure were
required. He begged, however,
seoehstah.ee that
the present was a Ten Hours' Bill, and
come sup-
ported
it, but if the operatives should
st a limitation of the hours of m e forward and
request labour to eight,
he should most certainly oppose it. lie found that there
'a
a clause in the present bill proposing that from the Ist of
May, 1817, to the let of May, 1848, the hours of labour
hould be reduced to eleven ; but, that, after that period the
ime should be reduced to ten hours. Ile did not approve of
the eleven hours' measure; he thought that it either went
too far, or not far enough. He hoped that the manu-
facturers would not leave themselves open even
to the charge of suspicion of avariciousgr risping of.
that
which they should not maintain, and which the dut lea of
morality and Christianity forbsd them to hold.

Mr. SHARMAN CRAWFORD said that he attended a
meeting held in the Town-hall of Rochdale, numerously
attended by the working classes of that town, convened fur
the purpose of expressing their opinions upon the subject of
the Ten Hours' Bill, and he asked them what was
their wishes with respect to that Bill, and whether they
desired him to support the measure in that House, and whe-
ther they were willing to receive any reduction of wages
which might arise from the passing of that measure? :One
part of the hall was appropriated to females, and he asked
them their opinion upon these subjects, and received the most
enthusiastic answer in the affirmative. And, although the
operatives of Rochdale did not constitute the whole body of
the electors of Rochdale, still he felt it his duty to pay
a due consideration to the wishes of that large body, and he
considered that he was acting in conformity with their opi-
nions by giving his vote in favour of this Bill.
Mr. DENNISTOUN said that the Hon. Member (Mr.
Bernal) had challenged him to disprove his statement of
facts, but before he (Mr. Dennistoun) did so, he must
say that he was somewhat surprised that the Noble
Lord at the head of the Government found fault
. .

with his Honourable Friend, the Member for Durham, be-
cause at ten minutes to six o'clock on last Wednesday he
made what the Noble Lord called an attack upon him.
Short, however, as the time for addressing the House
was, it did not prevent the Noble Lord from making a
counter attack upon his Hon. Friend, and at the same time
upon a question of this vital importance, the first Minister of
the Crown did not hesitate to say, that during the few mi-
nutes he had then to occupy the House he was quite pre-
pared to state his reasons for opposing the measure.
Now, he confessed that his Hon. Friend stated one argument
which, at the first blush, would seem to carry, if not convic
tion, at the least great weight, and which, if it were not met,
would place the opponents to the Bill in a different position.
He alluded to the point made, that this would not be the first
time that the State has interfered in the hours of labour.
There had certainly been a reduction made from fourteen to
twelve hours, but that was only a nominal reduction, and
was not general throughout the country, for twelve hours
had been always the average, and this being the fact the
whole arguments of his Hon. Friend fell to the ground. He
considered that to put a limit on the power of steam was
tke most absurd idea that could enter into the
head of man. The Americans had a natural advantage
over the manufacturers of this country by about 20 per cent.
In the year 1843 there were 400,000 bales of cotton spun in
England, out of which 342,000 were expended, leaving only
58,000,000 pounds to be consumed in the country.
The result of the measure would be to limit
the production of the country to one-seventh.
It they passed this measure, before many months elapsed,
they woald find it necessary to retrace their steps and to
abrogate all they had done.—(Hear.)
Mr. FERRAND said, when his Hon. Friend the Member
for Oldham (Mr. Fielden) presented, this afternoon, petitions
signed by many thousands of the factory operatives of the
north of England in favour of this Bill, he could not help
being struck with the contrast which the Honourable
Gentleman the Member for Dundee (Mr. Duncan) pre-
sented, in rising immediately after him to inform the
Meuse that he had a petition to present on the
subject from a different class of persons—from the members
of the Chamber of Commerce of Dundee waving that the
rim mignc pose:, se 5..,. Ile was, indeed, prepared to
admit that they were a very different class of persons. On
the oue hand, there were thousands of operatives re-
questing the protection of the House, steeped in
misery and distress; whilst, on the other hand, the members
of the Chamber of Commerce of Dundee had presented a
petition requesting that House not to listen to the prayers of
millions of the people of this country. We were on that
occasion to support the prayers of the millions—the toiling
millions of England and Scotland, and in doing so he
should offer no apology to the House, but ask them to give
him his attention whilst he read to the House some extracts
from the writings of a gentleman who was perfectly compe-
tent to inform the House what were the feelings of the ope-
ratives of England on this vital question. For himself he
might ray, that it was now seventeen years since
he first became the siren advocate of a Ten
Hours' Factory Bill ; bat, at the large number
of meetings he had attended on the subject, he had
never yet witnessed one manufacturer who durst raise his
voice at any of those meetings against those who had pub-
licly assembled to advocate thin Factory Bill. He had never
heard one manufacturer who durst meet his work-people and
fairly argue the question which was at issue. If there was
an instance, he should be glad to hear it. He saw the Hon.
Gentleman the Member for Sheffield (Hr. Ward) taking
notes; he believed it was not many weeks since he visited
his constituents, and was obliged to admit that the people of
this country were unanimous in favour of this Bill.
Mr. WAIiD assured the Hon. Gentleman that he did not
make such an assertion.

Mr. FERRAND explained that what he meant to say was
that he was obliged to admit that the factory operatives were
unanimously in favour of a Ten Hours' Bill. The working
populace of Sheffield entirely differed with the I-loa. Member in
his view of the question. The Right Hon. Baronet the Member
for Tamworth had informed the House that he felt it his duty
to vote against the Bill, in consequence of his anxiety for the
interests of the factory labourers. By the permission of the'
House he should like to read the details ofs-eht present state
and sufferings of those operatives. The extract to which he
had referred was from the writings of a Lancashire cot-
ton-spinner. Out of the mouths of those manufacturers
who opposed this Bill he would judge them in the British
House of Commons. If the statement was true, and there
was no doubt of it, he would ask if there was any Hon.
Member who had the audacity to stand up and say, that he
was prepared to perpetuate in a Christian and civilised land a
state of suffering and degradation such as that which he
was about to read to the House, in opposition to the state-
ments made by the united operatives of the north of Eng-
land. Thisgreat Lancashire cotton-spinner stated that, as indie
vidual manufacturers externally engaged in trade, they should
not be suspected of wilful exaggeration of the evils of this
system when they made the following statement. They should
exaggerate nothing, extenuate nothing, but simply state the
amount of evil that exists, and make suggestions for it*
cure. (The Hon. Member then read several, extracts, which
stated that children of 10 and 12 years of age, after being.
employed for a short time in factory labour, lost the elastic
step of youth, the blooming cheek, and . the vivacity:
of intellect, under the severe employment and the ptolonged
confinement, often resulting in permanent debility or pre-
mature death.) The gentleman who thus spoke of !the'
factory system was no other than Mr. Greig, one of the
largest cotton-spinners in Lancashire, who at the time he
made these statements vi as in favour of the relaxation of the
hours of labour; but now his mind had been poisoned by the
principles of political economy, and he was associated
with a small, and God be thanked, a decreasing band,
of cotton-spinners in Lancashire, who denied the
factory operatives that protection to which they were
fully entitled. Mr. Greig went on state that from long
hours of work, and from its severe nature—rendered more i
severe and exhausting by its often being performed
in a close atmosphere—the workers found it neces-
sary to resort to the use of artificial stimulants;
that many of them receiving the highest wages spend the
greater portion of their leisure, more particularly on
Saturday evenings and during the Sundays, in be-
sotting themselves with ale, and beer, and gin. The quan-
tity of gin drunk in this way was enormous; and it was
painful to see children, even girls, being initiated into
this practice. Ardent spirits were not the only stimulants
they resorted to, as many of them indulged to a
large extent in opium, which they took in the
form of pills, and in other forms, which they called
anodyne, which was cheaper than gin. It was mach in
use when wages were low, but now it would be an habitual
stimulant. The general hours of work were from half-past
fiive in the morning until half-past seven or eight at night,
with half an hour for breakfast, an hour for dinner, and half
an hour generally for tea, leaving twelve hours a day for
clear labour. The labour of spinning was most laborious,
and perhaps was only exceeded in that respect by mowing
alone; and few mowers worked twelve hours without inter-
mission. It was impossible anybody could work for twelve
hours in this way without injuring hie constitution.
Farm and other labourers seldom worked more than
tan hours a day. Walking for twenty hours was
considered a moat intolerable punishment for witches,
but they never could undergo their punishment longer
than twelve. Many of the Members of that House
were arguing about the great disadvantage of losing
a farthing a pound on the cotton manufacture by
reducing the hours of labour, in oppositon to the far more
important question, namely, the sacrificing of the lives of
millions of the people of this country. They said that it
was the duty of the British house of Commons to refuse
this Bill in order that the superabundant wealth of the
manufacturers might be madelgreater than it was. There was
not a cotton-spinner in Lancashire who durst attend
a public meeting in any one of the large ma-
nufacturing towns, and there openly state, in the
presence of numbers of the factory workmen,
similar to that which had been stated in that house ; and if
there was one Member of that House connected with the
cotton trade who was prepared to dispute the policy of grant-
ing this measure before the factory workers of the north of
England, he challenged him to go down to the town
with which he was connected, where he (Mr. Ferrand) would
meet him, and discuss the question with him at a public
meeting; and he pledged his word, that although attempts
had been secretly made to induce the factory workers in many
parts to make statements in opposition to the Bill—and he
should prove it to the House before long—he should show that
the operatives themselves were anxious to work no more
than ten hours a day, and that if the House would
not legislate for them they would legislate for themselves.
It was further said by Mr. Greig, that the fourth cause of the
ill-health prevailing in the manufacturing districts might be
traced to the weakened and vitiated constitutions of the
women. They were employed after their marriage and dur-
ing their pregnancy, and that was known to every one, who
had considered the subject, to bring on a weakened and
debilitated condition to the children, so that when
the children began working themselves, they were pre-
pared at once to succumb to the evil influences by
which they were surrounded. These were the facia
delivered by Mr. Greig, guaranteed by him, and which he
had published to the world upon his high authority. Was
there a Member in that House who could gainsay any one of
them, or any longer maintain in the House the factory
system, which had been carved on by the sacrifice of thou-
sands of the people of England? The manufacturers had also
said, in a statement which had been eitrculated among the
Members of that House, that if they carried the Ten hours'
Bill, let the Ministers be responsible for the consequences,
and they had gone so far as to threaten to close
their mills for the purpose of creating events similar to
those which occurred in 1842. Was that the way for men
who had amassed enormous wealth out of the bones and
sinews of the starving people of England to conduct them-
selves?—was that the way in which they should set an
example? After they had voted—disgracefully to them-
selves—and had carried the corn-laws, they still opposed the
Factory Bill, after they had promised to give their support
to it.—( Hear, hear.)
Air. BRIGHT—No.
Mr. FERRAND—The Honourable Member for Durham
said "No." He (Mr. Ferrand) believed that they
did, and if they did he called on them, as men of
honour, to redeem their pledge, and if they did
not do so they ought to be branded with infamy
and disgrace. It was not the Ministers that would be re-
erosible. It was themstives who would be responsible.
'1 he manufacturers had declared through their representative
in that House, that if they were left alone, and legislative
interference were not brought to hear upon them, they would
immediately arrange the thing between the masters and the
workmen—that they would introduce the Ten Hours' Bill
themselves. Had they done so ? They had broken their pledge
and promises, being determined that this disgraceful state of
things should continue, and it was therefore the duty of Parlia-
ment to interfere and to protect the weak against the strong.
Who were the parties who interfered and told them that they
should not come to that House to protect men ? Did they
come to protect men? No.; they came for the protection of
women and children, who were compelled either to work for
this period or starve to death. It was their machinery which
destroyed the system of manual labour and the hand-loom
we,yers. Many of them bad laeen starved in the country ;
'andsiinhe fewhaydeabres machineryen tci, uponwould auvir(yiecstormoy thepete labourntauthoroirty;om
authority, that
persons enure. What were the manufacturers doing at
tohueg lap: t o beatant n i
eoa effect good
the people for one half rfg"lar ;
hours . Tomeetrt* gololideir mills were not running six
during the other half; 0041th:etc. these mills, their employment
and they ought not to starve
year, and work them to death
cls he had received accounts from

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