The Sun.
London, England, 1812-05-21 00:00:00

MINUTES OF EVIDENCE,

TAKEN BEFORE THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
HOUSE, TO WHOM IT WAS REFERRED, TO CONSI-
DER OF T•HE SEVERAL PETITIONS, WHICH HAVE
-BEEN PRESENTED TO THE HOUSE OF COMMONS,
IN THIS SESSION OF PARLIAMENT, AG4INST THU
ORDERS IN:COUNCIL.

Nlt•rcurij, 29 die April's, 18 12.
THOMAS IjABING'I'ON, Esq. in the Chair.

Mr. WILLIA.Da WHlTEuousu called in and examined.
[Continued from our Paper of yesterday.]
• How many do you employ now ?;,--Frotn five to
seven hundred.

When did you begin to turn off your hands ?
About six months ago.
During the six months previous to your turning
off those hands, did you employ your whole hands
at full' wages?—Yes.
Has ydur stock during that time been accumu-
lating or diminishing ?—Continnallyaccumulating.
Has the employment of hands during thit lime,
under this accumulation of your stock, been ptoduc-
five of considerable eXpense to you ?--Yes, very
considerable.

If matters should go on as they are at present,
and your stock" should- still accumulate, will you'
continue to' employ' the sane number of hands you
,have at present ?—No.
Du you know how many 'persons may bentnploy-
ed in the nail manufaeiure in/general in Btrining-
hatn and its neighbourhood ?—Birmingharn is' of
very little consideration in the nail trade ; there are'
but two or three principal manufaEtures there;
Dudley is the chief place,. West. Bromwich. and
Slourbridge are the others, and there is one con-
siderable naar!ufatitory in Birmingham, but they
emplciy most of their houses at five or ~six miles
distance.

How many in this manufactore may
.be employ-
pioyed ?—At our general meeting, held in January,
it was ascertained pretty nearly, that when !kade
was in its flourishing, state, we employed from
twenty•five to ,thirty thousaoci people in the nail
trade.

Do you mean a general meeting',•held at some
stated times, of the pons in that line of trade ?
The manufaciturers in that line of trade call quarter-
ly meetings four times a year.
And this was the result of their inquiries at this
general areeting ?—Yes.
Where was this meeting held ?---At the hotel in
Dudley, in January last.
The result of that inquiry was, that in flourishing
states of the nail trade, the number employed was
fro-m twenty-five to thirty thousand ?—Yes.

What proportio'n of that number may be now
employed in the nail trade should think from
two-thirds. to three-fourths of them may be em-
ployed.

Of those two-thirds or three-fourths who are still
employed in the trade, du ,the persons receive the
full wages ?=-Yes, but not so much wages as they
did six months ago, the price of labour was reduced
last January.

in what proportion were the wages reduccd-?
About from 71 to to per cent.
Flad_thoLe wages been previously reduced at all
before that time —No, they were advanced in the
early part of the year ,1 tO.
What are the usual hours of working in the.nAil
trade ?—lt rtquirts them to work from five or six
in.the mornivg, to.eleven ortwelyeat,night.

.
To earn what wages ?—To earn at the average
no more than twelve-shillings, eight, ten, twelve, or
~
fourteen ; some sixteen, but they must work very
hard indeed to get that.
Do you mean that number of shillings by the
week ?—No, they will none of them work by the
weels, nor are the.nail manufaaurers employed in
the same way_ as other manufacturers ; we deliver
out bundles of iron, and-they take it to their shops,
and whatever they bring returned-in a manufaaered
state, we pay by the piece, not by the hour.
Then when' you say, that persons in that work •
now earn at an average not more than twelve shil-
lings, what do you mean be earning twelve shil-
lings?--They must work very- hard to earn twelve
shillings'; many do not earn seven or eight,- work-
ing at their own time ; they may work . half the
day, three.quarters of the day, or the whole day.
D- you mean twelve shillings for a weeks
wages Yes, twelve shillings for the week. '
What may be their wages by the week, at a time
when the nil trade is flourishing, and the men
in full employment ?—The difference would have
been about two or three shillings a week, for those
in full employ.

What do you state as the highest wages of per-
sons, in the flourishing state of the nail trade ?
They must work very. hard now to 'get 12 or 14
shillings, and when wo gave them the other price,.
which was from seven and a half to -.ten per cent.
higher, for there was a difference in pricei,.some
sorts were, reduced seven and a half, and some tcn
per cent. and t har person who might gain twelve
shillings a week now, Might have-gained thirteen or
fourteen, anti those who gain ten shillings, might
have gained twelve before.

Do you mean to say, that the highest wages
given in the nail trade a.wnot more than thirteen or
fourteen shillings ?—No;
.1 have known men earn
eighteen shillings, or twenty shillings, but that was
when they were working for a wager, and we do
not wish our men to work in that way ; a man
might get now twenty shillings, but liemould not
get it in the regular way, he must work without
taking his regular meals to get-more than twelve or
fourteen. shillings.
,Six bears ago, what was the utmost that a work-
man could earn for his wages in a week ?—Sixteen
or seventeen shiilings.
Five.yfars ago, what was the utmost ?-There
was no difference from the 12111 of February, 1800,1
to August, 18 10, nor no deviation again from that
to the last January, when we reduced them to the
former,price.'

Then the falling off of the wages since August,
1810, has been from seven and a half to ten per
cent ?--Yes.

Are you to be understood. iha► you are keeping on
the hands you now employ, in the expectation of
the trade reviving ?-.:Yes.
• Do you know whether ihe number of poor in the

town of Wart Bromwich has ire.rased within the
last months ?—They have tint, not so much as I
should have supposed from the difference w hands
we have employed, and I believe that :some other
manufaaturers have continued less than %.1 e have
ourselves, and I am pretty confident of that,

. _
Why relief is providel for the pcor turned out of
work in the town of West Brortiwich ?---That I am
at a loss to tell, myself ; many have gone for 'sol,
diers, no doubt, a6d many gone into the poor-.house,.
but what has become of the rest I cannot tell ; wt
do not employ tnore'than six or seven butlderrd pair
Of hands, though perhans other mannfatiurers have
not made so large a difference as'outs:ilves; for .it-6
were very much the foreign and export trade, anii
others who were in the home trade.have not. turned
off so, many pel haps.._ •

Are there many friendly societies in West Broni:,
wich 1—,4\70 ;, I do nut know of one.
Do you know anything of the state of the ex•
port trade, within the last eighteen months I—Yes;
we have exported a little ourselves ; u e exported d
little, in the early part of 1810 to 4merica
selveq.
• Wii bin the last, eighteen months do you' knot,
any thing of the export trade ?—We have sent note
•
to America since tha►.

Have you sent any of your articles to any,othet
part since that ?---Yes, to South America.
To any considerable amount ?—Yes.
Have you received payment ?—We have received
payment for a considerable part, and' We bavie some
few -"thousand ,pout:ds owing for, the cargoes for,
which have arrived in
When did you send these.articles to South Ame-
rica ?—About the end of ,180 g and early in 1810.
During the last eighteen months, that is dur-
ing the year 1811, from the beginning of the
year 1811 downwards, have you sent any of your
articles to South America I—ln the early part of
1811, op to the month of April, we -'sent some, that
is, about twelve 'months ago, in January, February.
March and April, the principal part of those cargoes
went out.

Since the month of February 1811, have yon
sent any of your articles to North America —(*)ne
single lot only, I believe.
Was that to the United States, or to Canada
To the United States;

Since the same period, down to the month of
April of the same year, you exported something to
South America ?—Yes.

Did you expbrt any thing considerable 19:4ween
the month of February and the mon'h of Atm] to
South America ?.—Yes, a few thousand potinctti.

Since the month of February,. 181 I , have you
exported as much to South America as you were
formerly in the pratiice of exporting to North Ame-
rica
in the same period ?—NO.

Have you exported any thing to Heligoland from
that, time ?—,No.
Malta ?—No.
To any part' of the Continent ?'—:The Continent
does not take nails ; they mannfaaere 62tis.
Then the defalcation in your tfade,„of which yoo
have spoken, h.-is arisen /entirely from the Loss of
'our export to Nort7l America ?—Yes.
.Do you know any thing resneitticg thse sate of
the homey market during that period, which enabifs
you to say there" has been a fallim, off of that not"
ket ?—I cannot say there liar b-en a falling or -Of
that ; but as I hare been mere particularly concern'
ed in the export trade than the home consumptive,
it has been a considerable injury to vur house, 35
well as some others, not having the export to Ame-
rica ; those who had' used to export their goods to
America are obijged to sell them for home con-
sumption, and one clashes against
.kke other, and •
that reduces the article to a very low pitch.
Do you know of any orders having been received
from North Ame,rica for goods to be shipped ?-"P
There are very considerable orders in this countrY•
At what, time ate those orders •desired to be exe
cuted i—lmmediately on their knowing that there
would be regular. intercourse between the t`hll
\
countries, that it Would be sate to send ; there are
itfimense orders on this side of the water that wot".. .•
be attended to immediately. •
Would you, on the restoration of that intetcour4'
take back the hands you, have turned out of ee
ployment ?—Yes, we could keep them in full c`f"
ploy.
Do you know any thing of, the behaviour or (-15
rneanour of the workmen who have been ttn-•d-°
out of employ within the last twelve months; I'l4
it been peaceable and orderly ?—Yes, hitherto thd
have been peaceable and orderly. •
Till within the last fortnight or three ‘ireeks •
oi
Yes, in faa they have been discontented for sesl,
Months, but you may naturally suppose, earning,:o
o
small wages as they do, they have not tnuch fil-211
for riot, or any thing of that. kind; they are not at .0
disposed to enter into a riotous spirit.
Do you reColleSt the scarcity in 1800 end 18 •
„ot,
in that part of the country ?—I do„tod-I was °‘,l
In America to sell my nails and get.a trade I 0
been twice in 'America.
• ('To be continued.)'

BIRTII3.
•
• i"
On WednesOay the t3th inst. at Brackley, itl.N('"la rn
tonshire, Mrs. Woodman, the wife of the Rev.
Woodman, last of that place, of a Daughter. !Ars,
On Tuesday .at Caciogan Terrace, Sloane-street, do
Robertson, _wife of D.'lloberison, Esi.j. or a Son, 'ol°
a few hours afterwards. ot
The same day, the Lady of the Hon. Windham .V"in'
a Son'''and Heir. of
On the 19th inst. the LrKiy of I. R. Grossett, -EA,
Lacock Abbey, of a Dnight:A-. • ,

hi/MK/PD.
Yesterday, at the Palace, Lambeth, Robert Nlssa u sut
Sutt°wor';
-Esq. to Mary Geory,iana, daukhter of I. Manners
R.-- e .id
Esq. of Belham, Nottinghamshire.
On Saturday-last, at Henley-upon-Thames, Mr. &N.-- .i,
Moser, of Peter's-hill, Upper Thames-street, to Miss
Hams, of Henley.
__..--------4

DIED. liner
Lately, at Launceston, in Cornwall, Mr. David Pa, et.
brother of the late Almxander l'altffer, of St. faines's-s.6et of
On the t ith inst. at Mclksharn,.Anna 'C''
Edward Poo.e Lsq. of Wtdriampton, Wilts. • viol'
Wedneschy the 13th inst. at Reigrave,Terrace,
itco, Paul t :Arrington Parris, of the I sl3nd of Baitiadoe.l
:001,
'On Tuesday morning, at Overton, Hants, Mrs/I
swi, late ot Woodford, ged . bard
The saine nr,•ning, Hugh,ithe infant son of Peter 10-
floa!e, Esq.
HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE "1.0-1
1(".-
R W. f.c.
Morning, 17 min. arter ts. ; Evening, 41 tn:ri.